The Den of Thieves

Filed in archive Commentary , Companies , Major Labels on May 11, 2007

"The Den of Thieves" is not the next Madonna song or album. Believe it or not, it's the name of a new Warner Music Group programming division.

Thieves? It's a bizarre name. I get that it's intended to be hip and dangerous. But is anyone conscious there? Instead of promoting the group's music and video, the name conjures the industry's ills.

The entertainment biz tells the public on a daily basis that the thieves are their own customers who fill their iPods and download over P2P. And the thieves are the technology companies from video web sites like YouTube to P2P developers.

On the other hand, maybe Warner is right. It's a perfect name. The major labels have been convicted of payola, screwing artists, and fixing CD prices. They treat their customers with contempt, publicly lie, and buy legislation. THEY indeed are The Den of Thieves.