Out of Control????????

[bluecat]

Two articles concerning the Recording industry and music piracy.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/32731.html

and

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/32731.html

Blue

[Flar's Freyja]

Blue, correct me if I'm wrong, but both links seem to be to the same article.

I agree that it's out of control. I tried to explain the story to my son and he had an idea that if it were illegal to download music, then these sites wouldn't work if he tried to download music from them :geez:

[Rain Gnosis]

I believe there's a thread on this same subject in Music..?

[bluecat]

Blue, correct me if I'm wrong, but both links seem to be to the same article.

I agree that it's out of control. I tried to explain the story to my son and he had an idea that if it were illegal to download music, then these sites wouldn't work if he tried to download music from them :geez:

Oops ... here's the other link

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/32740.html

[bluecat]

I believe there's a thread on this same subject in Music..?

Yes, there is ... but this is about more than music. I have worked in a recording studio before and I learned, very quickly, that the artist is just a commodity for the industry. The producers and distributors are more concerned about filling their pockets than anything else. I have seen them shaft so many people that it's not funny.

For the RIAA to go after a child and have her parents dish out money is rather sad.

They use their ads featuring artisans and craft persons to make us feel sorry for them, but the real problem is at the distributor level. Holding us emotionally hostage is a cheap shot.

This is just another thing about how the GOLDEN RULE seems to work ... you know, those with the gold make the rules.

[Rain Gnosis]

As I said in the thread in the other forum - I doubt anyone had any knowledge she was a child - it's not as if they went "ooh look, here's a 12 year old girl, let's sue her!". The simple fact is she was downloading files and she got caught, regardless of her age. Now that they know her age, if they let the girl off the hook the other people they're suing will use it in their suits as proof that obviously the crime wasn't that great and/or there was discrimination by age.

The fact that her mother insists she paid for the software and thus "paid for the music" just shows the whole subject is misunderstood and misrepresented.

[bluecat]

The fact that she was a child had to become apparent before they went ahead with the court action. The point of this is not so much that she was a child, but the industry seems to be interested in lining it's own pockets. As I also mentioned they are not interested in the artist either.

One part of the article I found interesting was:



******
Brianna thought the $29.99 fee her mother paid for the Kazaa music trading service entitled her to download songs at will. Nothing like a lawsuit seeking $150,000 per song to correct that misconception. This is what some refer to as a growing pain.

This settlement has taught us a few valuable lessons about the RIAA's methodology. Apparently, young teens hit the copyright infringement scale at the $2,000 mark. College students, by contrast, must cough up between $12,000 and $17,000 for their violations, as we saw earlier this year. So any parents out there with children under 12 can expect their precious tots' crimes to cost around $1,000. That's comforting.
******
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/32740.html

Engaging in a suit for $150,000.00 per song is a bit much. Granted they are settling for much less, but the "much less" is still quite steep.

I don't download music, but I do have a lot of MP3 files on my hdd because I like to make personal CD's to listen to in the car. I don't sell or distribute these, they are for personal use. I also often make a back up copy of a CD I paid a pretty penny for and play the copy so I don't risk scratching the original and having to replace it for possibly a higher price.

Well, that's my bit. There is no animosity here, just sheer disbelief and frustration.

Blue

[Rain Gnosis]

The fact that she was a child had to become apparent before they went ahead with the court action.

They filed 261 suits that day, Brianna was merely one of over 250 people. So I doubt they went looking for ages - besides, since the mother paid, likely by credit card, it was probably assumed the registrant was 18 or over.

Whether they're interested in the artist or not, I am. The thread over in Music (http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=32468) discusses that a bit.

I'm not even saying I agree with the suits, I am saying that mentioning a 12 year old is specifically meant to upset people as if it's a big bad company attacking a little kid, when the company likely had no indication she was a child at all. This was turned into a media circus in an attempt to turn the subject into a fairytale about the big bad music industry who wants to huff, and puff, and blow your Kazaa down.

I would assume they're settling so easily and at such a relatively tiny percentage of what they'd asked because they had them high to make a point and scare the hell out of people - and it worked. They don't need the $$, they *do* want to get the point across. Obviously people are not clear on the subject.

[bluecat]

Yes, I am aware that she was one of many suits on that day and I am also aware of the use of her age to evoke an emotional response.

I am not speaking to a justification for stealing. I am stating that I honestly believe the industry big-wigs are doing this more for their own self interest and profit and not the interest of the artist. I am quite amazed that they have not been able to stop these P2P networks that facilitate this practice.

Please don't think I am against the artist or that I condone stealing, I just have a problem with this big biz approach. I mean, these are the same folks that were caught price fixing and got a slap on the hand. Maybe, just maybe if they were more interested in getting the music out there and helping the artist and the consumer they could bring their prices down some. The problem with that is I know they would somehow find a way to take money from the artists, artisans and craft folks who actually make the music.

[Kaylara]

The music industry bigwigs are totally doing it to line their own pockets... They're upset because they're losing money... Artists really don't make very much money on their songs... I look at it this way... They have a huge unpaid labor force, screw over artists left and right, and are doing this to try to scare people into buying cd's again... (BTW... I believe that it costs about .01 to make a cd... How much do they charge for one?) I have no sympathy for record exec's at all... The way the music industry is was a huge deterrent for me... I love music and performing... But I couldn't make a career in it...

I have mp3's. I also have a huge cd collection and the vast majority of them account for my mp3's... I've downloaded things like "Holst's 2nd Suite in F, and Hungarian Dance, and other obscure classical music because it is soooo hard to find good recordings of it.

[Celtic Witch]

Yes, I am aware that she was one of many suits on that day and I am also aware of the use of her age to evoke an emotional response.


I have to agree Blue Cat. If hermother used a credit card to pay for this service, one would have to wonder why her underaged daughter was the one named. One would think it would have been the mother named in the suit instead. Makes ya go hmmmm...doesn't it?


C.W.