RIAA Keeps Settlement Money

When EMI, Universal Music and Warner music reached settlement agreements with the likes of Napster, KaZaA and Bolt, they collected hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation - money that was supposed to go to artists whose rights had been allegedly infringed upon when the networks were operating with unlicensed music.

Now, according to an article, the managers of some major artists are getting very impatient, as it appears the very people who were supposed to be compensated - the artists - haven’t received anything from the massive settlements. They say the cash - estimated to be as much as $400m - hasn’t filtered through to their clients and understandably they’re getting very impatient.

Lawyer John Branca, who has represented the likes of The Rolling Stones and Korn, said: “Artist managers and lawyers have been wondering for months when their artists will see money from the copyright settlements and how it will be accounted for.”

Indicating the levels of impatience with the big labels holding the money he added: “Some of them are even talking about filing lawsuits if they don’t get paid soon.”

Of course, EMI, Universal and Warner have a different take on the delay, with sources suggesting that it’s down to the difficulties in deciding who gets what money, based on the levels of copyright infringement for each individual group or artist.

A recording industry on the back foot having spent most of its time fighting the digital revolution rather than becoming part of it, is clearly trying to hang on to every penny, even when it comes to compensating the artists who they claim they were defending by taking legal action in the first place.

Irving Azoff, who manages Christina Aguilera, The Eagles, Van Halen, REO Speedwagon and Seal (amongst others) says it’s hard for artists to get what they deserve from the labels: “They will play hide and seek, but eventually will be forced to pay something,” he said. “The record companies have even tried to credit unrecouped accounts. It’s never easy for an artist to get paid their fair share.”

Read more at Torrentfreak.com.

Comments

[flambe chicken]

that is pretty disgraceful if true.

[Mr_Jubby_Jubs]

And that's why you sign to indie labels.

[ihaterap69]

agreed. the RIAA is just a low-class P.O.S.

I cannot put into words my hate for them.

[FooFighter1927]

The RIAA is just another way for the government to **** us someway.

[cody733]

:O I'm shocked! The RIAA was never devoted to the record labels or artists, but only in it to make money for themselves? That's sooo strange!

[GodbowstoMath]

The RIAA must be out to destroy itself and I'm glad to hear it. This piece of crap "organization" has been the problem with the music industry since it's conception. They're just a bunch of greedy little fascist hippie lawyers who are hellbent on sucking out every last dime out of you and me and even apparently they're own "clients". GIVE THE MUSIC BACK TO THE MUSICIANS!!

I think it's time to just forget the major labels, it's just better on the independent circuit. Let the big fish eat themselves.

[GodbowstoMath]

FooFighter1927 wrote:

The RIAA is just another way for the government to **** us someway.

what's the matter? why aren't you happy? you're an american, you MUST be happy. or else we'll just have to fix your wagon with anti-depressants and day time talk shows.

...agreed.

[Jackolas]

If this is true then the RIAA is filth.

[Jackolas]

cody733 wrote:

:O I'm shocked! The RIAA was never devoted to the record labels or artists, but only in it to make money for themselves? That's sooo strange!

Then again, is it really that strange or suprising?

[cody733]

not in the least, no

[dieloony2]

what a scam

[Sinical6]

The RIAA is a bunch of rich cocksuckers, and all they want to do is get richer. This makes me ****ing sick.

[CarlShahuesa]

did anyone else see what was written under the RIAA logo?

[mr_hankey]

This doesn't surprise me.

[Lost_Rose]

Surprise surprise. Looks like the RIAA has just shot themselves in the foot. Looks like P2P downloading is safe after this farce. It shows that everything that hey "claimed" they were fighting for is a load of bs

[Jondy]

Awesome now all of us can feel less bad about the music we downloaded.

[Les Paul Ell]

CarlShahuesa wrote:

did anyone else see what was written under the RIAA logo?

Yeah

[raise_the_dead]

The RIAA can perform fellatio on me. This is absolutely sickening, I hope they are shut down soon.

Mr_Jubby_Jubs wrote:

And that's why you sign to indie labels.

Today you'll find quite a few indie labels do the same thing. It is pathetic at the end of the day.
But how would you split up the $400m? You can't give everyone an equal share because not everyone was affected in the same way.

You would think that they could have thought of something by now though. They've probably spent it already.

[tbs_182]

death to the RIAA! and those ****ing money hungry labels and artists!

[blaze2thekings]

Lost_Rose wrote:

Surprise surprise. Looks like the RIAA has just shot themselves in the foot. Looks like P2P downloading is safe after this farce. It shows that everything that hey "claimed" they were fighting for is a load of bs

+1, does that really surprise anyone?

[soulphonate]

Well, you certainly can't expect them to instantly divide up the money, but it probably would have made more sense if the attorneys for the RIAA would have found out exactly which artists were owed what amount. What was the settlement amount based upon? What was the full asking amount based upon? RIAA is a waste.

[blaze2thekings]

"You would think that they could have thought of something by now though. They've probably spent it already."
I also agree with that, you know they would have been doing some investigations a long time before they got the money to figure out how to distribute the money.

[Fiddelers elbow]

You would think that they could have thought of something by now though. They've probably spent it already.

Most definatly.I think What Mr_Jubby_Jubs ment was to go independant.

[slayerbizkit]

Nice to know the RIAA doesn't even look after their own clients, the musicians they claim to protect. **** these guys, they should be put out of commision for fraud.

[trickie]

So now they've gone ahead and have stolen much more then us who downloaded any measly mp3?

[hardwarder]

soulphonate wrote:

Well, you certainly can't expect them to instantly divide up the money, but it probably would have made more sense if the attorneys for the RIAA would have found out exactly which artists were owed what amount. What was the settlement amount based upon? What was the full asking amount based upon? RIAA is a waste.

According to the RIAA in their court cases, they already have a price for the damages and stuff, so, seeing that they really know, the artists should have already received their cut.

[eetfuk58]

f*ck the RIAA.

[uberphreak]

raise_the_dead wrote:

The RIAA can perform fellatio on me. This is absolutely sickening, I hope they are shut down soon.

That's the first time I've ever seen "suck my dick" in a forum without the words 'suck', 'my', and 'dick' being used. Congratulations on being the least vulgar forum-goer ever.

As for the RIAA, they can suck my dick.

[i_am_metalhead]

This is just more proof that the RIAA doesnt give a f*ck about the musicians - all they care about is lining their pockets with some green paper.

[i_baked_cookies]

uberphreak wrote:

raise_the_dead wrote:

The RIAA can perform fellatio on me. This is absolutely sickening, I hope they are shut down soon.

That's the first time I've ever seen "suck my dick" in a forum without the words 'suck', 'my', and 'dick' being used. Congratulations on being the least vulgar forum-goer ever.

As for the RIAA, they can suck my dick.

You win at the internet.

[Sublime Stylee]

the RIAA sucks, I blame them for world poverty, Iraq, and the death of Jesus

[davedoom]

disgusting.....as usual

[euan_soad]

Sublime Stylee wrote:

the RIAA sucks, I blame them for world poverty, Iraq, and the death of Jesus

!

[blue_strat]

How ironic.

[GuitarJunkie]

The RIAA are worse than a ****ing loan shark

[sowhat360]

GodbowstoMath wrote:

FooFighter1927 wrote:

The RIAA is just another way for the government to **** us someway.

what's the matter? why aren't you happy? you're an american, you MUST be happy. or else we'll just have to fix your wagon with anti-depressants and day time talk shows.

...agreed.

wait...yup....pretty sure you're a jackass

[jigy-i-joe]

There are no words in any language that can describe how i feel about the RIAA.

[ctb]

uberphreak wrote:

raise_the_dead wrote:

The RIAA can perform fellatio on me. This is absolutely sickening, I hope they are shut down soon.

That's the first time I've ever seen "suck my dick" in a forum without the words 'suck', 'my', and 'dick' being used. Congratulations on being the least vulgar forum-goer ever.

As for the RIAA, they can suck my dick.

Indeed.

shocking. checked. etc.

[Jackolas]

tbs_182 wrote:

death to the RIAA! and those ****ing money hungry labels and artists!

Yeaaaaa!

[bendystraw]

isn't there some law against stealing? i guess it doesn't apply when the company is "doing the right thing"

[perilouspete]

the thing is, what artist are getting the money and how many.....i'm guessing once they divy out all that money it's gonna get spread pretty thin. do you think it's really gonna matter when everyone ends up just getting a $5000 check?

[Johnonon]

As much as i hate the music industry, i hate the RIAA more

[SL!!!]

cody733 wrote:

:O I'm shocked! The RIAA was never devoted to the record labels or artists, but only in it to make money for themselves? That's sooo strange!

Hahaha, yeah..surprise surprise.

[headstone05]

Sublime Stylee :
the RIAA sucks, I blame them for world poverty, Iraq, and the death of Jesus


I agree with you...not really but I understand you.

[NoiseBox]

Duh. they didn't really think they were going to get money, did they? any time you get a big corporation or group of them involved in something on your side or not they're going to take the lion's share if not all of it. It's corporate accounting 101- don't give out shit if you're not absolutely forced to.

[ViperScale]

all the more reason to download music illegally

[radioplay]

CarlShahuesa wrote:

did anyone else see what was written under the RIAA logo?

haha you beat me to it...

[Zox]

If their goal was to become hated, the RIAA has certainly done a great job.

[emr_steelmech]

cody733 wrote:

:O I'm shocked! The RIAA was never devoted to the record labels or artists, but only in it to make money for themselves? That's sooo strange!

my thoughts exactly.

[pwrmax]

BOO!!

[grungeisdead312]

Mr_Jubby_Jubs wrote:

And that's why you sign to indie labels.

yeahhhhh!!

[metdethslaythrx]

i think everyone on UG should protest at the white house!

[Claude Balstein]

Sublime Stylee wrote:

the RIAA sucks, I blame them for world poverty, Iraq, and the death of Jesus

hahahaha +1

[Megallica666]

**** em

[yeahyeah]

hahahaha
well done with the logo

[CarbonXPunk]

That's because the RIAA is a bunch of greedy scumbags... Seriously they wouldn't give a crap about p2p if it was just the artists losing money.

[FacEraser117]

The RIAA's r a bunch of ****ing pricks! If it wasn't for the artists these *******s wouldn't have any money at all!

[Mr. President]

**** th RIAA

[Joshler]

Honest question here, if the RIAA has screwed the lives of many people for the downloading of music, to obtain funds to be delivered to the artist. And the RIAA kept said funds, could the person(s) in question not sue the RIAA in some way or another? I'm basically saying if someone got sued for a phoney cause then they should be entitled a reimbursement of sort, right?

[Thebiz]

I say that, after the army of UG takes over Guatemala we take down the RIAA!!!

[Joshler]

If I'm wrong let me know, I'm beyond curious...

[zeroyon]

It's funny how they could come up with dollar amounts to make people pay out for settlements, but they can't use that same information to pay out to the people the money goes to.

[PekarGuitar]

GodbowstoMath wrote:

[...] They're just a bunch of greedy little fascist hippie lawyers who are hellbent on sucking out every last dime out of you and me and even apparently they're own "clients". [...]

Wait you're telling me there now exists Fascist Hippies? Ahh watch out, they will force us to believe in peace and love with force and intolerance!... Seriously, get your modifiers to agree with each other.

[Scourge441]

Joshler wrote:

Honest question here, if the RIAA has screwed the lives of many people for the downloading of music, to obtain funds to be delivered to the artist. And the RIAA kept said funds, could the person(s) in question not sue the RIAA in some way or another? I'm basically saying if someone got sued for a phoney cause then they should be entitled a reimbursement of sort, right?

From the article:

Indicating the levels of impatience with the big labels holding the money he added: “Some of them are even talking about filing lawsuits if they don’t get paid soon.”

So yeah, they can sue, and hopefully they'll win.

[j-e-f-f-e-r-s]

Scourge441 wrote:

Joshler wrote:

Honest question here, if the RIAA has screwed the lives of many people for the downloading of music, to obtain funds to be delivered to the artist. And the RIAA kept said funds, could the person(s) in question not sue the RIAA in some way or another? I'm basically saying if someone got sued for a phoney cause then they should be entitled a reimbursement of sort, right?

From the article:

Indicating the levels of impatience with the big labels holding the money he added: “Some of them are even talking about filing lawsuits if they don’t get paid soon.”


So yeah, they can sue, and hopefully they'll win.

I think he was talking about regular downloaders like us suing the RIAA.

[sucay]

music should be free, but since it ain't ... laws should be follow, i hate laws.

lol

[Masamune]

[quote=zappp]lol[/quote]
lol indeed
Those greedy bastards...they deserve to get every last penny sucked out of them.

[mgthebest]

why hasn't anyone blown up the RIAA building/s yet?

[vanceboy]

RIAA is over. They're just an old corporate scam being outdated quickly by new technology which they refuse to integrate with. I hope they die horrible deaths.

[ryzylikestorock]

What happened to the concept of playing music for the ears, not the wallets?

[CoolDudeMorgasm]

Ah well we can only hope the RIAA goes down the drain from here...

[GigaSauce]

uberphreak wrote:

raise_the_dead wrote:

The RIAA can perform fellatio on me. This is absolutely sickening, I hope they are shut down soon.


That's the first time I've ever seen "suck my dick" in a forum without the words 'suck', 'my', and 'dick' being used. Congratulations on being the least vulgar forum-goer ever.

As for the RIAA, they can suck my dick.

lmao

[Magero]

zeroyon wrote:

It's funny how they could come up with dollar amounts to make people pay out for settlements, but they can't use that same information to pay out to the people the money goes to.

Exactly what I was thinking. If they sue some 12 year old for 46,535 dollars, they should pay the artist/label 46,535 dollars. It's pretty ****ing simple.
I'm not surprised to see in the slightest this disturbing news. The RIAA have done nothing but show they only care about money and not about music.

[Son_of_Kyuss]

Even on business terms the RIAA are attacking the customers. And that's to just look at it one way and not realize you're dealing with people and music, and music is one something some people still consider art.

[SuperRitsu]

Cool beans.

[kungfuwikawika]

Omg!

Who would have ever known that major record labels actually cared for their arists!
Shock!

Haha. It's pathetic. They must enjoy being able to financially rape their own clients.
(Yes, it's from metalocalypse haha)

[boomXheadXshot]

I think its wonderful that the industry is actually realizing that it is actually dead. Finally, only the best of the best musicians and truest to the music will prevail. The pop artists can take their shit out of here once there is no money in it for them.

[Armagedn]

Glad somebody's doing something to stop illegal downloading, but it's awful to see that they're fighting it with something almost as bad.

[the_extremist00]

thats why downloading music is friggin awesome, noone other than the artists themselves get recognized for it, and look radiohead, i doubt the recording company got any money out of what they did lol

[dann_blood]

FooFighter1927 wrote:

The RIAA is just another way for the government to **** us someway.

The government doesn't fund the RIAA, the record companies do. Stop being a little anarchist and read things before you talk.

As for the RIAA, it's going to collapse sooner or later.

[NoiseBox]

its good to know that the people sued by the riaa aren't the only one's who didn't get a kiss after they got ****ed.

[RickGardiner]

cody733 wrote:

:O I'm shocked! The RIAA was never devoted to the record labels or artists, but only in it to make money for themselves? That's sooo strange!

Lol that was a good laugh

[the boogieman]

further proof that music is better off without the riaa

[LarsHamfield]

**** these pricks! these people make me sick!

[AthenasGhost]

Those hypocrites...

[vIsIbleNoIsE]

mgthebest wrote:

why hasn't anyone blown up the RIAA building/s yet?

yea, why are all the terrorists terrorizing for idiot causes

[troyponce]

Clearly nobody here has read Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig. It's licensed under creative commons, check it out.

[gdawg3001]

I think the artists would bitch no matter how it goes down. if the record companies were to handout the money in equal amounts, someones gonna complain about how they didn't get the right amount of money (and no one is going to say "hey, _____ should've got more money than we did!"). the record companies ARE rat bastards, i'm just trying to shed different light on this.

[MTVget0FFtheAIR]

typical...

[the spiker]

The RIAA is not a government entity. Some of you seem to be confused about that.

[Masonpwiley]

Armagedn wrote:

Glad somebody's doing something to stop illegal downloading, but it's awful to see that they're fighting it with something almost as bad.

What they did is much worse, imo.

[x_themetalfan_x]

Wait, you mean the RIAA is corrupt? My world is ever so shattered.

[bpazolli]

Money from the pockets of one group of crooks into the pockets of another, I preferred the first ones.

[DarkHarmonix]

The next thing you will see: "RIAA spends millions in research to determine how to pay out millions. They came to the conclusion that they deserve the money, because if they don't get the money, then what is the point of the RIAA?" It is like the music industry's own little war in Iraq, where Iraq is the people and consumers, the U.S. is the RIAA, the "democracy" is "the artist's rights" that the RIAA is claiming to fight for, the oil is the money gained, and the terrorists are the illegal downloaders. Look at how well the war has been going compared to the RIAA's progress and something funny happens, we see a lot of lies, controversy, and stupid people making the call.

[Ali-b912]

Mr_Jubby_Jubs wrote:

And that's why you sign to indie labels.

what if you actually want to make money tho?

haha jk. but if you arent into the whole being underground thing, an indie label doesnt do a whole lot for you.

[madmk]

Thats disgusting. How can you acquire $400m and not know who to give it to, surely you'd have employed several advisors for this type of tomfoolery.

They should be penalised for this.

[musicfreak003]

:haha did anyone else notice that the picture said
"RIAA - Screwing artists and consumers since 1992"

[Vermintide]

Wow. The RIAA gets more and more bent every day.

[freedoms_stain]

This is pretty disgusting.

RIAA "You're allowing people to steal from artists, pay up or shut down"

P2P "jeez, ok ya bunch of zealots, $400 mil cover it?"

RIAA " That ought to cover it"

5 years pass

Artists "where's our money, you know, the stuff you said was stolen from us?"

RIAA "....."

Artists "Hello? money? the stuff that you said was STOLEN from OUR pockets?)

RIAA "....."

Lars Ulrich "I will sue a fan a day until we get our money!!!!!"

[TrasherFromHell]

This shows pretty much what they do:

click here

[TrasherFromHell]

TrasherFromHell wrote:

This shows pretty much what they do:

click here

crap, just go here:
http://clintjcl.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/delme-ria a-comic.jpg

[Nddesh]

Looks like Artist are going to buy these toilet papers too http://prorev.com/611riaa.jpg

[CrashedTheShow3]

What a shitty excuse for an organization

[dcamp67]

I'll bet Lars is SOOOOO proud of the "stand" he took against Napster now, isn't he? ROTFLMFHO!!!!!

[BigFatSandwich]

hahahahahahahahaha

I found this incredibly funny

[kryptonite22]

another example of why the RIAA has no place in music

[SpooneyMallard]

dcamp67 wrote:

I'll bet Lars is SOOOOO proud of the "stand" he took against Napster now, isn't he? ROTFLMFHO!!!!!

He probably ended up with a lot more cash from it, since he didn't have to rely on the RIAA.

And even if the labels did get this settlement money, who says the artist wouldn't get screwed by them? It wouldn't be the first time.

[Inspir3d]

Sublime Stylee wrote:

the RIAA sucks, I blame them for world poverty, Iraq, and the death of Jesus

ROFL. And as for the RIAA? This is the rope that hangs them.

[HellrzngPinhead]

this article came from the NY Post, their journalistic credibility has been SEVERELY damaged in the past 15 years, I don't think we're getting the whole story here, but yes, still screw RIAA.

[OffspringPhreak]

lol that made me laugh. When this whole "lawsuit for anyone that downloaded music" BS started I was wondering "If they just got large sums of money from people for downloading a bunch of random crap; how are the right people that "got ripped off" get their fair share?".

Fucking idiots; I hope the RIAA gets what's coming to 'em.

[shred745]

freedoms_stain wrote:

This is pretty disgusting.

RIAA "You're allowing people to steal from artists, pay up or shut down"

P2P "jeez, ok ya bunch of zealots, $400 mil cover it?"

RIAA " That ought to cover it"

5 years pass

Artists "where's our money, you know, the stuff you said was stolen from us?"

RIAA "....."

Artists "Hello? money? the stuff that you said was STOLEN from OUR pockets?)

RIAA "....."

Lars Ulrich "I will sue a fan a day until we get our money!!!!!"

lol +1

[wakemxbmx89]

im telling you these people are frauds
there not ever gonna give anything to the artists

[LazySandman]

cody733 wrote:

:O I'm shocked! The RIAA was never devoted to the record labels or artists, but only in it to make money for themselves? That's sooo strange!

truly shocking

[TMKA]

dann_blood wrote:

FooFighter1927 wrote:

The RIAA is just another way for the government to **** us someway.

The government doesn't fund the RIAA, the record companies do. Stop being a little anarchist and read things before you talk.

As for the RIAA, it's going to collapse sooner or later.

meh, this is america we're talking about
buisness and government are rather interchangeable at this point

[Rengori]

Glad to hear this.

[perilouspete]

dann_blood wrote:

FooFighter1927 wrote:

The RIAA is just another way for the government to **** us someway.

The government doesn't fund the RIAA, the record companies do. Stop being a little anarchist and read things before you talk.

As for the RIAA, it's going to collapse sooner or later.

lol thank you for setting that kid straight.....people will look for anything to hate the gov't for these days...sad. and desperate.

[guitargod5]

why doesnt the RIAA just die already..

[ValenceElectron]

Screwing musicians and consumers since its inception, indeed. One day it will be gone though, and the world of music will be a little better.

[UnsignedRecords]

ah man, now famous artists can only live their lives in semi-luxury now

but that's lame of the riaa though.

[Hondo2112]

Well with the artists now aainst the RIAA that officially makes the number of people who like it a big fat zero. Fcuk the RIAA

[insanity101]

How can i say this? TOLD YA SO. Those corporate bastards don't care about the artists, there music, or there money. they see it as another way scam money off of people. Maybe now some people will see that the RIAA is not there friend. But even though the artists deserve the money from the records and other merchandise they sell, there already rich as hell, do they really need all of that extra money? Decide for yourself, but i say Fuck the RIAA

[Garf72]

Fuck the RIAA. they've failed to grasp this new invention known as 'the interweb' and the whole organisation will die out. music isnt about money and the whole industry has now been exposed for what it really is.

[dylpikle9]

Something tells me the RIAA hasn't heard of weighted averages...

[Wayward Sean]

Dear RIAA,
Please stop being a such a knave.

While I would love to see the RIAA gone, I do feel that something needs to be in place to prevent anarchy in the music industry. However, it needs to be something less evil than the world's most corrupt organization (the RIAA).

[Hobolad]

The artists are corporate bastards themselves nowadays. Those poor multi-millionaires not getting more money? Boo hoo

[mr freezy]

As long as you don't download an album illeagally strait after it comes out/if its leaked then it dosen't make much of a difference anyway. Most bands make most of their money from touring.

[limefan913]

Fucking RIAA. Those bastards suck.

[killabob]

Sublime Stylee wrote:

the RIAA sucks, I blame them for world poverty, Iraq, and the death of Jesus

HAHAHAHAHA
i love reading hate mail toward the RIAA... particularly when they REALLY deserve it

[jayf90]

Fu*k the riaa, Fu*k the record companies and Fu*k the bands that don't already have enough money.

[smalRaptor]

Almost makes you regret suing little girls for downloading music, doesn't it?

[sakura'sdarkest]

sucay wrote:

music should be free, but since it ain't ... laws should be follow, i hate laws.

Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges.

[SpooneyMallard]

sakura'sdarkest wrote:

sucay wrote:

music should be free, but since it ain't ... laws should be follow, i hate laws.

Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges.

...And people are somehow at war with the RIAA? This is all some sort of revolution, now? Such a rebel...

Nope. Stealing is breaking the law.

[shotgunjoe]

Did anyone expect anything more?

[duhpunk]

i've been asking this question for years. it's about time they said "wait, where the ****'s our money?"

[RockInPeaceDime]

anyone surprised by this has been living under a rock

[RockInPeaceDime]

SpooneyMallard wrote:

sakura'sdarkest wrote:

sucay wrote:

music should be free, but since it ain't ... laws should be follow, i hate laws.

Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges.

...And people are somehow at war with the RIAA? This is all some sort of revolution, now? Such a rebel...

Nope. Stealing is breaking the law.

So the RIAA should be arrested? They stole from artists by not giving them the money they deserve.

[null]

Money before everything!

[TheNERD250]

GodbowstoMath wrote:

The RIAA must be out to destroy itself and I'm glad to hear it. This piece of crap "organization" has been the problem with the music industry since it's conception. They're just a bunch of greedy little fascist hippie lawyers who are hellbent on sucking out every last dime out of you and me and even apparently they're own "clients". GIVE THE MUSIC BACK TO THE MUSICIANS!!

I think it's time to just forget the major labels, it's just better on the independent circuit. Let the big fish eat themselves.

fascist hippie lawyers?? That's a big oxymoron

[devinbryndel]

Wow we are still talking about Napster...Get over it! Torrents are the enemies now and sites like megaupload contain BILLIONS of dollars of copywritten shit on their sites! Stop worrying about p2p private sites r taking over!

[The Charm]

I wonder how hard it would be to plant some C4 inside the RIAA's headquaters...

Or kill the CEO, anyone want to help me?

[cpt_pimp]

geez i don't like the RIAA either you guys should think more logically. i agree with that fact that how are you going to distribute that amount of money to what artists. if you give $1m to Madonna and $2m to Dragonforce (haha), then Madonna would get pissed. Basically, how are you gonna track millions of downloads to what artist?

either way, RIAA has lowered musical intergrity in the distribution. that's why we don't see much originality

[chillern]

cpt_pimp wrote:

geez i don't like the RIAA either you guys should think more logically. i agree with that fact that how are you going to distribute that amount of money to what artists. if you give $1m to Madonna and $2m to Dragonforce (haha), then Madonna would get pissed. Basically, how are you gonna track millions of downloads to what artist?

That's the whole point, it's impossible to track the number of downloads, therefore it's impossible for RIAA to give a somewhat accurate estimate of how much they were supposed to sue for. Even though they couldn't make such an estimate, they did, and since they did, they must somehow have calculated how much the artist were intitled to. If the RIAA just sued for the first amount that came to their heads, without first crunching the numbers, then it just proves how amazingly stupid they are.

[SavageNights]

FooFighter1927 wrote:

The RIAA is just another way for the government to **** us someway.

Even though RIAA isn't even a government body.

* chequered*

[jimmy8778]

this is a good thing to have happen for the RIAA though, if you think about it this way, it is for everyone else but them, because if they dont pay, then the RIAA will no longer be an entity, then the music business will be able to get a fresh start on the right foot this time, not a greedy, ignore the customer approach they currently use, in the end it will be good for music, but right now we are just destined to put up with the RIAA's bullshit

[smittyclk]

wow, the riaa is really bad for the music industry... thats shocking news.

[smittyclk]

devinbryndel wrote:

Wow we are still talking about Napster...Get over it! Torrents are the enemies now and sites like megaupload contain BILLIONS of dollars of copywritten shit on their sites! Stop worrying about p2p private sites r taking over!

torrents are the enemy? wow, who told you that? a major label? an artist on that label? the riaa? stop believing everything they tell you sheeple.

[Skruzz]

uberphreak :
raise_the_dead wrote:

The RIAA can perform fellatio on me. This is absolutely sickening, I hope they are shut down soon.


That's the first time I've ever seen "suck my dick" in a forum without the words 'suck', 'my', and 'dick' being used. Congratulations on being the least vulgar forum-goer ever.

As for the RIAA, they can suck my dick.

LOL +145346256235635736

[korn_dawg]

There's no way this article is biased to the smallest degree, considering the source and everything...