A spokesdrone for the RIAA called the university's position "misguided"

While clenching a black-gloved fist uncontrollably, the red light next to his metal eye blinking furiously.

Die RIAA

I wish the RIAA would just die, there no helping the artists at all. Really all there doing is padding there own bottom line.

Recording Industry?

Being that I'm someone who actually works in the recording industry - meaning I actually "record" music - I see this all from an entirely different angle.

Let me first say that I'm appalled by the case and verdict that was brought against that woman for $222,000.

Nobody I personally know is anything but angy about how this unfolded. She wasn't someone who was using ultra high quality audio with album artwork and she wasn't profiting from the music. She should not have been targeted IMO.

I think most of your readers see it through the prism of; "the artist are rich enough, the company is rich enough so screw them..."

Most people see it this way but the vast majority of people who earn points and percentages get paid in very small amounts and don't live anything resembling the "rock star" life.

We work extremely long hard hours and have dedicated their lives to this art and the royalty checks we get are something that represents the appreciation of a lifetime in creating the best music we possibly can.

I worked harder and interned longer hours than any doctor just to get my foot in the door.

Certain albums, songs or projects licensed will net me $50 a month. Seems like nothing right? But those 15, 20 hour days (that it takes to complete a project, or, uh, "free download") add up over a career/lifetime. The majority of us get our pay in these type of $50-$150 per project small monthy checks.

If the song is licensed to a tv series, album sales, etc.. We're sometimes talking 10ths of percents. There is so much hardwork put into those songs by modestly living people with mouths to feed and kids that depend on us.

People just don't seem to understand how many people count on the accumulation of royalty checks. They see "MTV Cribs" and base their decision to take the music for free on that.

It kills me to look at these file servers where 10,000 songs are thrown around and downloaded by people.

I've even seen software and services where people charge or require you to do something to download my work.

People are using my work for their profit and I especially want them dealt with. "Share"? Well, ok... If you want to share set up a website and run a podcast. There is a difference between that and ultra high quality audio and the complete artwork coming in a zipped folder.

Please tell me these American College kids can't afford to pay $1 for a song when daddy and mommy dearest can buy them their Iphone to listen to their "free" music and their new Alienware lappy to run their "sharing" server on.

Like I said before, most of us in the industry hated to see the RIAA lawyers go after that woman.

That was inexcusable and embarrassing but I have little sympathy for someone who runs these "sharing" servers. I wouldn't mind if it was low quality mp3 (64 - 128 - even cassette tape) ok by me. Burn a cd for a friend - that's fine too. But people are running mass scale theft and distribution.

It's at high quality and why pay for it when you have the exact same copy that left the mastering room? Maybe someone can be open-minded enough to apply it to their own (hard) work - just imagine if your checks got smaller while your work became more used and available.

Forgive me if it's hard to shed a tear for mommy and daddy's little college kids and their "rights" to "share" my hard work "freely".

I've got to pay the electric bill, get a microphone back from the repair shop, test it, set it up and get the best possible vocal tracked and edited in the next 4 hours.

Then I have to mix all night so I have something quality to use to for noonish tomorrow when I have players coming in to finalize the violins, guitars and piano. I hope these "poor" students aren't too inconvenienced. I should have something new for them a.s.a.p. [Very eloquent, Ed. So why are we forced to suffer from DRM?]