Music Biz to Give File Sharers Amnesty

[bluestateguy]

How would this work? How would the RIAA verify that someone deleted all their music? It's one thing to order someone to move everything out of their shared folder and to delete the file-sharing software, but what's to stop one from just burning a bunch of CD's?

http://au.news.yahoo.com/030904/11/lkfp.html

The Recording Industry Assn. of America plans to announce an amnesty program this week that will let individual online copyright infringers off the hook if they change their ways, sources say.
The amnesty program would apply only to alleged infringers who have not been sued by the music industry trade group or identified by Internet service providers as a result of the trade group's subpoena process. Alleged commercial pirates will not receive amnesty.

more...

[Emboldened Chimp]

1. Isn't that sweet of them?

[htuttle]

2. WHO exactly are they offering amnesty to?

"The amnesty program would apply only to alleged infringers who have not been sued by the music industry trade group or identified by Internet service providers as a result of the trade group's subpoena process. "

In other words, people they haven't caught yet.


My, that IS generous of them. How compassionate... :eyes:

psst...Are they drunk?

[Coventina]

3. This is attempted face-saving

The idiots are starting to realize that file sharing is never going away, and that filing thousands of lawsuits is not going to bring their profits back.

Duh.

I'm just a little sad that they have woken up already. I was hoping that they would first bankrupt themselves by attemping to sue every person in America between the ages of 13 and 43. And all the while their profits would be going down the toilet. The profits will still go down the toilet, but now they won't be also spending the money on the lawsuits. Rats.

Bye-bye you useless dinosaurs. You won't be missed.

[NekoChris]

4. @ASGSDHGIWHETJ

HATE THE R.I.A.A.

Amnesty my ass. They're basically wagging their finger going 'You kids behave and you won't get a spanking', but the kids know the spanking won't come anyway, so they just ignore it.

It's a hollow scare tactic.

And nice on the Dinosaur comment, Conventia. ^_^ Reminds me of that NOFX song.

[teknomanzer]

5. I spit on their amnesty!

Bite me RIAA! That industry is just an aging fossil! They need to come up with a new business plan. There is plenty of money to be made on merchandising and special events, but they are greedy and they want it all. Screw 'em.

[Jack The Tab]

6. THey screamed about cassette tapes too...

Scared of losing profits, they overreact like idiots. Well, this whole situation is going to force them to do something they should have done a decade ago: drop their retail prices considerably. They have gotten away with overcharging the public like crazy. Everyone knows what it costs to manufacture a CD, and no one is going to pay this price anymore.

We'll see what happens to them soon. I get the feeling they'll figure out a way to get out of this public relations nightmare. They have to.

[gmoney]

12. it's not a bad compromise...

Those of us who have only downloaded a handful of P2P files, it would be kind of nice to be able to just trash the crap I managed to find, send in the form, and at least (presumably) be able to disregard the future threats of the RIAA. If they don't reneg on the promise, at least. Again, in order for it to be a legal contract, they have to give some consideration (the amnesty) in exchange for your promise to stop file sharing.

Apparently, if you don't sign on for the amnesty, you'll be open to all the future lawsuits, even if (like me) you've only downloaded a handful and aren't actively taking part any longer. The RIAA has shown they can get their hands on ISP records, and it wouldn't surpise me (at least under Bush) if they find some new perverse reverse class action suit.

They did a similar thing around here with cable theft. Sign up for legitimate service (or disconnect the illegal stuff) before a certain date, no questions asked. After that date, they were going to start enforcing.

I think a lot of people who indulge in this sort of thing (P2P, cable theft) figure "in for a penny, in for a pound" -- no point in stopping now, because if they come after me, I'm already a goner. The amnesty idea gives you an out if you have had second thoughts, or just think that things are going to get too hot.

(By the way, you can sign the thing and NOT hold up your end (burn everything to CD, or just not do anything), and since it has to be notarized with a copy of your driver's license, they can probaly clobber you for perjury, so I don't think that's an out.)

I hate the RIAA as much as anybody, but this is an "olive branch" and it might not be a bad idea to accept it. Maybe I'm paranoid (or too trusting) but in theory, it sounds like a fair deal, and I'm going to seriously consider it.

[Wickerman]

7. Screw their amnesty

I pay an extra fee for all blank CDs and audio tape I buy and that was supposed to cover royalties. Most of the time I use that media for my own purchased recordings, sometimes I use it for non-commercial releases. I think they owe me a few downloads.

[Nottingham]

8. If they would make CD prices realistic for Consumer

they would have more money but Greed for profits did this and the business got rid of Tapes and pushed the consumer to CD's its biting them in the butt!

I'm glad they came to their senses! :bounce:

[gmoney]

13. Universal announced a 25% list price cut

story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20030904/bs_usatoday/11785036

"In a move that could lower music CD prices across the board, Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's largest music company, will cut the suggested retail price for its top-line CDs to $12.98 from the current $16.98 to $18.98, effective Sept. 29"

Guess Universal isn't going to sell too many CDs between now and the 29th. It remains to be seen if retailers reflect the change in wholesale price, but I'd bet they do, even if they only cut prices 20 percent. But if this knocks $3 or $4 off each CD, they might stand a fighting chance of staving off the digital revolution a while longer.

By the way, where did I see the stat that the RIAA members sales were down 15% last year, but they actually released something like 25% fewer titles. That's kind of like a magazine going from 12 issues a year to 9 and complaining that they've sold fewer magazines and ad revenues are down.

[bobthedrummer]

9. "Well you can't turn him into a company man,

you can't turn him into a whore.
And the boys upstairs just don't understand anymore.
.....
As we celebrate mediocrity
all the boys upstairs just want to see
how much you'll pay for what you used to get for free..."
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

[Zhade]

10. FUCK the RIAA!

They should have learned how stupidly archaic their business model is after CD sales went down 40% after Napster closed shop.

Self-producing artists fare much better, anyway, overall. Record labels, by and large, rip off the artists. I'll be happy to see these corporate behemoths collapse.

[demon67]

11. Where are our candidates on this issue?

There are 60 million file sharers in America being targeted by RIAA. In essence, we have greedy multi-national corporations issuing thousands of rubber-stamped subpoenas out of a single courthouse in DC and threatening ordinary Americans with fines that would destroy a life's savings for an activity that, arguably, is akin to using a VCR to record a television show. Where is the outrage? Why are none of the Democratic candidates, or any other Democrats, standing up for the average person on this issue?

[AntiCoup2K4]

14. When are the label-monopolies going to figure out....

...that aside from the high prices, the main barrier to sales is NOT downloading, it's the fact that the music they are releasing is PURE 100% FUCKING DOGSHIT for the most part.

Two of the biggest selling albums of this decade were The Beatles "One" and Led Zeppelin's "How The West Was Won". Thirty year old material.

And yet another repackaging of Elvis Presley's greatest hits - This stuff is pushing 50 years old!!

But it sells. Because it's real. Not like this boyband/Britney/Creed/Puff Daddy fabricated crap the labels are cranking out.

[PartyPooper]

15. Well, I'll probably get flamed for this...

But, I don't believe it's honest to download music. It's stealing! I never have been tempted to engage in this behavior. And, I wish honest folks like me...people who have actually walked into a store and purchased LP's / CD's...got a discount on future purchases...in lieu of amnesty. Just my opinion.

So there!

B-)

[democracyindanger]

16. I'm with ya

It's stealing, plain and simple. I liken it to speeding. Do it if you like, but don't try to make it into some sort of 'striking a blow for freedom.'

[TahitiNut]

17. Since when do private corporations have such authority?

This bizzarro phrasing indicates just how far we've fallen. A criminal offense (violation of public law) isn't subject to any pretentious declaration of "amnesty" from some overblown capitalist privateers -- that's reserved to their flunkies in the legislature. Orwell is freaking out in his grave.

[TheYellowDog]

18. Well,

the RIAA does not represent all copyright holders, so if someone agreed to this and admitted guilt, they could be sued by other artists not represented by the RIAA. Stupid idea for anyone to agree to!

[rppper]

19. here's a big 'ol F.U. to the RIAA.....

sue me assholes....can't squeeze blood from a rock.....i fart in your general direction...... _|_ (formerly the "bird" symbol)