$97 Billion Dollars

[AlexMax]

That is how much the RIAA is going after four college students for...

http://www.freep.com/money/tech/newman5_20030405.htm

(The article is off. I did the math, it's billion, not trillion)

Now tell me, what in the world are they trying to accomplish here? Suing someone for THAT MUCH MONEY, over music?

I'm not saying what the guy did was right in the first place (I personally have quit listening to 90% of the music put out by RIAA, favoring artists on MP3.com, forigen music, and the like). But does 97 billion sound like an amount of money that any college student would be able to pay off. Hell, does ANYONE have that amount of money? The thing is, the kids probably wont pay it because of lack of funds and then the RIAA is going to blow it out of their asses as 'unrecoverable damages' or some other bullshit.

And that amount of money might just let the average citizen know how out of control the RIAA is. These kids will become martyrs, not deterents like the RIAA is hoping they will become.

The RIAA is going into serious shit here. And the more they do, the more people they are going to piss off. Their days are numbered.

[Paradox]

the RIAA is nuts. but i don't think the kids will be martyrs, after all, nobody can pay $97 billion, so it'll definitely scare some people.

[Ich]

"And the RIAA's lawsuits against the students and others who operate file-sharing systems? "The purpose is intimidation," said Rezmierski, "and they're winning."

At least someone is taking notice.

"Published reports said the RIAA got the names of the four students from articles in college newspapers. Andrew Dobos, editor in chief of the Michigan Tech Lode, said that while he found an article decrying piracy in his archives, he found none that mention Nievelt specifically."

This also shows that they are willing to break rules to protect their wallets. Not that it's anything new.

"The general consensus is that it's horse manure," he said, adding that the penalties were too high. "Even if he was doing that, I don't see that any member of the recording industry is hurting as a result of what these students have done. If he's like an average student, he maybe makes $4,000 a year -- and these rich people are suing him for all this money? How heartless do you have to be?"

Yes, you are right. The tides are turning against them. I wish an expedient death upon their greed.

[carrot red]

Yeah, I think the whole purpose is to make an example of the students and discourage others. Geez, only Bill Gates has got that kind of money!
But this lawsuit is blown way out of proportions and will surely bring RIAA's imminent downfall.

BTW, great sig Walross, I just noticed it.:)

[Matteo]

Saying that the RIAA is going down for picking on college students is like saying that no one is going to buy Abercrombie and Fitch clothing because it is rumored to be made in sweat shops. sure there will be few protestors.. but what good will they do?

Don't u people understand business and marketing at all???

Theres no way ignorant fucking americans will ever revolt against the poppy, soggy entertainment industry that they love that is fed to them by money grubbing corporations and trusts.

[firebug]

i agree, matt. sure, it's fucked up. sure, these rich mofos are suing this poor defenseless college kid, but oh well. :shrug: in two months, noone will even remember his name and all the 'dissenters' will be eagerly awaiting the new album (funded by this suit ;) )

[Ich]

"Experts say they worry that the students, who are unlikely to actually have to pay those soaring sums, won't always be the sole targets of the RIAA's notoriously aggressive copyright defenses."

It says they might get away with not paying. And if it was damages of $10,000 or $20,000 they might get a judge who is not in their pocket to award that. Going overboard shall hurt them by not being able to make an example out of them at all.

[SiliconHero]

97 BILLION dollars? Please tell me that's a typo, too. No reasonable person would sue for that much money, and expect it to be paid in full. Then again, this IS the RIAA we're talking about here, where apparently no dollar amount is large enough, nor lawsuit friviolous enough...

[jman2050]

Now you know why I only listen to anime and game music...

[Rijuhn]

The RIAA is doomed. They are just a bunch of greedy Liberals who jack off after they sue someone. God, don't they get that music is flowing through the masses, and there is very little they can do about it. Maybe it's a time for change, a "new era" for music. If they really want to get a handle on all of this they need to stop suing people, or at least tone down how much they are willing to sue for. They are just trying to make up for their losses in sales over the past years, lol, how gay it all is.

They need to also find something that can only be enjoyed if it's purchased, like registration code or something on the music. I don't know.

[tgf_guy]

The music industry does lose millions of dollars anually on pirates. While I agree that the government should give a penalty to them, the RIAA is becoming extremely irrational. This seems more like a publicity, "Ooooh, you better close down your music site or we'll sue the pants off of you!" thing then an actual method of deterrent for future pirates.

[TheGeepster]

It seems to me that after a certain point, suing for additional damages or punitive measures is pointless and accomplishes nothing more than making the plaintiff look bad. That point is reached well before the average of 24 billion dollars per defendant.

Although I do think piracy is an issue that needs to be taken of. Artists have to live off of something, after all, and most of them aren't as rich as the super-stars everyone knows, I believe.

[Patrick Star]

I don't see how that could work. They will never be able to pay that off.

[Thunderbird]

Originally posted by TheGeepster
Although I do think piracy is an issue that needs to be taken of. Artists have to live off of something, after all, and most of them aren't as rich as the super-stars everyone knows, I believe.

Most artists make their money through concerts, I believe. They don't get that much from CD sales.

[Happyman]

Originally posted by TheGeepster
Although I do think piracy is an issue that needs to be taken of. Artists have to live off of something, after all, and most of them aren't as rich as the super-stars everyone knows, I believe. The easiest way to take care of piracy WOULD have been to reduce CD prices. But it's too late now.

The record companies shot themselves in the foot by making CDs too expensive for everyone.