Loading ...Go Ringle! Go Ringle!
By Evan ~ September 12th, 2007. Filed under: world news.
It’s been a long time since I gave a shit about any news regarded the Recording Industry Association of America. Maybe it’s because I was waiting for them to outdo all their previous inane attempts at saving the music business. Well, my prayers have been answered. One word, people: RINGLE.
What’s a “ringle” you ask? Why, it’s the hot new plan to save the entire industry, of course! The RIAA has decided to reintroduce the CD single. For those of you who don’t remember, the CD single was introduced in the late ’80s and became immensely popular in the 90s. Like their vinyl counterparts the seven-inch, CD singles usually contained two tracks, but sometimes included a third track or a “remix”. Consumers all but gave up on the CD single in the late 90s when file sharing became a mainstream method for downloading individual tracks. Ever since then, the industry has been frustratingly searching for a way to earn back all that lost revenue. Clearly suing people isn’t working out too well for them, what with all the countersuits and racketeering charges being brought against them.
The new plan is this: CD singles will contain two tracks, but now they will include a ringtone! Get it? That’s what makes it a “ringle”! How cool is that? You can buy a CD single and also get a ringtone for the A-side. Pretty cool, right? And if it cost $2 or $3 like the original CD singles cost, people might actually buy them. But this is the RIAA we’re talking about. They don’t know how the fuck commerce works, so they want to charge you $6 or $7 for a “ringle”. Meanwhile, you could simply buy those two songs and a ringtone from a digital music service and your cellphone carrier for a fraction of that cost. Genius idea, RIAA! This will surely signal a resurgence for your dying business.
Actually, it makes NO sense. What they should do is charge $7 or $8 for LPs and they might start to earn some money back. The current MSRP of $12.98 to $15.98 is absurd, and to ask half of that for two songs is not even borderline retarded, it’s totally-fucking-incapable-of-a-single-rational-thought retarded.
Learn more about the “ringle” at FastSilicon.
Speaking of overpriced bullshit, have you heard about the ridiculously expensive, limited edition 2LP version of the Boris and Michio Kurihara Rainbow collaboration that is selling through Boris’ Inoxia record label at the low-low price of $200? Do you know what you get for your $200? A box that won’t fit on your record shelf, two extra tracks, and a video clip. Fuck that. Here’s the two bonus tracks. Enjoy!
