Filesharing Mom Sued for $2 Million by the RIAA
By Morelli
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) successfully sued Jamie Thomas for sharing twenty-four mp3s on p2p network Kazaa. The jury awarded the major labels represented by the RIAA $80,000 per song, totaling 1.92 million dollars.
Thomas is going to continue the fight, and said that this case is “one for the RIAA, not the end of the war.” She also commented on the damages: “Good luck trying to get it from me… it’s like squeezing blood from a turnip.”
The music industry might not the collect the massive sum, but it’s a victory nonetheless, for they will probably use the case as a precedent for other similar lawsuits. On top of that, the $2 million awarded will make file sharers think twice before downloading music illegally.
While the guilty verdict is somewhat unsurprising, the damages are exaggerated. The music company makes $0.70 per song on iTunes, so even if Jamie’s songs were downloaded from her computer ten times each, the money lost would only be $7 per song, and that doesn’t warrant $2 million in damages.
The music industry has adapted to new technology (the Internet) in terms of distribution. However, file sharing has grown to the extent where it is threatening its sustainability. Of course, the question we must ask is: how necessary are the industries? How much of those $2 million, if paid, would go to the musicians?
Recently, artists have been able to connect directly to fans online, and they have the possibility to decide how to conduct business, through free (or purchased) music, merchandise and concerts. The men in the middle, claiming millions and suing everybody, are just complicating a simple relationship. Furthermore, we must ask whether a song or album can realistically make as much money nowadays as a decade ago.
Should Jamie have to pay so much money? Does the RIAA terrify you?
[Ars Technica]
Image via guardian.co.uk
Saturday, June 20, 2009 7:57AM
This is an important issue and the music industry is going through some growiing pains created by the internet. If memebers of the RIAA want to put their faith in the court system and contenue to pruse these claims they may win all the battles but lose the war, because of the increasing use of the distributions models of popular bands. Their hold as the middle man is slippiing away.
Friday, December 17, 2010 10:14AM
the thing about this issue that is just disgusting is that these musicians are worth millions and billions of dollars they have all this money and yet they feel the need to sue someone for 2 mill? That amount is pocket change compared to what most of them will make in ther lives, but to a working class person it is a lifetime of money why are they so out to get people the money they are currently making isn't enough, if that is the case maybe they need to be sentanced to a life in the working class for a week see what it's like to have to work a different kind of job that doesn't allow you to demand whatever you want whenever you want it and have it magically appear. So sad that people don't pay attention to more important issues like the crap that schools get paid to feed to our youth…it's no wonder kids are fat look at the junk on the shelf at the store!