Recording Industry Association of America

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The Last Time This Happened in Music, Mr. Mister Was Hot

Sales of vinyl records overtake those of CDs for first time since 1986

(Newser) - If there's no sound in the world sweeter to you than the comforting scratch of a record player needle making contact with a 12-inch LP, you're not alone. The Recording Industry Association of America has released its midyear revenue stats, and in what Bloomberg calls "a key...

Illegal Downloaders' Punishment: Slow Internet

Internet providers strike deal to penalize pirates

(Newser) - Media companies and Internet providers have agreed on a system to put the brakes on the service of users of illegal file-sharing services. The ISPs have agreed to alert customers up to six times if they believe their account is being used to illegally download music and movie, Reuters reports....

Judge Kills Off LimeWire
 Judge Kills Off LimeWire 
Oct 27, 2010 5:50 AM CDT

Judge Kills Off LimeWire

File-sharing site ordered to permanently disable software

(Newser) - File-sharing site LimeWire has been effectively killed off by a court order. A federal judge has issued an injunction ordering the service to permanently disable its software and to end the sharing of unauthorized music files, the Wall Street Journal reports. The popular site was found liable for copyright infringement...

2 Live Crew Didn't Make Kagan 'So Horny'

Supreme Court nominee argued against banning 'Nasty' rap album

(Newser) - The search through Elena Kagan's work history has yielded an amusing nugget: She went to bat for notoriously sexual rap group 2 Live Crew. In a 1990 brief for the RIAA when she was an associate at a DC law firm, Kagan argued As Nasty as They Wanna Be "...

To Save the Music Industry, Ban Music—and Whistling

The copyright arguments aren't going to stop until the day music dies

(Newser) - The music industry wants royalties for the 30-second previews on iTunes—which is "bullshit," writes Nicholas DeLeon for TechGear. It's yet another foolish move in the battle to save the music industry, complains DeLeon. Luckily, he has a "foolproof" way to do just that: Ban music, "...

Student Must Pay $675K for Illegal Downloads

(Newser) - A Boston graduate student must pay $675,000 to the music industry for illegally downloading 30 songs, a federal jury ordered today. Joel Tenenbaum, 25, essentially admitted yesterday to grabbing the music via file-sharing network KaZaA. The fine averages out to $22,500 per song—significantly less than the $80,...

File Sharing Lawyer's Stunts Shock Peers

'Insane' Nesson posts absolutely everything in copyright case online

(Newser) - Charles Nesson has thrown out the standard playbook in his defense of a Boston University student being sued by the RIAA for file sharing. The storied Harvard Law professor is posting everything related to the case online, including a secretly taped conversation with the judge and opposing counsel, and even...

Pirate Act to Take Senate Floor, Again

Would enable Justice Dept. to prosecute illegal downloaders

(Newser) - Legislation that would enable the Justice Department to prosecute those who partake in peer-to-peer copyright infringement is coming before Congress—for the fourth time—now sponsored by Senators Patrick Leahy and John Conryn. But while it's popular among lawmakers and corporate copyright holders alike, the Pirate Act hasn't seen too...

Oregon Moves to Quash RIAA Subpoenas

University says it can't, won't, shouldn't finger students for file-sharing

(Newser) - The University of Oregon will support 17 students the RIAA accused of illegal file-sharing. Represented by the Oregon Attorney General's office, the university requested a federal judge invalidate the RIAA's subpoena seeking the students' names. The school argued the subpoena puts an undue burden on it to "create documents...

Campaign Against Music Piracy Goes to First Trial

Jury will decide fate of Minnesota woman sued by record companies

(Newser) - The recording industry has initiated over 20,000 lawsuits against individuals since it launched its zero-tolerance copyright campaign against file-sharing in 2003, but never before has one gone to trial. Now a jury will decide whether a young mother illegally distributed 1,702 audio files on the peer-to-peer network Kazaa.

Radio Should Pay to Play, Artists Argue

Music industry wants to start collecting AM, FM royalties

(Newser) - It's time AM and FM radio broadcasters started paying for the music they play, a group of music industry types has decided. They're lobbying Congress to amend the federal law that has exempted terrestrial radio from paying artists' royalties for nearly a century, Business Week reports.  

Lawsuits Aimed at Swapping Students
Lawsuits Aimed at Swapping Students
Mar 5, 2007 10:40 PM CST

Lawsuits Aimed at Swapping Students

Record honchos hit college campuses to make the music stop

(Newser) - The recording industry is bringing out the big guns in its battle to stop illegal music downloads, threatening to sue hundreds of college students each month if they don't stop swapping swiped tunes. The kids need to be taught some download etiquette, says RIAA President Cary Sherman. "Remember...

12 Stories