RIAA Lawsuits and MP3s

[Quinn]

So has everyone abandoned their file-sharing apps? I didn't use them in the first place but I sure will be avoiding them now.

I haven't seen any real figures but I really don't like the way the RIAA operates, skimming money from the artists. It's like a protection racket, artists pay them for the right to release music almost it seems. Brutal. As far as I'm concerned they should be the defendants in court. I was pleased to see that some labels are lowering the cost of CDs. I also feel that purchasing MP3s per single online for a low price is a great idea, I would buy a lot more music if I could buy individual tracks.

RIAA/CRIA says that piracy is affecting artist revenue. I agree to a point but I think that there are a lot of people downloading music who wouldn't buy it if they couldn't get it for free. It just isn't worth it.

The music industry really seems like a bit of a joke to me, always the same predictable styles making it into the "top" 10s... at the same time RIAA/CRIA says that if we don't buy our music, new music won't be made. What a crock. Artists don't start making music just to get rich. Bryan Adams wasn't playing guitar in high school thinking to himself how much money he'd soon be making. He just wanted to be a rock star (as per the story in Summer of '69). There are so many garage bands out there. I went to a crap little rural high school of about 800 students and there were still at least three bands in the school that had self-released albums, and probably twenty or thirty other kids who wanted to be in a band.

Trying to control piracy is like trying to control prohibition. It's obviously a crime, but how do you stop it when the whole country is doing it. On the other hand, prohibition was easy - legalize booze and everyone makes money/is happy (drunk). Legalize piracy and someone is still getting screwed. It will be interesting to see where this goes. I'm just glad CRIA hasn't taken the same steps that RIAA has. After all I think we Canadians pride ourselves on being a little more reserved and cautious than our neighbours, who recently have been making a few rash decisions. Although I heard RIAA had a guy in New Zealand busted...

[Canadian Man]

So who is the CRIA and the RIAA?
You will have to excause my ignorance Quinn,

[Quinn]

Acronyms for your enjoyment...

RIAA - Recording Industry Association of America
CRIA - Canadian Recording Industry Association

[Canadian Man]

Ok now I re read your first post and it makes sense.
Thanks.

So does this mean I should not get the Kazza software tonight to get some song's for my guitar practice

[Quinn]

Well they've taken close to 300 Americans to court now, mostly out of court settlements, somewhere between $3000 and $50,000 each or something. I haven't been following it too closely. I think they are targetting the people who do a lot of sending, not really the downloaders, but I stay away myself. I doubt you'll get caught for a few songs but don't take my word on that.

[Buccaneer]

File-swapping lawsuits: Are you next?

By John Borland
CNET News.com
September 8, 2003, 5:10 PM PT






The Recording Industry Association of America sued 261 alleged file swappers Monday, launching a legal campaign against ordinary Internet users that could ultimately result in thousands of additional lawsuits.
But are you at risk?

If you or a family member have used Kazaa or any other file-swapping application recently and have left your computer open to the Net, the answer is possibly--although the odds of being singled out among an estimated 60 million people using peer-to-peer software remain small. If you've kept thousands of songs in the file you're sharing with other file swappers, then the odds are a little better, though still slim.


Here's a quick look at how the RIAA has done its investigations and what kind of information it has used to find people and file Monday's lawsuits.

Step one: Finding file-traders isn't hard. Anybody who opens a shared folder on Kazaa, Morpheus or any other file-swapping network is susceptible to potentially prying eyes.

In the most recent wave of investigations, the RIAA has used automated tools that look for a relatively short list of files. When it finds a person sharing one or more of those files, it downloads all or many of them for verification purposes. A complete list of these target files is not available, but a sampling of files cited in the early lawsuits includes the following artists and songs:

• Bobby McFerrin, "Don't Worry, Be Happy"
• Thompson Twins, "Hold Me Now"
• Eagles, "Hotel California"
• George Michael, "Kissing A Fool"
• Paula Abdul, "Knocked Out"
• Green Day, "Minority"
• UB40, "Red Red Wine"
• Ludacris "Area Codes"
• Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"
• Avril Lavigne, "Complicated"


This is far from a complete list, but if you've downloaded and shared any of those songs recently, you may be at greater risk of finding your way onto the RIAA's list.

Step two: The RIAA uses features within Kazaa, Grokster and some other software programs to list all the files available within a person's shared folder and takes screenshots of that information. As filed in court, that provides a record of what in some cases has been thousands of songs shared at once.

Step three: The RIAA's software records the Internet address associated with a computer that is sharing one of the copyrighted songs the organization is investigating. Some file-swapping programs try to hide this by using mechanisms such as proxy servers, but most downloads still expose this information.

Step four: According to information filed as part of a related lawsuit, the RIAA also has the ability to do a more sophisticated analysis of the files that have been downloaded. The group checks the artist's name, title, and any "metadata" information attached to the files, looking for information that may indicate what piece of software has been used to create the file or any other. Some files swapped widely on the Net include messages from the original person who created the MP3 file, such as "Created by Grip" or "Finally the Real Full CD delivered fresh for everyone on Grokster and Kazaa to Enjoy!"

The RIAA has also analyzed in detail some files' contents. The trade group has databases of digital fingerprints, or "hashes," that identify songs that were swapped online in Napster's heyday. Investigators check these fingerprints against those found in a new suspected file swapper's folder, looking for matches. A match means the file has almost certainly been downloaded from the Net, likely from a stream of copies dating back to the original Napster file.

Step five: The RIAA files a subpoena request with a federal court. The subpoena allows the group to go to an Internet service provider and request the name and address of the subscriber who's associated with the Net address that was used to swap files. A few Internet service providers (ISPs) have fought back against these requests, but most have been forced to comply with the RIAA's request.

Many ISPs notify their subscribers when a subpoena comes in that targets their information. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has set up a database that allows people to see whether their online screen name has been the target of one of these subpoenas.

The RIAA said it has filed more than 1,500 of these subpoenas to date.

Step six: Once the identity of the ISP subscriber has been exposed, the RIAA puts together all the information gleaned through the earlier technical investigation and files a lawsuit. In earlier cases, it has accepted settlement agreements that range between $12,000 and $17,000. In this case, it has accepted some settlement agreements for as little as $3,000.

[Buccaneer]

Want to see if you are in the subpoena database ?

http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/riaasubpoenas/

Put your screen name in and check to see if the RIAA has their sights set on you

[powerboy]

there is a neat little program you can get to stop bots from connecting to your machine.. its called peer guardian, and its available at http://methlabs.org/methlabs.htm get the newest version. 1.99

basically this program has a list of ip ranges which are owned by these evil corporations, and it blocks them from accessing your machine..

wont help you block your ip when using kazaa etc.. but it is nice to see whos trying to spy on you and stops them dead in their tracks.

[Quinn]

Phone-in show on CBC Radio 1 (1010AM in Calgary, 740AM in Edmonton) right now with a CRIA exec on it.

[Wilty]

What did the canadian exec have to say, I kinda missed the program?