The RIAA did us, what what? In the butt.

As some of you may have noticed, WNR was shut down for a period of 4 days over one single song file. The RIAA, in all it's wonderful glory, decided to disregard our disclaimer which states to contact us if there is a complaint of copyright... and instead went straight to our host to cry like a baby. And what a way for a business to look out for it's customers! They shut us down and made us jump through hoops of fire for 4 days, when all the RIAA asked was that the file be removed from the server.

I do sincerely apologize for the rude interruption, but if you have a problem with it (like we do) - boycott the RIAA by not purchasing from major labels, and instead buying used albums. Also feel free to let our host know what sniveling bitches they are. Not the tech support team though... they were fantastic in helping bring together the lines of communication between us and legal (and even had a few negative words of their own to add about the RIAA).

This just goes to show the reasons for our mission statement. Major labels for far too long have been trying to keep their greedy hands all over their "investments", all while keeping their foot firmly down on the small guys. Did you know that the RIAA now also claims that it gives too much money to the artists, and seeks to reduce the royalties paid out to artists? Jesus. Like artists aren't ripped off enough already.

It's one thing to leak an entire album. I say sure, go after those people with a mallet... they're actually hurting the artist. But to go after someone for a single?

What the RIAA doesn't understand is that a single leak can help hype up an upcoming release. It's all the same as a single being played on the radio. And here I thought that money was their language. They're only hurting themselves by pissing off their fans, and deterring the people who provide them with free promotion.

Well, enough of the rant. I just wanted to take a moment to let you all know the reason why we were gone, and that we're now back up and running.

If you have any suggestions of hosts with a backbone, or thoughts about this situation, please feel free to rant in our comments.

And this one goes out to you, RIAA:


Love,
Lady Byrd
WNR Founder, WNR Fighter

EDIT: Thanks to theplugg.com for their comment about the RIAA Radar. You can use it to screen a release before you buy it. See more about it in their post here.