a small dose of reality

Naturally, the IFPI doesn't mention the exorbitant per song "legal" download charge.  Nor does it mention that if you accidentally delete it you are screwed and have to pay again.  Kazaa may have settled but Kazaa is still running and sharing.  The threat of suing parents is ridiculous.  Should parents remove all the computers from the house when their 17 year old child is left home alone.  Is it the parents' job to be nazis for the IFPI?  The threat of lawsuits is supposed to scare your average Joe Citizen from downloading music according to them illegally.  What exactly does a person sign agreeing not to share a CD when they pay an exorbitant price for it originally?

The music industry has been robbing the public for years

This is the organization that helped put all the bucks in Michael Jackson's pockets that he has blown over the years.  The music industry has been ripping off the public for years and wants the Courts worldwide to help them continue to do so.  Enough is enough.  The more downloading and sharing that goes on, the less chance that the measly 31,000 lawsuits as compared to 20 Billion downloads last year alone will get them anywhere.  Copywrite laws need to be updated to deal with new technology.  If the music industry allows its product into the public domain in a format that allows copying, sharing and downloading, it's their own damn responsibility.  If I was running a Court I would toss the crying babies out on their butts.

The music industry has launched a fresh wave of 8,000 lawsuits against alleged file-sharers around the world, escalating its drive to stamp out online piracy and encourage the use of legal download services.  The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents the world's music companies, said on Tuesday the new cases were brought in 17 countries, including the first ones ever in Brazil, Mexico and Poland.  The trade group said more than 1 billion music tracks were illegally downloaded last year in Brazil, the largest market in Latin America. Record company revenue has nearly halved in Brazil since 2000, IFPI said.

IFPI has said some 20 billion songs were illegally downloaded worldwide last year.

The industry has now filed about 18,000 lawsuits in the United States, the largest market for music sales, and 13,000 in the rest of the world.  The legal proceedings involve both criminal and civil suits and are aimed at "uploaders" -- people who put copyrighted songs onto Internet file-sharing networks to offer to music fans without permission.  The IFPI said many of those targeted for legal action were parents whose children had been illegally file-sharing.

How has the music industry had benefited from its settlement of more than $100 million in July this year with long-time antagonist Kazaa, one of the world's best known file-sharing networks?  They got the $100 million but that is peanuts compared to the drop in CD sales.  Legal downloads represent about 11 percent of total music sales, but still do not make up for declining CD sales. Total music sales declined 4 percent in the first half of 2006.

Pissing off potential customers with overpriced CD's and downloads

 will only continue to music industry's downward spiral

The threat of lawsuits is nothing more than extortion.  This is another attempt to ignore the public's right to a free internet.

Internet freedom....fight for it before it goes away

copywrite 2006 - Barry G.