How to Tell if the RIAA Wants You 468
codewolf writes "Wired News has an article on how file sharers can check a new online database to see if they are wanted by the recording industry.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has created a site where users can plug in their file-sharing user names. That name is checked against the list of those subpoenas filed in the Washington, D.C. district court.
The EFF also has an article on how to avoid a lawsuit from the RIAA."
Why would I want to plug in my username? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Why would I want to plug in my username? (Score:4, Funny)
Hahahaa, sucker!
Re:Why would I want to plug in my username? (Score:4, Informative)
I trust your comment was in jest, if not:
Come on, this is the EFF. You should go out and take a look at what they have done to date to protect your online rights...
Here is what they are doing right now:
http://www.eff.org/Legal/active_legal.html
My suggestion for all is to follow the links on the EFF site to write to your congressperson and possibly make a donation to the EFF...
You do get a pretty cool T-Shirt
Re:why can't they just list the names? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:why can't they just list the names? (Score:3, Insightful)
Uhm, that seems a lot like the default username for Kazaa lite, which would be the same for hundreds of lazy users. Same goes for "Jim", "Jeff" and "Jessica". Good luck proving which jim@Kazaa was sharing copyrighted music.
It's really simple (Score:5, Funny)
Link to the "munkyspanker21" Subpoena (Score:2, Informative)
Note that this particular subpoena was sent to Time Warner. That means that although AOL users were conspicuously missing from the subpoenas so far, Time Warner Cable/RoadRunner users are being hunted down.
In the previous story there was some speculation that since Time Warner has interest in RIAA their customers might be off the hook... Doesn't look that way.
You forgot IP address and MP3 playlists (Score:2)
I was looking for my username (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I was looking for my username (Score:3, Informative)
I did find a mike@Kazaa. The subpoena lists NINE copyrighted songs that his copy of Kazaa offered for download from his computer. That's like 2/3 of a CD. Keith Epstein, head of Mike's ISP, has to make the painful decision of whether or not to fight the subpoena.
It should be noted that the lawyer who sent the subpoena, Yvette Molinaro, is expecting email replies from the ISPs to dmca@msk.com, or phone calls to (310) 312-3297. This is all information in the public
Important point (Score:5, Insightful)
Small world (Score:5, Interesting)
RIAA can't subpoena Chinese, French or Russian users. And it is not even very clear if RIAA's sister organisations in their respective countries can, because laws are different over there (remember Sklyarov and how PDF encryption breaking is legal in Russia?).
So, I guess Americans can safely disable their shares and let the world feed the networks for a while. When RIAA comes to town in Australia, for instance, we do it the other way around.
Re:Small world (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Small world (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Small world (Score:3, Informative)
What source did you base your comment on? Of were you just making up facts?
Honest mistake, perhaps? (and it's better yet) (Score:2)
So, no need to be harsh. It was just a mistake, and one that doesn't even make the argument in the comment invalid, quite the contrary. The more users worldwide, the less the networks depend on RIAA subjects.
Re:Honest mistake, perhaps? (and it's better yet) (Score:3, Informative)
Anyway, it's fairly save to say that if every American user turned off th
Re:Small world (Score:2)
For people in those countries, no laws are being broken when older material is being traded.
You might say, well who cares about old stuff, but it doesn't end there because in many of those countries, foreign copyrights are not granted automatically and require
Sure RIAA/MPAA can sue foreign people! (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course they can. With a little help from their copyright-affiliates in the said countries.
Every western country has a RIAA/MPAA equivalent and they dance to the tune of those who represent the largest media corporations: RIAA and MPAA.
I do not live in the US, but I received a cease and desist letter from US attorneys for breaking the DMCA by sharing deCSS code on my foreign server. Recently I have been probed and DoSed (one of my IPs is still bei
Re:Small world (Score:5, Interesting)
I think that there are only a handful of Tier-1 providers (UUNet, etc.) that actually provide connectivity between the US and Europe or Asia, and other ISPs buy connectivity from them. What if the RIAA were to find a few hundred P2P servers in Europe and Asia and order UUNet, etc., to block access to them? It may wreck connectivity and UUNet may fight it, but the law seems pretty clear and UUNet would most likely lose.
The part of the DMCA authorizing this: Title 17 section 512 (j)(1)(B)(ii) [cornell.edu]
The "specific, identified, online location" could be just an IP address at which the RIAA has found a P2P server running.Re:Small world (Score:4, Interesting)
Funny, I remember hearing on the duthc news about US law enforcements agencies being allowed to arrest dutch citizens on dutch soil and prosecute them in the US. Or US agencies enforcing extreme cargo checking in the port of Rotterdam (which is one of the biggest ports in the world, if not THE biggest) and the fact dutch airline agencies have to report ALL US bound passengers and their data to US agencies. All this under the "protection against terrorism" while the dutch goverment bends over and dutyfully takes it up the arse under the motto of "But our economy needs a trade impulse.".
Jesus, I'm going to need a weapon to defend myself against my own goddamn goverment. So this is how it feels to live in a US controlled puppet-state. Remember people, all this happened in a nice "hush hush" way, so I wouldn't be TOO surprised if the same applies in several countries where the officials seem to be Bush's puppets, Like the United Kingdom, Spain and maybe Australia. In fact, I think our prime ministers wished he was with Bush, Blair and Aznar on the pro-economic war on Iraq, except the whole ensemble would look silly with a trigger-happy cowboy, someone who appears to come straight from a Monty Python sketch, Don Quixote and Harry Potter. That and the dutch armed forces have a history of helping serbian nationalists with genocide. (Remember Srebrenica? We do, hence why the goverment doesn't DARE to put dutch armed forces into a combat situation.)
Re:Small world (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Small world (Score:3, Insightful)
So if you crack some encryption method in Europe then go to the US what's business is it of theirs? the current system is just a way for the US to punish citizens of countries with weak laws.
Re:Important point (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Important point (Score:2, Insightful)
Again, to be blunt, most of the free/independent stuff sucks. People don't want it.
Sturgeon's law (Score:5, Informative)
I personally listen to almost 100% indie music and find that its harder to find good RIAA artists/songs than it is to find good indie artists. Certainly per capita the RIAA loses and badly.
You can try this site [epitonic.com] if you're new to indie music, indie rock in particular. They also have 128kbs streaming MP3s. Or you can pay a visit to a couple of the bigger and more popular indie labels like Matador [matadorrecords.com] or Jade Tree. [jadetree.com]
Yeah, its tough finding good indie music, but that's only because the RIAA and Clearchannel monopolies make it so. If you put in a little effort you might be surprised at what you find.
I hope the indie labels exploit these damn lawsuits to increase their profile amongst music lovers.
Re:Sturgeon's law (Score:5, Interesting)
Show of Hands for example won't be found on any RIAA list but they play the Albert Hall in the UK each year, which is not a small or cheap venue. This year they are playing the Eden Project with a load of other bands.
Some of the sounds and styles also just don't exist in the RIAAdom, hop over to www.machinaesupremacy.com and find out what happens when rock and computer game music collide.
Certainly in the UK nowdays if you want to hear decent music, turn off the radio, turn off MTV and go down the pub. or go to some music festivals that have non "mainstream" bands. Much of the music is very good and for the stuff that isnt tbe beer at festivals is almost always excellent.
Re:Important point (Score:4, Insightful)
As far as music goes, I tend to think that the majority of major label stuff is quite unbearable to listen to. A lot of people subscribe to the idea that if the artist isn't signed to a major, then it must not be good enough. That is so rediculous! Music production can be done so cheaply now that for a few thousand dollars, a talented musician can make a CD that sounds better than any big budget major label recording.
On the other hand, independent films do not have that luxury just yet and it will be a while before they can compete with big budget movie studios. This kind of limitation can be good though, as it forces the filmaker to be more creative and focus more on the story (something that this summer's crop of special-effects laden "blockbuster" films seem to lack).
Re:Important point (Score:4, Insightful)
Which selects against creativity. Some creative artists will break through anyway, as much by luck and chance as by skill or talent. But more often they have to slog it alone because they aren't sufficiently *marketable*.
It's up to *buyers* of music to help convince the market that we're willing to buy different and unusual music. But most of the consumer market is never *exposed* to alternatives to whatever is on Clear Channel, and you can't very well buy what you don't know exists. So this bias against creativity remains a vicious cycle.
Re:Important point (Score:5, Funny)
You might have to show up in court but the comedy would be priceless and, of course, you could counter-sue the RIAA for violating your civil rights.
Parody lives. [firstamendmentcenter.org]
Re:Important point (Score:4, Insightful)
How safe are those not in US (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:How safe are those not in US (Score:5, Interesting)
Currently it seems that the RIAA goes after US people only, the DMCA does not apply in europe and the middle east (anyway, it didn't till not long ago)...
But , seeing the history of cooperation between the US and european countries the RIAA might very well get their hands on users from other countries...
In short, I would love to hear from anyone the "countries outside of the US are not involved in this"... but I fear no one will be up for the challenge...
Re:How safe are those not in US (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:How safe are those not in US (Score:2, Informative)
Re:How safe are those not in US (Score:5, Informative)
Re:How safe are those not in US (Score:2)
Re:How safe are those not in US (Score:2, Informative)
Nowhere to Hide--Compliance is Now Worldwide
Because piracy is an international problem, RIAA has joined with the International Recording Media Association (IRMA) and other groups to combat this problem worldwide. (IRMA represents the world's leading replicators of optical media.) Recently IRMA launched the world's first Anti-Piracy Certification/Compliance Program for the manufacture of CDs, DVDs and CD-ROMs.
Similar to RIAA's domestic guidelines, this global initiative is designed t
Curious point on what /. readers consider rights. (Score:2, Interesting)
How many of you does this annoy because you consider it a blatant disregard of legal process that the RIAA can just dive in and subpoena anyone they choose.
And who does it annoy cos you REALLY think it's your right to download as much IP as you can for free because... hey, it's digital, and it's your right?
Re:Curious point on what /. readers consider right (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Curious point on what /. readers consider right (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, and a subpoena before this RIAA crap was something that could only be court ordered, not something a company or corporation could do just out of the blue. That is what's shitting people. It's giving law enforcement rights to a body that is NOT a law enforcement agency. The "slippery slope" thing here is what worries me. How small a change would it take before the RIAA is given not only the right to subpoena an ISP for names of users who they suspect of filesharing, but to send out fines without running through proper legal channels?
There are philosophical links to PayPal here. It's not a bank and is not under the same regulatory controls as banks, yet it acts as one and gets the benefits of being one. the RIAA is not a law enforcement agency and is not under the same regulatory controls as one, yet it acts as one.
Re:Curious point on what /. readers consider right (Score:5, Insightful)
> LEGAL SYSTEM WAS MEANT TO BE USED.
No. the RIAA is not using the legal system at all and that is what's highly questionable. It is now able to bypass the legal system and directly order subpoenas by itself. That is inherently dangerous when a corporation who stands to benefit from legal action has been given the legal right to bring action against whoever THEY suspect, WITHOUT going through all the correct channels of the legal system that has existed in this country for hundreds of years.
Re:Curious point on what /. readers consider right (Score:3, Informative)
"The following user names were culled from subpoenas filed with the US District Court in Washington, DC." (taken from here [techtv.com] which was reference in this [slashdot.org] slashdot story)
As you can see, the subpoenas were files WITH A COURT. Therefor the RIAA was asking the court to enforce the subpaenos, as happens whenever someone wants to issue a subpoena!
So, lets see, in this case the RIAA hasnt done anything extra legal, non legal, or unlegal
Re:Curious point on what /. readers consider right (Score:4, Interesting)
The big huff is that they only have to file them with a measly clerk. There is no judical oversight. If that's what you call "file[d] WITH A COURT", then I've got some great "advice FROM A MAJOR STOCK FIRM"... That advice will be from the secretary, or possibly a janitor, but that's good enough according to you...
Nothing is illegial if it gets legalized... The DMCA and other such laws made this possible, but it should not be allowed. It's not strictly illegial, as congress passed the law, and the courts have upheld it so far, but it certainly violates many rights that Americans are accustomed to.
No, the founders of the USA did not mean for the legal system to be used to take away the life-savings of college students, just for sharing 3 MP3 files... Another case where congress' actions are in conflict with the constitution is copyright law, which is now being infinitely extended, even though that is explicitly disallowed. Since the congress decided that they can do that, does that make it right, or okay? Most rational people don't believe so...
Re:Curious point on what /. readers consider right (Score:2)
Riiiiiight. You like just any old entity to be able to decide what information to get about you from your ISP just because THEY suspect you of doing them wrong, instead of going through courts?
You do by what you've just said. Cool. I'll just go subpoena your CC number. Thanks!
Fair enough question (Score:2)
H
Re:Curious point on what /. readers consider right (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm pissed at the RIAA because they are abusing the legal process. This is all obviously FUD so they can shut down any competition and steal money from everyone (through media/internet/computer "royalties"--really taxes)--including those who don't want anything to do with their "products."
It's sad to see the EFF has joined their cause: [eff.org]
Re:Curious point on what /. readers consider right (Score:2, Informative)
I totally agree that the levy on CDs is a waste [specially since I bet more people pirate software than audio with the CDs].
Database not reliable... (Score:4, Interesting)
Don't rely on this too much.
What about IRC? (Score:5, Interesting)
Has the RIAA started it's "crackdown" on IRC networks?
Re:What about IRC? (Score:2)
Re:What about IRC? (Score:3, Interesting)
Perhaps not the RIAA, but a friend of mine got a cease-and-desist letter from the BSA [bsa.org] (passed through his ISP) for being found sharing files over IRC.
And this is in Sweden
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What about IRC? (Score:4, Interesting)
A: enter song name in search field, click search, click on the first name that shows up. launch file when done.
or
B: connect to IRC. Server full, connect to another IRC server. Wait. Join a channel. Spend two minutes closing all the popup spam windows. Sift through lists of fserve postings. Copy/paste the trigger. If necessary, sift through the fserve looking for the file you wanted. Discover that the user actually expects you to upload something first. Upload something. Get kicked off because that user doesn't want what you're uploading. Find someone else offering the same file. Makes you go to a bunch of porn sites to assemble a password for his ftp server. Connect to said ftp server. Watch while it recycles because it's already maxed out. Finally connect. Oh look, you have to upload something here too.........
Half the people using Kazza probably don't even realize that they're sharing files. That's both the beauty and the curse of that system. People contribute what they've downloaded back to the world, even if they're not aware of it. It's also the reason that fakes, broken files, sabotaged files live on forever because people don't delete them, and they get served back out for others to propogate. But the ease of use by the users also makes it easy to target by the RIAA. Lots of clueless, easy to target people, all in one place.
-Restil
Another point (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Another point (Score:3, Informative)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like this would do too much good. I suppose, as another user suggested, one could simply disable the sharing of
Re:Another point (Score:5, Funny)
"As you can see, we've had our eye on you for some time now, Mr. Anderson. It seems that you've been living two lives.
In one life, you're Thomas A. Anderson, program writer for a respectable software company. You have a social security number, you pay your taxes, and you help your landlady carry out her garbage. The other life is lived in computers, where you go by the hacker alias 'kazaa-lite-tk' and are guilty of illegially downloading virtually every copyrighted file available on the internet... Over your 56k internet connection in the past 3 months."
Subpoena (Score:4, Informative)
[a@desk,docs] dict subpoena
3 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Subpoena \Sub*p[oe]"na\, n. [NL., fr. L. sub under + poena
punishment. See {Pain}.] (Law)
A writ commanding the attendance in court, as a witness, of
the person on whom it is served, under a penalty; the process
by which a defendant in equity is commanded to appear and
answer the plaintiff's bill. [Written also {subpena}.]
{Subp[oe]na ad testificandum}. [NL.] A writ used to procure
the attendance of a witness for the purpose of testifying.
(etc)
-Andrew
Re:Subpoena (Score:5, Funny)
the true source of the word, of course, can be found by breaking it into it's two root parts.
sub, as in below, and poena, the penis. below the penis, or "by the balls".
WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)
--trb
Re:WTF? (Score:4, Insightful)
If those files are copyrighted, and you do not have permission to distribute them, then you are at least contributing to the copyright infringement.
Extending your analogy, would you also argue that people who buy pirated software/movies/whatever should be prosecuted, and not the people selling them? It's the nearly same thing, after all - the discs were just there, on the market stall, no-one forced anyone to buy them.
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
I think you're missing his point.
Some people downloading the files have a legal right to them. It's not reasonable or practical for the person sharing them to try to police which is which.
For instance, there's a particular album I've actually bought four times (damn thieves have stolen it three times.) It's no longer in print. My CD of it is in another country in storage at the moment. At least under the laws where I live now (I'm not sure about current US law - is anyone? But this would be legal in the
Re:WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh I agree. The point, in this particular case, is simply that they are effectively exercising police powers without being subject to police rules, and without being expected to actually prove their case.
As to how many current downloaders have legal rights to their files, I wouldn't hazard a guess. I agree it's probably low. The RIAA still should have to bear the burden of proof in any individual case, however, something they're managing to evade.
And I disagree. I think a far more free market is called for, and that the regulation that keeps distribution channels that have long since become obsolete alive are a travesty, practiced simply to ensure the rich (the RIAA in this case) will never have to work to get 'their' money out of the rest of the population again. It's corporate welfare, and the RIAA are some of the biggest hoes out there.
The market has already decided. The RIAA doesn't like that decision, that's why they're buying congressmen and judges now.
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
Correct. Some people do not have the facility to back up their software/movies/whatever, and for these people being able to buy a back up copy from a street vendor for a small fee is very useful. They have done nothing illegal, and ne
Re:WTF? (Score:3, Insightful)
However, making stuff available for download is definitely illegal. If you upload a copy of Photoshop to your server and post a link, who do you think would be prosecuted? Hint: it's exactly what is done by warez groups.
2 Ways to tell (Score:5, Funny)
2. Place your fingertips on your neck just below the corner of the jawline. Do you feel a beating often associated with a lubdub sound?
If you answer yes to either of these tests, the RIAA wants you!
Exclusive! (Score:5, Funny)
output = "";
username = ENV("uname");
if username {
output = "You are wanted by the RIAA. Please report to your local police station and turn yourself in.";
}
print "<HTML>";
print output;
print "</HTML>";
Re:Exclusive! (Score:2)
Define Piracy (Score:5, Interesting)
BUT
I have a record album of Police Syncronisity (I know I spelt it wrong) and ACDC For those about to Rock. Both of those have unplayable first tracks on both sides...do to poor pressing/materials...they are warped.
I don't have a LP player in my car...infact I only have one in the house for the purpose of putting songs to CD.
So Riddle me this Batman...How am I supposed to get a copy of those 4 tracks that are unplayable on the albums?
Am I a pirate if I download those 4 songs to replace the ones I cannot play?...is the uploader a pirate for allowing me to get those 4 songs that I already paid for but cannot use?
I think the RIAA wants me to buy a few more albums/CDs/cassettes of the same recording so that I won't be a pirate...
OOOh but what if I get the clearance cutouts recordings at the discount store...or CDs at the pawn shop that are cheap because they don't pay any royalties...hmmm...am I a pirate then?
Re:Define Piracy (Score:2)
Now, I'll be the first person to admit that I have collected music and other stuff from Kazaa, Napster and other
It's been said before (Score:2)
Re:It's been said before (Score:3, Interesting)
The target of these lawsuits isn't really the defendants, it's the US Congress. The RIAA is trying to get noticed in a way that will encourage congress to pass a law that will ensure they can continue to make money in the distribution business. The lawsuits are just a tool to make their blip on lawmakers radar screens bigger.
Piracy or no, the service that the RIAA members perform is obsolete, and without some prop to hold them up they wil
It's simple, really... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:It's simple, really... (Score:3, Informative)
And don't forget you can also buy non-RIAA music. [cdbaby.com]
--
Karma whore turn on!
Re:It's simple, really... (Score:2)
There can't be anything illegal about downloading an mp3 for a song you already purchased..
Well here's a way I've heard of... (Score:5, Insightful)
1. Make your private server.... just you and your friends, people with broadband connections. Say 30 people with 1-200gb each = 3-6tb.
2. Download new stuff from public networks, but never be a big sharer, just one among the huge crowd of small traders.
3. Relax and realize the chance of getting into trouble is slim and none.
While the RIAA/MPAA might be moderately successful in cracking down on public networks, the network of friends they'll never manage to stop...
Kjella
Files were traded before P2P (Score:2)
The KGB couldn't stop samizdat. Now I know that the RIAA is more powerful and pervasive than the KGB, but even they can't stop samizdat like networks.
Avoiding prosecution by the RIAA is easy, use humanware P2P networking.
KFG
I am www.k-lite.tk_Kazaa_Lite@kazaa (Score:2, Interesting)
So do you friends a favor and swip their username.
Some user names found on on RIAA Pirate List (Score:5, Funny)
captainjack@caribbean.pirates.org (If yer gonna be a pirate, expect to show up on such lists)
hrosen@riaa.org (oops!)
uday@saddam.iq, qusai@saddam.iq (now we know why they had to bomb that house!)
senatorhatch@senate.gov
Has anyone tested false positives? (Score:3, Interesting)
Has anyone loaded up a server with dummy files 3 or 4 mb in size, but with the same filenames as ones commonly shared by the "wanted" users?
I'd love to know if the RIAA is actually *checking* what's going around, or just jumping up and down pointing and going "Oooh! Ooh! Him! He's got a naughty file up for grabs!!"
mindslip
For all you named www.k-lite.tk_Kazaa_Lite@kazaa (Score:3, Interesting)
Whew! (Score:3, Funny)
Make a Honeypot for the RIAA.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Step 1: Buy a computer
Step 2: Use the P2P program of your choice
Step 3: Take a bunch of files that *YOU* have the copyright for or that are in the public domain and share them to the world.
Step 4: Make sure a few files are named something like b-spears.mp3, metallica,mp3 or harlanellison.doc.
Step 5: Document everything!
Step 6: Wait to get sued.
Step 7: Legal stuff
Step 8: Profit!
Outside US (Score:2)
MySQL (Score:3, Insightful)
what a great way to collect more handles for people to sue. use a cron job to see what they share and file the complaints.
easy as onehundredtwentythree...
A Modest Proposal: The Music Worm (Score:5, Interesting)
How will the music worm work?
It will be distributed as an email worm. The user installs it by clicking on an attachment that arrives in an email spam. A large number people will do this knowingly, but many will be innocent "victims". Knowing users will thus have "plausible deniability".
Once installed, it will do the following:
1) Email itself to everybody in the user's address book, just like any other worm.
2) Install a hidden peer-to-peer server.
3) Identify every music file on the users computer.
4) Make all of them available over the web via peer-to-peer sharing.
5) Begin silently and automatically downloading music files to the user's computer and adding them to his music library, favoring additional titles by artists already represented in the user's library.
6) An internal list will of the downloaded files, and the worm will monitor their usage. Any downloaded file that is not played within a certain period of time will be marked for eventual replacement, in order to prevent the music archive from growing too large (say 20% above the size of the permanent library or 80% of available disk space, whichever is smaller). Any file that is played will be deleted from this list and permanently added to the user's music library. 7) Knowing users will be able to "order" specific music via a web interface by accessing a web site (actually located on the user's computer) via a web browser. The worm will silently edit the browser's history file to erase the record of this access.
How could such a worm be combatted?
1. Legal assaults on users would become difficult; there will be continuous trading of music over the net. Much of it will be entirely innocent; the result of the worm running on the computers of innocent "victims." This will provide a smokescreen for the activities of knowing users. It will be extremely difficult to prove that somebody is a knowing user, since the patterns of download to any individual user will be similar to knowing use. Many unknowing victims will accidentally add some of the downloaded music to their permanent libraries, because a lot of people do not keep careful track of the contents of their music libraries.
2. Virus scanning and firewall software could be employed, but many users do not keep their protective software up to date. Attempts to eradicate similar worms [lurhq.com] employed by spammers have not been particularly effective. And with the music worm case, many of the "victims" would actually be secret users, intentionally abetting the worm's presence on their computers.
3. The RIAA could distribute counter-worms, which would infect computers and delete music, or gather evidence of intentional trading. However, this would require the music industry itself to engage in an ongoing illegal activity. Moreover, it would be relatively unsuccessful in targeting the technically sophisticated knowing user, who would have a strong incentive to block such worms.
An idea for those who want free music... (Score:5, Interesting)
There are a lot of people (I won't say a majority, the proportion is a point not worth arguing) using P2P simply because they want free music. For those people, I have a suggestion - one that's legal and significantly socially healthier than hiding indoors and playing Russian roulette with the RIAA's lawyers.
Find your local music scene.
Find out which clubs or bars in your town (or a nearby metro area) host live music - many do on the weekends, some do several times a week. Check the local papers for lists of such places, or activities like festivals, open-air concerts, park celebrations, etc. Ask around, check with your friends, neighbors, people at the local watering hole. Hell, take a walk through a noisy section of town sometime on a Friday night and listen to hear which places sound like they've got a band going.
For a small cover (or free, depending) at most of these places, you can get in, hang out with friends, have a few beers, talk to members of your-preferred-gender, and listen to the artists up close and personal. You might be listening to some neo-punk band of sixteen-year-olds. You might catch a really great jazz set. You might hear some grizzled-looking blue-collar fellas playing some mighty fine blues. You might dance to some eighties cover band.
And - here's the part for those interested in free music - a lot of these bands sell their CDs very cheap, and many give them away for free! Sometimes, musicians that aren't even performing will show up just to hand out some CDs of their stuff, to try and get some exposure.
Expand your horizons, get out of your house, have a social experience, spend time with friends, and get free/cheap music, all for little investment - plus, you get to support homegrown talent, instead of manufactured "talent" [britneyspears.com]. How can you go wrong?
Peer to Peer Networks for Legal Music (Score:3, Interesting)
There are peer to peer networks for the sharing of legal music. In some cases they use digital signatures to ensure the files are legit. Here's the ones I've found so far:
Re:File sharing usernames? (Score:2)
By the way, I'd lay off whatever drugs you're on - you have the coherency of Mr.Bush
Re:File sharing usernames? (Score:2)
By the way, I'd lay off whatever drugs you're on - you have the coherency of Mr.Bush ;-)
Damn, I am not even on any drugs - merely high on life.
Re:Great remedies (Score:4, Funny)
Those are copyrighted too.
Re:Great remedies (Score:2, Interesting)
Copyright isn't the only way to promote the production of art. At least one other method - sponsorship - has been engaged in with some success in history, and one other method - grants - is continuously being employed in large parts of the world today. The former will tend to end up producing works that are desired by the sponsor and the latter will tend to be used to finance works t
Some incentives for public domain art. (Score:2, Interesting)
2) The desire to make good Music "just for fun."
3) Music for contract. Like an ad, for instance. I can't see why companies would mind an ad being copied endlessly.
4) Writing for performances. You can copy a song, but you can't copy a concert.
Copyright Law does have a place, though. I'll give you that. (It's got some incredible flaws, but it has a place.)
Re:who cares about RIAA (Score:2)
Re:Not Me? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Not In Canada (Score:2)
What the hell?
Re:Not In Canada (Score:2)
It is the EFF providing this service. Not the RIAA as your comment seems to imply.
I'm afraid you're quite sorely mistaken (Score:4, Interesting)
The reason I wrote this article [goingware.com] was that a friend quite seriously told me that the money she paid to purchase Kazaa went to compensate the musicians whose music she was downloading. She had no idea she was violating anyone's copyright. I suspect people like her are not uncommon among p2p users.
Other slashdot users have repeatedly mentioned that their less computer literate siblings and friends who use p2p were quite unaware that any of the songs they downloaded were immediately made available for sharing. While you can usually disable this, most of the p2p apps are configured to automatically share by default, and I don't think they always make an effort to inform the user of that fact, or of its legal implications.
Re:Mirror of article on how to avoid a RIAA lawsui (Score:3, Interesting)
Hear, hear.
Not passing around copyrighted material that you don't have a license to copy seems to me to be a rather foolproof way to avoid getting sued. I know I don't have that particular worry.
However, I do have quite the worry that the continued insistence of the freeloaders that they're not doing anything wrong serves only to inflame the whole issue, and then I do have to worry about things like DRM obstructing real fair use, attacks on my online anonymity, and the legal machine suffocating legiti