The RIAA won a lawsuit yesterday against single mother Jammie Thomas, in the first trial held for peer-to-peer file sharing. This is not good news.
Twelve jurors in Minnesota decided unanimously that Thomas is liable for 24 recordings she shared over Kazaa, with the verdict totaling a ridiculous $222,000.
That's $9,250 per recording.
Six labels sued for infringement of 24 recordings, a sample of the 1,702 audio files they claimed Thomas shared over Kazaa just after 11pm Eastern time on Feb. 21, 2005. The recordings included titles by Janet Jackson, Richard Marx, Journey, No Doubt, Green Day, Sarah McLachlan and Godsmack.
On that night, SafeNet (the RIAA's electronic bloodhound) detected an individual using a specific IP address and the username tereastarr@kazaa to distribute 1,702 audio files in their "shared" folder. Charter Communications was identified as the ISP associated with the IP address.
After the labels filed a "John Doe" lawsuit for copyright infringement, Charter responded to a subpoena, identifying Thomas as the subscriber on that day in February. The labels claimed that Thomas also used the tereastarr username for multiple purposes for many years.
While Thomas denied that she was involved in any file sharing, the jury didn't buy it and awarded the verdict to the RIAA, finding that Thomas willfully infringed the labels' recordings.
Who wants to bet this isn't going to end any time soon?
At least the Swastikas indicate somebody else thinks the way I do about American policies. Come to Canada guys, our government knows this isn't illegal. These are worthless, reproduceable files. If it means "artists" will only be able to make money from live performances in the future, all the better, society has given musicians way too much money anyways. It's a stupid talent.
Maybe the artists who she supposedly caused harm to will step up and help her with paying the bill.
The RIAA has way too much power in this country.
many of these file sharing services and programs will allow you to turn off file sharing. However, some of them turn them back on in conjuntion with other options.
Also, MP3 files dowloaded are rarly of decent quality, They are darn good enough to see if I like them, Then I go out and and buy it.
But Alas, Much of what I like is not available.
anyone else like the Razormaid vertion of "twist in my sobriety" with Liza Minelli singing? Good luck finding that ANYPLACE.
to be fair, anyone distributing richard marx should be fined.
As a frequent visitor to the site and satellite radio investor, I think those swastikas are highly inappropriate, and very offensive. I would like to request that the graphic be removed.
Idiotic comment alert "If it means "artists" will only be able to make money from live performances in the future, all the better, society has given musicians way too much money anyways..."
So the compelling reason why many decided to go with satellite radio, prerecorded music without commercial interruption, has no value to the end user..? News to me.
are you kidding this is going to be the norm thanks to a poorly run defense by the FIRST case that should not have been the FIRST case to create a presidence since her case SUCKED ASS.
at 9k a song who needs any other profit means, this is a cash cow, wait till they get a hold of a billionare's kid who is sharing 2k songs......ca-ching
Austin, sorry to hear that you are offended by a little graphic. Does the Iron Cross bother you as well. Although it was a very bad time in history but it sucks how that horrible man changed the way we view (and definition of) the innocent symbol that once was the swastika.
FYI.. that symbol is still used in the chineese culture and has nothin g to do with the Nazis. its also an old Pagan Symbol as well as a Wicca symbol. However its usge some seem to indicate a group who persicites someone for no reasonalble reason and punishes them severly.... I feel the Swastica was used correctly.
Martin: "These are worthless, reproduceable files. If it means "artists" will only be able to make money from live performances in the future, all the better, society has given musicians way too much money anyways. It's a stupid talent."
This is the second time you have belittled musicians, and unfortunately, my earlier response did not take on the "site." If you think music is such a worthless commodity, than so is every book written by any author, since literature is all junk anyway, right? Any performance that is duplicable is worthless too, huh?
Pity we cannot stand in judgment of your contributions to society. Not all musicians are on the earnings level of a Mick Jagger or Beyonce. Many struggle and lead quite marginal lives. That part of the story is never told. And while the RIAA actions are despicable, so is stealing the earnings of others labors.
persicites??? WTF was I typing? Persecutes
You know what? Good. More power to them. Although the fine is absolutely incredibly inflated, its about time people learn that they cant do this type of thing. You know another reason Ipods have taken off? Sites like Napster (back in the day), Kazzaa etc.
Pay for your music people, jeez. If you dont pay now, pay much more later.
If you aren't making any money as a musician, then you really need to get a real job, ditto for authors. You have weekends and evenings to pursue your passion, actually, that's when concerts are held anyways because the people who go to the shows needs day jobs to pay for the tickets. There should never be a single starving artist because everyone is free to do what they want OUTSIDE of work hours. There's a large community of actors, musicians and writers who all want to feel special and are terribly afraid of real work. You (Max) are an idiot.
And anybody who downloads low quality MP3's should get a better torrents. The whole idea that this suit was over Kazaa is stupid since it was a horrible service. Long live the bit torrent!
I have Sirius, so I guess I'm supporting musicians for the first time ever, which is ironic as hell, because if my kid ever says he wants to do Music in college, I'm slapping the stupid out of him.
Well, Martin, it didn't take you long for you to call ME an idiot, and dumb down the conversation to a level more in keeping with your own intellect. Thanks- you have just paid me a compliment. There are a couple of minor flaws with your argument. Here's the first:
"If you aren't making any money as a musician, then you really need to get a real job, ditto for authors. "
I see. So stealing from them solves THAT problem, right? After all, if they can't make as much money as they "should" be, stealing from them makes great sense. And you're calling ME an "idiot." Many artists and authors do work second jobs and do toil for years before they can support themselves by their craft, if they ever make it.
Secondly: "You have weekends and evenings to pursue your passion, actually, that's when concerts are held anyways because the people who go to the shows needs day jobs to pay for the tickets. There should never be a single starving artist because everyone is free to do what they want OUTSIDE of work hours. There's a large community of actors, musicians and writers who all want to feel special and are terribly afraid of real work."
This truly moronic canard against musicians and artists proves what a neanderthal you are. I've actually tried being a professional musician, and if you think it doesn't amount to "work," you're nuts. I have a job that allows me to pursue my passion, and it has nothing to do with the music business, but even if it is my passion, and not the drudgery others have chosen, it is still the fruit of my labor- and goddamn it, someone's gonna get charged for it. That's how society works. You have no right to denigrate the labors of others to the point that you feel empowered enough to steal it. If you don't like or respect the product, then don't buy it. Stealing it is still a crime.
Let me tell you about an artist named Barney Kessel. One of the most respected and influential jazz guitar players in American music, he was crippled by a stroke later in his life and could no longer play. Later he passed away. Like most jazz musicians of his era, he lived from gig to gig, along with recording contracts and record sales. Those sales paid his living and that of his wife. Every time you download a Barney Kessel song from Kazaa, you are stealing from his widow. Kessels legacy isn't for a punk like you to steal. And some of us still, even in this era, know right from wrong.
Maybe Austin feels the RIAA is an embarrassment to the Nazi Party? I think dollar signs or the Communist hammer and sickle might be more appropriate. The Feds should RICO the RIAA and ASCAP. Greedy fools.
Look, the RIAA and its ilk are slimy scum, seemingly more interested in amassing money to distribute inequitably and fund their self-serving bureaucracy than in compensating musicians.
Regardless, kids, the law is on their side, and this case was legitimately decided. If you want to fileshare, be prepared for the consequences.
What I don't understand is why, for years, millions gladly paid $16 to $18 per album? When the CD era came along, I stuck with more reasonably priced LPs until they were no longer available. Then I stopped buying music for 2 years until used CD stores had a decent stock. I can count on one hand the number of CDs I've bought for over $10.
The market was there for obscenely expensive music. Granted, record companies colluded to keep prices high and to keep outfits like Tower and Best Buy from offering any discounts. Why they were never charged is a mystery, but it didn't seem to bother consumers.
Now, the digital cat is out of the bag, and no amount of lawsuits, successful or otherwise, will change that.
But this attitude that "music is free" is as absurd as that of "healthcare is a right." If someone's labor goes into creating it, it's not free.
If artists and record companies can't make a buck, they'll stop making music. With the crap that's been released in the past decade, that would be just fine with me. But some of you in your formative years right now, would miss music when it became scarce.
I find it impossible to garner any sympathy for the record industry or the RIAA. But the law is on their side, and if you want music to be around, that makes sense. Canada notwithstanding.
Austin go preach your PC ways somehwere else. Most people like SATRAD cause it is still somewhat the "wild west" anything goes attitude. Go listen to "Lite FM" to get your Matchbox 20 fix.
Both the RIAA and the NAB need to go suck themselves. I mean these guys are audio terrorists, terrorizing the consumer. It makes be want to download all my music off of Limewire. That way these retarded assholes don't get a dime of my hard earned money.
Good for the RIAA. If you want to steal music do so at your own risk. It's no different than breaking into a Best Buy & stealing a bunch af CD's or any other product for that matter. 9k per violation? Tough shit, that's your fine for being a thief. There are so many low cost ways to get music, listen to the fucking FM radio. Poor granny, I bet they go after her little granddaughter too and everyone will feel bad. I don't, they deserve what they get.
The American public are the idiots. If these record labels and their lobbying friends want to sue people for money over something stupid as this, then quit buying the freaking CD's. Let them sit on the store shelves! Yes, its that simple.
That is exactly how you deal with the low life RIAA and the NAB. If you want to hurt these loser organizations, take money out of their pocket. Get Sat Radio, and turn your am/fm off and quit buying CD's period.
Cool! I can't wait to cut 'n paste your Bushnell ONIX 400 review and shop it around as my own. Because according to you, there's no such thing as intellectual property when it comes to the internet.