Disclaimer:  Some of the views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of this writer, and certainly do not necessarily represent those of Boycott-RIAA.

In a recent article shown here, ticket sales at the box office fell about 15 percent in March, or 18 percent if inflated ticket prices were to be factored in, as according to tracking service Exhibitor Relations Co.

The Hollywood moguls, according to this article, are “mystified” about why their sales have been going down, and “trying to come to grips with the crisis.” Certainly, you can expect in the near future to hear more sound and fury from Jack Valenti, Michael Eisner et al., about how “digital piracy” (a favorite Eisner phrase) is “ruining” the industry, and intensifying their push for a de facto Big Government takeover of the tech industry and Big Government dictates on the manufacture, distribution and application of any and all digital media. But the article also hints at another reason for this dropoff in box-office sales:

Namely, the long list of Hollywood celebrities (i.e. Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, George Clooney, Jessica Lange, Janeane Garofalo, Samuel L. Jackson) who have been openly and stridently voicing their opposition to the U.S. war in Iraq, which has not exactly gone well with those sections of the American population who support the Iraq campaign. Apparently, the flop of one film out now (The Core) may be attributable to this backlash; Alfre Woodard, one of the co-stars of this movie, is also part of the “Hollywood peacenik” crowd.

And public outrage over celebrities’ stance over the war (a.k.a. “Operation Iraqi Freedom”) may also be spilling over to the music industry (are you listening, Hilary? Cary? Mitch? anybody?). According to some reports, The Dixie Chicks’ sales have fallen about 40% since lead singer Natalie Maines, at a concert in London, England, about a month ago, told the audience, “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.” Though she and the other members of the group offered some apologies, the damage might have already been done; besides the sales slip, many radio stations also now refuse to play any of their records. It is not known at this time to this writer whether Sheryl Crow’s sales have likewise slipped in the wake of her anti-war proselytizing, and if so, to what extent. (Anybody who knows for sure, please feel free to give figures.)

Just one question: If it takes things like this to adversely affect sales of movie tickets, CD’s, and TV-show ratings, when (if ever) will the powers that be in the RIAA wake up (if at all) to the fact that the continuing erosion of CD sales may have something – something – to do with the public’s outrage over the organization’s long-standing, ongoing malicious, hugely negative and stereotypical profiling of consumers, computer users, and (most recently) college students? Or, to twist a famous phrase of James Carville, “It’s not all piracy, stupid.”

Haven't heard anything about Sheryl Crow’s sales, but then again she's been busy trying to hook up with Kid Rock and Pam Anderson....
http://image.imgfarm.com/images/gossip/celebr ities/0410trio.jpg

Musically?

I don't think so...

That 15% drop in movie ticket sales probably happened at the end of March when most people were glued to their TVs to watch CNN's war coverage & coupled with the fact there are some real stinkbombs in the theaters (yes, I shamefully admit to seeing "The Core"). What excuse is the MPAA going to have when the summer & fall movies roll out (i.e. something good that we want to see)?

I'm still mystified by the RIAA/MPAA stance that their industries are completely insulated from economic downturns (who needs to pay the mortgage anyway, when there's music & movies?)

Well, not only can the downturn be attributed to the War, but can also be attributed to movie theaters charging up to $10 just to see a movie. I mean, any more, I just wait for the movie to come out on video or DVD and buy it so I can watch it as many times as I want.
Not to mention the fact that I hate people who talk over a movie, especially kids. Last year when I went to see "Spider-Man" I had the misfortune to sit beside a kid who couldn't stop asking questions and his mom wouldn't tell him to be quite. Then again, when I went to see "The Time Machine" I had the misfortune of sitting next to my ex-girlfriend's dad and he couldn't stop asking questions. But, you get the idea.

Not to mention the current quality of movies coming out. I didn't go see "The Core" though I wanted to, but I could basically tell it was "Journey to the Center of the Earth" meets "Armageddon" Now, I've already seen "Armageddon" so I have an idea of how "The Core" turns out.

The later part of this year should be better than the current crop, mainly because "The Matrix: Reloaded" and "The Matrix: Revolutions" will be out. Then "Return of the King" and Harry Potter 3. They should really consider releasing these movies earlier since they already know they're gonna do well at the box-office. But, they'd rather hype them at the Super Bowl so they'll sell out the first night and each night after for three months, then take them out of the theater for 3 months, chop out some scenes and put them on a DVD, then release it on a Tuesday.

All those films in so short a time. If the studios would try talking to each other they would realise they get more money if they have a less bursty release pattern

As films, all the LOTRs and harry potters are absolute rubbish, of a quality that makes the core look good. They sell because they are overhyped. If anyone reads the books they will realise they only about 20% of the books are in those films.

By the way, that time machine film...absolutly no relation to the book beyond its title. None at all. I failed to find even a single simularity.

The entire RIAA/MPAA case --
Sales are down; there's no explanation besides piracy.

I just got a letter from my U.S. Representative, J.D. Hayworth, who is retransmitting this same piss-poor excuse in response to questions about the "Consumer Technology Bill of Rights."

"In 2001, record sales were down 10 percent because of unauthorized music downloads and the [MPAA] estimates that it loses more than $3 billion annually because of illegally copied videotapes."

Without a shred of empirical data to back up these claims and "estimates," my moron representative has been hooked like a trout and reeled in.

I hope your representatives are smarter than mine.

I doupt it - politics is a long-term career, only the old get into positions of power. So the powerful people generially dont have a lot of computer experience. Thats why emails to them are always ignored while a written letter usually gets read at lest by a secretary.

I'm going to go out on a limb on this one and say that the slumping sales might just be a reflection of the increase in unemployment....have these boneheads ever considered that? I don't know where they get the numbers for estimating how many people are out of work currently, but I'd have to say their numbers are a bit skewed. Why else would Bush pass the latest extention of unemployment benefits? Because it's a bigger problem than what they want everyone to believe, that's why. I've been off since September of last year, and I have several friends that are still not working as well, and the job market is virtually non-existant right now. When I was working, I'd go to the movies at least once a month, usually more. Since I've been off work, I think I've seen one movie in the theaters. As someone else on this site has stated before....why should the MPAA/RIAA be exempt from a slumping economy?

They arn't, but remember the effect on them is lessened because they sell in many countries - everywhere except antartica really, and I wouldn't be surprised if theres a cinema there . A slow US economy reduces US sales, but the european economy is still doing well.

if nothing else the riaa should realize that people are looking for ***something new***... when things are brand new (be it a computer, a form of technology, a genre or style of music) the interest is highest when it first comes out... the canned style of music collectively known as pop hasn't come out with anything new, so people are exploring musically... it's happened quite often, at least looking at music history... i'm just surprised that they took the first reason they could find and have kept blaming it for so long (e.g. piracy) without truly trying to see what can be done...

I use kazaa. And when napster was around I used it as well ( i liked napster better.. more user friendly) I own over 800 cd's and 400 movies. I have made a vast collection over the years.. I rent movies every tuesday (when i can afford) and every now and then i go to the theatres. (I too do not like to go because of the cell phones, babies, anoying children and teenagers who do not have ANY MANNERS!) I will wait for it to come out on video. Also the quality of sound and the STENCH of a public theatre is well worth waiting for its release on video. Anyways. If anything i have bought MORE cd's because of the p2p servers. I have been exposed to different types of music i would have never taken a second look at in the stores. There are a lot of "un-pop" bands out there that you dont get exposed to. With P2P you can listen to so many different types of music. Its a good thing. Before P2P I almost never bought a CD because your stuck with it.. like it or not. Since all of these stunts they have pulled.. I, Honestly have not bought one single CD because I do not want to contribute to their greed. And I will continue to boycott them. I have the cd's I want and I also have "so called pirated" music on my computer so I can put songs in the order I want kinda like theme music to my constant road trips. I am ashamed of what the music industry has become. And Metallica (used to be a HUGE fan) I hope that the RIAA trys to sue me.. I will NEVER spend another dime on a movie, cd, dvd or anything that has any of their names on it. I believe that they are a bunch of whining children because they think they are missing money. God forbid they turn the spotlight on themselves and realize what jerks that their musicians and they themselves are being... would that have anything to do with the drop in sales? If wal-mart stereotyped me and escorted me throught the store... I would stop shopping there too.. But I guess they dont see that

By the way.. those of you who are suffering from this burdened economy. If you have a WEST in your area.. look into it. www.west.com. I got laid off after 8 years of dedicated work when the 9-11 deal happend. I went to west and I have worked there since. They dont do lay-offs. Its a telemarketing company. But they pay and have benefits. God bless

The music industry blames piracy because the alternative is admitting they are doing something wrong