Beware..the RIAA is getting into the hacking business... (1 Viewer)

[Craig_T]

RIAA's website attacked:
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-947072...=cnet&tag=lthd

 

[Paul McElligott]

The record labels would have you believe that the artists are the ones suffering because of music piracy, but common sense says otherwise.
Almost all recording acts get an advance against royalties, which is usually used to cover recording expenses, often leaving the artist with not a lot of money left over. Also, because this is an advance, the artist only sees more money if the CD sells enough to earn more royalties than he or she has already been paid.
The number of artists who actually make a significant amount of money from their CD sales is probably pretty small. Most music acts make their living the way they always have, performing live.
That's probably why a lot of artists have always supported music sharing, because it helps put the butts in the seats at the concert. Having the CD out there helps, too, but unless you're top-level artist who gets lots of support from the record company and lots of radio air play, it's not as significant as word of mouth, something that music sharing can really help generate.
The record labels have deluded themselves and others into thinking that RIAA = music industry. But the RIAA is only the recording industry, in the business of selling us their shiny little silver discs, regardless of what is on them. The music industry (artists, managers, concert promoters) existed a long time before there was a recording industry.
In the beginning, the recording industry existed to support the music industry. A record was a great promotional tool to get people out to see the live act. Somewhere along the way, the tail started wagging the dog, until the tail actually became the dog.
Now, musicians are known as "recording" artists, who go on tour merely to promote their latest CD. The new paradigm gave rise to artists who wouldn't even exist without the technological wizardry of the studio. I get the feeling that Britney Spears singing Karaoke would be a pretty sad sight.
Mp3, the Internet and Napster threatened the recording industry because it gave artists an end run around them for promoting their live acts. The recording industry fears that anything that threatens their monopoly on promoting artists and distributing their music will render them irrelevant.
This is probably an irrational, exaggerated fear, but the RIAA's hysterical and draconian response could turn this into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Music is not food, water or shelter. We can live without it. Put up too many obstacles, make it too difficult or expensive to hear the music, any people will turn their back on it. The RIAA is running the risk of permanently alienating the very same young audience that it needs to survive.
If the Berman bill passes, this situation will only get worse. You can believe that the 16-year-old whose system stops working because it was hacked by the RIAA will not care whether the record labels make money or not. People like that will find other amusements and the recording industry will lose their grip on the very audience that measures that the Berman bill were meant to keep.

 

[Marc Colella]

RIAA's website attacked:
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-94707...y=cnet&tag=lthd

Maybe someone decided to disable their server since they had some MP3 stored on it.

 

[Ricardo C]

[Homer Simpson]Beeeeautiful[/Homer Simpson]

 

[Chet_F]

I was just telling my friend that the second the bill gets passed some hacker(or group of hackers) is going to make it his own personal war against the RIAA.
Now today I see this wonderful article about the RIAA website getting a DOS attack.

HEY RIAA!!!!!!!!! WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND!!! Watch your back, and every other side for that matter!! I love it when Karma comes raining through:b :b :b :b :b :b

 

[Andy Olivera]

Now today I see this wonderful article about the RIAA website getting a DOS attack.

That's lesson #1. However, from the article it doesn't appear they got the message. I wonder what these guys have in mind for lesson #2.

 

[Damin J Toell]

Almost all recording acts get an advance against royalties, which is usually used to cover recording expenses, often leaving the artist with not a lot of money left over. Also, because this is an advance, the artist only sees more money if the CD sells enough to earn more royalties than he or she has already been paid.

Advances are actually getting pretty astronomical these days, often making the record labels less willing to enter into new contracts given the large cash outlay. Labels would be more willing to give artists a higher stake in the profits if those same artists would be more willing to lower their requested advance. At a conference I attended this past Spring, attorneys for both labels and artists agreed that high advances were problematic, but the problem remains. The complaints I hear about the low stake that artists have in the gross profits often seem quite hollow in light of this.

DJ

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

In response to the DOS attack.
"Don't they have something better to do during the summer than hack our site?" asked the RIAA representative, who asked not to be identified. "Perhaps it at least took 10 minutes away from stealing music."
Goodgrief. Doesn't the RIAA have something better to do than try to push legislation so they can hack one user at a time? :rolleyes
BTW, I doubt it took 10 minutes away from downloading music since most hackers know how to multitask.

 

[RossTerry]

about the 'artists' the industry is treating so badly...

have you seen MTV Cribs?

they arent doing too bad

 

[MikeDeVincenzo]

Ross


MTV Cribs features the very top of the food chain as far as artists go, the very peak of the pyramid. The vast majority of the pyramid is ignored by the cameras of MTV Cribs. I wouldn't use MTV Cribs to make broad statements about how artists are faring under the current music distribution system.


All


You know, this thread has helped me to reaffirm why I'm going off to law school this fall and hopefully becoming an Intellectual Property attorney.

 

[DeathStar1]

>>That's why certain bands are in your face 24 hours a day and others don't have a chance. >>
Hmm, is that why certain radio stations play the SAME songs over and over again?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I find it disturbing that some people are happy that the RIAA site was attacked. Equating this with what the RIAA is proposing shows an extreme ignorance of the situation.

The RIAA is looking for a way to curb the illegal distribution of music. What they are proposing is no different than setting up security cameras in change booths in a retail store to curb shoplifting. They have a legal right to protect their interests, and the only ones who will have their computers altered are those who are in violation of the law. Unless you don't bother to put locks on your doors to protect your own property, complaining about others trying to do the same thing is pretty hypocritical.

The people hacking the RIAA website are not protecting their property, they are performing a terrorist activity. There is a huge difference.

Those who cry about the protection of privacy are complaining a little late. You have no privacy, and if you are commiting criminal acts, you shouldn't. Should the guy raping his neighbor's daughter be free to do whatever he likes in the privacy of his own home? You are under constant surveillance everyday. Your privacy is being invaded everytime you enter a shopping mall, drive your car, or make a credit card transaction. Retaillers have been video taping customer activity for decades. If you think the net isn't being monitored already by federal agencies, you are living in a dream world.Why shouldn't the RIAA be vigilant on the net when it comes to file swapping if that is where crimes against them are being commited?

Whether the current proposal is approprate or not is up to lawmakers to decide, but condoning people attacking the RIAA website is pathetic.

 

[Paul McElligott]

Retaillers have been video taping customer activity for decades.

So, that's on their property! What the RIAA is proposing is the equivilent of forcible random searches of homes and people on the street.

 

[Paul McElligott]

Advances are actually getting pretty astronomical these days, often making the record labels less willing to enter into new contracts given the large cash outlay. Labels would be more willing to give artists a higher stake in the profits if those same artists would be more willing to lower their requested advance. At a conference I attended this past Spring, attorneys for both labels and artists agreed that high advances were problematic, but the problem remains. The complaints I hear about the low stake that artists have in the gross profits often seem quite hollow in light of this.

We're talking about a rather small percentage at the top of the music pyramid though. Your average jazz, blues or indie-rock artist doesn't get an "astronomical" advance and has to live primarily on performing income.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

How cool is that? Not cool. If this Regional Coding nonsense really becomes the norm (which i seriously doubt) then i loose and you loose.

Video games have been region coded since the NES back in 86. Physical lockouts were performed by Nintendo till the GameCube came out, and the others used hardware chip identifiers

Region coding will only get worse ,mark my words. Sony has been so successful in region locking the Playstation 2 that no one has yet successfully chipped the system to play import games. Ironically, they HAVE been successful in chipping to play bootlegs. So Sony has successfully locked out their honest customer, but once again failed to stop the bootleggers.

Region coding is stupid and a waste of time, yes. What really needs to happen is that some items shouldn't be coded. Why are my Japanese music DVDs region 2,3 but not 1? No one here is interested in licensing these titles (except me, but I don't have the cash) and there are a ton of immigrants who would probably love to play them. Game manufactuers NEED to create a region 0, because there are tons of games that will never be licensed outside of their home country that some people might like to play.

Frankly, if Imports weren't such an important part of a music collector's life, I wonder if the RIAA wouldn't be pushing for region locks themselves

 

[Jean-Michel]

Frankly, if Imports weren't such an important part of a music collector's life, I wonder if the RIAA wouldn't be pushing for region locks themselves

They probably would be, if not for the fact that the spec for audio CDs was locked down something like 20 years ago and it wouldn't be possible to add it at this point.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I find it disturbing that some people are happy that the RIAA site was attacked. Equating this with what the RIAA is proposing shows an extreme ignorance of the situation.

Equating that one is acceptable but the other is not shows an extreme ignorance of the situation. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/bor.html That's a link to the Bill of Rights. Please brush up on the forth amendment.

 

[Jean-Michel]

(post deleted, how come I can edit my posts but not delete them outright? Am I missing something?)

 

[Chet_F]

"The people hacking the RIAA website are not protecting their property, they are performing a terrorist activity."

Exactly and so is the RIAA - "performing a terrorist activity". That's if they get the law passed.

Now using the word "terrorist" is a little harsh in my opinion but to each their own.

 

[Chet_F]

"Whether the current proposal is approprate or not is up to lawmakers to decide, but condoning people attacking the RIAA website is pathetic."

So condoning the RIAA to hack is not pathetic??? I guess I have a differnt view of the world then you.