Artists can't work for free anymore *sobs*...lets up the penalty to death.

We live in a horrible time and age where information is so easily distributed. Let's fight the change and punish the people...kill two birds with one stone so to speak.

Or...maybe artists can do what their good at and get paid for original art. Nah, that just doesn't make any sense. It definitely doesn't fit into the recording industry's current business structure.

Irony is that the recording industry is the ones that cashed in on the idea of copying art to make more money than just live performances and turned humble performers into these iconic money makers which they were never meant to be.

Let's extend this logic into other areas since it makes so much sense...besides we need more laws

Let’s punish people for taking pictures of paintings (especially if they put them on-line, what a sin)...You could assume that each person that views the picture would have bought the painting so I'm sure the penalties will add up nicely. It surely cuts into the crying and suffering artist's print sales.

But pictures aren't the same!!! Yeah, well, neither are those MP3's. Ok, maybe only punish high quality pictures of prints? Eh, wait...they don't seem to care much about quality with the MP3 trials so I guess that's irrelevant here too.

Let’s punish people for videotaping dancers...could make Youtube and cut into the ratings of some of today's popular dance shows. How about copying dance moves? That one may be harder to catch but we can at least bring a few criminals to trial by randomly auditing the dance clubs. Besides people wouldn't want to pay to see you dance if they already have seen the moves at a club.

How about pottery? My brother was really into pottery so this one needs to be punished severely because I love him so much <3

I hate to tell ya but artists can't afford to work for free any more than other folks. If you think all art should be free then you probably have no problem working for free for your employer because you love them?

Or were you just snorting before you replied?

maybe he should have to pay retial price of $1 per song.

Legal cost 1 billion, damages $30 bucks and an apologie to the artist :)

... the thieves should be paying like everybody else and thereby not be judged a criminal. Or not pay the outrageous prices and go out and get a real life.

Pay up pommy.

True art is self-less creativity, it is a two way relationship of love between the artist and audience. Then comes greed, distorted art for financial gain, and just like in the case of prostitution, those who rip the benefits are the pimps, the middle men who contribute and create nothing, who exploit the artists and the public. Those who bribe their way to distort the legal system to suit their interests. No wonder that so many people share music and other creative works. These are meant to be shared, this is the only original and true relationship between the artists and their audience. The real crime is the greedy distortion of this natural state.
It is so unfortunate that the MPAA (Media Pimps Association....) and similar organisations managed to bribe their way and cause harm to random victims like Joel Tennenbaum.

Why would artist support theft of their artistic works? Obviously if the work wasn't worth stealing then pirates wouldn't steal it. I'd suggest that all pirates be jailed for a minimum of six months and pay at least the $10K per copy fine plus all costs of prosecution and incarceration. No one has a right to steal copyright protected works regardless of how much crack they are on.

Quit dealing with corporate bullies that use terrorist tactics to destroy the lives of a "chosen few" in an attempt to strike fear into the public.

The artists could either distribute directly (cut out these fat-cats who are abusing their fans), or let the recording companies know from the start that they will only sign a recording contract if they agree never to prosecute any fan for sampling one of their songs by downloading it.

Artists who turn a blind eye while their fans are abused by these maniacs are really no better than the MAFIAA themselves (I believe Avril Lavigne has stated that she wants nothing to do with any of these forms of fan-abuse...a good example for the rest of the recording artists).

...up the price to $50,000 per title for wasting the courts time?

My point was, as many cases as they have 'won' (so far) is the same as the number of cases they have (effectively) lost. They are the party that can give up, after all. If they gave up, it's because they knew they weren't going to win, usually because the evidence is flawed, incomplete or plain wrong. Just as a defendant can hold their hands up and say "guilty, m'lud", "dismissal with prejudice"(DwP) is the plantiff's version, a certification that they knew the defendant was not guilty.

There are two reasons why you'd go for DwP over risking the trial
1) DwP carries a tiny fraction of the publicity of a trial
2) it does not lead to any adverse case history.

DwP is basically an admission that a trial would be a loss, hence my statement. Dismissal without prejudice, however, means they can refile the suit at a later date, thats the way you go if theres a problem with a otherwise strong case.

@ Andrew - It's not a 'kind of/kind of not' situation. Going to court is not the same as going to trial, the article (for once lol) is correct.

"and so far only two of those cases have been brought to trial. Both of the defendants have lost."
They're the only cases to have gone all the way to a jury, but not the only cases to have gone to court.

Let's not forget Anderson and Foster. In both those cases, the RIAA dropped it "with prejudice" - meaning they accept they were wrong, and are unable to bring the case again.

Foster had an award of over $68,000 in costs and fees for the RIAA to pay, while in the Anderson case, the RIAA handed over a cheque for $107,834, likewise in costs and fees.

Those two are the only two cases to have gone to court involving a filesharer and be fully settled and final. Neither Tenenbaum or Thomas are even close, as there is still appeal, and SCOTUS rounds possible - even without this expected filing in Tenenbaum (Thomas' lawyers filed hers July 6th, just before Tenenbaum's case started in court)

Andrew Norton
ktetch.wordpress.com