Campus file swappers to pay RIAA

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Four university students on Thursday agreed to pay thousands of dollars each to settle online music piracy charges, ending the record industry's most aggressive thrust yet against individual file swappers.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sued four students separately last month for running services that searched computers connected to their college networks for MP3 song files. The students also also shared copyrighted music from own machines. The lawsuits marked the first time that the RIAA directly sued students, as opposed to companies, associated with peer-to-peer piracy.

The settlements will see each student making payments to the RIAA totaling between $12,000 and $17,000, split into annual installments between 2003 and 2006. The lawsuits as filed could have entailed damages (in theory) of up to $100 million.

The RIAA said that any future similar enforcement actions could lead to "stiffer settlement obligations."

News source: News.com

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(1 reply) #1 Xab on 02 May 2003 - 02:11

Seriously what kind of FUCKING scumbags are these guys? Making college students pay $12,000 over 3 years, when they already probably have student loans hanging over their heads. This is horseshit. I would have NO sympathy at all if someone firebombed the entire damn RIAA building. They can all burn in hell as far as I'm concerned.

#1.1 mokes on 02 May 2003 - 02:30

It's not like we'd lose any contributors to our world.

#2 mokes on 02 May 2003 - 02:18

RIAA = Satan What the hell are these Nazis' going to do next? Beat up the elderly for profits?

(1 reply) #3 altezza on 02 May 2003 - 02:20

This small amount of money does not compensate millions worth of illegal MP3s. Stupid RIAA!

#3.1 astrokat on 02 May 2003 - 02:38

what are you saying exactly?

#4 AshUK on 02 May 2003 - 02:35

Two words... PR Stunt

#5 macrosslover on 02 May 2003 - 02:59

OMG, i'm shaking in my boots. UP YOURS RIAA

#6 Huezo on 02 May 2003 - 03:06

Heh heh... Damn You RIAA... [URL=http://www.intelsucks.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=38&mode=thread&order=1&thold=0]GO TO HELL[/URL] The RIAA is obsolete, haha, SµX0r5!

#7 NeoMayhem on 02 May 2003 - 03:09

I hope they srearch me for MP3s, because I dont have any anymore, only OGG files now, and they probably dont know what they hell that is

(1 reply) #8 insurektion on 02 May 2003 - 03:14

Fricken RIAA isnt losing much money anyways. They have only lost money on singles and if you adjusted their profits from previous years the follow in suite with the economic downturn everything is almost balanced. When will artist realize people will buy Cd's if they like em. Its so retarded. The people are who made them and the people should teare em down. I hope Madonna Metallica and whoeever else thinks they are losing moeny cause of P2P is just in denial that they blow. If they RIAA doesnt back off I would verry much consider calling for a wide boycotte of CD's all together until artist realize who really pays them. I have bought as many CD's now as i have in 1990 before all this P2P was common. I can also say the same for almost everyone else I know.

#8.1 GeekBoy2000 on 02 May 2003 - 04:59

[neoquote=#8.0 by insurektion] Fricken RIAA isnt losing much money anyways. They have only lost money on singles and if you adjusted their profits from previous years the follow in suite with the economic downturn everything is almost balanced. When will artist realize people will buy Cd's if they like em. Its so retarded. The people are who made them and the people should teare em down. I hope Madonna Metallica and whoeever else thinks they are losing moeny cause of P2P is just in denial that they blow. If they RIAA doesnt back off I would verry much consider calling for a wide boycotte of CD's all together until artist realize who really pays them. I have bought as many CD's now as i have in 1990 before all this P2P was common. I can also say the same for almost everyone else I know.[/neoquote] I'd love to be a part of an official boycott, and I'm surprised such a movement hasn't really taken hold already. They think they're hurtin' now? Their stunts are becoming about as popular as the worst of the spammers. What do we do? Individual web sites? A webring?

#9 Xab on 02 May 2003 - 04:38

Well the difference here is, every industry has lost money over the past couple years. Since 9/11 the economy has been crap. Every other company realizes this, but the RIAA is apparantly immune to these effects, and they blame ALL losses on file sharing.

#10 Krome on 02 May 2003 - 06:07

fukken RIAA dikheds

(1 reply) #11 a-dawg on 02 May 2003 - 07:25

Seriously,

What is the point in doing this type of crap to college students, the RIAA should be going after the bigger fish. Personally i think they should just back off and let music take its own course, and quit bitchen and moaning. :disappoin

#11.1 Quick Reply on 02 May 2003 - 08:55

exactly

(3 replies) #12 Quick Reply on 02 May 2003 - 09:01

At first, it was funny to see what the next trick up their riaa's sleeves were and grinning at their daily site hacks, but now they've gone ridiculous by making innocent teens pay just to set an example. Why can't they just realise that the internet age is apon us and embrace the technology rather than killing it. If this is such a threat, why don't we just outlaw dvd players, vcd players, computers, radios, sterios, mp3 players, cd players, internet fridges and anything else that can play copyed music

#12.1 Marshalus on 02 May 2003 - 13:23

I wouldn't call them innocent, they knew what they were doing. But still, it's a bunch of bull shit.

#12.2 Jstphish on 03 May 2003 - 07:32

[neoquote=#12.0 by Quick Reply]If this is such a threat, why don't we just outlaw dvd players, vcd players, computers, radios, sterios, mp3 players, cd players, internet fridges and anything else that can play copyed music

[/neoquote] Because they have already tried.

#12.3 Quick Reply on 03 May 2003 - 08:42

[neoquote=#12.2 by Jstphish]Because they have already tried.[/neoquote] lol! are you serious!? o_O

#13 blzd|sicmade on 02 May 2003 - 10:08

DIE DIE DIE!!!! RIAA

(2 replies) #14 dogmatix on 02 May 2003 - 10:47

I have bought far more CDs since I started using P2P than ever before. P2P enables me to sample single tracks and to choose the CDs I want rather than having to pay large amounts of money up front in order to check out the contents of a CD. There are two options open to the music industry: sell single tracks online at a reasonable price (and reasonable will be modest given the availability of free music on radio and TV, which can be recoreded using other devices): or sell the CDs at a price which encourages the public to buy them. £16 or £17 ($24) only encourages people to go home and load up the P2P program. These are the only options, because the technology for copying and distributing mp3 is so cheap and widespread, it can not be stuffed back into Pandora's Box by any number of oppressive court actions against defenceless students. Not even in a brutal country which maintains the death penalty, which no doubt the RIAA would like to use next.

#14.1 cork1958 on 02 May 2003 - 14:07

Exactly and that goes ditto for me.

#14.2 Jstphish on 03 May 2003 - 07:35

They are already dropping some cd prices to $10 and they want to keep it there. They are starting to learn. They are doing this PR stunt crap just until they can figure out a new buisness model to make money off of the internet. IMO, I think they need to look at Apple's new service included in iTunes4. They've already made tons.

(1 reply) #15 Mr. Black on 02 May 2003 - 14:48

SOMEONE PLEASE HACK THEIR SITE AND LEAVE A MESSAGE TO LEAVE COLLEGE STUDENTS ALONE!!!!

#15.1 Krome on 03 May 2003 - 01:42

I think it already has... I can't get in their site... can you give me the link to their site?

#16 shockstunna on 02 May 2003 - 16:11

Typical of the RIAA. They are trying to use these kids as an example that Big Drunken Uncle (RIAA) is watching you. Of course, he will eventually pass out, and everything will return to normal.

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