jhoop2002

Ok, this thread is not about how to get music, but more or less about what people have told me that they heard on tv.

I have heard through several people that music companies are now going after individual computers that download music. IS this true?? What are the new rules or punishments??

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jcarkeys

The only thing I've heard specifically was that 3 computers which were used as hubs on their college networks were filed suit against. They were sued for like 5 billion or something, I honestly don't remember the figure, but it was in the news section here.

Slug

hehe... they will be very busy then... the ammount of computers that DL illegal music is astounding, 90% of the country will be getting fined then..

i dont think they will ever be able to stop it.. they just dont have the resources that the hackers/coders do.

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jcarkeys

It'll never be able to stop. I don't know why they bother. If things come to the absolute worst it'll be where it'll just be one big bulletin board where people will say I'm looking for So and So song, email it to me at xxx@yyy.zzz.

jinx©

Theyre actually talking about filing lawsuits against any user that is making copyrighted music available for download thru the most common P2P software. (Kazaa, Morpheus etc.)

They talk like theyll find users making files available, then trace them thru their ISP for further actions. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

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TheJester

rofl Go riaa try to get each and everyone of us, maybe if they sold cds for 5bux I'd buy them but hey then the artist only gets like 50 cents boohoo pass the tissue. I'm going to keep downloading till CD prices go down I will not pay $20 for 1 or 2 good songs

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jhoop2002

yeah i agree with everyones opinion here. I would personally rather have a new cd than a burnt one, but i was just wondering if they are really going to try to get people.

What i was told is that they were going to try to get people who were downloading the stuff as well as the people who are suppling it.

That first part is what bothered me, i don't share any of my files for fear that when i am IU's network i will get busted (its happened to a couple of my friends and they lost their internet for a couple months and i won't give that up for music, i'll just give up music) and with musicvideos.com i can watch almost whatever i want over and over again.

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anime-fan-man

BS they can say all they want but they can't do it.

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Iateronmly

I doubt the music companies are so stupid to think they can muscle the problem to oblivion. BUT if their scare tactics can convince even 10% of the downloaders to stop, that's still 10% reduction. We all know the anxiety driven people that flood the internet can be on average - so I think 10% is a very believable expectation. For every person they can sue and get the story into the news paper - win or loose - they probably scare 10,000 from using KaZaA or other programs. For all their outward arrogance, and sometimes ignorance. They're very clever in certain respects.

They learned that targetting the program writters is useless, but if they can take the court battles to the end person. That'll start hitting home for a lot of users, even if they're more likely to get killed in an auto accident than get sued. God bless the ignorant breed.

Disclaimer - worked 3 16 hour days, my mind is in shambes.

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anime-fan-man

Sounds about right but the music industry can kiss my ass if they expect me to pay $16-$20 greenbacks for a 2 cent disk that has one good song on it F that im not stupid.

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anime-fan-man

Another thing that bothers me is that you can go into bestbuy and get a spindle of 50 cds for $1.00 after a rebate, or go to walmart and buy a box of gum and get a 10 pack of cds free. The stores give us cds practicaly for free what do they want us to do with them.

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Iateronmly

What do they expect us to do with them? Store our large anime collections on of course!

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anime-fan-man

True but thats what dvds are for.

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0v3rki11

So far, according to news reports that i've read, the record companies are claiming they are going to target those who make large ammounts of music available for download and file suit against them. Right now it's not a matter of "if you download", it's more a matter of "if you make large ammounts available".

Granted, i'm with everyone else. They're not going to be able to stop the process because the wheels have been in motion for way too long, it would be like trying to step out in front of a train and stop it with your bare hands. My guess would be they are going to try and cut deals with the major P2P providers in order to monitor the file swapping and take out those who provide the largest selection of music. From there they will most likely sit back in all thier ignorance thinking they've detered the rest of the community from downloading music by making examples out of others.

I also agree that i will be damned before i go out and drop $20-$30 on a cd that has only one or two good songs on it. I'm a musician myself, and i have every intention of posting my recordings on my website free for download, purchasing a cd optional. At that point, if i should become a hit, what are the record companies going to do? Tell me i have to sign with a label and sell my music like everyone else or they're going to sue me? I don't think so and i'd like to see them try it.

Further more, i forget who posted it but they are correct in stating the artists get roughly nothing off of album sales. 99% of album sales goes to the recording industry. The artists make thier fortunes off of playing concerts and selling merchandise with thier name on it. The problem being is that up until now, the recording labels have been the only ones with the technology and the funding to make cd's and merchandise bearing the artists name. Now days, anyone can record, mix, and burn thier own music. Stike one for the recording labels. Secondly, getting merchandise made like t-shirts and hats is not quite as expensive as many would like you to belive.

If you ask me it's one big circle jerk that will end up with the recording labels chasing thier own tail, only to look up eventually and find that elvis left the building and he took all the consumers with him.

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KayinStorm

Right on man, we musicians have to say enough to the RIAA.

I don't care if you download my stuff, buy it, or overhear it. What I want is for my music to be enjoyed.

Do you agree, overkill?

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RH9

ill admit to downloading software , lightwave 6.5 more specificly. but i fully intend to purchase it once i have enough money. as far as the riaa and what not goes, they know there not going to stop file swaping persay, i think there just trying to slow it down (its working, and it will work like it or not) and these lawsuits against individuals are just scare tactics, they dont have the recorces to go after each and every single one of us. as far as music goes, ill do what ive always done. buy the cd, the sound quality is always better, however i do think its BullSh*t that i cant rip mp3s to use on my players because of this .cda copy protected nonsence

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0v3rki11

I couldn't agree with you more KayinStorm.

RIAA, meet the NRA.

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Buzz_4_20

i think the riaa is missing one important group, the people that don't buy CD's.

it's the "I'll listen to it if it's free but if not well then I won't listen" group of people.

and how much damage is the RIAA doing to the internet buy putting out junk files, and purposely downloading files just to use up the bandwidth of the people who are sharing??

EDIT:
on a personal note, I'd gladly pay the artist/performer their share of a cd (usually about a buck) to download thier songs from thier website.

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baldwooky

those entertainment industry types can kiss my white bum if they think they are gonna stop me from listening and downloading stuff. I have right now like 60gb of music almost all of it is trance/techno and a good 75% of it is live sets which are unreleased and uncopyrighted. I would GLADLY pay $10 for a CD of the kind of stuff I listen too, unfortunately about 5 people in the whole country even know what I listen to, and its near impossible to find ANYTHING even remotely interesting/good at the local record stores.

You #!@% 's stop exploiting the artists and let their music be heard. The true artists of the world don't give 1 crap about how much they are making. Just wait till DJ Tiesto or any of the "big name DJs" gets 1 shot on MTV. The American music scene will never be the same.

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Anathema

Here's an article from CNN.. I found one yesterday, but can't seem to find the same one.. oh well!

Industry ad snipes at music swappers

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Music industry groups turned up the volume in their fight against song-swapping over the Internet on Thursday, warning Americans in a full-page newspaper advertisement that they could face legal action.

The advertisement is part of an aggressive initiative announced Wednesday by the Recording Industry Association of America, which said it plans to sue hundreds of individuals who illegally distribute copyrighted songs over the Internet.

The legal plans marked a sharp escalation in the battle against Internet piracy that until now had concentrated on shutting down the "peer-to-peer" services used for swapping.

Some experts said the group's latest tactic will only alienate the general public.

"Next time you or your kids 'share' music on the Internet, you may also want to download a list of attorneys," a bold print headline said in the advertisement in the New York Times, signed by 13 different music trade groups and associations.

'No different than shoplifting'
The RIAA was a signatory to the Times ad, which argued that music can be bought online legally without harm to musicians.

"Stealing music over the Internet is no different than shoplifting CDs out of a record store," the ad said. "It's also a very public activity -- meaning that offenders can easily be identified."

More than 2.6 billion songs, movies and other files are copied over computer networks every month, according to industry estimates. Executives believe such trading has led to a 14 percent slide in revenues since pioneering service Napster opened in 1999.

The RIAA, whose roster includes leading media companies, has shut down Napster and several similar networks but failed to stem the tide of Internet sharing. It hopes the lawsuits and advertising might deter people in their own homes.

"We hope that parents will pay attention to what their kids are doing ... that corporations will pay attention to what their employees are doing," RIAA President Cary Sherman said.

Alienating buyers?
Adam Cohen, a partner in the litigation department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, said the music industry in its battle shows "a lack of concern with alienating the consumer ... It's hard to imagine that this would really spur people to buy more records."

Cohen, who has represented online radio and Webcasting services on copyright issues, noted the Napster case ended with a bankruptcy but left open the legal debate on targeting individuals who copy music for non-commercial purposes.

RIAA members include CNN's parent company AOL Time Warner, Vivendi Universal, Sony, Bertelsmann and EMI Group.

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