RIAA Gets a smack in face

[n2skdvn 0]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/19/music.download.reut/index.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- In a surprise setback for the recording industry, a U.S. appeals court said Friday its methods for tracking down those who copy its music over the Internet are not authorized by law.

The Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group, has sought to force Verizon Communications and other Internet service providers to reveal the names of customers it suspects may be copying music without permission.

The recording industry says the widespread copying of music over the Internet is partially to blame for falling CD sales.

Verizon has argued that existing copyright law does not give the recording industry such authority and its customers' privacy was being violated.

A lower court earlier this year upheld the recording industry's tactics, which have served as the basis for hundreds of lawsuits filed against individual Internet users.

But in a strongly worded ruling, the appeals court sided with Verizon, saying a 1998 copyright law does not give copyright holders the ability to subpoena customer names from Internet providers without filing a formal lawsuit.

"In sum, we agree with Verizon that (the law) does not by its terms authorize the subpoenas issued here," Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote.

Neither Verizon nor the RIAA was immediately available for comment.

if my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR = EVERLASTING FUN
my site

[diverdriver 6]

Quote

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/19/music.download.reut/index.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- In a surprise setback for the recording industry, a U.S. appeals court said Friday its methods for tracking down those who copy its music over the Internet are not authorized by law.

The Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group, has sought to force Verizon Communications and other Internet service providers to reveal the names of customers it suspects may be copying music without permission.

The recording industry says the widespread copying of music over the Internet is partially to blame for falling CD sales.

Verizon has argued that existing copyright law does not give the recording industry such authority and its customers' privacy was being violated.

A lower court earlier this year upheld the recording industry's tactics, which have served as the basis for hundreds of lawsuits filed against individual Internet users.

But in a strongly worded ruling, the appeals court sided with Verizon, saying a 1998 copyright law does not give copyright holders the ability to subpoena customer names from Internet providers without filing a formal lawsuit.

"In sum, we agree with Verizon that (the law) does not by its terms authorize the subpoenas issued here," Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote.

Neither Verizon nor the RIAA was immediately available for comment.

Maybe the cost of their f'n CDs is to blame for their dropping sales! Sheeesh....I hardly buy anything anymore. 20 bucks a crack! Do they know how many jumps I can get for the price of just 5 CDs?!!! Idiots!!!

[PhillyKev 0]

Quote

20 bucks a crack! Do they know how many jumps I can get for the price of just 5 CDs?!!! Idiots!!!

Ohhhhh, ooooohhhh.......5?

[dbattman 0]

The RIAA is partly correct here, IMHO. Sharing music files over the internet has resulted in lower revenues for the industry. And why has this happened?

Consumers are no longer forced to buy 40 minutes of CRAP for one good cut. The other reason for the falling sales revenue is the refusal of the RIAA to adapt to and embrace new technology. Apple has sold over 25 million songs on it's online music store. For $15 a month, you can download all you want from emusic.com. Will you find Britney Spears here? No, but you will find lots of other great artists that have not been handcuffed by a recording contract.

Would I pay $1 to download an Evenescence song I like or the only good Metallica track to be recorded in the last five years? Absolutley, but no one wants to take my money without the other $19 attached.

[diverdriver 6]

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

[eeneR 3]

Well that depends Would have been 7 for me this past year!

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

[TribalTalon 0]

lol thats great.. i actually went to the CD store for the first time in 2 years a few weeks ago, i figured i'd buy a godsmack cd and linkin park cd to support the band, plus i was having a hard time finding good copies of the songs on kazaa.. 20 dollars!!!!!!! friggin insane. RIAA can blow me, i'm gonna keep on downloading songs. for FREE, suckers.

[champu 1]

has anyone else played with Napster 2, there's a free three day trial of their "premium service" which otherwise goes for ten bucks a month. You can download any song in their collection and listen to it on your computer and when you want to burn a cd or put it on a portable device it's the $1/song, $10/album bit that apple has been using.

Kinda an interesting idea, and they have a pretty decent collection, but none of the stores strike my fancy. I have an mp3 player in my car and the stores all use crazy .wma and .aac to impliment DRM crap. I couldn't use the files where I want to even if I bought them.

/edit: hi, I suck at markup

[Guest]

Quote

The RIAA is partly correct here, IMHO. Sharing music files over the internet has resulted in lower revenues for the industry. And why has this happened?

Consumers are no longer forced to buy 40 minutes of CRAP for one good cut. The other reason for the falling sales revenue is the refusal of the RIAA to adapt to and embrace new technology. Apple has sold over 25 million songs on it's online music store. For $15 a month, you can download all you want from emusic.com. Will you find Britney Spears here? No, but you will find lots of other great artists that have not been handcuffed by a recording contract.

Would I pay $1 to download an Evenescence song I like or the only good Metallica track to be recorded in the last five years? Absolutley, but no one wants to take my money without the other $19 attached.

All well and good, but the Apple plan comes with lots of strings attached.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has some proposals for ways of keeping the RIAA from abusing the law while at the same time providing just compensation to artists.

For the RIAA, it isn't about the artists, and it isn't about the file-sharing. It's about their monopoly and how it's dying.

mh

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[AggieDave 6]

That's awsome! Maybe if 90% of mainstream music wasn't a crock of shit, CD sells would be higher.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Kramer 0]

Quote

That's awsome! Maybe if 90% of mainstream music wasn't a crock of shit, CD sells would be higher.

Amen to that.

Last CD I deemed worthy of purchasing was Josh Groban's CD last year....I'm a bastard and ended up downloading it instead...but that's neither here nor there.

-Kramer

The FAKE KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!!!!!!!!!

[n2skdvn 0]

well i recently wen to a cd store looked at the 20$ cd ant thought " i buy dvd's for 15$" and they are the latest releses at that!!!

if my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR = EVERLASTING FUN
my site

[skymedic 0]

Quote

RIAA can blow me, i'm gonna keep on downloading songs. for FREE, suckers

wrong......your gonna keep on STEALING songs..for free...and keeping the prices high for people like me that actualy buy there CD's and believe it is moraly wrong to steal.

Marc
otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman....

[skymedic 0]

Quote

I have an mp3 player in my car and the stores all use crazy .wma and .aac to impliment DRM crap. I couldn't use the files where I want to even if I bought them.

There is a work around to this...burn the tracks to an audio cd...then rip them into your MP3 encoder...it works. apple doesnt want you to know that...but is does.

Marc
otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman....

[DJatLarge 0]

INTERNET MUSIC PIRATES OF THE WORLD UNITE!!!

ARRRRRRRRR!!!

[gulaz 1]

Quote

There is a work around to this...burn the tracks to an audio cd...then rip them into your MP3 encoder...it works. apple doesnt want you to know that...but is does.

You dont even hafta do that, just do a search on google or download.com and you can find a utility to convert.

[dove 0]

I thought most artists made the bulk of their $ off of royalties from radio as well as all the other endorsement deals and concerts. It can't be as bad as they say or ALL the musicians would be freaking out. Whereas I have heard many say that it doesn't bug them that much. Hmmmmmm.....

Anyhow, I just wish I wasn't such a chickenshit. I SOOOOO miss downloading stuff. I didn't download a lot at all. Just maybe a song here or there that I really liked. But I just couldn't affort a several thousand dollar law suit. NOt only are CDs too expensive but they usually have only 1 or 2 good songs on them!

Fall in dove.

[jumpinjackflash 0]

Hey Dove, I just signed up for "Rhapsody" on the Real.com network...

Pretty cool so far, subscription based, can listen to most anything online, download and burn a song for 79 cents a piece...

Which is way cool since you don't have to take the entire cd... I downloaded some Pink (oh my god is an unbelievable song, try it), Etheridge, and Fiona Apple last night...

Too cool so far, give it a shot.



Jack

It's a gas, gas, gas...

[AndyMan 7]

Dove, make sure to check out:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/

and

http://musicdownloads.walmart.com/

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[NeedToJump 0]

Quote

I thought most artists made the bulk of their $ off of royalties from radio as well as all the other endorsement deals and concerts.

When music was the main source of my income it was mostly from live performances and then studio recordings. I have made less than $500 total from royalties from CD sales. I have never recorded a CD under under my own name but have been on a bunch of other people's.

The free music sharing has never bugged me all that much but I do know a lot of people who are very against it. It definitely has hurt some musicians, but not nearly as much or to the extent that the RIAA would like everyone to think.

Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com