RIAA Now Decides That Not Enough People Have Heard Of Project Playlist

from the reverse-attention-whores dept

Tue, Apr 29th 2008 12:36am — Mike Masnick

There they go again. The RIAA and MPAA keep picking totally random, mostly unknown, startups and suing them -- giving them all sorts of free publicity. They did it years ago with Napster and more recently with The Pirate Bay. And yet... they keep doing it. In the latest example, the RIAA is suing a company called Project Playlist, which offers apps for MySpace and Facebook that let you play music found elsewhere online. There are a bunch of similar offerings out there (some of which I think are even more well known). If this case goes forward, it could be quite interesting, as again it's hard to see how Project Playlist is the liable party. It just lets users point its player to mp3 files that are found on other sites. Those files may be infringing, but Project Playlist is just the player. It would be like suing Sony for making a Walkman on the assumption that most tapes used in Walkmen include infringing copies of songs.

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Filed Under: copyright, lawsuit, mp3s, riaa
Companies: project playlist, riaa

34 Comments

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Mitch B., 29 Apr 2008 @ 12:49am

AMAZING
...they really don't have a clue do they? They might as well sue companies that make blank media for the same stupid logic eh?
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- spiderwebby, 29 Apr 2008 @ 1:12am
  
  Re: AMAZING
  seconded.
  it amazes me that the RIAA hasent been banned from the courts
  is there anything the wont sue?!
  maybe they should try the car manufactuers for helping transport illegal copys.
  or maybe the bands themselves for makeing music that is potentially copyable!
  blanket ban on microphones?
  when will the stupidity end?!?!
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mike allen, 29 Apr 2008 @ 12:50am

thanks
For the info RIAA il check it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2008 @ 1:40am

It will end when the RIAA gets a bloody nose in court! Or when someone blows them up, HINT HINT!
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SteveD, 29 Apr 2008 @ 2:51am

Nice app
Fantastic, I've been looking for a good facebook mp3 app for ages. Cheers RIAA!

The project seems to be jusdified by the 'Google' argument that by merely linking to copyrighted material doesn't automatically make a search engine or index site illegal.
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Kevin, 29 Apr 2008 @ 3:02am

Why they sue unknown companies...
Because they're smaller and usually have the least amount of resources to be able to defend themselves. Because of this it is much more likely that they will be able to put the small company out of business, or force a settlement favorable to the MafIAA. Once that's done they have one more "example" of how their anti-piracy campaign is working.
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eleete, 29 Apr 2008 @ 3:19am

Communist
Is it just me ? I remember recording songs off the radio when I was in elementary school... when did listening to music become a potential law suit ? When did the law get passed that says EVERY song I hear I must pay for (again and again). Seems like these people want a dollar every time a song is played, whether it's theirs or not. Someone in this country needs to wake up, this isn't about starving artists (if they are starving, it is well documented that the RIAA is behind that (they don't pay the artists involved in these suits, they horde the money)) this is about corporate greed. Their powerful lobbyist groups are passing laws here in the U.S. that very few citizens want imposed on them (including making copyright infringement a Criminal activity) but they are also trying to shove it down the throats of neighboring countries. They're the first to get all suit happy any time a song is played, and the last to loosen their grip on that money for the people who create their precious IP. It sounds very AntiTrust to me, they need to be slapped down, yet our only hope so far is Tanya Andersen. Guess I just have to keep watching to see if we go down the road of communism or uphold our democracy of, for and by the people once again.

e
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- interval, 29 Apr 2008 @ 8:27am
  
  Re: Communist
  Yes, you are right. They want every dollar they can squeeze out of consumers, they don't mind treating their customer base like criminals because they are they are myopically short-sited. They don't see the game of reigning in an infinitely available good as a zero-sum one. I guess they believe they can sue the pants off of the people that might be very good customers because their ancient business model no longer works. Selling CDs used to be a license to print money, but no more. They miss those days. But they are stupid and will die.
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Twinrova, 29 Apr 2008 @ 3:45am

Yet people keep buying music to fuel the RIAA.
It would be like suing Sony for making a Walkman on the assumption that most tapes used in Walkmen include infringing copies of songs.

Next on the list: Suing companies for not initiating tougher DRM of their players to prevent copies of songs.

Listen, folks. You can fight back. How? STOP BUYING MUSIC!

Spread the word. No iTunes, no CDs to burn, nothing.

Want your music? Share with your friends but just don't buy it. Illegal? Yes, as if racketeering isn't illegal but "overlooked" in the music industry.
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- Mark, 29 Apr 2008 @ 5:19am
  
  Re: Yet people keep buying music to fuel the RIAA.
  I'm not sure if a boycot of music is the key. Perhaps boycot purchasing physical media would be better. Let's not forget about the artists, they are really getting screwed here.
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- eleete, 29 Apr 2008 @ 6:25am
  
  Re: Yet people keep buying music to fuel the RIAA.
  Although I agree that their behavior is exactly the definition of racketeering, I suppose the law makes that impossible to pin on them...
  
  http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080427/161528962.shtml
  
  e
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- Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2008 @ 12:00pm
  
  Re: Yet people keep buying music to fuel the RIAA.
  A boycott is a nice idea, but I don't believe it would be effective. They're out suing dead people and grandmothers because their profits are falling. If their profits keep falling? They'll just keep suing. And if we're all doing something you claim is illegal, they'll have *every* right to see us in court. We need a different plan, one that discourages them from their current track WITHOUT making us all bigger targets.
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 29 Apr 2008 @ 4:34am

I know! I know!
The RIAA aren't quite as worried about the fact that there's pirated music out there, just so long as hardly anybody knows about it. But when someone points out that it's happening, and where it's happening, then they become angry.

So the offence here is not piracy per se, but publicizing the fact that piracy is going on. They're not going to stand for that, because it makes them look like dorks.

...

Hang on...
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- Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2008 @ 12:01pm
  
  Re: I know! I know!
  Alas, publicizing isn't yet illegal...
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2008 @ 5:38am

Facebook and myspace? People still use those? Those sites are becoming the AOL/geocities/angelfire of the 00's.
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- Eturnal, 29 Apr 2008 @ 9:43am
  
  Re:
  Too bad hundreds of millions disagree with you...
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Dave, 29 Apr 2008 @ 5:45am

This isn't new
There was a huge effort to block VCRs when they came out as they were going to be used to bootleg TV and Movies.

And look at that market now. Nobody buys movies anymore. they just line up for hours outside theatres or wait for them to come on TV. Maybe if they had made movies for some kind of "direct to video" sales instead of just having to use them to watch things you were out of the house for.
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wasnt me, 29 Apr 2008 @ 5:56am

hehe ty RIAA that type of advertising im sure Project Playlist is enjoying very much.
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Overcast, 29 Apr 2008 @ 6:34am

Those freakin' fools have no CLUE how many CD's my daughter has talked me into getting her that she heard on her friend's MYSpace pages.

So please do get rid of it :P
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citizenforsmartweb, 29 Apr 2008 @ 6:40am

citizen for smart web
ok, let ask a question, -Why is RIAA doing this?-
answer- they represent recording companies. its there job. recording companies make them do that. so for every time they take company too curt, we shame record companies they associated with and there artist. so record companies and the artist who be a shame to be associated with this type of cases will respond. just a thought.

...citizen for smart web
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- Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2008 @ 7:14am
  
  Re: citizen for smart web
  English not your first language? Just curious as I can barely understand your argument here.
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representationofyourmom, 29 Apr 2008 @ 6:52am

diff between games and avittars
An avatar is seen as an extension of self. In my opinion, the more "avatar based" a game in, the lower the percentage of violent content. WoW has lots of items and interactions that go beyond just killing things.
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- Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2008 @ 12:04pm
  
  Re: diff between games and avittars
  I... think you're on the wrong thread...
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Daniel, 29 Apr 2008 @ 7:14am

Project Playlist
That is a really cool site. I've been using it for 6 months. Works really well for finding obscure music. I was wondering when it would get taken down.
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John, 29 Apr 2008 @ 7:44am

STOP BUYING MUSIC
I have NOT bought music in years. I WILL NOT buy music as long as the BULL CRAP RIAA tries to bully everyone into bending to its will. I DO NOT BUY TAPES, DVD'S, MP3 DOWNLOADS, Satellite TV or Cable TV (Time Warner!!! What a JOKE!)I only use FTA (Free To Air satellite TV). I bought the equipment and it's free. I refuse to support the RIAA or the Artists that support the RIAA.
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- Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2008 @ 8:30am
  
  Re: STOP BUYING MUSIC
  Yes! Lets all live in a box!
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  - Franssu, 29 Apr 2008 @ 8:40am
    
    Re: Re: STOP BUYING MUSIC
    You sir, are a moron.
    
    Boycotting mainstream media does not mean live in a box, far from that. And indeed quite the contrary. You have much more time to go out to concerts and to discover alternative artists when you're nor listening to the major's shit at home.
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interval, 29 Apr 2008 @ 8:21am

I haven't "bought" any music (and by "music" I mean cds) in years either. I refuse. I kinda feel sorry for the RIAA and the MPAA in a twisted sort of way. I see the current actions by these guys as the dying thrashing and lashing out action of a sick, decaying monster, the sort of last gasp burst of energy thing. Eventually they will run out of money and get blown away like the dust of a wildebeest carcass.
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- Matt, 29 Apr 2008 @ 8:30am
  
  Re: interval
  No, they won't go away. They won't run out of money. Do remember that most people do not know about these lawsuits (they're not on television), and even if they did, they wouldn't care. People will continue to buy music and movies no matter the price, no matter the restrictions. Remember that an uneducated consumer is the best customer, and there are plenty of these people ready to part with their money.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2008 @ 8:57am

i just sent this to the piracy reporting section of the RIAA at www.riaa.com:

i want to report ALL my friends. i am a BMI songwriter and i resent youre actions as they promote piracy. thans to you, The Pirate Bay is a household word, LimeWire is on every home computer i know, and artists are so unhappy with the way you spend the money you take in they now support downloading.

spend all this time and money working out a paradigm, or there will not be ANY paradigm.

so buy a list of musicians here in Nashville and start with that. youll find piracy rampant with those folks. and then there is me--of course i dont traffic in pirated material, but i could be convinced.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2008 @ 9:46am

Anyone else notice a shrinking CD section?
Pretty soon, RIAA will sue retailers because they are trying to find ways to increase overall profitability and scale back the music department.

Think about it-- The return per square foot, potential inventory velocity (turns) and cost barriers associated with a entry into the space make it real unappealing investment for a new retailer.

There are many other products that require lower investment, less loss-prevention, and operational requirements than filling the same square footage, display requirements, for a comperable margin on CDs.

That $/sq foot metric is a real nail biter.
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jeffj (profile), 29 Apr 2008 @ 4:02pm

".they really don't have a clue do they? They might as well sue companies that make blank media for the same stupid logic eh?"

Actually, they DO have a clue, because most of the time these companies settle and the site goes poof. Even though this site is totally legal, it is not long for this world. Remember I said that.
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Marcy Kelley, 20 Dec 2008 @ 4:09pm

Project Playlist Article
MySpace has now taken it upon themselves to disable the links to Project Playlists people have posted on their profiles. Additionally, if you click on one of the ugly little red x's that are left behind, MySpace has inserted a most untrue, unfair and unfortunate window - their so called explanation of their decision to pull the plug on people's playlists. I posted your article in a Blog on my page. I suppose what's next is that they'll decide I'm unworthy of keeping my page, too.
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