More RIAA Bullshit

[Nbadan]

Now they want to outlaw copying your CD to your computer....


Now, in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.

The industry's lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are "unauthorized copies" of copyrighted recordings.

Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122800693.html)

The Howell case was not the first time the industry has argued that making a personal copy from a legally purchased CD is illegal. At the Thomas trial in Minnesota, Sony BMG's chief of litigation, Jennifer Pariser, testified that "when an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song." Copying a song you bought is "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy,' " she said.

[smeagol]

Fuck the music industry.

I'm with you on this one, Daniel

[Spurminator]

Just another step towards obsoleteness for the RIAA.

[Marklar MM]

Music industry sucks.

[Extra Stout]

Now they want to outlaw copying your CD to your computer....



Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122800693.html)

The Howell case was not the first time the industry has argued that making a personal copy from a legally purchased CD is illegal. At the Thomas trial in Minnesota, Sony BMG's chief of litigation, Jennifer Pariser, testified that "when an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song." Copying a song you bought is "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy,' " she said.
Yeah, I think the Supreme Court decided otherwise on this one back in the 1980's. Archival copies for personal consumption fall under "fair use." The RIAA is simply counting on bullying people.

The need to have major record labels to produce and distribute music is gone. Their business model is obsolete. Their only recourse is to try to sue their own customers.

[Nbadan]

The thing is is that music industry insiders still control the rotation of music on popular music stations.....basically a pay-for-play system...so while self-distributors maybe a wave of the future, I don't anticipate that we'll be hearing many of these independent distributors stuff on the corporate radio stations payola stations....

[leemajors]

Yeah, I think the Supreme Court decided otherwise on this one back in the 1980's. Archival copies for personal consumption fall under "fair use." The RIAA is simply counting on bullying people.

The need to have major record labels to produce and distribute music is gone. Their business model is obsolete. Their only recourse is to try to sue their own customers.
i think the RIAA wording is a bit tricky on this - from what i read, you can't rip it to your computer to a folder that can be "shared."

http://gizmodo.com/339477/even-the-riaa-isnt-ballsy-enough-to-claim-ripping-cds-is-illegal


The RIAA claims that ripping a CD and then putting the files into a shared folder is illegal, which we disagree with but is a little less flabbergasting. The confusion arose with the wording, which called ripped copies "unauthorized."

[Spurminator]

The thing is is that music industry insiders still control the rotation of music on popular music stations.....basically a pay-for-play system...so while self-distributors maybe a wave of the future, I don't anticipate that we'll be hearing many of these independent distributors stuff on the corporate radio stations payola stations....


Which is part of the reason Radio listenership is falling as well.

[xrayzebra]

You know people that download or load your own records on your
PC could do a similar thing as demonstrating in the streets.

All of you do it during one particular time and see how many they
want to sue. They may get the message.

But something similar, Bill Gates wants you to buy his
software and only use it like he tells you can. What is so
different?

[MannyIsGod]

I read this this morning. Its fucking ridiculous. But then again, its the RIAA. Who's suprised? Not me.

[Nbadan]

We're All Thieves to the RIAA
By Alyce Lomax January 2, 2008


You buy a CD. You rip a digital copy so you can put it on your Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPod or Microsoft Zune. You're not worried; you paid premium price for the CD. You're not some lawless pirate. You wouldn't dream of sharing your music on a P2P network.

Well, you may be walking a fine line toward thief-dom in the eyes of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the industry trade association that includes heavyweights like Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG, Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG), Vivendi Universal, and EMI.

Current litigation against Jeffrey Howell of Arizona shows that while the industry's gone after him for file-sharing, not ripping MP3s, it's also taking exception to recordings on his computer that he copied from CDs he purchased, with the outlook that Howell is also liable for the "unauthorized copies" he made and placed on his PC. Although there's a lot of clarification going on over the Internet now -- pointing out that the RIAA can't specifically target ripping CDs for personal use, since that falls within "fair use" -- the RIAA hasn't lent much reason to give it the benefit of the doubt as a reasonable entity here lately.

After all, a lawyer for Sony BMG said during a recent high-profile file-sharing trial that making one measly copy was, "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy'." I joked at the time that maybe they'll come after us for singing tunes in the shower, but at this point, maybe that thought isn't funny so much as scary.

...


As I've said before, a good sign of a dying industry that investors might want to avoid is when it would rather litigate than innovate, signaling a potential destroyer of value. If it starts to pursue paying customers -- which doesn't seem that outlandish at this point -- then I guess we'll all know the extent of the desperation. Investor, beware.

Motley Fool (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/01/02/were-all-thieves-to-the-riaa.aspx)

[Spurminator]

I just got a letter from a RIAA lawyer for whistling in public.