wow

first w00t

no justice at all
its just music
some musicians actually post their music on peer to peer sites so that they can gain fans

gah!

goddamn.
this is fucked up.
they should only pay what everyone else pays for each song, obviously, if they get caught.
-________-.

"There's NO JUSTICE in the world.
There never was." - Matthew Bellamy

I completely agree with him.
This case is just absurd.

that makes me sick. music is a getaway for some, and some just CANT afford it. it isnt right to have to pay for music off of a website. i wish i could do something, but i am only one person

Wow. That's just sad. America has nothing better to do than target people who just want to listen to music and get money out of them that way... That's pathetic. I want to move to Australia.

I think that paying for music is kinda dumb in the first place. But, I can understand why we do it.
But a fine that large for only 30 songs is super ridiculous and not very relevant to the problem =/

literally almost everyone does this. music is too expensive, especially when itunes charges 1.29 for a song.

i think they should have to pay. limewire's destroying the music industry.

this is crazy, to think hes being charged that much because he illegally downloaded 30 songs, while some people are out there downloading thousands.

if i really like the music, i buy the cd.

I believe everyone downloads music free. So why only fine two people, if there going to start there why don't they just fine EVERYONE. I'm being sarcastic of course, because logically if you were to buy every single song you own, most people would be in debt because of there music. THOUSANDS of dollers in debt! Most people in the us download there music for free. I mean if artists really want there money maybe they should go on tour or something and make money off the concerts. I just think that if your going to fine one person, might as well fine us all.

hm
you think they would come and find me if i said " i have 100k+ songs i didnt pay for"???

woahh

Paying for music is the model off of which the industry works, right or wrong. The general idea is that the money supports future music development/innovation. If you consider the potential for lost sales through channels of so called piracy, the cumulative losses are potentially pretty high. The loss of income through the production chain is pretty steep as well (with labels traditionally taking a great share of the revenue, if I remember). How many people does it take to get music point to point? All said though, any case made on the basis of lost sales (i.e. loss through piracy or so-called thievery)is hypothetical at best. Furthermore, it comes down to the nature of the purchase and ownership (e.g. you don`t own the software you buy, but are licensed to use them). Therefore, what is a proper assessment of losses and compensation under the present industry model?

that's pretty ridiculous.
they should pay for them, I agree, but only a dollar per freaking song!
or 2 I guess, adding a little money as a punishment, but that much is just ridiculous!!

This is why I fucking hate the RIAA. Greedy corporate bastards.

I think they should charge $0.99 per song- what they cost in real life on iTunes, anyway.

I can understand it when he's stealing music from someone who doesn't already have tens of thousands of dollars like the people whose music he downloaded probably do. But seriously, why freak out over two bucks wasted because someone used a peer to peer site to get your music. At least you know your music's good enough to "steal."

Music is Music, not a business...

wow

That is completely asinine if you ask me.

hi friend in the world... jacko

ouch

that's so gay.

AHHHH!! and musicians gain most their money from concerts and merch!!

thats the dumbest thing i've ever hearddd or read.

I think there should be a fine for it, plus how much everyone normally pays for the songs. But not a fine that will ruin your entire life because of it. I'd say like a $1,000 fine, plus the $0.99 (or whatever it is) per song.

This is pathetic. Artists make music so it will be heard. And if someone wants to download it casue they don't have the money, then they should be able to. Real bands don't make music for the money, they make it for their fans. Ugh.The government is so fucked that it looks for any excuse to get money, and while doing that they're about to ruin this guy's life and take everything he has. Our government's fucked up.

This sucks. Seriously a lot of people download music illegally especially because some people can't afford to buy it. It's not fair to charge him so damn much. If you wanna bust him make him pay the normal price! Why bother busting him at all though? Seriously. Doesn't the law enforcement have anything better to do with their time?

If I were judging the matter, I'd let the guy off the hook. It is the industries responsibility to protect their product. Bringing down the end user won't do much... there are just too many people and I doubt they have the resources to take them all to trial. If they want to stop people from file sharing or at least slow them down, they ought to legislate against sites that allow file sharing of file types to include audio. It is just that simple... You don't arrest everyone drinking during the prohibition, you just shut down the speak-easy. People are so stupid sometimes.

Taht's absolutely ridiculous and unfair. Most bands don't even care if you illegally download their music. They just want you to listen to them, whether you pay for it or not.

i think he should just have to pay for the music he download like what a few dollars over its price at the msot but come on thats a ridiculous amount!
normally the artist and the company would not make 22, 000 dollars off each song? so why make someway pay that much?
i know some people might argue its the same as going to the store and stealing something but its not like stealing a diamond ring! its a song it costs a dollar u dnt fine some one 675,000 for stealing thirty dollars

damn. fuck that lol

Why don't we just boycott all artists represented by the RIAA! I think that'd be a splendid idea... They'd go broke... People just need to band together.

holy shi..

No justice,
its just music. then again I would be one mad artist if I wasnt getting paid for my amazing music.

music should be about spreading joy, not about making hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Problem: The country is in debt and needs money.
Solution: Target (in my opinion) innocent Americans to see how much money can be milked out of them.

wow i think they should charge him that much. may double but thats just crazy

No justice what so ever. Artists should be happy people are actually downloading their songs!

sucks for him

i think he should have to pay the normal price for each song. what is it like a dollar or so. but thousands thats stupid. but screw it im buying cd from now on!

that's an outrageous fine, but people shouldn't be downloading music illegally in the first place. instead of charging everyone the amount they should be paying, they're doing this kind of thing...it's kinda sad to watch.

wow this is so stupid:P

I hate this. Music is a getaway and America is just targeting people on it. I'm pretty sure Celeberites do the same damn thing at times.

doesn't Myspace let you download music? but you're not paying for that... wow...this is ridiculous

this is fucking ridiculous. the RIAA needs to either shut up or punish everyone. targeting a single person isn't fair at all.

gah. i think its really stupid.
musicians make a ton of money; so i dont feel bad for them at all for downloading songs. and the RIAA is just ridiculous.
im worried now though, cause ive downloaded a ton of songs.

I believe that it should be up to the ARTIST to decide to sue the person or not. It's their music.

They should be able to pay maybe a couple dollars more then the song actually is if they are caught filesharing, this is stupid

this is pure bullshit.
the most anyone should pay for any illegal download should be $5 per song. or something small like that.
but noooo...it's always about corporate greed shit.
the rich get richer, while the rest drown in debt.
f*ckin ridiculous!

music most of the music in the world is passed around that way so its actually bad for them

That's pretty lame. They should only charge him for the songs he took. 30 songs would roughly be two cd's, so like 30 bucks? [if the cd's were like 15 bucks each] It's pretty lame to nail one person when thousands of people do it all the time :/

uh... thats pathetic. i think at most he should have to pay like twice the price of a song. which each is like 99 cents so maybe like $1.98 a song? he should have a punishment but thats just crazy. he should just have to repay the amount he wouldve had to and then a very small fine

This is completely unfair.. this is just crazy... i dont think that download music its ok, (well at least that the musicians want it) but cmon, $22,000 per song??? thats too much.

This is ridiculous. Yes, he shouldn't be downloading music illegally, but he also shouldn't be charged for so much money. I hope the verdict doesn't stand, it's gonna ruin his life completely.

That's stupid. Musicians often put their music on P2P programs to help promote their music. Then, if someone downloads it and likes it they will probably want to buy a physical copy or buy it just to support a band they like.
Feck the RIAA!

that sucks for him

$22,000 per song?
thats the REAL crime here.

wow i cant belive this

i think like five bucksfor each illegally download song would be more reasonable

so wait we cant use limewire.?

i think he should have to pay for the songs he stole, and then be fined, but that is an insane amount of money. It's ridiculous.

if your a musician, you should expect this.
find the people who made limewire and crap like that and fine THEM.

Ha, wow... that's extremely insane.

wow, that's total BS

i mean, just make him pay for the price of the music.
not that much money.
that's just ridiculous.

i'm in a band, and we got rid of the problem of illegal downloading by making free versions of the songs that are just lower quality.

(www.divingforillusions.com)

He's a thief and he should pay for the songs. Maybe not 22,000 each, but he should pay, apologize, and serve jail time/pay a fine for what he did. Stealing is stealing whether it's a physical object or not.

and how is he supposed to pay that ridiculously large sum?

This is so stupid. Really, how is 22,000 dollars a fair charge?

Just an excuse for artists to make more money which they don't really need.

It's not like they used THAT much money to produce the song in the first place.

this is just lame.
so what if someone was downloading songs.
and it's def. ridiculous that he is charged 22,000 for each song considering you can buy a complete CD for 15-20 bucks.

my band every minute can kill just recorded our first ep and quite frankly after we are done it might cost around $1500. if someone illegally downloads our songs i really wouldnt care, i mean they would be a potential fan and supporter. now my band isnt huge like metallica either, but what kind of filthy rich musician really cares about that one song that leaked out and really only cost about $50 to record. record labels and bands these days are fueled by money and greed and are getting way too worked up. theres no fuckin way a song should cost $22,000 in fines. if they are going to fine him, do it by how much the song REALLY cost to record and mix. this just goes to show how big of sellouts bands and record labels are if they have to put this poor guy through all this shit. my band would never do that, but then again im not a filthy rich, greedy sellout either.<3

ha ha I illegally downloaded over half of the sixhundred something songs in my ipod off the web, if the means excist and it's free why not? I'm underage anyways xD

Downloading music illegally isn't right. But neither is making an example out of these individuals.

In the end, its all just data. Besides, its no different than burning songs on a CD and giving them to a friend, or letting friends borrow a CD to rip the songs off of them, unless they are selling songs that they don't have rights to its no big deal, stop wasting time looking for small time people who aren't doing anything wrong. If you've got that much time on your hands, your making yourself lose money.

that's so stupid.

Hmmm A LIL HARSH HUH!!

ughhh.

i mean, even having to pay to listen to something and owning it, putting a high price is already pushing it, but to charge 22,000 per song ?hmm.

It's ridiculous to charge 2,200 for ONE song illegally downloaded. Yes, he "stole" it, and he should have technically paid, but he should only have to pay what everyone else did per song.

i think they should crack down on it...and charge $10 a song downloaded illegally

its fuckiin horse shitt.
people do it all the time, and fuckk dude, i couldn't give a shitt less if the artist got every single LITTLE cent of money for their songs, they get a shitt ton of money other ways. and they should probably charge him like a dollar or 2 dollars each song, if that. fuckkkk mann..

If downloading is such a problem, then how did green day (who's audience is consisted of teenagers who download) go triple platinum on american idiot? exactly. done.

the guy's obviously wrong for knowingly downloading the stuff illegaly, but why are they making an example out of him? He isn't even that much of a violator, can't they find a better target?

wow its not like he raped a child!! jesus thats a lot of money rapists bail should be the high

thats fucked up.

complete BS

and that why i say eff the man...
that so wrong

that is stupid. it's just music. they should punish him but not soo much. geeez.

everyone is saying how unfair it is to only convict one person, but just within the past few months they've convicted two people.

this could just be the beginning.

Why aren't they suing the people he got the music from? Like Limewire? Kind of lame dontcha think? That's a bunch of BS to charge him so much for only 30 songs, they should at least only charge him for 30 CDs if they have to charge him anything at all. Even then that'd absolutely absurd. But whatever I guess, he knew the dangers of downloading music when he started doing it. They're both in the wrong if you think about it.

that's too bad...

thats way too much money and what it the songs weren't even cool songs lol i mean fans still buy the artist albums they need to stop being greedy

The only people who find this unfair and unjust are the ones who illegally download music themselves.

This is ridiculous. Whoever sets the prices for individual songs is pretty much asking people to illegally downloading by making it $1.29/song on iTunes. They had it coming. If they want us to start buying for our songs, lower the prices. They'll still get their millions.

I understand that musicians, producers, etc. have to get paid for their hard work, but think about it. If they have enough money to record an album, advertise, tour, and buy lavish materials, then they don't really need that extra $1.29.

How much do you want to bet that some musicians also download music illegally? But are they getting chased down and fined? No, so how fair is it that Joel and that other woman are being sued? Thank you, RIAA, for making the middle class stay middle class and for making the rich richer.

1st i think that yea he should pay for the music jus not that much they really xageratin so yea that is not fair right there they should just come 2 a agreement of wut would b fair

*illegally download

that is so much crap!!!

Yeah, I know what he did was some sort of crime but, woah!, $22k per song?! Why can't they just let the guy pay the costs without having to multiply the amount like hell?

What about people who love music but can't afford to buy it?!

Thats just wrong! I thought they encrypted CD's and Video's so that uploading to fileshares wouldnt work. But a fine like that is just enabling the pirates who really DO violate copyright to feel smug that they GET AWAY WITH IT! While the unknowing get punished for nothing! Isnt there some BIGGER crime out there they should be trying to stop rather than bullying kids who only wanted a bootleg Miley Cyrus like that guy?

This is complete bull. Music is an espcape for people like me. You listen to it because it fits your mood. If artists get mad over you Downloading a song for free, then they shouldn't sell records or give them out. Just play them at concerts ONLY. Artists SHOULD play the music just to play it. Music is about anything in life. Can relate to ANYTHING. Shouldn't be for making money. Should be for making people happy.

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wow thats awful. Why would you make someone pay so much? killin someone is a bigger crime.

wow seriously?
thats horrible they are making him pay such a great amount. i mean killing is a bigger crime.

this is outrageous. Songs are about 99 cents, and candy bars are also 99 cents, i mean if you steal a candy bar and get caught you don't have to give up $22,000. Gah.

I think they should have to pay...not that much but they should have to pay. If everyone stopped buying CD's and just getting music for free the industry would go to crap. & muscians work damn hard, you should have to pay to listen to their songs.

this is so pathetic. america's goverment is always looking to rob people of their money. no wonder ppl use p2p downloading. sometimes they just cant afford to waste money on music when they have to pay bills its so unfair just let it be free. its not going to kill you

dude thats so stupid its not illegal downloading its just like me going to my friends house and getting one of their cds and downloading it on to my computer and why should we get charged when we didnt make the site

Um,wow.
Yeah,they deserve it,sure.
But don't you think they'd be happy to have their fans listening to their music?
I think so.

If you break the law, you got to face the consequences. He knew it was illegal. If he didn't get a fine and was only made to pay back what the songs cost, then a lot more people would be doing that. The money from the fine is probably also for court costs. There's still a fine for littering that's expensive, why don't people argue about that? The old cliche still stands if you can't do the time, then don't do the crime.

the problem with RIAA is they target the downloaders, when they should target uploaders. It is like drug crime, if you only target users, you never lose you supply in income from fines, but you target the supplies, you lose that income.

It's greed on RIAA's part, and it is bullsh^t

I think he should fight...that's not fair at all!!

wow thats harsh.as if the people you "steal" the songs from don't have enough money.it's crazy how much they charge per song.many people can't aford it.many artists should be happy that anyone wants to listen to their music.

this person should not have gotten fined .

see, this is why the rest of the world thinks Americans are morons.
Really? did they expect one person alone would be able to get that kind of money?
so many people do it, and they don't get caught; if it's so wrong then why don't they arrest the makers of those music sharing sites?! f4cked up.

Music IS expensive but the bands that make that music still need the money to survive. I do think it's ridiculous that he was fined that much per song still though.

this is stupid, just like the last one.
they're trying to scare people.
a**holes

Seriously?
This is what we're concering ourselves with?
I think there are bigger things to tackle than illegal music downloading.
Christ.
Twisted priorities, much?

There are worst things one can do. We can stop fighting this and marijuana. It's a waste of time. It also presents a lack of real issue focus! If we started caring about the environment this much, perhaps we could accomplish something! I think things like this happen to distract us from what's really going on. The media holds up a cute stuffed animal, America is entranced by this like a small child. As America looks away the big business and Government work together to screw us into stupidity and poverty!

i think paying about 1.29 on itunes for just a 3 minute song is absolutely ridiculous. it takes no money just to upload a song onto itunes. i think music should be free

I say he should pay the $0.99 per song, and a small fine, but that's just crazy the amount!

that is sooo stupid. gosh! its only music ! he shudnt hafta pay!

I agree music is pretty expensive but i personally always used iTunes for my music, and if i dont have money on my account i listen to the song on youtube for a while until i can buy it, they're just charging such a high amount to scare others from doing it, but come on we all no it wont stop very many people

greedy bastards.
the government has much more important
things to worry about than if somebody
downloads some songs illegally!
fuck those fucking fucks.
dammit!

sorry.

That's so not fair. Why not sue the people behind limewire and all of them sites instead? Also, most people are not going to be able to pay that and will end up in jail. & If I buy an album or song and send it to a friend, would I still be charged?

This is lame. Music is an escape for a lot of people, and people usually don't care if it costs something, they just want to groove or relax and listen to some tunes.
Besides, some people can't afford it, you can't blame them for that.

the riaa's stealing!!!!!!!

this is so stupid.

why did that other lady get charged 80,000 a song and he only got like 22,500 per song?!

It's like they just make up numbers to charge the person with!

sure they should get paid for their product but c'mon!!!!what good is it really!?

illegal downloading will only increase in the future!! it wont stop plp from downloading illegaly.......poor guy

woah...

thats bull. every1s being greedy.
i wouldnt care if someone got music i made off a site or limewire becuz music should be shared and its really important to me that ppl have it in there lives. you need it, without it i know i would be nothing.

that's retarded. Since they're charging him soo much, they should realize that he won't be able to pay for it, so they wont be getting the money; so it's not helping them out.

I would move out of the country if I was him, that is if the verdict stands.

he should just have to pay for the songs he downloaded if anything..that fine is rediculous

that's whack

PeerGuardian 2 ftw

bands make up for the money lost by going on tour and selling merch, since downloading has been possible concert prices have jacked up insanely high , they shouldnt be charging a few individuals an impossible fine to pay

I think you should only be charged the amount the price for the amount of music you took. nothing more. I mean, some artists put free music up themselves.