Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: MPAA & RIAA sends threats to ceo's

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    27

    MPAA & RIAA sends threats to ceo's

    The MPAA & RIAA sent threatning letters to ceo's of mojor US companies . The story can be found here http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/20...1025016978.htm


    what do you guys think about this issue?
    [shadow]Seek the truth and it will set you free[/shadow]

  2. #2
    AO übergeek phishphreek's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    4,325
    Personally, I'm tired of all this crap. I have long since stopped buying cds.
    I don't download them either. I may get a song or two from time to time, but thats it.

    If they put out something that was worth listening to, I may buy again, but all of the music out today sucks! The radio stations and mtv play the good songs over and over and I get tired of them, so what is the point in buying it if I'm tired of it?

    With all the cds in my house, I have ripped to my server and everyone in the house can listen to what they want when they want. Together we all have over 2000+ cds. They are all on a server that I backup regularly. It is basically the same thing as me going to the next room to borrow a cd from my roomate. It just saves me the walk. What are the chances that we are listening to the same thing at the same time? Not too good with over 7000 songs on the server.

    So am I going to get taken to court for sharing files on my network? I think it is all crap.
    I know that the article was directed towards big companies, but if they suceed with them, they are going after us somewhere down the line.

    Just my 2 cents. I'd give you more, but thats all I can muster... too tired to think.
    Quitmzilla is a firefox extension that gives you stats on how long you have quit smoking, how much money you\'ve saved, how much you haven\'t smoked and recent milestones. Very helpful for people who quit smoking and used to smoke at their computers... Helps out with the urges.

  3. #3
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    5

    music piracy is wrong... period.

    I agree and disagree with the music industry on a number of points.
    I believe that music piracy is wrong no matter what shape or form it takes. Theft is theft, period.
    In the pre-peer to peer trading days it was rather overlooked. For example, I dubbed my cassette of Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits and gave it to my girlfriend Suzie, and it was very hard to track or dispute. But nowadays, I can rip my CD and give it away to anyone across the world using any easy to use file-sharing program. This can be very easily tracked and the situation can be remedied by making the unlicensed music unavailable. Pirated anything, but in this case music, is a serious problem financially detrimental to all involved in the production of said music, ranging from the artist to any employee of the record company who makes and/or produces the music. I, for one, do not want the hard work I've invested in a product stolen from me and given away freely unless I so choose to do the giving.
    However I disagree with the seeming strong-arm and threatening tactics of the Recording Industry. Threats do seem to be the best solution though, at least for the Recording Industry, for who can argue with "Get rid of the unlicensed content or pay us 1 million dollars for allowing it." I can't seem to think of a better solution. In a world where "Business is War" he with the most muscle wins and the Recording Industry definitely has the muscle to back itself up. I think there should be a better way of doing business, with a little more tact and less "Do it because I'm bigger than you", but I can't offer a fair solution.
    On the other hand, I am not adverse to the fair use of the license I have purchased when I buy a CD of my favorite artist. One distinction that needs to be noted is that you aren't paying $15 for a piece of plastic that cost about $0.50 to make, you are buying a license to listen to the music contained on it. (this is why CD's are more expensive than cassette tapes, even though they are cheaper to make. But I digress..)It is more than fair of me to make backup copies of this music or make copies to listen to on my pc, car, or hand-held mp3 player. What this license doesn't allow is for me to transmit it to another person in any way.
    I'm not trying to come off with a holier-than-you attitude in all this, I can't say that I wasn't guilty of being a user of napster but upon lengthy thought I did see the error of my ways. I decided the best way to show support for an artist I liked was to actually buy the album as compared to just downloading it, which gives no compensation to the artist's work.
    On a slightly off-topic note, the business I work for has a contract with a satellite music company. This contract ensures that the provided satellite music and NOTHING else will ever be played over their speakers, i.e. TV. My company recently received an email stating amongst legalese that they could buy an additional license for $198 which would ensure that representatives of the satellite company would not randomly stop by and make sure my company was breaching their contract by playing the TV, etc. IMO, this strongly resembles paying mafioso-style 'protection' money.
    Anyways, my strong feelings on piracy in general prompted this excessively long post.
    benzine

  4. #4
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    27

    Music Piracy isn wrong, agreed

    I will begin by stating " i do not download pirated music or movies over the internet" , it is wrong. I also think that the music and movie industry is unfair and heavy-handed with there practices.
    The original copyright time was 14 yrs and seems very fair to me but 70 years is a bit much . My license for the music I purchase only lasts as long as the tape , cd, or album lasts . the whole process is very one sided due to the amount of influence that the record and movie industry have in congress .
    I made the decision not to download pirated music and also not to PURCHASE any until they decide to be fair in there practices, and lower the price.


    Liberty is so much latitude as the powerful choose to accord the weak.
    -- Judge Learned Hand
    [shadow]Seek the truth and it will set you free[/shadow]

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Posts
    167
    I personally think the MPAA & RIAA are fighting a losing battle. I have always felt that having some sort of pay service for mp3's is the way to go. I haven't bought a CD in over 6 months. This isn't because I download and burn everything, its because nothing worth buying has come out.

    I think the peer 2 peer clients will become more advanced and start masking your IP address. I think they will use some sort of encryption to hide the file type. I think bearshare is already doing this.

    One thing I am really surprised never happened was seeing napster relocate overseas.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Posts
    343

    Napster

    Because of the MPAA and the RIAA there will never be
    another Napster.... You are right I would have gone
    overseas. You know that Napster and the P2P networks
    actually promote the recordings and the Artists.....
    How do the local radio stations do it... They are actually
    paid to play the music... or they get it for free... It is like free
    adds for the record label and artists.
    Franklin Werren at www.bagpipes.net
    Yes I do play the Bagpipes!

    And learning to Play the Bugle

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    259
    Going after companys because employees are useing the network is a bit of a draconian policy. It's along the same lines as saying someone from your company stole my car when it was parked in your parking lot it's the companys fault. But on the other hand the big companys that got the letters probly don't have anything to worry about since the RIAA seams to like picking on smaller companys, they sued sony once and lost.
    Alternate realities celebrate reality. If you cant handle the reality your in, then you wont be able to handle the one your attempting to escape to.

  8. #8
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    4
    Let me try to offer a different line of thinking here. The RIAA and the recording industry control the music and the artists that we get opportunity to listen to. The stuff we get to listen to on the radio is what they choose to release to the "mainstream". Most often that is music that they know will bring them millions upon millions anyway, so they're willing to give it to the radio stations for airplay. The stations usually DO NOT pay any license fees for the music they are playing. The record companies, like any other company that markets in this manner, are using what is called a "loss-leader", a business term defined as giving something away in hopes of receiving a benefit far exceeding the loss of the object given away. . . . so what right?

    OK so what happens to the hundreds upon hundreds of talented artists and valuable music that doesn't make it thru the record companies' stranglehold? They are stuck in a hole with little room to move, strictly from a business standpoint. The record companies own all the channels and venues thru which an artist can make a living for himself. What then? Well up to a few years ago the only recourse was to play their music locally and sell CD's to the audiences and try to build a following. A very slow tedious uphill battle. Then along comes the Internet . . . and Napster (insert whatever file-share prog you like) and suddenly Joe-little-band in East Cornville Iowa has access to the world market . . . literally. Joe can share his music with the world and build a worldwide following (if his music is good enough of course). Oh and not only that . . . he can sell his CD's for $5 apiece and make a really good living (and people are buying it like hotcakes because . . . hey $5 isn't a bad price!). This is what the recording companies are really worried about . . . losing control of the market. Guess what record companies . . . get a clue . . . control is an illusion. Stop treating your artists and your fans like puppets and let go . . . and everything will work out.

    . . . just a different line of thinking . . .
    I tried to contain myself . . . BUT I ESCAPED

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •