Anti-File Sharing Backlash
from the lock-up-the-content! dept
When the RIAA announced that they were going to start suing the heaviest file sharers, most of the initial reports said that the use of file-sharing networks actually went up. Some suggested that they thought it was a "last call" situation, and many people decided to stock up on all the music they could find before shutting down their Kazaa for a while to let the storm blow over. It appears that theory might be correct, as the latest data says that fewer people are using file sharing networks. I'm not sure that I trust the methodology used for any of these studies, but stories like this should make the RIAA happy. All those fans of music who were getting others interested in new musicians have stopped. The best promoters of their musical acts no longer have an outlet. Instead, they're being sent to newspapers to write up silly opinion pieces about how they learned how wrong file sharing is. I wouldn't be surprised if the piece written by this college student wasn't ghost written by someone in the RIAA, since it carefully touches on each of the "moral" argument points they like to make.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
re: File Sharing / Anti-File Sharing Laws, the RIA
If they do away with the major file sharing entities, it will only cause the file sharing individuals to create smaller, and harder to track file sharing systems.
If they finally kill the file sharing system altogether, then people can simply use fine products such as Sound Forge and wonderful CD burners to make copies for interested parties, or they can simply do what everyone used to do --- buy audiocasette tapes and make copies via their stereos.
Then maybe the RIAA will go after cd-r/rw manufacturers, then audiocassette makers, on to infinity...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]