http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2001687 I know there have been some music download threads but I thought this deserved a place of it's own. Who is going to keep downloading now?? Online pirates face music Industry issues subpoenas against computer users By TED BRIDIS Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The music industry has issued at least 871 federal subpoenas against computer users this month suspected of illegally sharing music files on the Internet, with roughly 75 new subpoenas being approved each day, U.S. court officials said Friday. The effort represents early steps in the music industry's contentious plan to file civil lawsuits aimed at crippling online piracy. Subpoenas reviewed by The Associated Press show the industry compelling some of the largest Internet providers, such as Verizon Communications and Comcast Cable Communications, and some universities to provide names and mailing addresses for users on their networks known online by nicknames such as "clover77" or "indepunk74." The Recording Industry Association of America has said it expects to file at least several hundred lawsuits seeking financial damages within the next eight weeks. U.S. copyright laws allow for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song offered illegally on a person's computer, but the RIAA has said it would be open to settlement proposals from defendants. The campaign comes just weeks after U.S. appeals court rulings requiring Internet providers to readily identify subscribers suspected of illegally sharing music and movie files. The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act permits music companies to force Internet providers to turn over the names of suspected music pirates upon subpoena from any U.S. District Court clerk's office, without a judge's signature required. In some cases, subpoenas cite as few as five songs as "representative recordings" of music files available for downloading from these users. The trade group for the largest music labels, the Washington-based RIAA, previously indicated its lawyers would target Internet users who offer substantial collections of MP3 song files but declined to say how many songs might qualify. "We would have to look at historic trends, but that is a very high number," said Alan Davidson of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a civil liberties group that has argued against the subpoenas. "It doesn't sound like they're just going after a few big fish." Music fans are fighting back with technology, using new software designed specifically to stymie monitoring of their online activities by the major record labels. A new version of "Kazaa Lite," free software that provides access to the service operated by Sharman Networks Ltd., can prevent anyone from listing all music files on an individual's machine and purports to block scans from Internet addresses believed to be associated with the RIAA. Many of the subpoenas reviewed by the AP identified songs from the same few artists, including Avril Lavigne, Snoop Dogg and Michael Jackson. It was impossible to determine whether industry lawyers were searching the Internet specifically for songs by these artists or whether they were commonly popular among the roughly 60 million users of file-sharing services. The RIAA's subpoenas are so prolific that the U.S. District Court in Washington, already suffering staff shortages, has been forced to reassign employees to help process paperwork, said Angela Caesar-Mobley, the clerk's operations manager. The RIAA declined to comment on the numbers of subpoenas it issued. "We are identifying substantial infringers and we're going to whatever entity is providing (Internet) service for that potential infringer," said Matt Oppenheim, the group's senior vice president of business and legal affairs. On the Net: RIAA: www.riaa.com Kazaa: www.kazaa.com
See, now that just pisses me off. God knows, with terrorism, corporate crime and the myriad of other federal crimes the government has to deal with, it's really important that we take as much time and staff possible to prosecute file swappers. And, give me a freakin' break with that prosecuting people with as few as 5 songs bull****. Personally, this sounds like their way to try and scare the holy hell out of people so much so that they just stop downloading. I'm no fan of downloading and I've been pretty vocal in that regard, but this is them most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.
Thanks, Jeff. This thread was started to point out the fact that they ARE cracking down on "pirates". So who is gonna keep downloading now ???
I wont be stopping until I get a job to actually go buy the CDs I want. ehhh, I'm not even trying to "steal" just sample.
So where are these people that are sharing files? Are they on Kazaa, WinMX, or do they just sue anybody who has music files on their hard drive?
3,892,811 peoples sharing 842,467,249 files on Kazaa lite right now. Many millions more on other services. These guys still have a lot of work ahead for themselves.
just as long as they stay away from usenet.. they would have difficulty tracking down users that post mp3s to the newsgroups since alot of them use anonymous newsservers to post thru. Also, most pay newservers don't log incoming postings..and even if they did, they wouldnt scan them to see what kind of file they are. The sheer volume of posted files would make that impractical. So, if you want to find files...but are scared of the RIAA...learn about Usenet.
What are some good new groups to check out? I am currently d/l-ing Norah Jines CD from alt.binaries.sounds. mp3
I have the new version of Kazaa lite and I will keep downloading until they destroy our court systems w/the menial task of persecuting music lovers. I am so sorry that single sales are down in the music industry. Maybe if they came to their senses and lowered the cost of cd's from the major record labels, they wouldn't be having this problem. I would gladly pay $6.00 for a cd, but my expendable income is not at the level to allow me to pay $15 for something when I can get it for free. I will sacrifice quality for price. By the way, if the major record lables were to put there music on site that you could pay to download for say .50 cents a song, they could make a killing on residuals. they could also lower their overhead on materials since you only have to put it on the site. You could lower production quanities and tap the internet for sales. I know some sites do this, but they charge too high a price. It seems they want to recoup the full price of the cd and you aren't getting the whole product. No folder, no disc, no person that packages it for you. They really need to discount it to make it work
RIAA is the most ridiculous crap I never seen. What if the file-sharer is a little kid, are they going to put them in jail or sue them for $10000. This will only get worse for the music induostry, people will soon boycott buying music CD, and sueing them back. America=The country of freedom and liberty??????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Your using one of the better ones......it seems to be a catch-all for everything. You can try one of the more specialized ones like: alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.complete_cd alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.1980s alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.1990s alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.2000s Also try searching groups list for mp3. There's tons...
None of you downloaders realize much time, hard work, and expense goes into making music. It's sad really. I predict that as more and more people download music for free, and give sorry excuses to not buy CDs (can't afford to, even though you can afford a computer and internet access, for example,) the quality of music will drop gradually. What's the point of putting out a good product when you know a bunch of people are just going to steal it? With that said, suing millions of people definitely isn't the way to go. I hope everybody can come to some kind of agreement. Apple is on the right track with their .99 song thing. But as long as there are stubborn, uninformed, and just plain selfish people on either side, it'll be quite awhile before there is a compromise.
Just got the Evanescence album Man they like them thick over at the Usenet. 192 or 256 versus the 128 on file sharing.
Being a musician myself, I kinda see both sides. Personally, I download music in the past because I didnt want to spend $15 on CD that sucked. Specifically CD's with only 1 or 2 good songs. Now I download music from bands that Im interested in, but havent heard their music. If I dig their ****, I will go out and buy the CD once I have heard some tracks. In this respect it helps bands get more exposure. If your friend says "check this out!", you can download a few songs and see if you likey too. I think the RIAA is realizing that the product they are selling us is 50% garbage, and consumers dont want to pay for crap. And the extremities they are going to to do so is completely and utterly ludicrous. WHY WASTE $$$ ON A CD YOU CANNOT LISTEN TO BEFORE YOU PURCHASE IT???
What good product are you talking about? Titney Spears, Backstreet Boyz, etc? The music industry is imploding on itself. They don't develop artists anymore. Look at most of the artists on the summer barn tours. They are from the 70s and 80s. The labels are pushing fewer artists for shorter periods of time. Everything is becoming increasely disposable.
