News
USATODAY: 41 more sued over music downloads
By Dennis Lloyd
Publisher, iLounge
Published: Wednesday, December 3, 2003
News Category: Digital Media
“Despite bad press for turning on its customers, the recording industry said Wednesday that it would sue 41 more people, alleging they illegally downloaded music from the Internet. [...]
Nielsen/NetRatings says the average number of users on Kazaa, the top music and movie trading program, has dropped 53% since June — when the RIAA first warned of lawsuits.”
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1
I feel for all you Americans since I used to live in Florida but it’s really great living in Canada now! No RIAA and downloading music is completly legal
well kinda, check out:
http://news.com.com/2008-1028-5097180.html
or my brothers website about it:
http://www.martinsquest.com/personal/filesharing.htm
Posted by noname in Ottawa on December 3, 2003 at 8:59 PM (PDT)
2
Yes but you pay $0.70 per CD-R :-D
Posted by azdude_15gb on December 4, 2003 at 3:51 AM (PDT)
3
Haha suing 41 people really is going to make a different out of the millions that still download illegal music…
Posted by kainjow on December 4, 2003 at 4:39 AM (PDT)
4
The RIAA will not win. Share music FOREVER!
Posted by shareMusicForever on December 4, 2003 at 5:39 AM (PDT)
5
Yea, but azdude_15gb, you don’t need CD-Rs if you have an iPod and/or some other portable hard drive
(or American friends that bring/send you spindles as ‘gifts’)
Posted by takami826 on December 4, 2003 at 6:30 AM (PDT)
6
Its not file sharing huritng their business its the low quality crap for music they have been selling for the last 10 years. How many really good albums have you bought in the past 10 years me about 25 out of how many. People are tired of buying a cd for 1!!! song I hate the RIAA
Posted by C on December 4, 2003 at 6:38 AM (PDT)
7
C
You mean you didn’t go out and buy the the “new” Brittany Spears cd. HE HE
I with you on this buddy.
Any one with any kind of thought process knows the amount of CRAP out in todays market place.
Posted by scrins on December 4, 2003 at 7:05 AM (PDT)
8
All I have to say is it is great to be Canadian now a days. I look south and see a country ruled by the rich and powerful. A country that says it is in “a war against terrorism” Which is just a mask for ‘Globalization’ and corporate domination. The RIAA is just mad that they didn’t see that file sharing would hurt their industry. And they are fools for not acting soon. And now they want to control the people… sounds like communism. Also the fines that people pay are still better than paying for the music. Come on, like 99cents per song… really. I can download 10000 songs for free or… spend $10000.00(9900) and buy it from iTunes. Let me think. Let’s say I get caught. I say okay I will pay $3000.00 and I am still ahead. The damage is done. What they need is a CD that can only be played, not copied or ripped. There is a real solution.
My two cents.
Cheers
Jeff McKnight
Posted by Jeff on December 4, 2003 at 7:05 AM (PDT)
9
RIAA collects royalties on a number of things in the States, including some CD-Rs and recording equipment.
RIAA and MPAA could easily get their pet Congressmen to draft a bill to collect royalties on (for instance) large hard drives and burners. That bill could be law by next year if they put any effort at all into it.
They don’t because fair payment isn’t really the issue. The distribution models afforded by Internet and p2p technologies are. They are direct competition with cartels like MPAA and RIAA, and could very well obsolete them.
RIAA doesn’t care about fair payment for artists and copyright holders - they care about controlling distribution, as that is how their member corporations make their profits on music. This is why they are frantically pushing for DRM laws rather than automatic royalty ones as they have done in the past.
Posted by george on December 4, 2003 at 7:54 AM (PDT)
10
Jeff this isn’t the place to bash the US so just lay up off them. Would you like to hear what I think about your great country?? OK no that’s what I thought.
Posted by kainjow on December 4, 2003 at 8:30 AM (PDT)
11
KainJow, he isn’t “bashing” the US. He’s merely pointing out the obvious. . . The US is run by rich corporations, why do you companies pay millions for Lobbyists to “influence” Congress. We live in a system of Payola, it’s all around us, and someone pointing that out shouldn’t be construed as negative (no matter their country of origin).
“To be a patriot, one had to say, and keep on saying, ” Our country, right or wrong,” and urge on the little war. Have you not perceived that that phrase is an insult to the nation.”
- Mark Twain, 1906
Posted by Randy on December 4, 2003 at 8:44 AM (PDT)
12
all that’s retarded, go back to the way it was. (“f*ck the industry”).
99 cents per song is rediculous. And i’m not buying a cd when i only like 1 f*cking song on their. If all the new music out, wasn’t so refined, and pre-manufactured… maybe i wouldn’t have a problem buying cd’s. I’ll buy them, when they’re worth MY money.—in the meantime… Kazaa is the best thing that happend to me, besides my ipod.
I’m gonna keep on downloading.
I’ll keep sharing songs.
I’m gonna keep it the way it was, untill you give me somthing worth buying.
—#### the industry.
chris
Posted by chris on December 4, 2003 at 9:02 AM (PDT)
13
One thing I never understood is how file-traders/downloaders always say nothing the RIAA produces is any good, but then they say, “downloading forever!”. So if nothing is worth listening to, what the hell are they downloading?
If all the new stuff is crap, then don’t trade it. If the old stuff was good, then buy it, if you subscribe to the original argument.
All I see on these message boards are arguments justifying illegal downloading and essentially music theft. Spin it any way you want, but at least admit it!
Posted by Albert on December 4, 2003 at 9:48 AM (PDT)
14
Jeff FYI - File sharers sued by the RIAA don’t get to keep their songs, so no matter how much they downloaded before, they don’t come out ahead.
Sorry if I sound like a shill for the RIAA, but I’m really not. I download, and I probably buy fewer cds then I used to, but I admit that it’s morally suspect and doesn’t help the artists I like. I also admit I download partially because it’s cheap and convenient. It just bothers me to hear some of these bogus justifications related to quality and onerous record contracts.
Posted by Albert on December 4, 2003 at 10:02 AM (PDT)
15
as i posted in another thread…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3117505.stm
the p2p situation is akin to the status of cannibus in this country.
it’s illegal - yes. it’s not going to go away EVER - yes. the current laws dictate the govt wasting a lot of time and resources going after the little man (i.e. smoker who shares his/her tree with their friends) and not the real criminals who are profiting from the illegal distribution (i.e. dealers/suppliers). the cycle will go on and on in the music space just like the drug wars (it’s called Supply & Demand).
im a fan of both p2p and pot so call me a p2p2p’r.
Posted by lo on December 4, 2003 at 11:12 AM (PDT)
16
“Despite bad press for turning on its customers…”
Uh, didn’t their customers turn on them first by illegally downloading copyrighted music?
Posted by Aaron on December 4, 2003 at 12:29 PM (PDT)
17
no….read:
http://www.herring.com/ForumPage_111903-04.aspx
Posted by lo on December 4, 2003 at 12:53 PM (PDT)
18
downloading in canada isnt illegal?
Posted by jacko on December 4, 2003 at 2:06 PM (PDT)
19
Sorry if it sounded like I was making funny of the USA. I am not saying that Canada is better or perfect I just used Canada as an example of country that it is legal to download music in. I was pointing out that the fact of corporations of the world controlling the governments which intern control the courts. That’s all, and I was born and raised in Scotland.
Aaron you have a point there about the customers tuning on the industry first, you’re right. The people are to blame.
Posted by Jeff on December 4, 2003 at 4:15 PM (PDT)
20
I think people came to their sense and saw that they spent way too much money on music. And like stated earlier that most cds only have a few good songs or a few you like on them. Why should you pay so much? And with the invention of CD writers that gave people the ability of making their own cd. Then the internet has always been a hub to share information. All that was need was a match… that match was napster and other file sharing programs.
Now if you take a cd you bought and make a cd with it if is fine. But with the internet and programs like napster all the puzzle pieces came together. Now people could share music from all parts of the world. The world in sense became smaller… again. I laugh that Apple says that itunes is the digital music revolution. Well the real revolution was the fact that large numbers of people shared music and for free. That’s the kicker. Itunes has hope and is working I think. Still the damage is done for now. Like stated already that many people are just finding new ways to download music.
Posted by Jeff on December 4, 2003 at 4:15 PM (PDT)
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