Is the MPAA and the RIAA a cartel?

[beric3236]

I got to think about the question in the subject and I found these statements from both the RIAA and the MPAA web sites:

MPAA - Founded in 1922 as the trade association of the American film industry, the MPAA has broadened its mandate over the years to reflect the diversity of an expanding industry. The initial task assigned to the association was to stem the waves of criticism of American movies, then silent, while sometimes rambunctious and rowdy, and to restore a more favorable public image for the motion picture business.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry.

My question is are they cartels by the dictionary which is:


cartel n. 1) an arrangement among supposedly independent corporations or national monopolies in the same industrial or resource development field organized to control distribution, to set prices, to reduce competition, and sometimes to share technical expertise. Often the participants are multi-national corporations which operate across numerous borders and have little or no loyalty to any home country, and great loyalty to profits. The most prominent cartel is OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), which represents all of the oil producing countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Venezuela. Many cartels operate behind a veil of secrecy, particularly since under American anti-trust laws (the Sherman and Clayton Acts) they are illegal. 2) criminal syndicates like the international drug cartel headquartered in Colombia.


Some food for thought

[SaSi]

But of course they are. Your dictionary definition is proven in every respect:

a. "an arrangement among supposedly independent corporations "
Obviously, the various motion pictures and/or record companies (some are combo ones) are independent from each other and under fierce competition (supposedly). But when one is in trouble, another buys them out and sometimes sells them to a third one when the time and price is right. Survival is the name of the game.

b. "organized to control distribution"
They are happy with any means of distribution they control. They originally hated and outlawed MP3 but now they distribute MP3 and AC3 files themselves. (I don't talk about illegal distribution and file sharing - which is in every respect illegal and rightfully fighted).

c. "to set prices, to reduce competition"
Why on earth do CD and DVD prices stay high while computer component prices drop? Why is AMD and Intel fighting over who makes the cheapest and faster CPU? Why are the RIAA and MPAA members bying entities like Napster, MP3.Com, etc? Why are't there any independent (REAL ONES) record labels or motion picture publishers any more? Why do the small european movie producers produce twice as many films as Hollywood (this is true) and get one tenth of the tickets and TV screening time? Have you seen any Italian movie lately?

d. "and sometimes to share technical expertise"
Well, this is a nice one. Everyone want to share THEIR OWN expertise with the others. See SONY and Blue Ray. They are able to force this "sometimes".

e. "have little or no loyalty to any home country, and great loyalty to profits"
No comment here.

[zzyzzx]

Yes. Duh. This should be a poll.

[themichael]

If they are a cartel, then couldn't they be charged under the RICO laws???