Has Riaa Given Up?

[KamiKazeKrieg]

What is the current situation with RIAA? Is it safe to download again? Are they still busting people? Is there less and less users filesharing? Will this situation ever stop? Please, i need answers!!! I need to know how the front is these days!!! :helpsmile:

[4th gen]

"Any thoughts that the RIAA may be learning that suing existing and potentially new customers doesn't make much sense over the long term can be dismissed.

"We must continue on this course," says the RIAA's rarely seen chairman and ceo Mitch Bainwol. "It is essential to fostering an environment where legal online music services can flourish."

He's quoted in a Reuters/Billboard report here discussing the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Heralded by the RIAA as vindication of its sue 'em all campaign (under which it's been dragging hapless p2p file sharers from schoolgirls to grandfathers into court on alleged copyright violation charges), the Pew report said 'illegal' music file sharing is down among those 18 and older.

Bainwol says the study shows the RIAA is "on the right track," the Big Five labels, who own the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and pay Bainwols not inconsiderably salary, say it's a raging success and, such is their influence, the mainstream internartional media echo their sentiments ad nauseum.

But, writes Bill Holland in , "Eric Garland, CEO of Big Champagne ... says that the industry enforcement program has changed attitudes, if not behavior.

"Six months ago, everybody would tell interviewers they use P2P because it was hip. No longer."

But on the veracity of the Pew responses, Webspins consultant John Fagot quotes the late writer H.L. Mencken: "It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know you would lie if you were in his place."

Pew director Lee Rainie admits some interviewees "might not have 'fessed up," says the story, "but he stands behind the numbers saying, "You should keep in mind we were counting people, not the amount of files being transferred.""

[Ariel_001]

Originally posted by KamiKazeKrieg@19 January 2004 - 05:30
What is the current situation with RIAA? Is it safe to download again? Are they still busting people? Is there less and less users filesharing? Will this situation ever stop? Please, i need answers!!! I need to know how the front is these days!!! :helpsmile:
*sniff* smells like your one of them...

[KamiKazeKrieg]

What the hell do you know you stupid Canuck. Go play hockey or chug some maple syrup.

[4th gen]

Originally posted by KamiKazeKrieg@19 January 2004 - 04:40
What the hell do you know you stupid Canuck. Go play hockey or chug some maple syrup.
i take it from that highly intelligent comment you&#39;re an american then? <_<

[KamiKazeKrieg]

Im sorry im just worrying about Kazaa and Filesharing. I just watched the South Park episode where the kids have the FBI busting in there room because they downloaded some Judas Priest. And well, it scared me because that can happen to anyone, even me, and well, looking at the list of people already busted is getting pretty LONG&#33; Which is also scary because you never know when you your name will be on that list and you get a letter saying you have to goto court, you arrive and blam you have to pay 12,000, your parents are angry, you are banned from the net for life. AHHHH MAN MY HEAD ACHES, I NEED A HACHET TO THE HEAD TO KILL THE PAIN AND END MY BRAIN&#33;&#33;&#33;

[4th gen]

Originally posted by KamiKazeKrieg@19 January 2004 - 05:11
Im sorry im just worrying about Kazaa and Filesharing. I just watched the South Park episode where the kids have the FBI busting in there room because they downloaded some Judas Priest. And well, it scared me because that can happen to anyone, even me, and well, looking at the list of people already busted is getting pretty LONG&#33; Which is also scary because you never know when you your name will be on that list and you get a letter saying you have to goto court, you arrive and blam you have to pay 12,000, your parents are angry, you are banned from the net for life. AHHHH MAN MY HEAD ACHES, I NEED A HACHET TO THE HEAD TO KILL THE PAIN AND END MY BRAIN&#33;&#33;&#33;
Now you sound like an RIAA employee :lol:

[KamiKazeKrieg]

Nah no way&#33; I sound like a loyal Kazite fearing for his Kings safety&#33; Arnt you scared 4th Gen? Or do you not live in America?

[FuNkY CaPrIcOrN]

Originally posted by KamiKazeKrieg@19 January 2004 - 00:40
What the hell do you know you stupid Canuck. Go play hockey or chug some maple syrup.
:lol: :P :lol:

[4th gen]

Originally posted by KamiKazeKrieg@19 January 2004 - 05:15
Nah no way&#33; I sound like a loyal Kazite fearing for his Kings safety&#33; Arnt you scared 4th Gen? Or do you not live in America?
not scared, don&#39;t live in america and don&#39;t use k-lite :)

[ZeroTolerance]

fuck the...Riaa and yes i live in America but i dont fear or underestimate the power of Riaa but for Americans ,the Riaa can be a sleeping giant right now and be a awaken lion tommorow .



btw fuk the Riaa .opps i already said that :lol:

[KamiKazeKrieg]

Youre totally right ZeroTolerance. Its a scary feeling, i remember when this shit first happened, im in class, reading the newspaper, FRONT PAGE: Kazaa Users Being Sued, or something along those lines. Scared the shit out of me because im a kazaa user and i depend on Kazaa to check out bands ive heard about.

Anyways, like you said, one day RIAA is taking a nap, next day RIAA is on a rampage.

[Sparkle1984]

Originally posted by KamiKazeKrieg@19 January 2004 - 22:28
Youre totally right ZeroTolerance. Its a scary feeling, i remember when this shit first happened, im in class, reading the newspaper, FRONT PAGE: Kazaa Users Being Sued, or something along those lines. Scared the shit out of me because im a kazaa user and i depend on Kazaa to check out bands ive heard about.

Anyways, like you said, one day RIAA is taking a nap, next day RIAA is on a rampage.
What newspaper was that?

Also, don&#39;t be scared - just tick all those boxes on the Options menu for privacy (if they are not already ticked). :D

[Switeck]

The RIAA still has quite a list of names already resolved BEFORE the ruling which makes it difficult for them to aquire new file-sharer lists. They will go harder on them and possibly spread them over time to give the illusion of &#39;ongoing&#39; busts.

However, they probably are still getting open-door help from many ISPs who don&#39;t give a damn about their customers&#39; privacy. Nevermind the fact that some of those in the list are guilty of nothing other than mistaken identity... RIAA has falsely accused a few before and will continue doing so, even going so far as to THREATEN those they KNOW are innocent.

Barring that, the RIAA will probably go with the harder (legal) route to aquire names/locations/etc for a few &#39;blatant&#39; file-sharers who are sharing 1,000&#39;s of MP3s. But it REALLY won&#39;t be worth going after the &#39;small fry&#39; now&#33;

Sharing 1,000&#39;s of popular files is generally a bad idea in any case -- as it overloads your connection FAR FASTER than you can upload them. In 1 hour&#39;s time you may get more upload requests than you could fill in a MONTH&#33;

[KamiKazeKrieg]

Hmm, so RIAA is tricking us, those bastards&#33;&#33;&#33; Anyways, i dont have tons upon tons of mp3&#39;s, right now i have 12 haha. So i dont think im going to be the next big target or raid er something rambo like that

[MichaelCrawford]

One thing the RIAA has been effective at is scaring people into finding other ways to download music.

Have a look at the statistics page (http://www.goingware.com/tips/legal-downloads-stats.html) for my legal music downloading article (http://www.goingware.com/tips/legal-downloads.html) and you will see a spike in its traffic starting just when the lawsuits were filed.

(Scroll down the page a little to see the graph.)

Just about all of that traffic came from search engines, searching for such queries as "legal music downloads"