Antitrust Case Against RIAA Reinstated 163
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "After Starr v. SONY BMG Music Entertainment was dismissed at the District Court level,
the antitrust class action against the RIAA has been reinstated by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In its 25-page opinion (PDF), the Appeals court held the following allegations sufficiently allege antitrust violations: 'First, defendants agreed to launch MusicNet and pressplay, both of which charged unreasonably high prices and contained similar DRMs. Second, none of the defendants dramatically reduced their prices for Internet Music (as compared to CDs), despite the fact that all defendants experienced dramatic cost reductions in producing Internet Music. Third, when defendants began to sell Internet Music through entities they did not own or control, they maintained the same unreasonably high prices and DRMs as MusicNet itself. Fourth, defendants used MFNs [most favored nation clauses] in their licenses that had the effect of guaranteeing that the licensor who signed the MFN received terms no less favorable than terms offered to other licensors. For example, both EMI and UMG used MFN clauses in their licensing agreements with MusicNet. Fifth, defendants used the MFNs to enforce a wholesale price floor of about 70 cents per song. Sixth, all defendants refuse to do business with eMusic, the #2 Internet Music retailer. Seventh, in or about May 2005, all defendants raised wholesale prices from about $0.65 per song to $0.70 per song. This price increase was enforced by MFNs.'"
MFN? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:MFN? (Score:5, Interesting)
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Isn't that rather the crux of the argument in TFA?
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What about my stress level (Score:5, Interesting)
Who is going to compensate me for my increased stress level from living in fear of being sued by the RIAA? If I had kids and I wanted them to behave, I'd just tell them stories about the RIAA coming to get them and financially ruin them.
Don't jaywalk kids because the RIAA will come get you.
Eat your vegetables so you can be strong to fight the riaa.
Seriously though, I hate those guys.
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Re:What about my stress level (Score:5, Informative)
"This video contains content from Vevo, who has decided to block it in your country. "
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same here in ireland
but lets get it clear who's blocking us
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vevo [wikipedia.org]
Vevo is a music video and entertainment website. It is owned by Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Abu Dhabi Media Company.[1] The service was launched officially on 8 December 2009.[2] The video hosting for Vevo is provided by YouTube, with Google and Vevo sharing the advertising revenue.[3] Vevo offers music videos from three of the four major record labels, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI.[4]
One of the reasons cited for the launch of Vevo is the competition that music videos have on YouTube. Warner Music Group apparently removed its content from YouTube in March 2009 for this reason, but is said to be considering hosting its content on Vevo.[5]
Re:What about my stress level (Score:5, Interesting)
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Funny it's blocked for me and I'm in Canada too. Might be because my address was a bogon but I can't be sure.
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Well, I guess we are living in a "Least Favored Nation"... (Sweden here!)
Re:What about my stress level (Score:4, Interesting)
I think all nations except one are "Least Favoured Nations" in their eyes... (Mexico blocked too)
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Don't miss out kids! (Score:4, Informative)
Try here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEmTbpvj9fM [youtube.com]
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The whole process of watching the internet route around content protection in a matter of minutes, in an article about the RIAA getting sued.
It's like my birthday suddenly was Christmas, and then suddenly both were today.
I love you slashdot.
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The irony is overwhelming (Score:3, Insightful)
I assume that your link is to this song [youtube.com], "Don't download this song" by Weird Al.. The song is quite heavy and very obvious critic against RIAA and it's scare tactics of destroying lives because of a few downloaded songs and about how they have the whole legal system (lawyers, judges the police) under their control. The irony of not being able to legally watch the video outside USA is overwhelming.
That is very common, however. For example many TV shows can't be watched online from Europe anymore. Southpark a
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The point about boogy men is they aren't supposed to be real, that way once the kids get old enough, they don't have to live their lives in fear.
Obviously the **AA groups are not suitable for this, because they are real!
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Right. Because the RIAA never goes after people who haven't pirated. They don't send nasty letters to printers or 7-year-old girls.
The stress of living in a police state (and that's what RIAA has proclaimed themselves to be, not in word but in deed) is not whether you did something wrong or not, it's whether you're accused (and thus nearly automatically convicted) of doing something wrong, regardless of whether you actually did it or not.
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More to the point that you can prove you didn't.
Re:What about my stress level (Score:5, Interesting)
When you're 5: "Sharing is a nice thing to do, kids. Don't be selfish! Hoarding your stuff makes you look like a huge jerk."
When you're 25: "Sharing is an evil thing to do, citizen. It's not selfish! Letting other people use your stuff is illegal because it means I make less money. Pay no attention to the fact that my salary is an order of magnitude higher than yours!"
WTF world! If sharing is evil, don't tell me when I'm 5 that it's nice!
If I ever manage to have kids, I want to raise them to believe that sharing is evil. I will then note other people's reactions to the idea. If people are generally shocked and appalled that people could actually believe this, then I will use that as an argument to show why this BS that the RIAA believes in must be outlawed.
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If you teach your kids to emulate the most corrupt douchebags right from the start, may I suggest that you also teach your kids that drinking and driving or abusing prescription drugs are cool?
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Sharing your own toys is not evil. "Sharing" toys that belong to someone else is. Particularly when you have agreed not to do it.
The rest is detail.
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(c) 2010 The better parents shout 'stupid stupid' association.
Re:What about my stress level (Score:4, Insightful)
Whether or not you are buying a license to listen to music or not is variously debateable depending on how you procured it. For instance if you go to any music store and purchase a CD album no where does it state that you are agree'ing to a license.
Copyright is necessary in some ways to advance our culture and society, but the current state of copyright law is completely out of line with it's orignal intent.
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Whether or not you are buying a license to listen to music or not is variously debateable depending on how you procured it. For instance if you go to any music store and purchase a CD album no where does it state that you are agree'ing to a license.
Contracts exist to represent agreements that are different from the law of the land.
If you wish to opt out of the default law, the onus is on you to either change them or change your nationality. Until you do, you're expected to comply without the need for explicit, shrink-wrapped reminders. (Though notably, you DO tend to get those anyway.)
Copyright is necessary in some ways to advance our culture and society, but the current state of copyright law is completely out of line with it's orignal intent.
I agree completely. So your choices and duties are clear: Comply, change the law, or leave.
I do, conveniently, recognize whining about it on an online forum as an ad
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When you "buy" music you are buying a license to use that music in a limited fashion.
Really? I don't remember signing any license agreements when I purchased my last CD. I don't recall signing any license agreements before entering the local venue for a show. I also don't recall signing any license agreements when I e-mailed my favorite bands and asked for a burned copy of their singles that I couldn't find on albums.
In fact, I would assert that I don't license a damn thing when I access music. I purchase it. I purchase the physical media. I purchase the song. I purchase the album artwo
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Well, there is a difference between "share your toys" wherein the act of sharing does not create an exact duplicate of the toys and "share your digital music" where the act of sharing does create an exact digital duplicate.
It's physics that keeps people from cloning plastic toys. If they could, they would, ignoring the Plastic Toy Association of America just like they do the RIAA.
Digital media just happens to be the first thing that came along that makes copying really, REALLY easy.
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Sharing things that belong to other people = evil
I buy an album full of music, the album belongs to me, I bought it (at least I never signed or agreed a license), so I can share it? I bought a DRM free mp3, I own it (at least I never signed or agreed a license), so I can share it? I bought a book, or ebook, the book or ebook belongs to me (at least I never signed or agreed a license), can I share it?
Re:RIAA has stopped Sueing (Score:5, Informative)
i think the point is that 1) all the record companies set the same price and 2) they all raised their prices together. these two facts seem to demonstrate collusion in the market. that being the case or not is up to the courts.
Re:RIAA has stopped Sueing (Score:4, Interesting)
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Actually, no. The appeal decision makes it clear that setting a price and everyone raising it at the same time isn't the issue so much as there being no good reason for raising the price.
If a major resource for an industry goes up in price (i.e. oil) then it's perfectly normal that the entire industry is going to adjust prices to compensate, probably at around the same time, and just knowing that everyone else is going to do it doesn't make it collusion. But in this case, it's been clearly pointed out that
Why not pass along cost savings? (Score:5, Insightful)
Can't [all major labels' simultaneous royalty] increase (approximately 7%) be explained by typical inflation and justifiably be expected every two years?
Why doesn't it decrease as the cost of producing music decreases? Look at how much it cost to record an album in 1980 vs. now.
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Because with monopoly pricing, the price isn't set in relation to the cost to produce but in relation to the consumers disposable income. You don't lower prices unless the cost of lost sales exceed the revenue lost by lower per-unit price (and sometimes not even then; costs seem to be notoriously difficult for companies to get rid of, basically only competitors undercutting them seem to get it done).
So until copyright is replaced with a system working as a competitive market, you're simply not going to see
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The only reason it cost so much in 1980 is that the studios were owned and staffed by the record companies resulting in ridiculously inflated prices to take advantage of naive musicians. Doing it yourself has never cost the fortune they charge, it's just pointless trying to compete on their turf.
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Look at how much it cost to record an album in 1980 vs. now.
Even if that factor remained constant, the savings in distribution are more significant -- No factory, wages or raw materials for duplication, no packaging, no shipping costs, no returns. And they still get to deduct from the artists' royalties for returns and packaging, as far as I know.
And it's not so much what any label did, it's that they got together to create all of the "joint ventures" which not only allow them to collude, but make it comple
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before we cheer too loudly over this, keep in mind that the DOJ is still top-heavy with RIAA attorneys
The DOJ has nothing to do with this case; it's a private class action.
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The DOJ has nothing to do with this case; it's a private class action.
Well, they weighed in on the Tenenbaum case. That was a civil suit that had nothing to do with the DOJ but they interjected their opinion anyway.
Not arguing with you, it just seems that they are capable of effecting the outcome, whether they have anything to do with the case or not.
Competition or lack thereof (Score:2)
When cost goes down, it's just profit for them.
Until competition for customers pushes the price down. Ideally, for a customer A seeking service, multiple providers P1, P2, and P3 compete over providing a better service at a better price. In the case of publishing contracts, A is the artist and P1, P2, and P3 are labels, who compete over providing production, distribution, and promotion to recording artists at a better royalty rate. So why doesn't this competition happen in practice?
Why was I modded Troll? (Score:2)
I don't support the RIAA, but I also don't support anti-RIAA propaganda that I don't understand. The summary was not as clear about why this trial represents the evil motives of the RIAA. I simply asked for clarification of this fact from somebody who might be more knowledgeable.
Re:Why was I modded Troll? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not the price, it's the collusion. The labels are supposed to be in competition with each other. Slashdot has repeatedly recognized that the business of a business is to make money - by whatever means possible. Without collusion and general agreement in the backrooms and lounges, one or more labels might actually become convinced that giving away lots and lots of music is the true route to fortune. Baen Books has learned that lesson - especially with older books. They release an out of print book, FOR FREE, and people not only start asking for that book, but they purchase even more books by the same author, and/or in the same genre.
In the case of the labels represented by RIAA, everyone is part of the Good Old Boy's club, everyone is in lockstep, with the same program, same menu, same tactics. They have a happy status quo, and no one is about to rock the boat with anything so barbaric as COMPETITION!!
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Very good point - one I probably should have made. Second to price in importance is CONVENIENCE. Ask any customer. We tech literate bemoan the fact that computer users in general don't want to think about ANYTHING - they expect the computer to read their minds, then lead them by the hands.
DRM is an inconvenience at some point to EVERYONE! Many posts have been made in the gaming section of slashdot, pointing out that even honest players who wish to obey the rules find games unplayable, so they download t
Re:Why was I modded Troll? (Score:5, Informative)
Read the Starr vs Sony decision linked in the summary and you'll discover that the appeals judges found the evidence is strong that RIAA members have been colluding using illegal (under antitrust law) methods such as price fixing [wikipedia.org]. E.g., they ask why RIAA members raised the wholesale price from $0.65/song to $0.70/song while the second largest distributor of music, eMusic, was wholesaling at $0.25/song. In the stereotypical "normal free market", competition as well as decreased production costs would lead to lower prices.
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The summary was entirely factual, and didn't contain any "anti-RIAA propaganda". Your quote was for a reader comment, not from the original summary. Read the Starr vs Sony decision linked in the summary and you'll discover that the appeals judges found the evidence is strong that RIAA members have been colluding using illegal (under antitrust law) methods such as price fixing [wikipedia.org]. E.g., they ask why RIAA members raised the wholesale price from $0.65/song to $0.70/song while the second largest distributor of music, eMusic, was wholesaling at $0.25/song. In the stereotypical "normal free market", competition as well as decreased production costs would lead to lower prices.
I love people who actually read the stuff. Thank you.
Thanks again NYCL (Score:5, Interesting)
Thanks for keeping us in the loop NYCL.
These seem to be serious allegations. I hope there's action taken this time.
These deserve to be kept in mind:
http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/ [salon.com] (Courtney Love Does the Math, from 2000 - looking at it now, oddly prophetic)
http://www.negativland.com/albini.html [negativland.com] (The Problem with Music, by Producer Steve Albini - great insight into the process of Major Label music)
This is why we should care. I know that it's clichéd, but these companies care nothing about you, or about music, or about the well-being of the world in which they operate. They are wholly evil, in a way that almost no other business is.
Re:Thanks again NYCL (Score:5, Informative)
At one point they also lobbied to get a law that would allow them to hack your computer and wipe out the content if they suspected you of having illegal music. Fortunately Congress did not agree.
Re:Thanks again NYCL (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2001/10/47552
1st hit on google "RIAA wants to hack computers". Stop being so lazy :p
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http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2001/10/47552
1st hit on google "RIAA wants to hack computers". Stop being so lazy :p
Careful, Wired wants to steal your copy buffer [slashdot.org].
Be sure to use safe browsing practices. [mozilla.org]
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[citation needed]
http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2001/10/47552?currentPage=all [wired.com]
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I remember that. Never got too far though, but it's still an ass move to even attempt.
Re:Thanks again NYCL (Score:5, Interesting)
I remember when I worked with a guy with good connections to all (then five) big music companies (who did all the deals for us, because he was an insider). He usually was on the phone with these big music managers, loudly joking, and setting up meetings of talking about deals.
In the industry, it’s all about connections. A small group of people who know each other.
And this was, how he once described the typical “business meeting” to me: (I think in this example it was the EMI boss.)
He took the elevator to the top floor. The guy greeted him and offered him lines of coke as thick as your finger, on a mirror.
Then he ordered some hookers. And then it was time for business.
According to him, that was rather normal, and in no way an exception.
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He took the elevator to the top floor. The guy greeted him and offered him lines of coke as thick as your finger, on a mirror.
Then he ordered some hookers. And then it was time for business.
I think you'll find that the *top* floor is like this in a lot of companies, not just members of the RIAA.
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Re:Thanks again NYCL (Score:4, Funny)
I am officially quitting my job today. I am in the wrong line of work and am fixing that starting now.
Re:Thanks again NYCL (Score:5, Funny)
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I wasn't aware of the Courtney Love letter. That was an amazing read (many thanks). That begs the second question. Why haven't I heard of this letter before? The RIAA is an evil beyond typical corporate scams and money making. They have fingers in world wide political pies, and money to literally burn. The fact that a single group can exert so much power in political circles should be a huge wake up call to everyone, yet year by year goes by and only the 'geeks' and those affected voice their concerns. I th
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Considering you can easily pay off a card if you simply pay more than the minimum, or pay early, it's not nearly the same situation. These folks are legally bound to produce for the recording industry, and everything they produce that's worth anything is owned forever by the same industry.
How does that compare?
Re:Thanks again NYCL (Score:5, Insightful)
These seem to be serious allegations. I hope there's action taken this time.
You mean you hope there's action taken if they are proven to be true, right?
Due process applies to everyone, not just the people we like.
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And when the organization being sued is writing the very legislation that allows their actions? What then?
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You mean you hope there's action taken if they are proven to be true, right?
Due process applies to everyone, not just the people we like.
I'd hope there is action taken even if collusion can't be proven in a court of law.
Legal, but anti-competitive trade practices are just as damaging to the markets as illegal ones.
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There's more than enough evidence that is public to make a decision. If I see someone slit the throat of someone else, I'm not going to wait until he is proven to be a murderer in a court of law to call him that.
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Action taken as in "people actually acting on the allegation and investigating it".
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You mean you hope there's action taken if they are proven to be true, right?
Due process applies to everyone, not just the people we like.
Wait, when did our hopes have to include due process? Does this mean I can no longer hope that certain American citizens who annoy me on a daily basis get tortured for all eternity by the devil himself? Can I still hope it if I also hope they go through a sham trial in some south american junta first and are convicted on grounds of "being fucking annoying?"
I'm a little unclear as to how the extradition would work there...
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These seem to be serious allegations. I hope there's action taken this time.
You mean you hope there's action taken if they are proven to be true, right?
Due process applies to everyone, not just the people we like.
No. The mere existence of an association of so-called "competitors", like the RIAA, should be very worrying to anyone who wants a free, competitive market.
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This! Kudos to Ray Beckerman for your tireless work, and everybody:
Read Courtney Love's article! It's an amazing read!
http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/ [salon.com] (Courtney Love Does the Math, from 2000 - looking at it now, oddly prophetic)
Anyone know any truly independent labels? (Score:3, Interesting)
It occurs to me that all it takes to break up a 'cartel' like this is one or two successful publishers who are not owned or controlled in any way by the existing publishers, and that such independent publishers are willing to really compete with the other labels to sign talent and publish music. The question is, are there any independent labels right now? I remember seeing a chart sometime ago which showed how a lot of 'independent labels' are really owned by the big music publishers, who just use those oth
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This is why we should care. I know that it's clichéd, but these companies care nothing about you, or about music, or about the well-being of the world in which they operate. They are wholly evil, in a way that almost no other business is.
What other companies _actually_ care about the consumer, the product they sell, or the world in which they operate? Modern society boils all of business down to a search for short-term profit. Consumers only matter because they have wallets, products only matter because they need to open the consumer's wallets somehow, and the world at large only matters when it begins being bad for business.
Re:Thanks again NYCL (Score:5, Interesting)
Thanks for keeping us in the loop NYCL. These seem to be serious allegations. I hope there's action taken this time.
I don't have the slightest doubt that the allegations
are true, and
can easily be proven.
If I were a betting man, I'd be betting..... settlement.
Re:Thanks again NYCL (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't have the slightest doubt that the allegations are true, and can easily be proven. If I were a betting man, I'd be betting..... settlement.
The question of if the RIAA loses and if they make a settlement and on how favorable of terms probably has less to do with their guilt and the law than it has to do with who is running the show. The justice department is loaded with ex-employees of RIAA at the highest levels. Maybe that means they will know how to deal with these guys or maybe it means their buddies will get off with a slap on the wrist. Much of that may depend upon if Obama keeps his promises about not letting industry insiders provide favoritism to their friends from within his administration.
Re:Thanks again NYCL (Score:5, Informative)
I don't have the slightest doubt that the allegations are true, and can easily be proven. If I were a betting man, I'd be betting..... settlement.
The question of if the RIAA loses and if they make a settlement and on how favorable of terms probably has less to do with their guilt and the law than it has to do with who is running the show. The justice department is loaded with ex-employees of RIAA at the highest levels.
This is a private class action; it has nothing to do with the justice department. It would have to do with what the lawyers work out, whether class members object, and whether the judge approves of the deal.
Re:Thanks again NYCL (Score:5, Insightful)
Yawn. The old "if it ain't as bad as the worst evil I can think of, you're just whining about it" argument. It remains invalid.
Sure, these guys aren't murderers, most of them. They're still thieves on a massive scale (mostly from the "talent" they claim to be protecting). They're still willing to sue people into bankruptcy for bucking them. They'd still like to put people in jail for writing computer programs they don't like. They'd still like to ban entire classes of technology to maintain their profits. They're still evil, even if Idi Amin makes them look like pikers.
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Better than thieves, I'd compare them to child extortionists. They seduce young musicians with dreams of fame and money, make promises they'll never keep, then they bleed them dry of their efforts then cast them away when they are too frail too lift a finger. All the while, these people are kept illusioned that it is all to their benefit so that they never have the opportunity to learn a lesson from the experience.
The cocaine off of strippers' asses isn't recreation, it's medicinal.
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I love you.
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No-one in Ethopia is starving because of the RIAA cartel overpricing the latest fucking Jonah Bros CD. Villagers haven't been raped and murdered for being in the way of a new CD pressing plant in Nigeria. And 20,000 people per year aren't dying from lung cancer because they got hooked on Eminem.
I'm only saying this for argument's sake, but:
What if songs only cost what they really were worth, and the money that goes to support the RIAA were still in the pockets of the consumers and the artists instead? What, then, if more of them donated time and money to humanitarian aid, sane foreign policy, and smoking cessation campaigns?
There's a thin possibility that, by stopping this one evil that we do know and care about, people and resources could be reallocated in ways that do wind up impacting the grea
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She says that she would be the first person to file a lawsuit against Napster for infringing her Copyright, then she says that illegal distribution is helping her sell more albums ... huh?
First and foremost, I think Ms Love is a tool. So I'm not defending her. However...
If you've never found yourself enforcing a rule or restriction even though it will also do you harm, you soon will.
I still remember the day I wrote the web proxy rule that cut me off from several websites I enjoy. It 'harmed' me, but rules are rules and some things happen for a good reason even when they don't have an immediate personal benefit.
In the musician's case, 'free music' is an end-game proposition. It only helps
Interesting Points (Score:5, Interesting)
It is interesting to read the opinion. Conspiracy to fix prices, agreements to not compete against each other, all record companies refusing to do any business with certain companies.
They are acting like a monopoly. This is what led to the breakup of Standard Oil back in the early part of the 20th century and the breakup of the Bell System into Baby Bells.
This most favored nation (MFN) deal they have going and how all prices change in lockstep.
Wow, it reminds me of how they eventually caught Al Capone. Not on running a crime syndicate but on tax evasion.
Re:Interesting Points (Score:5, Interesting)
yet they were all found guilty of price fixing during the height of the CD era.
Nothing has changed. They should be fined doubly for continuing this behavior.
Re:Interesting Points (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the difference is that Al Capone DIDN'T pay off the right government officials. That's probably not the case here.
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From the IRAA's point of view. (Score:4, Funny)
Speaking as someone who's very close to the RiAA this is what I have to say:
You people have no chance! We own the Congress, we have more lawyers and eventually, NYCL WILL come over to the Darkside - it's only a matter of time.
You little thieves just need to stop stealing our music!
We now have factories in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Africa that produce music - all run by small children that are paid with barely enough food to live. We just hire good looking people to lip synch in videos and "live" shows. And then when they can't work anymore, we sell the little girls into prostitution and the boys are then trained to be our stormtroopers.
So just shut up! I have to go. My stupid idiotic maid made my afternoon cocktail with the blood of kittens when I especially ordered her to make it with the blood of puppies!
Courtney!
Preventing oneself from stealing? (Score:5, Interesting)
You little thieves just need to stop stealing our music!
Your labels also own music publishers, the companies that own copyright in the music and lyrics apart from the recording. If you provide us indie songwriters with an automated way to check any song we've written against these music publishers' catalogs to make sure we didn't screw up like George Harrison ("My Sweet Lord") or Michael Bolton ("Love Is a Wonderful Thing"), we might take you up on this offer.
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... eventually, NYCL WILL come over to the Darkside - it's only a matter of time.
Someone put a transponder inside NYCL and keep a lock on it at all times! Be sure that he's accompanied by 10 bodyguards at all times, and beam him back if he's alone for more than 2 minutes.
Ye of little faith.
Price fixing on CDs (Score:5, Funny)
I wonder if Hollywood Accounting could save them.
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They don't need Hollywood Accounting. Ask any musician how much money a record release actually makes them these days. It's clearly not a profitable business!
What will I get? (Score:2, Interesting)
I've bought hundreds of dollars in music (mostly online) over the last 5 years. If in fact the court rules that they have been fixing prices will I get any of that money back?
rightly named clause (Score:3, Funny)
How Will Judgements be Paid? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:How Will Judgements be Paid? (Score:5, Interesting)
Suppose that the RIAA loses and is ordered to pay restitution, but instead of cash the court allows the RIAA and its members to "pay" by donating a selection of CDs or downloads of their choice (i.e. their choice of the worst selling items)
Don't bet on it. They can only get away with that shit once. It isn't the court that decided that last time, it was a negotiated settlement between the various state DAs offices and the RIAA. The DAs just didn't realize what sharks they were dealing with. I know this because an ex of mine was a junior DA from one of the smaller states on that case and she even got herself quoted in their local paper saying something to the effect of, "I'm sure the senior DAs from around the country will not allow the RIAA to wiggle out of this settlement." Its about 10 years later and that newspaper interview is still one of the funniest things I have to give her shit about.
Wonder if the 6 billion lawsuit will be mentioned (Score:3, Informative)
that is the fact that the canadian arm of the R.I.A.A. up here called the CRIA hasnt paid 300,000 artists since 1980.
BOY oh boy thats a bomb to say in court eh?
if they are commercially pirating up in canada , are they doing it in the USA and other countries and does that mean that record breaking profit year really mean profit to the riaa OR is it fraudulently stolen monies.
The REAL pdf link (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Ditto. Yes, this story makes me so happy, I'm willing to be a dittohead for awhile. Enjoy while you can! ;^)