Real numbers about RIAA anti-p2p campaign
During an occasionally testy cross examination, a Sony executive said what many observers have suspected for a long time. The RIAA’s four-year-old lawsuit campaign is costing the music industry millions of dollars and is a big money-loser for the record labels. The revelation came during the first day of Capitol Records v. Jammie Thomas, the first file-sharing case to go to trial (it was formerly known as Virgin v. Thomas. One of the biggest bombshells from the cross-examination was Pariser’s admission that the RIAA’s legal campaign isn’t making the labels any money, and that, furthermore, the industry has no idea of the actual damages it suffers due to file-sharing. The admission came during questioning over the amount of damages the RIAA is seeking in the case. Toder asked Pariser how much Sony was suing the defendant for, and she replied that the amount was for the jury to decide and that the labels weren’t suing for actual damages. More info about that particular case from AP (aka can you sue someone with wireless router).
As is the case with the other file-sharing lawsuits, the record industry is only seeking the punitive damages available via the Copyright Act, which can range from $750 to $150,000 per song. “What are your actual damages?” asked Toder. The next line of questioning was how many suits the RIAA has filed so far. Pariser estimated the number at a “few thousand.” “More like 20,000,” suggested Toder. “That’s probably an overstatement,” Pariser replied. She then made perhaps the most startling comment of the day. Saying that the record labels have spent “millions” on the lawsuits, she then said that “we’ve lost money on this program.” The RIAA’s settlement amounts are typically in the neighborhood of $3,000-$4,000 for those who settle once they receive a letter from the music industry. On the other side of the balance sheet is the amount of money paid to SafeNet (formerly MediaSentry) to conduct its investigations, and the cash spent on the RIAA’s legal team and on local counsel to help with the various cases. As Pariser admitted under oath today, the entire campaign is a money pit. Now everyone knows how useless you guys are, so why not stop it at all? It would be better life on the Earth…
Source: Wired, Arstechnica
Fuck the **AA!… including CRIA!
I hear the Emm
True true…
Their are a number of laws prohibiting what is considered piracy, but none that clearly define the rules as they pertain to individuals who use that technology. If a technology is so readily available and usable then why are they not going after the game. As they say hate the game not da playa. I guess it should be illegal to download java as well.
AWWWW…. badluck
looks like the RIAA has bitten off its own nose to spite is face.
would be interesting if it bankrupts itself with failed lawsuits.
LOL
the p2p tech is beyond most pees anyway. easy solutions are what most use to get music.
itunes store, local record store, person to person… etc.
p2p spreads exposure to a particular band anyway. like flooding the world with a particular band. exposure HELPS popularity of an album if it is good.
2cents worth.
tell them to go and look at CHINA
in Msia, Taking Back Sunday and Amber Pacific and such NEVER gets played. if it weren’t thanks to P2P, i wouldn’t have known them, and wouldn’t have gotten my sister to purposely buy me one for my birthday.
and what CaptHack said is right, hate the game, not the playa!
Sounds like a script to me … lol (intellectual patent guys!) Perhaps they could turn it into a movie … and include a free P2P program with the DVD … Any suggestions for the cast ???
@smaugthewyrm, isn’t the **AA’s funded by TAX money? Then they’ll probably not going to get bankrupt.
““What are your actual damages?” asked Toder.”
feels like there’s something missing after that…
I love it when a nerd tries to make out he has a sex life, good for you.
Anyway would it be a big loss if everyone downloaded everything and the record companies didn’t make anymore music or movies or software, we lived without it for a long time hundreds of years ago. we could go outside and take a walk, read a book (unless they stop as well due to piracy), ride a bike, go camping or make sweet sweet love. I mean its all just a few moving pictures and code, we will live as we did before. Who knows the world might be a better place without all that shit.
suckas. they can’t - and never will win. i guess they just have to learn the hard way.
one billion says Melanie is the same guy that thinks he had a treasome.
Nicely said, Lynx (#14). Couldn’t agree more.
he’s a wanker the only threesome 3some he had is with his dick and two hands
BigJobby I have no idea what you just said.
stupid **AA and everyone else that trying to ban sites…
im sure one day they will find P2P usefull
Thanks for imagine I save it
Great….. Just as it seems like this battle is soon coming to an end with the RIAA, the bloody CRIA has threatened Demonoid.com to block all Canadian traffic from its servers. This makes me kinda ticked, most other torrent sites refuse to give in to threatening letters until actual proof is given they are being taken t court and just from a lil letter Demonoid.com goes and blocks ppl, boourns on u Demonoid.com
Lynx sorry bout that mate im scottish i have no idea what i just said it just sounded eh scottish
Demonoid block Canadian ppl but wtf use a proxy ?!!
RIAA will try to settle
POW RIGHT IN THE KISSER! x)
Fuck all mafiAA
#4 CaptainHack, it’s “hate the playa not the game” you retarded poop brain. And I feel that the riaa is actually hurting and they got no clue on how to end piracy. It will never end unless we stop and how p-diddy says “Can’t stop, won’t stop ha-haaaaa”. Peace amigos and amigas!
MPAA is next?
Something all That f*cking Labels forget:
In the dark past, a Bard had to move around and sing LIVE to earn his money. That was REAL work, that was REAL paid.
So STFU to ANY Artist that is workin together with those m*therf*ckers, go out, give a concert, WORK for your money!
that should teach the MAFIAA
COME ON THE IRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You guys are retarded. They don’t need to make any money from the actual law suits. The law suits scare people into not pirating music. We all know piracy is rampant, but imagine if people weren’t scared by the chance they COULD get charged - it would be open season on pirating music.
By pumping money into these anti p2p campaigns, sure they may take a small loss, but even a couple million in the short run is a drop in the bucket compared to what they’d lose from even, say a 5% increase in music piracy. Get a clue you dumb fucks.
I have to agree with Brandon, although the way he said it could be improved. The point of these campaigns is not the settlement amount, its the publicity from the lawsuits. Everyone has heard of someone who has been charged with piracy. The university I attend in Tampa, FL (USF) has worked with the RIAA and settled with thousands of students. The fear at the idea of possibly facing a lawsuit is what the purpose of these campaigns are. Obviously we don’t take these scare tactics too seriously, but there are many more who do.
Brandon,
According to every report I’ve read, piracy has increased since the lawsuits began, not decreased.
@Rekrul
exactly. that proves the point that lawsuits foster piracy. if there were no lawsuits, there would be no piracy.
the RIAA won’t understand it until its too late.
You guys should “search” for The Empire of “The City” video on a popular search engine and watch the show. It will show you who sits atop corporations and especially the RIAA.
Piracy is increasing because technology is decreasing in price and rising in popularity. Look at the demographics of people with high speed internet connections today versus just three years ago. These statistics of rising piracy have nothing to do with the lawsuits, simply with the growing popularity of the internet.
You know… what if *everybody* downloaded music instead buying it? I’ll tell you what would happen:
The music industry *as we know it* would collapse. Millions of people would be out of jobs. That much is pretty obvious. But, we would see a steady increase of free *quality* music, made by people who do it for the love of music.
We would see a very sudden drop of crap music that has been made only to fulfill label contracts. I can’t count the amount of bands that have succumbed to the money machine, and as a result produced crap music, and promptly failed. Some classic examples: MetallicA, AC/DC, etc start up awesome but end up mediocre. (yes I’m a headbanger)
Of course we will also be saved from the tortuous “canned” music eg talentless Spice Girls who where only driven by, and made by money right from the start.
I can say all this because I make music - I would love to make it freely available for people to listen to and share around as they wish - because music is about sharing ideas, emotions, and telling stories. Much the same as painting a picture and hanging it in a gallery for all the world to see.
Unfortunately my music isn’t all that great, and very home made, so at this stage it is unlikely you’ll be hearing it
Anyway, bring on the revolution
There’s a lot of music that does not get the mainstream attention it deserves! We have to listen to handpicked
music, selected by big industry executives who do not understand jack about real music.
They only see profit and marketing, real music gets abandoned to the net and underground scene. So why
bother acting like the music gestapo? And why not
just release great affordable music, and be certain
that real music lover will purchase the records.
The music industry is sickening, with it’s manufactured bands and hand picked assholes who have a pretty face but not an ounce of musical talent.
The good bands will never stop making music, and they will always make money from the concerts they play. It’s wrong that these record label cunts expect to release an album and live off the profits for the rest of their life.
LOL the RIAA, MPAA, or whatever douchebag fucks can keep sending the letters my ISP and me because we arent listeninnnnnnnnnnnnng.
I have a wireless router in my house and i keep telling them “i dunno what happen, i think they are hack me”. I pay better than the MPAA apparently…….
I think the record companies are missing the point, right now if u want to download an album you can either…
A) download it from an offical source, pay a small fee, get it in crappy 128kbps copy protected format, which u need to install some badly written bulky program to download…
B)download it from a torrent or p2p in high quality quickly with album art and no drm.
if i could download a 320kbps or even higher quality than cd could offer format, quickly with no DRM for a small fee, Id be buying lots of music online right now.
history shows that failiure to adapt is a killer. and here we are years after mp3 sharing emerged and the record companies are still trying to throttle the growth of new technology rather than embrace it.
I think they have no one to blame except themselves.
i wonder how many members of the RIAA and MPAA have kids who DL torrents more than us….they should recognize the situation they’re gunna put their kids in….i feel sorry for the kids!! no more EZ access to free porn, i dont think their parents will teach them about sex..somebody tell the NAACP!!
Tom, quit spamming the forums with your video blog….I’ve read that message entirely too many times. No one cares about the lousy streaming videos from ssupload.