# RIAA is to cease suing music downloaders. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2009, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042 "2009-01-26T11:18:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/1 "2009-01-26T11:18:30Z")
Over on the [BBC news site](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7837605.stm), I’ve just read that the RIAA will no longer sue music pirates. > [@](#): > > The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents US labels, has traditionally been the most aggressive in chasing file-sharers. > > But it has just announced that it will no longer sue suspected offenders. This is quite a major about face. What sort of message do you think this will send prospective music pirate? What effect will this have on the music industry? > [@](#): > > Former EMI boss Eric Nicoli said revenue needed to be generated in different ways. > > “Any company that relies on music sales will be exceedingly challenged,” he said. It has been suggested that revenue could be generated by subscription services like Napster, a levy on internet subscriptions, or > [@](#): > > Feargal Sharkey, head of the pan-industry body UK Music, said 80% of file-sharers would be prepared to pay for a legitimate peer-to-peer service. How would you like to download music. What do you think would work? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/2 "2009-01-26T11:28:38Z")
Wow. I knew it would come but I didn’t expect it so soon. I don’t think they would have made this step without having a plan in place, so we"ll see what they’ve concocted - probably something similar to itunes. Hard to say because I’m not in the industry. And, let me be the first to say **Feargal Sharkey**!! Who would have thought we’d hear that name again?! I can imagine him tracking down illegal file-sharers and when he finally catches them in the act… “You little thief!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/3 "2009-01-26T11:36:19Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > And, let me be the first to say **Feargal Sharkey**!! Who would have thought we’d hear that name again?! I can imagine him tracking down illegal file-sharers and when he finally catches them in the act… “You little thief!” 🙂 He was (?) one of the most vociferous in this country about how much he objected to illegal downloading. The trouble is that it is so widespread that I think the music industry has got to find some way of accommodating it (at least) or, preferably, finding a way to make money out of it. The people have shown their preference. It’s too late to go back now. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/4 "2009-01-26T11:39:18Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Who would have thought we’d hear that name again?! I’ve got news for you, he’s [Head of UK music](http://www.ukmusic.org/page/staff) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/5 "2009-01-26T11:41:27Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I’ve got news for you, he’s [Head of UK music](http://www.ukmusic.org/page/staff) 😛 Er…I know. It’s in my OP. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/6 "2009-01-26T11:47:12Z")
I’m sorry, I’m guilty of the sin of pride. There might be a certain undertone to some of the posts here ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/7 "2009-01-26T11:52:26Z")
Maybe he meant news for “me”. Fair enough too. I didn’t know the role he’s been playing in the music industry. In any event, policing illegal downloading is a logistical nightmare, so it’s no surprise that they’ve given up, it was just a matter of time. The internet is worldwide, but IP laws differ from country to country so enforcement has always been the big thorn in their side. You spend tens of thousands of dollars to prosecute one user, or hundreds of thousands of dollars to shut down one server, and another 20 pop up on the same day, in countries that you have no experience with. It was always going to end with them giving up. But, like I say, they must have some plan-b, so we’ll just have to wait and see what it is. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/8 "2009-01-26T11:52:48Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I’m sorry, I’m guilty of the sin of pride. > > There might be a certain undertone to some of the posts here I think I’ll let my daughter get her teenage kicks and family entertainment from downloading more songs about chocolate and girls. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/9 "2009-01-26T12:33:58Z")
:cue the Handel music: Haaaaaaallelulah Hallelujah Hallelujah Halle… oh heck, ad nauseum. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/10 "2009-01-26T12:43:50Z")
Oh well, there goes all hope of having a career in pop music. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/11 "2009-01-26T12:48:02Z")
People claimed they would stop stealing when music was easy to buy online. I guess many of those people were liars. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/12 "2009-01-26T12:48:32Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Oh well, there goes all hope of having a career in pop music. ☹ :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/13 "2009-01-26T12:58:22Z")
A. Old and incorrect news. This was covered on [Slashdot](http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/12/20/136255). (Headline: RIAA Claim of Stopping Suits “Months” Ago Is False.) B. The RIAA is forcing ISPs to be their enforcement division. So the RIAA claims you are a file sharer, strongarms your ISP into turning off your connection. And of course you have no legal rights since there is no lawsuit in this case. Facts are not relevant. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/14 "2009-01-26T13:04:19Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > A. Old and incorrect news. This was covered on [Slashdot](http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/12/20/136255). (Headline: RIAA Claim of Stopping Suits “Months” Ago Is False.) > > B. The RIAA is forcing ISPs to be their enforcement division. So the RIAA claims you are a file sharer, strongarms your ISP into turning off your connection. And of course you have no legal rights since there is no lawsuit in this case. Facts are not relevant. Oh dear. I’m going to have to have words with the BBC. You can’t believe anything anyone says these days…mumble…mumble ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/15 "2009-01-27T02:11:36Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > A. Old and incorrect news. This was covered on [Slashdot](http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/12/20/136255). (Headline: RIAA Claim of Stopping Suits “Months” Ago Is False.) > > B. The RIAA is forcing ISPs to be their enforcement division. So the RIAA claims you are a file sharer, strongarms your ISP into turning off your connection. And of course you have no legal rights since there is no lawsuit in this case. Facts are not relevant. Except, in country X, where the ISP says, “Who the hell are you? Oh! An American, well, go F-yourself, kthxbye.” And there’s not a damned thing they can do about it. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/16 "2009-01-27T05:48:58Z")
There’s still the MPAA… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/17 "2009-01-27T09:06:11Z")
Rather more seriously than my last post… While I am not ignoring or discounting the Slashdot report, it is rare for the BBC to get their facts wrong. In the bulk of the linked article there seems to be an acceptance by the powers that be in the entertainment industry that prohibition doesn’t and won’t work. > [@](#): > > If we are not going to stop file-sharing, and with sales falling, the dilemma now goes “how do we make money now?” > > That is the question dominating Midem, the main annual industry talking shop. I obviously don’t know a great deal about the machinations of the RIAA, but is their policy of sueing downloaders still part of a long term commitment, or a last desparate fling? Fergal Sharkey’s statement (quoted above) suggests that he, and presumably his organisation are looking in to ways of making money from downloading rather than only prosecuting people. I think the article is saying that TPTB are trying to move on from prosecution. There may be a few last twitches from the RIAA, but the consensus is that that way doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/18 "2009-01-27T09:35:40Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > People claimed they would stop stealing when music was easy to buy online. I guess many of those people were liars. There are problems associated with buying music online. They still don’t generally have the quality or selection or ease of use that the pirates have. Despite all of that, however, online music is a multi-billion dollar industry that’s increasing in size by over 30% a year now. How much more do they have to make before you’re satisfied? And for anyone bemoaning the loss of profits by movie makers, [2008 was the most profitable year in the history of the film industry.](http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/01/what-piracy-movie-biz-sees-record-box-office-in-2008.ars) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/19 "2009-01-27T09:56:15Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > And for anyone bemoaning the loss of profits by movie makers, [2008 was the most profitable year in the history of the film industry.](http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/01/what-piracy-movie-biz-sees-record-box-office-in-2008.ars) I think this is partly because people still enjoy going to the cinema in large numbers. Although home cinema set ups are more common, there is no way as yet with pirated material to replicate the cinema experience. Granted, you can’t enjoy a live concert fully without attending it, but film is by and large designed to be viewed on the big screen. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042/20 "2009-01-27T14:43:03Z")
I got an ipod as a gift, I sold it two weeks later, I hated it. I installed itunes on my computer, it messed up my file organization and was a complete bug-a-bear, I uninstalled it. I really don’t spend a lot of time listening to music, but most of the legitimate methods I have found, absolutely do not make it “easier” for me to buy it rather than take it. There was an [xkcd.com](http://www.xkcd.com/488/)comic a month or so ago where he described every DRM file he bought had ultimately became unusable. Computer files are able to be backed up, archived and copied, that is what makes them great. It helps you protect your data. Things like encryption take away a very common feature of files. I can put a book on a shelf and barring natural disasters or fires, that book will be able to be used for decades or more. One crashed hard drive and you can lose everything. Online file storage is great, if you are certain that the files will exist in perpetuity and that you will always be able to be online. Sorta the reason I don’t use web mail. If I download the file locally, I am in charge of its longevity. It shouldn’t be exponentially easier to take something, but that is what the industry has allowed to happen. That is what they need to address. (Oh, and I feel the same way about stupid files that are unnecessarily pdf’d.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-is-to-cease-suing-music-downloaders/483042.md?page=2)