Boycott-RIAA is hitting the news internationally with its 'Stop the RIAA DEAD' stance.

Print and electronic media outlets around the world are picking up on its August 1 & 2 campaign to take the protest to the streets across America.

In Britain, "As the pigopolists' lobby group, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), prepares to sue thousands of individuals, organizations such as Boycott-RIAA.com, the EFF and P2P company Grokster have mapped out a course of action to try and convince the U.S. government that P2P is here to stay," said The Register in P2P fans unite, the RIAA fight is on. "Starting August 1, music lovers and technology fans alike are to begin bombarding Congress by phone and fax, expressing their P2P love. The following day consumers are encouraged to hold CD burning parties, hand out flyers and generally educate Joe public about P2P technology."

"There are already plans for action to take place Aug. 1-2 (www.boycott-riaa.com/action/action.php), on top of peer-to-peer trading advocates blacklisting companies associated with the RIAA," said the Las Vegas Mercury in Aural Intercourse: See ya in court, kids.

"RIAA opponent groups, such as Boycott-RIAA.com, have responded by calling for action against the recording industry group," says the ecommerce times in, ISP Subpoenas from RIAA Met with Protest. Suggested actions include contacting legislators, distributing flyers and even holding public rallies."

Over in Australia, "Boycott-RIAA.com, a site set up to offset the music industry's Recording Industry Association of America, has called for public rallies against the RIAA across the US on August 1 and 2," said the Sydney Morning Herald in Call for anti-RIAA rallies .... "Site founder Bill Evans said the call had gone out following the RIAA's move to go after individuals - mostly American teenagers - 'illegally offering to 'share' substantial amounts of copyrighted music over peer-to-peer networks" in the "first round" of what could lead to, 'thousands of lawsuits suits' by mid-August."

Back in the UK, "Boycott-RIAA has called for anti-RIAA rallies, following the introduction of the 'Author, Consumer, and Computer Owner Protection and Security (ACCOPS) Act of 2003' bill, which, bluntly, makes it possible for file sharers to be thrown in jail," said The Inquirer in RIAA's evil subpoena plan takes effect.

These are only a few of the stories out there and as the dates get nearer, we're getting jammed up to the extent that even the admin people have had trouble logging on.

We're getting 700 and more people on at the same time, and that tends to clog the pipes a bit.

But we're not complaining and we'll deal with it, and in the meanwhile, it proves that when YOU speak, THEY have to listen.

The labels, movie houses, computer makers, you name it, spend millions on lobbyists, buying certain politicians who, though they're cheap don't come cheap, putting expensive ads in the print and electronic media so said print and electronic media will have to print Hollywood's garbage for gospel, paying for puffy lips and enhanced belly buttons - the list goes on.

And it's all to make you buy a particular CD or watch a certain movie, neither of which you'd go near without the hype.

But thanks to the internet, that's all over. Now you have not just one voice, but millions of them. And the suits have to pay attention.

So plug in. August is nigh.

UGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! The Anger that the RIAA is making me experience! (hmmm, maybe I could sue the RIAA for emotional trauma)I thought that art was an expressiong not a thing that you just pull out of your ass expecting a check every week. It is all bullshit and the RIAA is just taking advantage of greedy pocketmongers who were waiting for an excuse to go after the people who faithfully bought their CD's for years (until CD's went to almost $20 a pop). I know that putting a CD into the market does take time but not $20 per fucking CD. The Industry is controlling the market and I think that the middle man should be cut out. If the musician is willing to take $1 per CD sale (out of an $18 CD) then where the fuck is the other $17 per CD going? Somthing doesnt add up because I can make cdlabels, burn a cd, and have it in a jewel case with a decent cover for less than $1 per CD. It is refuckingdiculous how an art is manipulated and contorted to a wallet. Thank God for this site and Shit upon the RIAA.

Oh yeah! Because protests always work. Enjoy getting smacked down by the cops who are owned by these companies.

Not only can you do the cd by yourself for less than a dollar, but my band has done research for buying cd's in bulk, you can buy a complete pro looking cd for your band 100 copies for 80$, if your band wants pro looking covers for the jewel case, plus 100 cd you can get this for 300$ or less where does the Riaa get off on charging us 18$ for a flippen cd.

You know, we live in a country that has 'terrorists' on the loose, priests who can't keep their hands off altar boys and we're on manhunts for both Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, so what do we do about it? We let lobbyists like the RIAA tie up our judicial system with subpoenas for 'trading files' online. What a crock of shit. Makes me ashamed to be American.

Do not lose hope thamuz. We will be left with no choice but to launch a massive attack on the RIAA. They are backing us against the wall and I do not believe that protesting will be effective. To be on the defense is to give the other side the chance of advancing their position. We must hit them first and hard. First we make our voices heard on August 1 & 2. I believe will wee get the attention we need but it will not just end there. The RIAA knows that their time is ending. These violations of our civil liberties is an act of desperation. You have to understand that by snooping through our files is a serious offense on their part. They would not resort to drastic measures like this if they were winning. I know that when enough people have been attacked, the lawyers will come from all sides and the RIAA will reap it. Always claim that you are the "victim of a terrorist organization. The media loves propaganda. I see no reason not to turn the tables on the RIAA and use the ignorance of media viewers to our advantage. I say that from now on, we refer to the RIAA as "The RIAA Terror Network". Write in your school articles. Say it in the protests. Make it a trend. The media will turn against them and the politicians will not want to be associated with a "Terrorist Network". In the end we will win. Always remember this.

Do not lose hope thamuz. We will be left with no choice but to launch a massive attack on the RIAA. They are backing us against the wall and I do not believe that protesting will be effective. To be on the defense is to give the other side the chance of advancing their position. We must hit them first and hard. First we make our voices heard on August 1 & 2. I believe will wee get the attention we need but it will not just end there. The RIAA knows that their time is ending. These violations of our civil liberties is an act of desperation. You have to understand that by snooping through our files is a serious offense on their part. They would not resort to drastic measures like this if they were winning. I know that when enough people have been attacked, the lawyers will come from all sides and the RIAA will reap it. Always claim that you are the "victim of a terrorist organization. The media loves propaganda. I see no reason not to turn the tables on the RIAA and use the ignorance of media viewers to our advantage. I say that from now on, we refer to the RIAA as "The RIAA Terror Network". Write in your school articles. Say it in the protests. Make it a trend. The media will turn against them and the politicians will not want to be associated with a "Terrorist Network". In the end we will win. Always remember this.

Protests are fine but I think we also need to keep up the pressure through boycotting the (RIAA affiliated) record companies. Don't buy CDs! Don't buy MP3s! Spread the word.

Also, Feisar, I like your idea of referring to the RIAA as the "RIAA Terrorist Network", particularly when dealing with the media!

I hope the rest of you are doing something similar to what I am... on Saturday, 2 Aug 03, me and every person (and local musician that I have been able to contact via e-mail who has the nuts or time off to respond) will be standing on the street on Cumberland Avenue here in Knoxville in front of the University of Tennessee campus holding hand-made signs and handing out hand printed fliers (almost ALL printed off of this site and other friendly sites) to the public! We already alerted the local media to what we are doing and told the local law enforcement what we were doing in this peacefull rally/demonstration. There is NO DAMN REASON why the rest of you could not do something as simple in your own home town! If you really CARE, get a few like minded friends together, print out some fliers, make a few signs, go stand infront of a local music store or even in front of your local court-house. Call the media and tell them what you are doing and just DO IT!!! If we don't take this to the streets nobody will care! If YOU don't get people involved by telling them, how the hell do you expect them to even KNOW you posted or read something here in these forums????

GET INVOLVED ON THE STREET! (You gotta rub people's nose in it to make them care!)

Support Local and Independent Music!

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy
http://electricgypsy.iuma

if from Knoxville, Tn area, E-Mail me at independentmusician@yahoo.com

How about during the protest of Aug 1 & 2 pass the word around for no one to buy music or rent or buy movies from any one, and show the Riaa and the Mpaa that the consumer (us) and our friends and family will not be bullied
imagine outlets such as Hastings, empty
no customers for two days, no sales for two days, that would hit them in the pocket where they would feel it most

I know this may sound silly, but is there any way to show quid pro quo between the lobbiests and the DMCA or other such legislation? It's fairly clear that this is a case of an industry ramming what they want through legal channels. A similar thing happened between SBC and Illinios, only to have the FCC step in and bop SBC on the head and tell them to stop it. The issue here is we already have the Feds bought by the big five.

Also, I maybe misreading the laws here, but it seems to me like if you could counter sue the RIAA in a class action suit for something along the lines of frivilous use of the courts or something along those lines. I know several laws were put in place to limit such lawsuits from being filed in mass as part of the late 90s tort reform efforts. Seems like an ideal time to see if any copywrite lawyers out there want to make a name for themselves?

How'z about on Aug 1&2, we do a "Million CD Crunch"? Take a RIAA-backed CD then smash it under foot simultaneously with your local protestors.

To really make it worth it, we all mail our broken CD's to:

Cary Sherman, President, RIAA
address is...

oh gee, no easy to find address on the RIAA site... any suggestions?

While you wait:
For kicks, you should read this page

http://www.riaa.com/news/marketingdata/cost.asp

The 6th and 7th paragraphs are especially entertaining...

RE 6th: So stop clogging the market with so much CRAP!

RE 7th: boohoo! HA! Who's faoult is THAT?! Sounds like the Big5 need a business lesson...

It seems like it would also help to boycott not only purchases of CDs but also purchases of ANYTHING sold by a store that sells CDs. A boycott like that would have a greater impact with the large chains that purchase CDs in bulk.

What would Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Shopko, etc., think if RIAA's stupid actions started depriving them sales of everything from clothing and toys to groceries and televisions? I'm sure that would make them more likely to sit up and take notice than just the loss of a few CD sales.

Hey, I can't connect to the link You gave, "settsu".

Oh wait... I have blocked them in my firewall. Maybe that's the reason?!?!

Mailing them crushed CD's is a novel idea, might even draw a smidge of attention from the press, as they encourage the world to laugh at us.

Feisar also makes a good point, and imma restate mine.

We NEED a Political Action Committee(PAC) cause that give us both the money to buy off our own politicians, and the dire threat of bloc-voting against the RIAA-backed folks.

I do not care for the idea of resorting to the same tactics, politically, but unfortunately that's the way the system works - no matter how our forefathers INTENDED it to work.

So with that ugly reality in mind, let's build a PAC and take it to them on their own front in the cesspool that washington has become.

We outnumber em, we vote - that makes a PAC *THE* singlemost dire threat we can offer... which is miles more effective than a protest the press with encourage everyone to mock or ignore, IF they even bother to cover it, given who they work for.

If it makes ya feel better, by all means, protest - but I wanna go with something that will WORK, ok?

-user

Suggestions are all fine, make them here all day long! Maybe you will inspire someone else ...but unless you yourself decides to DO something, you really are NOT making much of a difference! GET ACTIVE! Stop breathing hot air!

Support local music! August 1st and 2nd! Grab a piece of poster board for 49 cents and write "Boycott RIAA" on it in big letters... then, walk down main street and tell the local newspaper to come take a picture of you! You would be SUPRISED
at how easy it is! And at the VERY LEAST you could do that!!! If you get too tounge tied, just tell them to look at this website as to WHY you did it!

Get off of you butt and off of the computer just one day!

user65535

Drawing ATTENTION to yourself VIA the media is the ONLY way to make things work! The media is NOT gonna read these message boards with the rapt attention WE do. See my post above! I promise, if you dedicate a smidgin of time and grab even just a few friends together to make a public rally/display... most smaller town media would LOVE to cover it. Even my mid to large sized town of Knoxville, Tn is salivating over our little protest already... (I am actually afraid I might not live up to their expectations!) I can't even promise more than 10 or 20 folks showing up, if that! But you know what? We are STILL gonna be in the paper and on the TV and on the radio! Why? Cause we are actually gonna go down and DO it and just as importantly... WE CALLED them and TOLD them we were!

JUST DO IT!

Something is better than nothing!

and its free publicity!

Err... and who owns most of the media?
Local coverage won't cut it.

Any suggestions on overcoming the simple fact that the 'bad guys' own all the national media, and will encourage them to spin the issue against us?

We cannot regard the national media as a neutral party in this, since the people who sign their paychecks are actively hostile to us.

Not tryin to rain on the parade, but SOMEONE needs to present these issues so they can be addressed BEFORE Z-day, allright ?

Better prepared than blindsided.

-user

In response to user65535:

Yes, local coverage won't cut it. But if my city is covered, and your city is covered, and so on...catch my drift?

I think it would also be a good idea to list the voting records of senators and congressmen on copyright laws (RIAA related legislation). As far as politicians being in their pockets, sort of. They care about being re-elected, and if the RIAA becomes public enemy no.1, they will magically switch sides overnight.

Unfortunetly for this to work, we'd have to stop downloading "what they call illegal" music. Otherwise any movement against them can easily be turned into helping their cause.

They might still turn it into an "angry file-sharer movment." (in the media).

If you don't abide by the "laws." They will seek out those which are creating the anti-riaa movement and go after them first. You must be cleaner than clean because they will dig. Your gov't gets really suspicious of organized protests. (they have a proven history of it)

I'm not saying don't do anything, just letting you know worst case scenarios...always plan for the worst.

If you're foreign, they'll deport you. They tried it with John Lennon, then became afraid of a backlash.

The government is not very suspicious of me, that's for sure. No matter how many times I try to attract their attention, they ignore me. The press (with a few notable exceptions) has done its best to ignore all of us.

Whatever we do, it must be unable to be ignored.

BTW, I really like the "Terror Organization" thing. Smashing CDs is good... But this has all been done before and we will probably look like the lunatic fringe.

This movement has come to the point where it needs some star power. Someone who has been there and walked away from it. But most of them won't talk.

Face it -- why should they believe us? We need someone the general public already believes to simply tell the truth.

DontTreadOnMe, good idea you've got there, but there's one flaw with it. Where I live, even the grocery store sells a small selection of RIAA backed CD's. In order to completely boycott any store that sells RIAA backed CD's I wouldn't be able to buy neccessities like food, clothing, hygiene products, etc. That's especially not an option when you have a child in your home to care for. I think it's just enough to not buy the CDs. If the discs don't make the store any money they'll pull them and use the shelf space for a product that will bring in $$$.

this country censor's pure art

The only way to combat this is organize this into a campaign. This means contact your congressman at www.house.gov, contact your senators at www.senate.gov (belive it or not they pay more attention to snail mail). Let them know you vote and let them know how you feel. Stop buying new CDs, buy only used CDs. And support the Electronic Frontier Foundation. I would advise against civil disobediance of any type (stay off the P2P sites) the RIAA is ready, willing, and able to sue everyone (all 53 million)into submission, this could be costly for you. We need to get the law on our side.

One more thing, How about some folks with boycott RIAA t-shirts showing up on Mtvs rock the vote rallies???

good point surfside6..great point!
know what bugs me too...is that it is the artist who writes the tunes that are supposedly the copyright holders, unless their label steals their copyright contractually, but it is these toadies like RIAA and THEIR toadies like BayTSP, NetPD, and the rest, that are getting their hands dirty. Most of the artists that have done anti-piracy ads, are hasbeens that never had anything worth listening too (yeah Madonna, we know you are a "material girl"..translating, money grabbing bitch...) and Lars...your Norweigan ancestors, the Vikings..who stole and plundered their way through Europe..the pirates in longboats, are ashamed of your little bitch whining...get a real job Lars!

We have the economic power to shut em all down brothers and sisters...
Let's Do IT!
Purchase NO CDs n august at least!

...and one more thing..email friends and ask for their support. Now, don't spam..but discuss with a few good folk about organizing a small team of, say, six folks or so, to join in with your efforts, so you don't feel so...out there! And, a lot of cities like mine have an independant (for now) press, with little papers...They will mention an ongoing movement.

ARE YOU REGISTERED AND READY?

Jazzmary is right!

they say we are pirates. they sell black eye patches at pharmacies and stores all over. these eye patches are cheaper than a cd. august 1 & 2. they call me a pirate, i will look like a pirate.

lol..love it! gavinelias...you rock!

I was just thinking...since the toadies had their bots/spiders accessing the P2P networks...the P2P networks should do two things...first, have a signup advising new members that the MPAA, RIAA,BSA and their members,employees, and associates are not legally able to use the systems as their previous actions have violated TOS agreement, and this should also popup everytime a user starts a session...and also, they should borrow something from the free webpage and email providers, have an alphanumeric that is slanted and colored and all, which you must copy before logging in...since that is someth9ing bots can't do, it would force a human to do their bidding and hunt down all the files...but even if they found em, since they are logging on in violation of the terms of service agreement, they are violating Title 18 of federal law, by accessing stored electronic communications on a network without proper authority. They would lose every court case for lack of clean hands!

PS...on Aug1-Aug 2, I am blacking my webpages and just putting BOYCOTT THE RIAA/BAN THE BASTARDS on my pages.

The beast is about to be released. the riaa is scued now. Their faiure to accept the advancement in technology has basically killed their chances of existing in the not so distant future. or as some put it, the RIAA has commited suicide by sueing it's coustomers.

I think im going to follow in Code's footsteps... If we spread the word, just imagine how many sites would be blacked out, not that it will do all that much, but it's worth a try. Anyways, besides that, I am not buying one CD for the entire month of August. Lets see how they like that! Mtekk has a good point: Don't bite the hand that feeds you!

One thing that really bothers me is that the RIAA (Again, Jack Booted Thugs) are interested in all our names; the people who P-2-P but it is interestly hard to get a hold of them. On their web site there is no e-mail address, there is no contact information in the form of address, fax numbers???!!

Spinless bastards who hide behind lawsuits and intimadation.

I also love the fetching picture of Miss Norah Jones being certified for her 7 millionth sale "Hey, um excuse me but I thought no one was buying music anymore?"

There's a link to eff.org's action page, I'm wondering how many people have clicked that link and taken action. It's hard for me to know how many people are actually taking action on this.

It would be heartening to find out how real our fight really is, or if we're just blowing hot air by saying we're winning this battle.

Most people I talk to think that we're wrong and just don't think what the RIAA is doing is a big deal because they're not downloading music. And I think the reason why most people will side with the RIAA is because they're the one running the ads, they're the ones who own the TV stations and can say what they want on those stations. We have no mainstream media presence. How many people are getting our message? How many would agree with it? In the end, our representatives are the only ones who can actually make a real impact in fighting the RIAA. We don't need symbolic gestures at this point, we need the weight of the american people to push their representatives in government to demand hearings on P2P and copyright. And I'd really like to see how many of us have done this. I'd like to see numbers. How many of us are really in this fight.

I'm not planning on buying any cd's this august either, but I'd like to know (in numbers) how many others are in this boycott.

I'd also like to see a boycott-riaa presence on Kazaa, if they've 2 million people online at any given moment, shouldn't they be aware of this fight, and given a link to the eff.org and boycott-riaa action plans? How many hits would the "contact your representatives" link get then?

Every now and then I have to wonder if all of us are just mumbling in a darkened room to ourselves. I want to see the RIAA sweat under a congressional inquiry. I'd like to know that 2 million people demanded that inquiry. I want the kind of media scrutiny on this issue that the false claims in the state of the union address is getting.

Call me this forum's worry wart.

Paulruss

CD BURNING PARTIES?

Im sorry, but thats fucking ridiculous.
Atleast to me it seems like something the NAZI's would do, or actually DID do with some music, along with millions of books and pictures. I may break my cd's at the protest, but i wont fucking burn them. Call it personal choice or pride, but after seeing the weak minded bible thumpers buring harry potter books, im about ready to lay a steel pipe across someones head for stupid shit like that.

Nuke,

I totally agree with you on this one. Every effigy-burning, banner-waving, chant-laden protest I've ever seen is met with mild amusement by the media and a stubborn response by those who oppose the message of the protests. Most symbolic gestures are good for a clip on the news but do little to further the causes they promote. When people use their citizenship and speak to their representatives in large numbers, those representatives do their job and listen. Although it didn't stop the Iraq war, it did give the reps reason to wait for the right opportunity to strike. The same with the FCC issue. When the climate sours for the president, the dems strike.

If there's no popular opposition to our point of view, the representatives will believe that this is what the majority of his or her voting constituents want. They will act in the interests of the people who will vote them back into office if he does his job. Everybody wins.

Our reps may allow the lawsuits to happen for awhile, give 'em enough rope. When the public opinion really begins to sour for the RIAA, our reps will spring into action. But the only way our reps will know if that's happening is if enough people tell them that they think the RIAA is DEAD WRONG.

So do what you want with your cds, but remember, the fax you send will be your greatest weapon.

not buying for cds for the month of august is not enough. NEVER buy cds or tapes or dvds until this issue is resolved. OUR courts are being clogged up by these assholes. OUR tax money. in the end cd prices will go up even more to pay for this.you see how were getting burned at both ends?

Addressing lots of issues:

First, zaziethekitten thanks! Blacking out pages is easy and sends a strong message.


Second- Feisar, I pointed out earlier that the RIAA and its toadies are acting like terrorist and I love your naming them the RIAA Terrorist Network!

Thirdly, i'm also not buying CDs or going to movies in which the people associated with it are in the MPAA.

Fourthly (is there such a word?)
Most people are apathetic until an issue hits them, and there is still some who are pro-big business...
i think as these lawsuits hit more homes, that will change, but, we can use apathy to our advantage. these people who are apathetic are not writing letters of support of the RIAA to congress. they are silent. we MUST NOT be ! The squeaky wheel gets the grease. this brings up a great point, that people have been talking about on this board, but I don't know if anything has been done. Someone (sorry I don't remember who, cause I would give props to the one that said it) mentioned we need a PAC (political action committe). I think we need to do this, and go even farther. I believe, "conservatively speaking" there are MILLIONS of people who are concerned with our issues. You have allegedly 60 million users of P2P, and usually, you have around 4 million people on Kazaa (that of course is internationally). All in all, with the bad will the RIAA is going to generate, we definitely are talking about a sizeable portion of the electorate that will be thinking on this issue. If we can organize a bit more, and send out exploratory feelers to some of the front runners, we can see who is at least making signs of support for us. In the past, I've started a grassroots campaign when some legislation was being sent on the process nationally . It was totally grassroots, and we were up against some big names (such as Orrin Hatch)...we won! Now, one thing I learned was this. When you handwrite a letter to a congressman or rep., the aides who get it, assess the amount of sentiment in the voters back home, by multiplying this by 50, thinking there are 50 people back home who are too friggin' lazy to write, but will vote that way. Xeroxed letters are not as effective, and for those whose handwriting is like mine (next to impossible to read), you can generate it from your computer/printer, but sign it with a pen or pencil to give it that personal touch. We need to get rolling NOW on this. I hope this helps, and I will be posting more on this later in all the threads if folks don't mind.
Love and Peace..
~code~

One note of clarification.
I've had friends in bands in the past trying to get that big break...the record deal with a major label. These were hard working people, working a day job to support their efforts as musicians. Our effort is not to hurt any struggling musicians who really give a damn about their fans and their art. I wish any hard working, good hearted musician much success. Music has always been one of the most positive things in my life. But, this war is not about that and never was, nor ever will be. It's about the "suits" like $herman, and H. Rosen, and the arsehole, bought and paid politicians, who are in it like leeches, growing fat off the blood and sweat of hard working Americans. They have screwed the REAL copyright holders like Willie Nelson for decades. They screwed over the Blues and early rockers. And, for decades, have put out products where one song is decent, and the rest is just schlock filler. Now, the RIAA has done, the worst thing a company can do...sue thousands of their customers and try to turn them into felons. And, per the musicbiz article, they don't care if the public turns against them or not. Where the f^ck do they think the money comes from? Do they think it flows like manna from on high? No, it's from kids working at MacDonald's, kids working in factories, kids doing phone tech support, selling shoes...hard working , tax paying Americans. Not friggin' criminals. I say, let's do some serious auditing of their books...then we'll see who the felons are! No, the American public is not composed of millions of petty felons...they are what makes this country worth are damn, cause the smell of the politicians and big business would make this smell like a toilet if not for the honest people like you and me. Frivilous lawsuits in the thousands...if you or I did that, they would not only be thrown out, but the judge would bar us from making any more and sanction our lawyer for doing the work. But, I guess my naivete gets the better of me. I used to live in a country where you thought judges were honest and the cops were there to help, and big business was honest in accounting.
Check out
http://www.judicialwatch.org
I don't live there now. I live in a country where the people are sent to wars around the world, the debt grows larger daily, civil rights are being stamped on, the gov wants everyone to tattle on everyone else (TIPS) where the gov wants to watch and document everything you say or do (Total Information Awareness..now "Terror Information Awareness)...
Forty years ago, I would never have believed that we would get here. I remember reading Brave New World and 1984, and thinking how crazy, that could never happen. Now though, it is happening, and I am scared, no shit.
I am scared because the country my dad fought for, and died in a shitty Veterans hospital, died too some time ago, and never got a decent burial and very few mourners,and not even the courtesy of an obituary. Sure, that country had its health problems, in fact, for two hundred years it had chronic ailments, but a cancer took over in the 1950s. That cancer was called McCarthyism...a modern witchhunt..trying to turn honest citizens into felons on the basis of word of mouth and insinuations and greedy aspirations.

My forefathers were here to welcome the Pilgrims, they were here long before Jamestown. I can recall the commercial where the Native American on a horse sheds a single tear for what was happening to the environment.

I honestly believe that everything good and sacred about this country is under a full fledged attack. I'm not just talking about P2P, or corruption in gov, or outsourcing of our jobs overseas, or kids getting killed in wars...i'm talking about a plague spreading across this land where people don't give a shit anymore.
The only thing that has to happen for evil to win is for good people to do nothing and apathy and the grasping for security and safety is rampant.
As Franklin said, those who would trade a little freedom for security, deserve neither.

We have a president that said there is such a thing as too much freedom, who, while he lived in Austin, had the DPS arrest people for protesting on the sidewalk. We have a president that lied to the people. We have one sending us into wars, without Congress declaring one. The last war that was a declared war by Congress was WWII, and look what happened in Korea and Nam.
Korea is still at war with us.

I don't like the way our country and our world is headed. It is becoming more mean spirited and dangerous all the time. And, people feel helpless to change things. The majority voted for Gore, and the Supreme Court gave us Bush, and put its blessing on him.

I know many on this board may not be religious. For those who are , be you Buddhist, Taoist,Catholic,Mormon,Baptist, Shinto, Presbyterian, Methodist,Ba' hai, or whatever, please pray or meditate for something to happen to turn things around. For atheists, please do what you can to help.

I honestly believe that if we don't do something, we are headed for living in a country, and a world (because the evil is spreading) that will make Nazi Germany look like Utopia.

I'm sorry for the rant everyone. I love you all, but I am really concerned and worried and just wanted to vent I guess...
Peace-Out/code

I have the ULTIMATE plan! Oh I'm so pretty! Listen up. We burn as many CD's that we can spare. We put a mix of 140 to 150 mp3's (top ten shit, classics, whatever) On the morning of August 1st we leave copies at school libraries, coffee shope, bus stops, anywhere. Write on the front of it "Take me, I'm free!" or "Free, mp3's for your mind" or something else Morpheaus would say. We distribute hard copies of music to the physical world. We can all spare a couple of blank CD's I'm sure. Leave em at colleges, leave them on a stoop. Don't hand them out! Just leave them around like mp3 Easter eggs. If a million of us can do this , it will so overwhelm the RIAA to the point of insanity. They will be left with no choice but to put their foot in their mouth when they come out and say, "Ok, now we want subpeonas on everyone that goes outside!" Give me some feedback. Let me know what you think. I'll be in my room shadow boxing while you type. Woot! Woot!

Hello Kitties, Ike Dogg here to give you the real deal. The idea sounds delicious. But, in reality its nasty as hell! For one, Any copywritten material being sold or played publicly must have a license issued by the owner. Which is...? you guessed it, the riaa. The riaa are not going to negotiate with you because you don't own anything. They are going to drag your azz in court and phuck you with no vaseline while the judge hold you down!
If this guy ideal would have been valid, believe me man... they would have done it already!! I have a "Real" file sharing business that will work like a charm & I won't need $2 million dollars to get started. It would be protected from the riaa or mpaa. First and foremost, if anybody starts this business ideal, I will say you got a Big problem on your hands! The ideal has been filed with the patent office of USA! OH YES! Don't steal from me muthafuckas! If you want to be apart of this "No Bullshitting" company, I have contact information at the end of this post.
In October of this year, congress will have the "Fair Use" bill on their desk to pass. So don't forget to contact them to pass it!

Here is my business:
It is illegal to share "a" file with more than one person. Right? Create a data base of users that have "legally" purchased music, movies or software. In this database you will keep the "barcode" number or the "store" receipt number of the legal purchases of everyone. When someone on the database wants to trade a file from someone who legally purchased music, movie or software item on the database. They would search through the database for a person that has this "LEGAL" material and send a request to trade.
Once the person receives this trade request, both parties email each other the legal original "receipt" number or "barcode" number of the legal purchases on both sides. That will GUARANTEE you are not trading illegally because no one has your files! You have to give each other permission and exchange digital receipts proving you got every file legally. A legal receipt would take up approximately 2k. It wouldn't be hard to build this kind of site, plus with the on going litigation from the riaa, people would jump on this quick.

The only down side to this type of trading is that once you trade your "legal receipt" of that music, file or software, you CANNOT offer it for sharing again unless you trade for it back using "LEGAL" receipts of course. This is cool, because once you used the shit you don't want it back anyway. Also, there will be renegades trading without "legal receipts." They will be greased up and poked by the RIAA for sure!

For the people who don't buy original shyt, I say don't worry! You can still trade files from individuals by trading your "OWN" bands music for a digital receipt of their music. You just have to make up your own serial number for your band's music to keep track of it. This would also be a great way for independents to keep track of their music like "soundscan!"

The riaa will try to argue this plan of mine, but I don't think they would win against this type of trading. Simply because, when you purchase music out of the store or net, it is "yours" not a lease or rental. Just like baseball cards. Its not illegal to trade cards is it? No! So by file sharers dealing one on one with each other, it totally destroys the riaa case about file sharing. These are legal transactions between 2 individuals with legal documentation to prove they both obtained legal rights to own the media they are trading. I would like to see them fight that!!! Am I a phuckin' genius or what?

I want all of you to read this 3 times, then put it all together in your mind. Try to picture what the site would look like and everything. I also want critics to try to find a hole in my ideal. First, people will say it will take too long to go through all the processes before you can download files. I say it could be as simple as a person sending an IM message. It will all depend how talented my programmers are.

Guys Im not as stupid as you look!

This is a business ideal of mine for about 1 year. I've copywritten the whole ideal 20 different ways!! So its next to impossible to bypass me! If you want a piece of this email me.

I've been looking for talented programmers to come aboard to help build this shyt. But for some reason most of them were lazy! I guess they don't want to be wealthy. Anyway, before I let loose my press release. Send your inquiries to KneeDeepInc@aol.com. If you are a talented programmer, web designer, marketing, Host Servers etc.. email me with your interest.

Great post, CodeWarrior. I agree with everything you say. There is a bigger picture here and that is the erosion of our personal freedom. I wonder if it's already too late?

Yo, Ikedogg...one flaw here...all copyrighted music is NOT automatically owned by the Riaa labels...only the copyrights that they PIRATED from writers and publishers using fancy lawyers. Independant musicians...DON'T GIVE IN!! Do not be a Riaa sharecropper..that is, you do the work, they get the money, you end up in debt, then they own you! You can register your own copyright through the US govt, and you are free to give out or sell the music as you please, as long as it is your own. That's why the internet scares the bejesus outta these guys!!

ARE YOU REGISTERED AND READY?

I am also in the process of emailing my friends in the music business, and providing a link to dmusic.com forums and to boycott-riaa, so that they can read the discussions for themselves. These threads deserve wider distribution. Also, I am printing a simple sign to hang on the back of my car saying "boycott the RIAA! in August 2003. And you know how clubs blanket the parkinglots with those little cards?? Also, those of us with media savvy can put out press releases alerting the indy press of this growing movement. And how about, if you don't want to distribute music on CDs, how about just printing or writing 'BOYCOTT THE RIAA' on old trash disks, including the 500 or so of those stupid AOL sign-up discs that you know you have laying around the house..and leaving those around??

ARE YOU REGISTERED AND READY?

nothing to say today...all posted out...just wanted to wish everyone a great evening...and to say good luck to everyone on the things they are planning for the 1st and 2nd. That's going to be this coming weekend of course, Fri and Sat. For those planning local demonstrations in your area...probably something I don't have to tell you, but it may be a good notion to contact (phone or email) the local television stations in your area. The general manager, station manager, news person, or program director is a good person to talk to. You may want to pitch the story as local color on a developing national/international story of a mass protest against the Jack booted Riaa terrorists. You don't HAVE to use the term terrorist, but the word certainly has more news value now than it used to. My experience with being on TV is that they need a little time to get the cameraman ready, get the newscaster with a little copy/list of questions...now, if it's a giant deal, usually they rush a crew out, but you have to assess how big your demonstration is going to be, and in general, it's a good idea to have someone with the demonstration videotape things.

Media feeds on a buzz...if they believe this is going to be a national issue AND, if it's a slow news day...they have to have something to run on air...so more likely of coverage. It helps to have someone to be a spokesperson of course. News is quick, sound bytes and a quick graphic (TV always begs graphic images).

If you are going to be demonstrating...please be as peaceful and legal as possible. If you need a permit to demonstrate, check into it early this week.

We need to show we are the articulate, law abiding, clean cut people who are opposed to this intolerable action (because we are!).

Many people honestly believe that the downloading is killing music sales. Have an article (there are some out there...I will post links later) ready that shows the facts indicate this is not true, and hand it to the local reporter.

Believe it or not, having something in print (documentation) really adds credibility to an argument with most news people.

The government is of the people, by the people, and for the people...we are the people..the RIAA are intimidating and harassing simple, god fearing Americans of all ages.

You might also point out there are people across the internet blacking out their pages in protest...this is a protest from the Net to the Real World..joining people of all ages, races, professions, and musical tastes to say no to oppression!
You might stress the unprecedented nature of this event, and indicate that this is DAY ONE of an ongoing protest and boycott!

Well..like I said...not much to post now...tired as heck...
love and peace and success to each and every one of you..because you deserve it!

~~~Code

PS... taking my hat off to independentm... and giving him proper respect for all he is going...and he is just one man...imagine hundreds of thousands of people this dedicated and working with this energy...
independentm... proud to be on the same board with your bro!
~code

If this comes off as vain, my apologies. I've already started the boycott of the RIAA/MPAA. It all started when I realized I had no money to buy music or go to a movie. It just progressed from there.
I still see movies, but only due to a friend working at a theater and hooking me up with tickets. I don't buy music. My aforementioned friend isn't above a 5-finger discount, so I just give him a shopping list.
One final thought: Someone pull America out of this recession and give me a decent job and maybe, just maybe I'll begin thinking about paying 79 cents for a song I've alrady heard 30 times while driving around town.

It shouldn't matter to any of you how many others are doing this. I'm in Australia, and hardly anyone even knows about this issue. Doesn't bother me one bit, I still don't buy CDs / DVDs. I don't care if I'm the only one in Australia doing this.

If you feel strongly enough about the issue - protest, crush CDs, have CD-burning parties. Don't worry about how many other people show up, or how much coverage you'll get - it doesn't matter. Do it for the satisfaction of depriving RIAA / MPAA of their income.

Also, at the end of the day, for each person that posts here, there are hundreds (like me, even though I just posted) who just don't buy CDs / DVDs and share 10Gb of music to enable Joe Public to get his mp3 fix. The people who are actively involved in protesting are just the tip of the iceberg.

Oh and by "CD-burning parties", I'm SURE people mean burning stuff onto a CD and then giving it out to people, not setting CDs on fire. That's just silly.

Feisar - that's a good plan, man... I might actually do this. By coincidence, I bought 30 blanks yesterday. Was going to use them to back up my movies, but this is even better.

nobody is going to rally or make a million person march against this simply because they don't want to be "outed". meaning they don't want anyone else to know that they download music. the simplest way to let the RIAA know we mean business is to simply stop buying the music altogether. no music buying for the month of august? count me in!!

To ShawnE3386 and Radium II:
Radium II...thank you from everyone here in America...some of the nicest people I ever met were Ozzies, and some of the other nicest were Canadians!
You demonstrate what I keep saying...this is a fight for freedom, and for people to be patriots...and patriotism to me is defending freedom..it isn't just being an American...you are being a true patriot.
And ShawnE3386...while I don't condone the five fingered discount, I think you bring up a great issue...this lawsuit thing by the RIAA is coming at a time when families are on the brink of bankruptcy. Many are one missed paycheck away from losing it all...
This country has some serious problems...internally and externally,
and for the courts to be wasting time attacking thousands of familes, with the RIAA trying to turn middle America into felons, this is to me an obscene act. Our economy IS in the dumper, and it's not because of P2P file sharing.
The truth is that files are being shared, in general, one song...not entire albums (although that may happen). People don't want to buy a whole album when it has one good song and the rest are just there to take up space on the CD. And just when we need money here...the "prez" and his party are burning up legislative time trying to pass bills like the one from Conyers and Berman (who I call the entertainment industry whore) making anyone downloading one song a felon...where if you did the five fingered discount of a whole cd, it would be a misdemeanor.

THE NEED TO REPEAL THE DMCA AND MORE THOUGHTS
I just wanted to say one more thing in this stream of consciousness. I personally do not in any way advocate theft. In the past 30 years, I've had people break into my vehicles, vandalize them and rip me off of things that were near and dear to me. But, and there's a big but here...if they were able to stand outside my vehicle and magically make a perfect copy of everything without damaging anything...I wouldn't care, and if they just did that for their personal use without trying to make money off it..doesn't bother me one bit! That's why the DMCA is so screwed. Traditional laws about theft and conversion, were all about how it is wrong for someone to take something of yours and deprive you of its use. With digital copying, the original is still there. That's why I am against any person physically stealing a CD. You have deprived them of the value, and they lose the money they put into the CD. Now, I know here comes the argument that every download is a missed sale...BULLSHIT! For example, there are songs that were on 8-track tapes that I love, and just are not there anymore. At the time, I remember buying two eight track tapes of an album I really liked because 8 tracks sometimes got "eaten up" by the player.
Geez..this was around 30 years or more ago. Not too long ago, I found the artist over the internet and began corresponding with him, and asking him where I could get that album of his (one of his first). He said try looking in the sale bins of stores...which I did, but nothing. Not on Amazon or anywhere. The point is, there is a percentage of people out there who are downloading songs that they just can't find anywhere to buy.
And, there are people who just need one song. Let's say they have purchased a collection of albums, by an artist, but their favorite song is not on any of them, and one day, they find this one song that they want to burn on a CD. The way the RIAA looks at it...this creates two felons..the uploader and downloader. The DMCA is an inane law that takes copyright law and makes a huge , irrational mess of it.

The draconian measures of the RIAA are carried out under a law that makes no sense, and hurts many people. It interferes with people's lives. If we had this mess repealed, they would have no legal right to harass people!
~code

For those who are wanting to help the fight, but who aren't able to attend rallies...please at least write your local radio and/or television stations...or even better...also write the national networks...let them know that there will be national protests this coming August 1 and 2, and that we ask for balanced coverage. We assert that the RIAA are acting as the RIAA Terrorist Network, and are trying to intimidate and harass people across the country, they are clogging up the DC Courts and probably others with what we consider as frivilous lawsuits...and for probably the first time in history, 5 major entertainment companies are suing thousands of their own customers for hundreds of thousands of dollars each...or this is their stated goal.

Remember your audience, and please don't use profanity. Also, check your spelling. We want for them to think of us as responsible, articulate, and involved citizens which we are.
Thanks in advance for all you are doing to help the cause of freedom.
~code

See, CodeWarrior gets it. The RIAA has people in situations like mine in a very tough situation.
Most middle-class families can't afford to either buy CDs or pay outlandish prices to buy ONE SONG, so someone in the house acts on a basic right to be able to hear the music of their choice. The RIAA then steps in and tells them that even though they can hear the same song for free on the radio because the cost is deflected to advertising, they aren't willing to do the same for people like them.
The RIAA takes the family to court, not caring that only one of the parents works due to disability, and that the case is draining the working parent's 401(k). The RIAA loses the case, but wins because the family is now left bankrupt and in shambles thanks to years' worth of legal fees.
This is only a hypothetical situation, but it doesn't sound very far-fetched, does it?
Damn the RIAA to Hell. Damn them all.

That is exactly why most people will settle out of court. Probably accept reduced fines.

They are not pressing for criminal charges, right?

diab999:

They're not pressing for criminal charges because that would be much harder to prove. The burden of proof is much higher. I seriously doubt if they could get a conviction without hacking into your computer (which is illegal) or getting a search warrant (not likely). They're filing civil suits because they know they can intimidate most everyone into settling out of court. They're probably weeding out the people who'd be most likely to challenge them in court. They don't want to go to court and lose. That would be major victory for file sharing.

My question for all of you is this. Protests, CD Burning parties, it's a good start, but these people don't understand us. They beleive the shit they feed the media and their employees. We need to hit them with what they understand, the law. Does any one know of possible ways to attack the RIAA through the legal system? Is it even possible at this point?

B
http://www.thebrandonshow.com