Dark Lord Seth's Journal: Think the RIAA is alone?

... Well, forget about it. The RIAA has got a nice and tiny and insignificant little ally, the Buma/Stemra, henceforth known as "those leeches who charge you extra per DVD.". Did you think all those scary stories about putting an extra charge on DVD/CD media (regardless of actual purpose) were just tales to frighten away John Doe from doing anything? Well, guess again.

All those stories are a reality here in the Netherlands. The store where I work nearly got sued by said organization. Why? We were playing music CDs on the showroom PCs. Want to buy a CD or DVD? Be prepared to fork over another 20% per item. (On top of the already 20% VAT. That's 40% wasted.) Thank God the Dutch law system is fcked up beyond belief to the point where USian lawsuits are impossible, or else I'd be certain the store where I work would be sued to death by now.

Then again, the extra money they charge per CD/DVD do make me feel a bit better. Sure, I download and copy stuff like C&C Generals and MOO3, more or less feeling bad about it. But those were HORRIBLE games and I'd feel worse AND 50 Euros poorer if I had bought them. Good games are an entirely different issue: I actually feel bad about not having a legal version of Vice City. Good games are worth the money. At least the money they now charge will ease my conscience a bit! ... Or at least make my wallet a bit lighter...

That said, I wonder if there are any other dutch people around here who know which companies support the current course of action our RIAA-clone is taking? It'd be nice to cough up a list of those companies and declare their goods to be freely copied. After all, we are being charged for something we haven't even done, so we might as well do it.

Carry on, minions!