RIAA Keeps Heat On Music Downloaders

[Guest Grim Reaper]

Following through on its promise to relentlessly sue computer users it believes are illegally downloading music from the Internet, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed 41 more lawsuits against file-swappers.

The latest round of lawsuits brings to 382 the number of copyright infringement suits the RIAA has filed on the issue. RIAA President Cary Sherman claimed the lawsuits are effective and pledged to continue. “People who engage in illegal file sharing should be aware, whether or not they hear about it this month, that doesn't mean the enforcement program has been reduced in any way,” said Sherman. “If any thing it will be increased.”

The RIAA claims it is aiming its legal guns at users who make an average of 1,000 songs available for copying. The organization says it has negotiated many settlements averaging about $3,000 each with alleged violators.

While the RIAA steps up its policing effort, file-swapping opportunities--legal and illegal--seem to be multiplying in geometric progression. Many, if not most, online-music stores are legal, but there are no reliable statistics available on the music-downloading phenomenon.

In a recent survey of Internet music downloading, Washington Post writer Frank Ahrens concluded that many file-swappers using unauthorized downloading techniques will be impossible to stop. “The battle over online song trading is over,” Ahrens wrote, “the Internet has won. The music industry is grudgingly giving up on the idea that it can preserve the tightly controlled business practices that once made record companies and artists flush with cash.”

The RIAA, however, is continuing its part of the battle. It hopes to educate and convince users that they should download over legal Internet music stores like Napster, Musicmatch, and iTunes Music Store. Napster pioneered the music-swapping phenomenon and after it was driven out of business by recording-industry interests, has re-emerged as a legal online music store operated by Roxio Inc. Like many music stores, it offers downloaded songs at 99 cents each.

Another problem is the Internet's tradition of free access to free content. The RIAA said that a year ago, most Web users it surveyed didn't believe they were doing anything illegal when they downloaded music from free file-swapping services. A recent survey indicates that 64 percent of Internet users who download music now believe the action is illegal, said the RIAA, which cited the survey results as progress.

Techweb

[moon]

What are they going to do when good musicians start putting their work online for free ?

[grim_reefer]

the record companies will probably just suffer the consequences for tryna line their big filthy greedy pockets with all our hard earned money

they should know that nothing lasts forever

i dont agree with all this idea about copyrights anyway - my belief is once you own something - it is yours to do as you please with.. ok maybe mass distribution is a different thing - but still them record companies make enough money already and they dont have to work hard for it like us either

[Guest nellie2]

But where would we get the vast majority of our music if it weren't for record companies?

And what about the artists... they work hard. And what about all the other people who work for record companies... they work hard.

[grim_reefer]

true but they get more than they probably deserve

"some" artists work hard.... and producers, and talent-finders (forgot their proper name)... they deserve something for it ..... but once they "make it" they can have millions!!!!

but still its the record company makes the most money - the owners make the most money - the management make the most money - and most of them dont do anything except control where money goes.. its all the other people that do the work.. and they will still be making money, (only less)....... its just i cant see why everything has to have a price tag slapped on it - and then even rules or laws you have to obey once you own it! they would charge us to breathe if they could - people already own things such as every bit of land - even though nature made it and can take it away.... governments and people still "claim" ownership of these things nature gave us!!!! and they wanna tax us for every single money transaction we partake in - be it recieving or giving out money.... argh dont get me started on all this!!!! :o

and WE made music - but if we then own something we like and others like - they then wanna charge us just for sharing things like that - its a bit pathetic... if people were more for sharing and less about themselves in the first place then 95% of the worlds worth wouldnt be distributed between about 5% of the worlds people (statistics are just a guess - i did see the true figures once though)