RIAA Political Peddling

Filed in archive Finance , Government , RIAA, IFPI on June 20, 2007

The web site Consumerist ran a poll for worst company in the United States. The winner was RIAA (never mind that it's not an actual company).

Consumerist published the top 50 congresspeople who received RIAA contributions. All the usual suspects are there from both sides of the aisles - from L.A. and California Democrats protecting the entertainment industry to Republicans (but certainly real conservatives) supporting big business.

These contributions are small (a few thousand dollars) and mean little in the scheme of things. RIAA's main contribution and the real action is in lobbying. According to the center for responsive politics, RIAA spent $1.5 million on lobbying, with the entire music industry, including major labels, spending over $7 million. Now that's what gets them access.