A recent conversation with a friend about 'just how dangerous it is to post music to your blog' led me to a bit of surfing which turned up a raft of really interesting reporting done by CNet in December of 2008.
As some may recall, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has in the past gone after individuals for whopping sums for downloading or uploading to songs to share sites such as KaZaa, but thus far all of these cases have either been settled out of court for relatively nominal sums, or been unsuccessful. This despite the RIAA's threats on their website that they will throw individuals in jail for up to 5 years for downloading so much as 1 Madonna single, a punishment hardly on par with the crime.
With illegal downloading expanding rather than contracting in response to the RIAA's efforts, the group is now seeking a new method to stop file sharing, creating a blackist of people whose internet activity suggests they are doing a buncha up and downloading, and then asking their ISP's to disable their accounts.
On the upside, this approach is far more humane, reasonable, and far less costly attempting to sue individuals (what, were they going to bring suit against just about everyone in the entire United States?), on the other, as CNet points out through an interview with one ISP, why should they do the RIAA's work for free? So far, exactly zero ISPs are stepping up to the plate, and why would they? They'd be driving off their own customers - and that is capitalism at its best.
One final thought on the immediate future of the RIAA, with the world economy being through the floor, and record sales descending, how much more money can they rally to hire lawyers and prosecute anyone over this issue? At $200- $400 an hour, they better be picking and choosing who they bother to fight. A 40 hour work week for just one lawyer, could sure pay for a lotta songs.
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