Guest wwF1587 Report post Posted April 30, 2003 not sure if this goes here or in the music folder but what the hell... kinda interesting... sucks for us swappers though Music Swappers Get a Message on PC Screens: Stop It Now By AMY HARMON he record industry started another campaign yesterday aimed at making life more uncomfortable for online music-swapping fans. Thousands of people trading copyrighted music online yesterday saw a message appear unbidden on their computer screens: "When you break the law, you risk legal penalties. There is a simple way to avoid that risk: DON'T STEAL MUSIC." The messages, which seek to turn a chat feature in popular file-trading software to the industry's benefit, reflect the latest effort among record executives to limit digital copying of their products. "People feel invincible when they're doing this in the privacy of their homes," said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America. "This is a way of letting them know that what they're doing is illegal." The association plans to send at least a million warnings a week to people offering popular songs for others to copy. Operated by a company that industry officials declined to identify, the automated system uses a feature in both KaZaA and Grokster, free software commonly used to share music files, that was designed to let users communicate with one another. A spokeswoman for Sharman Networks, the distributor of KaZaA, said that the tactic violated the company's user agreement, which prohibits making search requests to accumulate information about individual users. Sharman, which is based in Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation, said in a statement, "We strenuously object to efforts outside the law, in violation of user agreements, or in violation of the privacy rights to indiscriminately spam, mislead or confuse" its users. Until recently, the record industry has been reluctant to act against the several million people who copy music over the Internet from one another for fear of alienating its own customers. But with CD sales plummeting, the record labels have lately taken a more aggressive stance. The industry filed lawsuits this month against four college students, charging them with copyright infringement and seeking billions of dollars in damages. Last week, the industry group won permission from a federal judge to force Verizon to turn over the name of a subscriber it suspects of providing hundreds of copyrighted songs through KaZaA. Verizon is appealing that decision, but analysts said another court decision last week might force the industry to focus on file traders, rather than the software they use. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that Grokster and Morpheus, two popular file-trading programs, could be used for both legal and illegal purposes — like a Xerox machine. Because the owners of the software cannot control what people do with it, the judge said, they are not liable for copyright infringement. "It forces the R.I.A.A. to shift its focus to the actual participants on the network," said Phil Leigh, a digital media analyst at Raymond James. "I would credit them here with taking a step that gets their message in front of users in a fairly obvious way without the terror of a process server at their door." Record companies, analysts said, are trying to strike a bit of fear in the hearts of file traders without sowing the kind of hostility that could lead to a boycott or even increased music swapping. Record industry officials emphasized that the campaign was intended to be an educational effort in line with earlier television ads that featured prominent artists. The record companies cannot learn the real name or address of other users simply by using the instant message feature built into the program. In addition to warning users about the legal risks of their actions, the message explains that file trading hurts musicians and songwriters. The users are also directed to www.musicunited.net, a site created by supporters of the campaign. But the record labels still need to contend with the insistence of many file traders that what they are doing is justified by what they see as the industry's failure to lower prices and provide an inexpensive system for downloading music legally. One frequent KaZaA user, who declined to give his name for fear of the legal consequences, said he would simply check the box in the software that blocks instant messages. "This is an ongoing war between the community of true music fans against the big corporations that control music," said the user, a 34-year-old man in Hicksville, N.Y. "It's possible that this will scare some people, but it won't scare all people." credit AOL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Eagan469 Report post Posted April 30, 2003 DON'T STEAL MUSIC ok *goes to library, takes out 50 recent CD's, rips them to hard drive, returns CD's to library* that sure was easy, wasn't it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kkktookmybabyaway Report post Posted May 1, 2003 It's not stealing, it's called SHARING... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CED Ordonez Report post Posted May 1, 2003 The RIAA has been screwed ever since the first cassette tape was copied. Like I have said before, I'm not dishing out $18 for three songs on a CD with a bunch of crap filler. And all the music I've taken off file-sharing programs are songs that are imported or near impossible to find domestically, so I no-sell the requests of RIAA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CED Ordonez Report post Posted May 1, 2003 By the way, does anybody else predict a counter-attack against RIAA similar to the one against Madonna's campaign with this move? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Eagan469 Report post Posted May 1, 2003 RIAA's web site has been hacked countless times in the past 2 years Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MaxPower27 Report post Posted May 1, 2003 To counteract this, someone should hack into their computers to get this to popup: DON'T RAISE CD PRICES!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Marshall Report post Posted May 1, 2003 If I download an album and I like it, then I'll buy it. Simple as that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NoCalMike Report post Posted May 1, 2003 mp3s have given more exposure to music I would have never heard of or known about before. If you are curious about something, are you more likely to download an mp3 for further info, or spend $20 for that single song with a bunch of filler? RIAA are just rich greedy bastards who want everyone to buy the music from the same 25 artists who they can dictate to us. The RIAA knows DAMN WELL the benefits of file-sharing, yet the no-sell it like there is none. Ask any record company besides Arista/Geffen/Virgin etc....and they will be very pleased to share the positives of file-sharing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest chirs3 Report post Posted May 1, 2003 If I download an album and I like it, then I'll buy it. Simple as that. Ditto. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Plushy Al Logan Report post Posted May 1, 2003 If I download an album and I like it, then I'll buy it. Simple as that. Lord knows I've done it. To counteract this, someone should hack into their computers to get this to popup: DON'T RAISE CD PRICES!!!! ::Thumbs Up:: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted May 1, 2003 The sooner the record companies fully embrace the mp3 community and uses it to their advantage the better everyone will be. The record companies are too busy trying to stomp it out to realize they could actually use it to their advantage. The only way the record companies deal with it is by raising CD prices. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rendclaw 0 Report post Posted May 2, 2003 which perpetuates the cycle... ever since file-sharing became really big (the napster thing gave it publicity, but there were and are tons of ways to do file-sharing) RIAA should have known this was a fight that they could not win. Like Sting said about file-sharing and mp3s, Pandora's Box is open now, there's no way put back what has gotten out. RIAA is but one of the many examples of corproate greed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Youth N Asia Report post Posted May 2, 2003 When cds drop to $9.99 and stay there for good then I'll buy more and burn less...otherwise kiss my ass. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest goodhelmet Report post Posted May 2, 2003 ahhh, the fettering of technology. see, it isn't just a matter of lowering CD prices. it's also a matter of quality merchandise. i have been burning for almost 2 1/2 years. in that time, i have bought 3 CD's. i have not been enamoured by any new musical artists (for about 4 years now) enough to throw down the cash for mediocre trash. i have 1200 cd's and 2/3 of them were bought for less than 25% of the albums material. when artists start releasing material that is fresh and original again, i might actually support the cause. in the meantime, *runs to kazaa* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Youth N Asia Report post Posted May 2, 2003 I don't mind paying for CDs if they're not too much and it's something I'll enjoy. But I can get blank cds now 100 for $25 or so...why even pay retail anymore? The music industry is spending too much time crying over the internet and not enough time give reasons WHY you should go out and buy the product. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rendclaw 0 Report post Posted May 2, 2003 Agreed. I only buy albums of my favorite bands, and even then when I have the money... my mp3 collection stands at a paltry 1400 or so, compared to some who have 30,000 or more (thats what i call hardcore). I am in agreement that the prices for new music need to be lowered in order for sales to go up... Heh, I only use Kazaa for wrestling vids nowadays... I marked the hell out when I found the Bret Hart/Dynamite Kid match, made even better because Gorilla Monsoon was doing the PBP.... man, I miss the hell out of that man, may he RIP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kkktookmybabyaway Report post Posted May 2, 2003 "RIAA is but one of the many examples of corproate greed." Not to mention corporate laziness. They could make a bundle if they would just embrace MP3s, like El S. said above... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lethargic Report post Posted May 2, 2003 Please tell me how their embracing of the MP3 format would make them money? Face it, the beauty of MP3, for the majority of people that use it, is to get free music. It's not like people like MP3s just because it puts music on the computer. They like it because they get music without having to pay 20 dollars. The only way MP3 would make the labels money is if they started charging to download albums, which nobody would do. All it takes is ONE person to download it, rip it and then everybody else gets it off kazaa. The labels could put together the easiest, cheapest system to sell MP3s but everybody will just stay with kazaa or whatever other free file sharing program. I'm one of them. I buy maybe 5 CDs a year now. I used to buy that many a week. Of course back then it mostly cassettes. Only time I buy something now is when a favorite band puts out something and I can't find it online yet. If I can't wait a couple of days for it to get online, I'll go ahead and buy it. Everything else I download. 1. Because I can't afford CDs. 2. I don't listen to music enough to lose all that money. 3. I'm not gonna spend that much money on something I might end up not even liking. 4. Because there are very few bands out there I like. The last 4 CDs I spent money on were the latest Donnas, Foo Fighters, Weezer and Chris Robinson. Out of those 4, The Donnas CD is the only one that I really like. The other three turned out to be three of the worst albums I'd ever heard. So I ended up wasting 60 dollars to get three beer coasters. I wish as hard I can that I had just downloaded those pieces of crap. People say if they download something and like it, they buy the real CD too. Do I? Hell no. Why would I want to spend 20 dollars just to get something I ALREADY GOT? If I can go the rest of my life without spending money on a CD, I'm gonna do it. They got enough of my damn money before the MP3 thing started. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Memphis Report post Posted May 2, 2003 I actually use Kazaa for listening to music I'm interested in. If i find a few songs which i enjoy, i'll buy the album their on. I use it to help me preview something before i buy it. So to whom it may concern, go fuck yourself. M Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NoCalMike Report post Posted May 3, 2003 Plus the record companies put all their financial backing into only a HANDFUL of artists, and expect everyone to embrace those 20 artists. That is why I believe shows like Making the band and American Idol are complete Garbage since all they are doing is trying to dictate to the american kids what they are SUPPOSED TO LIKE. By making it into a fun tv show, I bet the winner could actually suck, and still get record sales because people are EASILY manipulated, when it comes to advertising. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rendclaw 0 Report post Posted May 3, 2003 American Idol is one of the worst "reality" ideas to ever come down the pike... Now that I think about it, I do download mp3s for the sake of testing the waters, as my disposable income is not to the point where I can buy like 4 or 5 CDs and spend $100 bucks... the RIAA cannot go after the millions (and millions) of people that use just one flie-sharing program, like Kazaa, never mind any of the myriad others... they can try to shut it down, but in the end they are going to fail, and every time they "succeed" it just pushes things back underground. The reason why prices are so high is because record companies pay RIDICULOUS amounts of money to these so-called artists, and then they have to make their money back somehow. Is raising the price of the albums the answer? No. The RIAA is finding out that yes, you can't force-feed music to us as expect to make an album triple-platinum in the first week... peoples musical tastes are starting to get way too varied for that strategy to work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Youth N Asia Report post Posted May 3, 2003 Those bastards got enough money from me for music cds that sucked balls...I'm due to get something back. SPEAKING OF...does anyone know if/when those checks are going to be mailed out? The whole deal about record companies giving back to people who's bought cds from 95-00? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mr. Slim Citrus Report post Posted May 3, 2003 Does this message thing only pop up when you chat in these file sharing programs? Because I don't do the chat thing, and I've never seen it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cartman Report post Posted May 3, 2003 Where the hell are you people buying CD's? 20 bucks for a CD? Unless it's some double disk album or whatever I have never seen CD's cost 20 bucks. I get CD's from two places. One is Newbury Comics, which I know is only in the area where I live so not everyone has that option. The other is Best Buy. As far as I know Best Buy is everywhere and they sell CD's cheap. I get new releases for under 10 dollars all the time. CD's average about 12 bucks normally unless you have to go to some music store in a mall like FYE or a Strawberries that overcharges for CD's. That's thr STORE not the record companies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Youth N Asia Report post Posted May 3, 2003 Yeah, I've never paid over $12.99 for a cd unless it was something I've been looking for forever. I don't know how prices are in NY and CA, but that's about average here. Although that's still too much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cartman Report post Posted May 3, 2003 Agreed it is still too much. I would like ALL CD's to be 10 or less. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted May 3, 2003 I refuse to buy from anywhere but Best Buy or a cheap online retailer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted May 4, 2003 That's thr STORE not the record companies. No, it's the record companies. They lost a class-action lawsuit regarding price-fixing on CDs, and have yet to do one damn thing about it. Some of it may be the mall stores marking up the price more than they need to, but the record companies still set the SRPs too high. New-release discounts are also not suggested in the SRPs. Best Buy goes against the grain, and the record companies won't cut them off because they move so many CDs thru that channel. The average price of a CD in America is somewhere around $17. Blame whoever you want for that, but I won't pay that much no matter whose fault it is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MaxPower27 Report post Posted May 4, 2003 cartman, I don't have Newbury Comics in Florida. Best Buy has CD's, and I go there occasionally, but I think it's high time that the record companies started making me actually WANT to spend money on a CD. Now that I have kazaa lite, forget it. I'm not buying CD's for a good long time. What's that? The record companies are losing money? Excuse me while I cry. I guess billions aren't enough for them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
