Video killed the radio star, no the RIAA did.
Not a week goes by without even a mention of the battle between the recording studios and their customers over how, when, where we can get our music, but this last stunt by the RIAA really just confuses me.
A legal notice from the RIAA was recently sent to Jeffrey Howell of Scottsdale, AZ demanding an out of court settlement cost or face legal proceedings regarding the music he has stored on his PC. According to the letter, Howell had some 2,000 MP3 files that the RIAA had deemed “illegal” stored on his computer. What makes this case irritating was that all of those MP3’s were from CD’s Howell LEGALLY purchased. He had simply ripped them to his PC.
According to the RIAA, “If you make unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings, you’re stealing. You’re breaking the law and you could be held legally liable for thousands of dollars in damages.” What they apparently DON’T specify is that they consider copying legally purchased music for your own personal use, ILLEGAL.
One would think that if it were illegal to duplicate or back up legally purchased content like CD’s, DVD’s and VHS tapes, that there would be barriers against such processes like a lack of a record feature on VCR’s or applications like iTunes that allow you to make MP3’s out of your CD’s. I’m leaning towards the idea that the RIAA is on a power trip and doesn’t really see what they’re doing. In a world where you’re already seeing a steady decline in album sales from sheer lack of talent or interest, one would think you would be doing everything in your power to INCREASE sales, not run off your customer base.
Gotta love old media grasping at straws as it tries to apply a decade old business model to a new world.
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Just curious:
How did the RIAA learn of Mr. Howell’s digital backups of his CDs?