Merry Christmas From The RIAA

Internet News
December 15, 2005
By Roy Mark


The music industry dropped 751 copyright-infringement lawsuits in the mail today, bringing the total number of legal actions this year against alleged peer-to-peer (P2P) infringers to more than 7,000.

The John Doe lawsuits filed Thursday cite individuals for illegally distributing copyrighted music on the Internet through P2P services, such as LimeWire and Kazaa. In addition to the John Doe suits, the major music labels also filed lawsuits against 105 named defendants.

"At stake is the music industry's ability to invest in the next generation of music and a chance for legal online music services to flourish," Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), said in a statement.

The latest batch of RIAA lawsuits comes a day after market research firm NPD Group issued numbers claiming illegal downloads have fallen 11 percent since the Supreme Court ruled in June that Grokster and other P2P companies were operating illegal businesses.

Those numbers, however, were disputed by Eric Garland, CEO of media measurement firm BigChampagne.

"In fact, in every month since Grokster, P2P activity is actually higher than it was in May/June, or at any other point," he said in an e-mail to internetnews.com.

Whether the amount of illegal P2P downloading is up or down, the RIAA pledged to continue its lawsuits.

"We must do everything to protect the integrity of the marketplace. That means educating fans about steering clear of pirated products and continuing to enforce our rights to send a clear message that stealing music will bring consequences," Sherman said.

The John Doe lawsuits included students at Drexel University, Harvard and the University of Southern California.

"...continuing to enforce our rights to send a clear message that stealing music will bring consequences," Sherman said."

Enforcing rights and sending a message filled with incorrect logic and statements are two different things though...

P.S: Copyright infringement is copying. ^_^

"We must do everything to protect the integrity of the marketplace. "

Which is one of the main reasons we Boycott.

...Whether the amount of illegal P2P downloading is up or down, the RIAA pledged to continue its lawsuits....

Going to be interesting to see who can hold out the longest...the riaa or the milliions of downloaders around the entire planet.

Bottom line: The RIAA continues its indirect assault on the rights of independent musicans. This is its undisclosed agenda, that no mainstream news media touches on.

Boycott!!! Shit, we can see that's helping.

Mroop, Leflaw when are you guys going to represent one of these victims???

Or maybe we should ask why we never see any of your postings on threads like this?

"We must do everything to protect the integrity of the marketplace. "

Why don't you start by getting Sony's CDs off the shelves?

I'm thinking that someone has one of those flashing memory erasers from "Men in Black" and Cary gets zapped at least twice a week.

"Mroop, Leflaw when are you guys going to represent one of these victims?"

Better still, why are the legal minds involved not assembling to take legal action on behalf of the American people as a whole who are being victimized by unconstitutional laws and laws that are deliberately skewed to look after the interests of big business, while at the same instant making every average citizen a criminal for just going about everyday activities that they have no reason to think should place them in jeopardy?

The RIAA aside, laws that contravene our constitutional rights and diminish our quality of life ought to be the concern of some significant legal force. (ACLU?) And if it isn’t, we should be putting one together and stocking it with enough funding and support to enable it to police the government and the corporations when they get out of line.

This site has been around for a few years now, and the anti-RIAA movement seems as ill organized, ineffective and invisible to the general public as ever.

Where are the infomercials designed to educate people about why laws like the DMCA are bad? Or why buying Sony products compromises the security of the entire world?

Did I miss it? Have we held the first anti-RIAA convention yet? Have the comments collected on this site that express the fears, concerns and dangers to the American people been collected and assembled into a document that can be presented to congress? And have we marched on the capitol to make them sit up and take notice?

I hate to say this, but I’ve not seen one anti-RIAA bumper sticker. Never met anyone else in the course of my real world (outside the net) life who even knew something called the RIAA existed or that Sony was doing anything unusual with its CD’s. Let alone what a DMCA was, until I told them. And even then they didn’t care, because they assumed something they were only hearing about from one person couldn’t be all that much of a threat.

Geez, is this a movement for social change or just a gripe site? We need to organize. We need to get off the computers and out into the streets, big time, not just a little bit here and there. And with this Rootkit thing happening there’ll never be a better time.

We must get visible and demand criminal prosecution for Sony, or demand that their getting off invalidates the laws that others have been put in jail for. We must make it clear that no double standards will be tolerated in America.

The first thing we must do is start a serious awareness campaign. (Billboards, Yahoo ad banners, TV spots, music magazine ads, etc) To do this we need to start a fund that members can contribute to to support the campaign. (Which is as easy as setting up a Paypal account) Then we need to start acting on the hundreds of good ideas for positive action that have been posted on this site.

Have we encouraged the independent bands and musicians we support to write and record protest songs that we can use as anthems? Have we held an independent artists festival to raise funds for the anti-RIAA movement and gain attention for the cause, as well as exposure for the artists?

Why can’t we have our own team to go around to colleges and educate students to the evils and dangers of supporting unscrupulous mega conglomerates like the RIAA? Why aren’t we picketing TV news establishments to demand coverage? Why don’t we have local chapters wearing anti-RIAA T-shirts hanging out in every record store in America everyday and passing out fliers to educate the common people.

It seems to me that this is at the same time America’s most important historical battle to preserve its freedom, and one of the least committed efforts history has ever recorded. The only people who really know what’s going on are people who merely sit behind computer screens and type, not knowing how they can do anything effective to help and/or hoping somebody else will fix this mess for them.

The few people who attempt to take action are splintered into small ineffective pockets of resistance, which of themselves can do no more than annoyingly nibble at the feet of giants. The only way anything can be accomplished is if, any time one part of this rebellion moves, all other aspects move with it in united effort, surrounding the giants on all sides and working in concert to topple them.

But none of this will happen until a charismatic leader arises for this movement whom the people can get behind and be motivated by. Who speaks for all of us the way Carry Sherman speaks for the RIAA labels and affiliates? Darn it, we need leadership. Let’s nominate some likely candidates and hold an election.

One thing I have to say is that we spend far too much time debating the law here. This isn’t really about what is legal, because we all know that the laws we have now are hopelessly corrupt. If we’re going to change anything, we need to be creating an ever expanding atmosphere of public outrage that will eventually compel the laws to be changed. The people of this country must be made to know how they’ve been screwed and how the screwing is only going to get worse in the future if we don’t stand up to reclaim our rights now.

Sorry to be critical, but after all this time I just have to ask, doesn’t anybody around here know how to run a revolution?

"The only way anything can be accomplished is if, any time one part of this rebellion moves, all other aspects move with it in united effort"

All of the aspects have conflicting goals. They cannot move in a united effort.

One group wants to boycott the RIAA, hence the name. This means don't buy, don't share, don't download.

One group wants to flood p2p with RIAA music.
Another wants to change the copyright laws.
Some want to see the antitrust laws enforced.
Some want to ignore the laws and want to make a public display of outrage.

"Who speaks for all of us the way Carry Sherman speaks for the RIAA labels and affiliates?"

You mean lying? Or a million dollar a year paycheck? Or buying politicians? You obviously haven't seen the site's income statements.

"doesn’t anybody around here know how to run a revolution?"

Actually, yes. It involves the soldiers in the field, in this case, musicians. I want to save the next generation of musicians and singers from the same unethical financial "deals" that the last five generations of "stars" have been forced to endure.

If the RIAA members all stopped the lawsuits and waved the white flag on DRM tomorrow, would you have anything left to revolt against?

If not, you don't even understand why the rest of us are here. Do we have to wait until you're done so that we can get back to the real problem?

Because p2p and DRM ain't it. When your problem goes away, you won't worry about ours anymore.

“All of the aspects have conflicting goals. They cannot move in a united effort.”

In any time of crisis like this, you have divisions. You have people with selfish interests pushing their own agendas. But before positive change can happen, all camps must unite on attacking the most pivotal issues threatening their rights and security. In this case it seems pretty obvious that the key to this whole threat is the DMCA and the willingness to let such a law exist and be enforced against common citizens, which will be the downfall of our entire society.

If all concerned factions unite on taking a stand to get that law repealed, we will not only have deprived our enemies of their main source of ammunition, we will have established the precedent that, even in the 21st century, the people will rise up to make the force of their will felt, and the downward spiral into complacency that made the DMCA possible in the first place may be halted.

No single aspect has the power to accomplish anything on its own. If we will not unite on doing the right thing, regardless of what our main personal interests may be, then none of us can accomplish anything, and by 2010 it will be 1984’sville for all of us. And we will all be just as much to blame as the RIAA.

“You mean lying? Or a million dollar a year paycheck?”

No. As in being a single centralized figure through whom the entire movement may speak. Every successful movement in history has had such a figure.

“Actually, yes. It involves the soldiers in the field, in this case, musicians. I want to save the next generation of musicians and singers from the same unethical financial "deals" that the last five generations of "stars" have been forced to endure.”

That’s a rather pointless battle. Nobody was ever compelled at gunpoint to sign their deal with the devil. Just like I was explaining to some musicians a while back. I told them in no uncertain terms how little profit they’d make, how they’d lose ownership of their own work, and how in the end they’d probably end up owing money to the record companies. I even showed them countless clips of musicians telling their sob stories of RIAA abuse. Then I showed them how easy it would be to self publish on the net and keep every cent of profit for themselves. And you know what? They still wanted to sign with RIAA.

I’m really getting tired of hearing how RIAA musician’s are victimized. They all knew who that man with the big cigar was before they signed. Rock musicians have been singing about him since the 50’s. It’s no secret. They all knew what they were getting into.

I don’t want to be asked to feel sympathy for any RIAA musician who hasn’t openly voiced contempt for what the music industry is trying to do to the fans. Until they do they are card carrying members of the RIAA, and thus the enemies of American freedom and liberty. Nor will I have any sympathy for any musicians who sign with them in the future.

Current RIAA musicians and future RIAA musicians are in no way grateful for your effort. They will stand against you and condemn you. People who would sell their souls for 5 lousy minutes of fame simply can not be saved.

“If the RIAA members all stopped the lawsuits and waved the white flag on DRM tomorrow, would you have anything left to revolt against?”

No action on the part of the RIAA will solve anything. If they did a total about face and made nici-nice with us tomorrow, the laws would still be in place for Microsoft or any other corporate force to screw us over worse than the RIAA ever attempted. The bad laws and the people pushing them are the heart of the problem. If you don’t stab at the heart of the beast it won’t die, and it’s sure to come back to bite you eventually.

“Because p2p and DRM ain't it. When your problem goes away, you won't worry about ours anymore.”

P2P and DRM aren’t exactly what I would call “My problem.” I don’t use P2P, and DRM does not effect any of my normal activities. I’m not even eligible to acquire the Sony Rootkit, as I don’t buy their CD’s.

By your problem I guess you mean bad RIAA deals. (If you mean some other problem you should clarify it.) All you have to do to make that problem go away is not sign with them. If you’re dumb enough to sign with them, you deserve what you get. There will never on this Earth be any such thing as selling yourself into service to a major corporation resulting in anything less than pure exploitation. What is needed is for musicians to learn to do without them. Self marketing is the way to go. At least while you still have a right to it.

What I would regard as “My problem” isn’t about copying. To me this is an issue about personal, national and world wide security, and also a matter of the blatant disregard of the nation for the people and by the people which I was raised to believe in being sold out to totalitarian business dictators - all of which is being forced through on this stupid, unwinnable war to protect CD’s from being copied.

The clock is running down. We’ve not much time left to save our freedom. We do not have time to be divided or to let petty squabbles delay our action. If you want your rights, fight for them now. If you don’t want them you have nothing to worry about. Just settle back and be absorbed into an era where your entire life will be controlled and you will have a say in nothing.

Who knows? If Americans are that into apathy, maybe this is exactly what we deserve.

"I’m really getting tired of hearing how RIAA musician’s are victimized. They all knew who that man with the big cigar was before they signed. Rock musicians have been singing about him since the 50’s. It’s no secret."

"All you have to do to make that problem go away is not sign with them. If you’re dumb enough to sign with them, you deserve what you get."

"Current RIAA musicians and future RIAA musicians are in no way grateful for your effort. They will stand against you and condemn you. People who would sell their souls for 5 lousy minutes of fame simply can not be saved."

"What is needed is for musicians to learn to do without them. Self marketing is the way to go. At least while you still have a right to it."

All of the things that you are annoyed about in your perceived threat to national security are simply the result of the RIAA members making sure the marketplace is an exclusive club that they own. Most musicians are stupid enough to go that route because there is no viable alternative. The RIAA owns the entire "legitimate" marketplace. You can't win if you don't play and they're the only ones offering lottery tickets.

Yeah, it's been going on since before the 50s, through every threat to national security, world peace and freedom, through every political administration, every "get tough on crime" approach, every "clean up corruption" campaign, every brief national attention period involving ethics, moral values or accounting fraud. For liberals and conservatives alike, there's always a much, much more important problem to solve. If the musicians are stupid enough to sign, well, that's their problem. No one held a gun to their head.

The revolution I'm looking for involves offering an incentive -- both financially and artisticly -- for creating music if you have enough intelligence or integrity not to enter into an agreement with the liars, crooks and thieves that currently populate the "recording industry."

Your revolution will be over and I'll still be waiting for someone to give a shit about mine. Talk about apathy -- you not only don't care, you don't want to hear about it. It's just those stupid musicians. Who needs them? A pointless waste of time and effort.

Thanks for all your help and unity over the musician aspect. After such a display of respect and concern, what exactly is it you expect us to do for you? Please use small words. We're not very smart.

"Most musicians are stupid enough to go that route because there is no viable alternative. The RIAA owns the entire "legitimate" marketplace. You can't win if you don't play and they're the only ones offering lottery tickets."

That's so true, and the root of the problem. But today, there ARE other alternatives. Haven't David Bowie and Prince somewhat proved that by making music available to the world via the internet? Yet, musicians keep on signing their music away for that elusive 15minutes of fame. While I agree, the musicians have not had any other choice for a long time, now that there is one, why are so many so reluctant to use it?

I'm just thinking out loud, of course, and don't expect to see any real answers to these questions. I'm just amazed at how so many musicians can sit by and watch their own record label through their representative, the RIAA, sue its current and potential customers, and not get more pissed off about it than they have. Some have even sided with their record label over this, calling us music fans "theives". If more musicians would wake up and see the RIAA for what they are, like you have gdZiemann, maybe then SOMETHING could be done to make things better. As long as someone is willing to sign on the dotted line without making changes, nothing will change.l

“The RIAA owns the entire "legitimate" marketplace. You can't win if you don't play and they're the only ones offering lottery tickets.”

Actually, in this day and age you can write your own ticket, if you have the talent. If you are just mediocre or a downright no talent act, then you really need the RIAA machine to push you in the face of the public and convince them that they want to waste money on you. Otherwise, it’s in your best interest as a musician to get the training in self production, produce your own CD’s, market them yourself, recoup your own expenses and take the rest as profit for yourself.

This is the whole attraction of the RIAA. Musicians think they’re going to do something for them that they can’t do themselves, or that the RIAA isn’t going to force them to pay for the expenses. When really, all you need is a computer and you have everything you need to self publish. And, since the RIAA would make you pay for it anyway, just rent your own studio time. Or better still, build your own recording studio and finance your music by renting it out to others.

In the 21st century, I haven’t seen anyone come out of the RIAA but no talent wanna-be’s, filtered, edited and augmented to masquerade as real talent. Serious musicians are being avoided by the RIAA like the plague. If you’re a musician or band of any significance at all, the RIAA isn’t going to be of much help to you.

Eventually this will result in all serious new music coming from other sources. And once those sources organize into an attractive alternative anti music establishment underground, things will be better for musicians all around.

So, I really don’t see what you are referring to as “Your cause that I don’t care about.” Unless you are insisting that no talent RIAA acts have some right to be more than the prefabricated product the RIAA makes out of them. Or that I should care what happens to people who deliberately sign bad contracts after they’ve been warned repeatedly how they’ll be screwed if they do. Why should I care just because people got the screwing that they bent over and begged for?

Any real musician who cared about his or her music in this day and age would never sign the rights to their own art away to a corporation. Why would you do that? You created it. Why should you reap 10% of the profit when you did the work? That’s just plain stupid. Why would any serious artist let a label dictate what they will play, how they will play it, and whether it will be released or put in a vault, never to be heard by anyone? Sorry, I just don’t see anything to feel sympathy for here.

Now, if you’re an independent, self-marketing musician, and the RIAA is doing things to infringe on your rights to self-promotion, then there is cause for sympathy. Otherwise, I don’t see your point.

Are you saying you want to see the RIAA compelled to give its poor excuses for musicians better deals? That’s like saying you want to compel your boss at McDonald’s to give you a raise. People choose who they want to work for. And if you don’t like the deal one employer offers you look for another.

The RIAA is the worst employer in the music business to work for. They don’t even pay minimum wage. It’s the only job I know of where you can end up owing your boss after working your butt off for three years. Musically speaking, in this day and age if you work for the RIAA you are lower on the artistic status scale than the fast food burger flipper is on the social status scale. Serious musicians don’t regard you with any respect.

Even old timers like Neil Diamond and Santana, look what they do to them. They bust their butts to make good music and the record company poisons them with computer devastating DRM. Why in the world would any serious musician put up with such non-sense? It surely can’t be considered good for the music.

"Haven't David Bowie and Prince somewhat proved that by making music available to the world via the internet?"

The RIAA still manufactures and distributes their product. They are still dealing with the devil. All they've proven is that even so-called rock stars can't do it themselves without Mr. Cigar getting his hands on their money first.

" Now, if you’re an independent, self-marketing musician, and the RIAA is doing things to infringe on your rights to self-promotion, then there is cause for sympathy"

If???? IF???

Save your sympathy for the devil. The pirates are stealing his stuff. I hope they take it all.

“Save your sympathy for the devil. The pirates are stealing his stuff. I hope they take it all.”

Don’t steal from the devil RIAA man. His stuff is poison to your mind and your soul, not to mention hazardous to your freedom. Being a pirate is dumb. Basically it is stealing crap and feeding it to brain dead junkies. Intelligent people can surely find something better to do with their time.

Formerly I cared more about protecting the right to free P2P, because it had so many wonderful potential uses. But reality has since set in that it really is used mainly as a big promotional tool for the latest RIAA trash. People insisted on abusing it and hurting all those who wanted to use it for better things. The whole situation is wrong all the way around.

Trading in RIAA pop hits of the modern day (legally or illegally) is like collecting trash out of a huge toxic refuse bin. To anyone who’s hooked on the junk the RIAA pushes today I say leave that stuff on the garbage heap where it belongs and get a life.

Another 751 lawsuits

Let's see how that equates to lost sales
(using the tried and proven RIAA calculations, of course)

Each set of parents are capable of having at least 3 children.

(+4) dead or alive grandparents (wife and husband side)
(+6) three sets of parents
(+9) each set of parents with three children

That comes out to 19 lost sales per lawsuit.

Multiplied times 751 lawsuits, that's a total of 14,269 lost sales.
(And that's only for this last batch of lawsuits)

Now, for the news media's point of view ...
7,000 total lawsuits times 19 lost sales each = 133,000 alleged infringers.
At a cost of $15 per CD, the news media would report this loss at $ 2,000,000.

I notice that each batch gets slightly less attention than the last. The first one produced a noticeable short-term reduction in p2p users and traffic. The second one less so. The third almost nothing.

To maintain the same level of fear, the progression would have to be geometric. It would be easy for the RIAA to create a self-sustaining suing machine - the vast majority of users settle, so legal costs are low. But that would destroy whats left of their reputation, and probably collapse the legal infrastructure under the load.

otech, I think you and gdZiemann actually both "get it"

(...what I don't "get" is what it is exactly you are fussing at each other about.)

But since you are BOTH bringing up great points that I am glad to have our visitors read, I'm not gonna knock it! Please feel free to continue!