Music Industry Sends Warning to Song Swappers

Reuters ^ | April 29, 2003 | Sue Zeidler

[Mister Magoo]

Wednesday April 30, 3:06 AM Music Industry Sends Warning to Song Swappers By Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The record industry opened a new front in its war against online piracy on Tuesday by surprising hundreds of thousands of Internet song swappers with an instant message warning that they could be "easily" identified and face "legal penalties."

About 200,000 users of the Grokster and Kazaa file-sharing services received the warning notice on Tuesday and at least one million will be getting the message within a week, according to music industry officials.

The copyright infringement warnings, which were sent by the Recording Industry Association of America, on behalf of the major record labels, said in part:

"It appears that you are offering copyrighted music to others from your computer. ...When you break the law, you risk legal penalties. There is a simple way to avoid that risk: DON'T STEAL MUSIC, either by offering it to others to copy or downloading it on a 'file-sharing' system like this. When you offer music on these systems, you are not anonymous and you can easily be identified."

The music industry's campaign for the hearts and minds of Internet song swappers comes four days after a federal judge threw an unexpected roadblock to its efforts to shut down song-swapping services in court.

U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson on Friday ruled that the Grokster and Morpheus services should not be shut down because they cannot control what is traded over their systems. Like a videocassette recorder, the software in question could be used for legitimate purposes as well as illicit ones, he said.

"We're expecting to send at least a million messages or more per week because these users are offering to distribute music on Kazaa or Grokster," said Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA.

Sherman described the move as an educational effort to inform users that offering copyrighted music on peer-to-peer networks is illegal and that they face consequences when they participate in this illegal activity.

[SamAdams76]

What about all the articles we read here for free instead of subscribing to the magazines or newspapers that run them? Aren't we thieves as well?

And don't rationalize it by saying that these articles are mostly available for free online. If you notice, those websites run ads and the rates for those ads are dependent upon traffic for the site. If the articles are posted here, traffic to their site is reduced and their ad revenues are reduced.

BTW, I fully support Free Republic's right to have the articles posted here. I'm just making the argument that it's technically the same thing as file-swapping MP3s.

Personally, I think the music industry benefits by the trading of MP3s as more people are exposed to the music, many of which will eventually purchase the CD and/or attend the concerts of the recording act in question. I also think newspapers and magazines gain a wider readership by exposure on sites like Free Republic. (Though it would help if we all got in the habit of clicking the source link so that the web traffic of the sites providing the articles are duly compensated.)

[Dominic Harr]

What about all the articles we read here for free instead of subscribing to the magazines or newspapers that run them? Aren't we thieves as well?

Exactly.

[LowOiL]

I don't have too, I don't use the programs anyway. I am bandwidth deprived and don't use them. I belong to a few groups of 80's music fans. We just use our web space and offer music to other fellow fans we trust. Quicker, safer, and spyfree.

We used to use www.myplay.com until it died a few months ago. It was a great way to share without using your space/bandwidth. There is thousands of ways, Newsgroups are still popular too.

[aruanan]

The RIAA is fighting a war that has been decided before it was even fought. Even if a specific statute was enacted criminalizing file-swapping, it would be unenforceable. The music industry will simply have to adopt new economic models.

Their new economic model will be to get asset forfeiture added as a penalty for swapping songs and then move in to seize the homes and bank accounts of the parents of all the teens who are swapping songs. Since under current asset forfeiture laws one doesn't even have to be convicted to have assets seized and because even if acquitted one doesn't automatically get one's property returned, this will prove to be a bonanza for both the RIAA and all the local police departments that will share the loot.

[Poohbah]

FR does respect the terms of the sites in question.

The LA Slimes and the Washington ComPost demand that we only post excerpts. We do that.

Others do not require that.

The RIAA's position is that they don't want folks distributing copies, particularly en masse.

One may not like it--but one should respect it, or get used to being considered a thief.

[Mister Magoo]

Exactly. I forgot about the newsgroups. Many fileswappers exclusively use the newsgroups without ever venturing into the world of Kazaa. Kazaa just makes it easier.

[AAABEST]

I was wondering why I couldn't make any sense of your #3 until I read #11. From a technological standpoint it's comical and ridiculous. Do yourself a favor and stick to subjects you know something about, such as the "clampdown" industrial complex.

I'm familiar with your tendancy to "go on", so I'll let you have the last word as I have things I need to do.

[borkrules]

Looking forward to the response from poo to your last post.

Interesting debate.

[InterceptPoint]

The film industry expected videocasette recorder sales to destroy movie-ticket sales.

Way back when here on the LeftCoast there was a successful ballot initiative to outlaw Pay Television (as it was called in those days.) The film industry was afraid that paying for TV would cut into theater ticket sales. Amazing when you think about since it is Hollywood that is supplying the HBOs of the world their product. These guys are always behind the times and trying to use the law to protect their business.

[Jhoffa_]

If I got a paycheck from the RIAA, the RIAA would quit lobbying Congress tomorrow...and then the fun would REALLY start. This won't get fixed in the world of law; it's going to get fixed under the law of "s**t happens."

I think it's going to get fixed at a long, walnut table somewheres..

I can see gate, music industry people and all the other players with a financial stake in this coming up with an unbreakable copyright/encryption scheme embedded in firmware, then making it the industry standard.

Eventually these arrogant napster guy's are going to get shut down, but not before they make life a hell for the rest of us..

[The Grammarian]

Actually, it equals sodomy.

Merriam-Webster Online:

One entry found for sodomy.

Main Entry: sod·omy Pronunciation: 'sä-d&-mE Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old French sodomie, from Late Latin Sodoma Sodom; from the homosexual proclivities of the men of the city in Gen 19:1-11 Date: 13th century 1 : copulation with a member of the same sex or with an animal 2 : noncoital and especially anal or oral copulation with a member of the opposite sex - sod·om·it·ic /"sä-d&-'mi-tik/ or sod·om·it·i·cal /-ti-k&l/ adjective

[Poohbah]

From a technological standpoint it's comical and ridiculous.

I have a friend who developed a P2P malware app (the Trojan Horse from Hell) that could do all that. All it would take to activate would be a remote command via the P2P network.

[Jhoffa_]

"Gates" (as in William)

Rather..

[The Grammarian]

I can see gate, music industry people and all the other players with a financial stake in this coming up with an unbreakable copyright/encryption scheme embedded in firmware, then making it the industry standard.

But nothing's unbreakable. So it'd just take a few hackers a few days or weeks to crack, then distribute their information into cyberspace.

[aruanan]

"It appears that you are offering copyrighted music to others from your computer. ...When you break the law, you risk legal penalties. There is a simple way to avoid that risk: DON'T STEAL MUSIC, either by offering it to others to copy or downloading it on a 'file-sharing' system like this. When you offer music on these systems, you are not anonymous and you can easily be identified."

Now, if the RIAA is able to monitor exchanges between these file-sharing services and the users, doesn't this fall into the category of intercepting electronic communications, an action for which, if you employ a honey pot on your computer to monitor and catch hackers, you can be arrested? Unless the RIAA has an arrangement with the file-sharing services to receive names and addresses of users, doesn't this constitute massive computer crime on the RIAA's part?

[rottweiller_inc]

not to mention the songs played on the radio.

[Jhoffa_]

But nothing's unbreakable.

Yet.

There's big money and brilliant minds working on this all the time.

It will happen and I am gonna post the biggest, most mean spirited, stick in the eye vanity you have ever seen when it does.

There's too much money at stake for it to be ignored. MS is edging closer everyday and others are following suit.

[Poohbah]

You're right.

MONEY, in general, is going to drive the move to truly unbreakable crypto. No one in commerce or financial services is satisfied with the rinky-dink systems Uncle lets you use and export today.

[Dominic Harr]

I'd argue that 'IP' laws are an impossible legal fiction that can not last.

'Ideas' are not property. Any more than 'slaves' were property.

I'd argue that 'minimum wage' laws are what is required for 'ideas'. A guarantee that you will get paid for use of the ideas.

Labeling 'ideas' as 'property' actually retards economic activity. Especially as the 'IP' time period approaches 'infinite'.

When a good new idea is 'owned' for 100+ years, then that means the vast majority of society can't use the new ideas.

[rottweiller_inc]

Songs played on the radio are public domain since the public "owns" the airwaves. Are you intending to pursure radio liseners too ( and those recording it) as part of copyrighted property? It is after all distrubed freely to anyone with a receiver.