RIAA Adopts New Digital Strategy
When going up against the consumer electronics industry, the Recording">http://208.240.92.66/">Recording Industry Association of America has no problem keeping the upstarts in their place. In fact, with recent battles over DAT and CD-R, they appear able to kill or mortally wound entire formats at will. But fighting within the computer universe is a whole new story, as recently proved by the RIAA's stumble with Diamond Multimedia and their portable MP3 device (see">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10324/">see related stories).
RIAA Back-pedals on PC Hacking
The Recording">http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is trying to distance itself from an attempt earlier this month to insert language into a broad anti-terrorism bill that would have given the organization's members the right to hack into computers operated by Internet music sites—as well as those owned by private individuals—to find and delete pirated recordings. The wording suggested by the RIAA would have excluded copyright holders from criminal charges for causing damage to computers in the effort to control piracy.
RIAA Clearing Music Scalawags from the Decks
The latest music-piracy statistics have just been released by the RIAAhttp://www.riaa.com/">RIAA;, bringing to light several new wrinkles in the ongoing struggle to protect the owners of music copyrights from those who illegally copy and sell protected works. Released August 21, the report details the new problems brought about by CD-R technology and MP3 files distributed via the web.
RIAA Cracks Down on Unauthorized Compilers
The Recording">http://www.riaa.com/">Recording Industry of America's ongoing pursuit of music pirates bore fruit last week on Tuesday, July 7, when the organization collected $750,000 in settlements from three companies that had produced and marketed CD compilations of hit records. The RIAA also received $20,000 in restitution from Lloyd Schiffres, owner of Top Hat Productions, a disc-jockey supply house. Schiffres, who has been arrested three times, handed over 31 sets of his For DJs Only compilations.
RIAA Details Anti-Piracy War
Over the past year, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAAhttp://www.riaa.com">RIAA;) has made significant headway in its multi-front war against commercial piracy, according to a detailed report issued by the trade group October 21.
RIAA Files Report Outlines Copyright and Market-Access Problems in 55 Countries
In cooperation with the International Intellectual Property Alliance, the Recording">http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America filed a reportmailto:lpelliccia@riaa.com">report; in February with the United States Trade Representative outlining the problems that US record companies face conducting business in foreign marketplaces. The report highlights inadequacies in copyright protection with respect to standards and enforcement, and identifies major impediments to market access.
RIAA Follies
Mom fights back: As we've previously reportedhttp://stereophile.com/news/020705riaa/">reported;, the recording industry hasn't shied away from pursuing individuals it suspects of illegal downloading from peer-to-peer networks through the RIAA's "John Doe" lawsuits, most of which have intimidated the recipients into making out-of-court settlements. This strategy has, on several occasions, made the organization look foolish—as it assuredly did when it served a deceased 83-year-old.
RIAA Heavy Handed?
Even if you win, sometimes you lose—a lesson the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) might soon be learning if the results of a new poll are proven to reflect the long-term mainstream music buying mood.
RIAA in Several Battles
The US music industry is fighting a war on several fronts—industrial piracy in foreign countries, casual piracy in the States, unhappiness among consumers, and disagreements with artists (see related story).
RIAA in Two-Front War Against Aimster, Songwriters
In 1984, George Orwell's chilling tale of life in a totalitarian society, good citizens are expected to master the art of "doublethink," the ability to embrace two contradictory ideas at the same time. As evidenced by legal actions undertaken by their organization in late May, executives of the Recording">http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America would make excellent role models in an Orwellian state.