Word of the Day: undecimal - in eleven parts
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RIAA lied to the US Congress
THE RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA lied to Congress when it said that it would stop pursuing individual file-sharers.
In April the RIAA told US lawmakers that it was not going to chase individual file-sharers any more and was going to stop dragging grannies, homeless people and kids into court using dodgy evidence obtained by methods that seemed to break some state laws.
According to Ray Beckerman, the lawyer who runs the Recording Industry vs. The People blog, the music labels had filed new cases in April.
Now it seems that the RIAA's pledge did not cover cases that were already in process as "John Doe" cases or where settlement letters had already gone out.
An RIAA spokesperson told Ars Technica that it was just being fair to all those people it sued before.
It said that it would be unfair to the thousands of individuals who took responsibility for their actions and settled their cases if others who stood up to the RIAA threats were let off the hook. µ
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According to RIAA 2008 Year-end Shipment Statistics;
The number of sold units have been steadily increasing since 2004 despite RIAA claims that piracy is causing ‘decline in sales’.
Consumers now preferring to purchase digital media instead of physical. And this places RIAA into an interesting situation that causes its members to question its relevance. After all, what exactly is RIAA doing if everything like royalties and sales can be tracked by the recording and media companies them self?
What we are seeing, is RIAA last attempts to prove that they are relevant in the same way that ice box manufacturers did when refrigerants were first introduced into mass production.
When Hollywood and the media elects a president... what do folks really expect? Do you think for a second Obama is going to tell Hollywood and the RIAA that this isn't the right thing to do after getting all the donation money and having many of these folks actively campaigning for him for close to 2 years? Where's the outrage over the ridiculous salaries in Hollywood and the impact that has on the average American via entertainment costs (and secondary impacts like electronic costs to support all the DRM and other crap). Funny there's no outrage over 'earning' $10-20mil for sometimes 4-6months of work...
This is one of those 'inconvenient truths' (much like the private plane travel by those hammering on the green movement). Principles in politics only exist until money changes hands or votes are needed for election / re-election. Democrat, Republican - it doesn't matter, power & money do not discriminate.
Oh and I really don't care what McCain would have done - Obama is the president and he's the one that needs to get the magnifying glass.
"" I agree with you a 100%. From what McCain purposed would have been far worse.
The RIAA/MPAA will not go away, everytime legit music/movie is sold they get funded. Its like trying to take out your electric company.
posted by : Nigel Preece, 07 May 2009 ""
Well lets be honest here,there is a serious social issue with americans and there pop culture.The reason the RIAA are succesfull is partly the peoples fault to begin with . If the majority of young adults and parents stop buy this so called MUSIC put out now a days by artists that are nothing more then RIAA drones then maybe the things woudl change. Unfortunetly just like REALITY TV americans LOVE this crap , they love continues music that is rehashed and re-done over and over by Girls and guys that CAN'T sing and they love watching Much Music videos of artists that sound terrible LIVE . So much so that they have to resort to LIP Singing......Britney ? you there ?
Anyways if people stop buying and listenning to music generated by the RIAA and company AND stop watching Crap like REALITY TV then things will change. Unfortunetly I don't think the Majority of Americans will ever change.
GEORGE CARLIN Said it Best .........
""
That’s what the owners count on, the fact that Americans will remain wilfully ignorant about the big red, white and blue dick that is being shoved up their ass every day. Because the owners know the truth. It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it. ""
I agree with you a 100%. From what McCain purposed would have been far worse.
The RIAA/MPAA will not go away, everytime legit music/movie is sold they get funded. Its like trying to take out your electric company.
This has nothing to do with voting and politics and has everything to do with a money-grubbing industry that somehow missed the paradigm shift in media distribution. In the UK, its still illegal (technically) to rip music to your computer and put it on your iPod because you're 'copying' it. That mindset is so obsolete that no one even bothers trying to stop people.
The RIAA situation is a bit different in that it is more about market forces and price-fixing. Let me explain. Suppose the music files were apples. For years, the only way to get these apples was to go to the grocer and buy them for 80p each: a little pricey, but people accepted it. Then someone started leaving baskets of apples in the park. It was illegal to take these apples (stolen property and all), but people did it anyways, because who wants to pay 80p for an apple when you can get it for free? The rub comes when instead of lowering the price of apples to discourage stealing (risk vs. benefit), the police try to keep people from leaving apples in the park.
I know it's not a perfect analogy, but it gets to the center of the issue: who is willing to pay 80p for something that is so easy to take for free (and arguably worth 80p in the first place)? Lower the cost, and it will no longer be worth the risk to steal.
In addition to that, a big reason the threats don't work is that they rapidly become preposterous. The RIAA says that I should pay 1000 times the cost of the song. That works for little Johnny that shares 10 songs, but what about Mr. Smith who has shared 500,000 songs (which is not that hard to do)? Is the RIAA really going to sue a private citizen for £500 million? That makes no sense. But if they only sue Mr. Smith for £500,000, will they only sue Johnny £10? That doesn't make sense either, as then the fine is the same as the cost.
It comes down to an issue of scale, and who the RIAA strategically sues. If it (continues) to only sue the small offenders, the fines continue to make sense. If it actually went after Pirate Bay or somesuch group, the RIAA would be exposed for how much of an arbitrary sham the whole thing is.
we didn't, I voted against the republicans because if McCain was elected this would be far worse. I would rather the RIAA in office and use peer guardian than have McCain charging me $5000 a year for shotty health care on our taxes that is mandatory. Our country would be far worse with the other option and people don't consider that when they talk about Biden.
Who will go after the music maffia? The sole and only reason obama hasn't been assasinated yet is because of the puppet waiting in the shadows.
It would be great if an incredibly fortuitous earthquake were to hit LA, causing no loss of life, but the complete destruction of Hollywood and the bulk of the record industry! Just imagine, no more bad romantic comedies and no more crappy pop music.
Seriously, though...anyone else notice that all of the music that's been coming out over the last few years are just like remixes of the same two songs?! They're either gonna pop a cap in yo ass or get freaky wit day boo :)
LOL, You hit the nail on the head. Its so sad to see that Hollywood has more clout in the world than any government, because that's when the people get screwed. Money talks.
America, you vote for this, now bend over!