Slashdot Mirror
RIAA Hires Artists, Then Sends In the SWAT team
cancan writes "The NY times is carrying an article about how the RIAA is hiring hip hop artists to make mix tapes, and then
helping the police raid their studios. In the case of DJ Drama and DJ Don Cannon, they were raided by SWAT teams with their guns drawn. The local police chief said later that they were 'prepared for the worst.' Men in RIAA jackets helped cart away 'evidence'. Just the same, 'Record labels regularly hire mixtape D.J.'s to produce CDs featuring a specific artist. In many cases, these arrangements are conducted with a wink and a nod rather than with a contract; the label doesn't officially grant the D.J. the right to distribute the artist's songs or formally allow the artist to record work outside of his contract.' " This is more of the shenanigans that we've previously discussed on the site.
This is an old policy. Frank Zappa was commissioned by some pig or other to do some sex tapes - get a girl and record heavy breathing, simulated sex etc - then busted him for breaching obscenity laws. I think it's because the police are so on top of all the other laws, and have little else to do. Also, they're less likely to get their asses kicked by a bunch of musicians.
If that's so, could the RIAA be hauled into criminal court for conspiracy to commit piracy?
Revive the Constitution.
That the (maf)*IAA would resort to illegal tactics to catch people acting "illegally"...
Hmns... I for one welcome our new Alien overlords (a frontal lobotomy and rectal probe would be less painful than having to deal with the *AAs of the world). Fuck the corporations!
I drink to make other people interesting!
"And if there's one type of piracy I don't like, it's CONS-piracy."
Not as far as I can see from the article; the Slashdot summary seems misleading. As far as I can see from the article the RIAA had somebody busted that they had previously employed on a different project. I can't find anything in the linked article to suggest the set-up that the Slashdot article implies. Surely the RIAA does enough scummy things that we don't have to make things up about them?
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
It seems fairly obvious to me. Rap stars need to have "street cred" in order to rise into the upper echelons of rap stardom. That means a criminal record. Say you were a unscrupulous record producer who had a hot new talent on his hands. Say that the talent happens to be a squeaky clean wannabe thug from the 'burbs. Once your man has recorded a record all you have to do is plant some evidence/drugs and make an anonymous phone-call. Heck, if you're lucky those cops might be the trigger happy sort and you'll wind up with the next Tupac on your hands. (Not to mention the fact that your "client"'s contract probably cedes all royalties to the record company upon death...)
It sounds far-fetched, I know. However, one really does have to wonder if the majority of hardened criminals driving the rap industry are actually the sort that wears three-piece suits.
The RIAA homepage needs to be slashdotted, repeatedly, and with no end in sight.
Is this a joke? Somehow I don't think a bunch of nerds throwing packets at the RIAA website is going to help anyone. They're an organisation that deals with other *big* organisations who they already have other communication channels with. They don't need a fucking website. Get real.
Taking up arms against them is also a ridiculously extreme idea. If you want to help remove the RIAA's power, here's a few ideas:
- Learn a musical instrument and join the free culture movement.
- Get a law degree and help out in legal battles against RIAA and any organisation (MPAA, patent trolls, etc.) doing similar things.
- Start an alternative RIAA that protects artists of copylefted music from distributors using DRM on their copylefted music. Sue the DRM distributors for the maximum amount.
- If you feel strongly enough to dedicate a few thousand dollars of your own, launch a copylefted media competition and make the thousands of dollars the prize for the best copylefted film/song/etc. (online film festival, music website, etc.)
Anyone that can help cut down on hip-hop gets my vote.
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
The police are responding to a complaint != entrapment
The nazis respond to a complaint about anne frank != entrapment
I can basically do whatever the fuck I want to you and then phone the cops.
...And then sue the children.
ba-dum-TISH!
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PGP Key ID 0xCB8FF658
Keep up the good work! SWAT teams should be arresting more hip-hop "artists" for crimes against humanity.
It reminds me of something....
Seems they also use Hollywood Accounting.
Be carefull, next time it's gonna be a MPAA bust, afterall DJ's are using hollywood's trade secret !
The RIAA has way too much power, just like our own government. You, RIAA, are PURE SCUM and the earth needs to be cleansed from things like you!
shot of a grave-looking police officer saying, "In this case we didn't find drugs or weapons, but it's not uncommon for us to find other contraband."
Or to put it another way, these people are completely innocent of all crimes related to drugs or weapons. Of course, by putting it this way, there's a clear implication that these people are somehow connected to the illegal drugs trade.
...and their pet goldfish, for not stopping the acts of piracy committed by the aid children, despite being in full view of the illegal activities 24-7. I think we need to ban goldfish.
kill all the fucking niggers
Last year, he published his findings in a book called "Overkill" (page here, direct link to free copy in 2 MB PDF here).
Also, check out his blog at TheAgitator.com , and his posts at Reason's blog.
>Men in RIAA jackets helped cart away 'evidence'.
Uh, the defendant's lawyer is going to have fun attacking the chain of evidence there.
www.isoHunt.com
Yes, this is a seperate mixtape apart from the agreed upon earlier releases. Depending on who those DJs deal with, they may have just figured they would do another mixtape, then discovered (with guns pointed in their faces) that that was not part of the agreement.
As something of a fan of hip hop, it's kind of scary to see that the RIAA is going to clamp down on mixtapes. mixtapes are where trends start. It's a vital part of the cycle of hip hop production.
If producers, rappers and DJs don't have the freedom of the mixtape to test-market beats or styles or even simply as a means to promote themselves or their labels, this is going to hurt hip hop on the national level. And it will drive money away from the RIAA, which is the opposite goal of the RIAA (at least, I think it is- it's hard to tell these days).
If you'll read TA - Page 1, paragraph 5 (last sentence) - it states: ...
Drama and Cannon have in recent years been paid by the same companies that paid Kilgo to help arrest them. ...
So no, according to the NY Times, it is most certainly not bull, or at least, not Slashdot hype. The RIAA('s member companies) actually did do this.
Screw the rules, I have green hair!
So, one of the things I glean from this article is that the RIAA pays artists to make mixtapes, encouraging them to violate copyright laws? Nobody else is shocked by this? Especially amazing is the Mafia-like behavior surrounding it, secret agreements, payment under the table, etc. I thought things like that were only done in the movies, and even then not by self-styled "respectable" organizations like the RIAA.
Le français vous intéresse?
The problem with "free" and "copylefted" music is that it's usually pretty terrible, and most of the time it's just "make your own techno" which gets boring after a while.
I am a big fan of alternative, heavy metal, and melodic rock, and I never see anything like that out there as "copyleft." These people are either long gone, desperate for cash, or in the case of melodic rock, releasing only one or two songs for free.
My sister's "emo" bands are more download-friendly, she tells me, always telling people at the concerts to download their music. I guess they can get away with that, being more tour-based than studio-based. Many of them, she says, are not on major labels and don't get on the radio or MTV until much later in their careers. But to me, that style of music is just terrible.
I guess I'm just dated, being into the "whole album" concept rather than the rebirth of the "singles" concept. Even with my iPod, I'll organize it into albums and listen to the whole album in most cases.
A republic cannot succeed till it contains a certain body of men imbued with the principles of justice and honour.
' Men in RIAA jackets helped cart away 'evidence'.
So these guys are now behaving like law enforcement agencies, going in with RIAA jackets and so forth? Their importance is way overblown. They're acting like ATF agents. What's next? Will they burn down a compound?
Wansu, th' chinese sailor
RIAA: Hey mixer, we want you to create mix tapes
Mixer: whats in it for me?
RIAA: We are going to raid your studio on Friday morning with SWAT, you will be famous
Mixer: How much will this fame cost me?
RIAA: You do this or we will just raid your studio and sue you for everything your worth
since you own recording equipment and are not giving us money
-- I am the NRA, enough said...
I am so sick of hearing people misuse "entrapment" as a defense.
To be entrapment, two important things must be true:
1. You must be "convinced" to do something that you normally would _never_ do. (And it's your burden to prove this)
2. The person doing the convincing must be an agent of the State.
That is what "entrapment" means.
What other laws are the "police" on top of? According to CNN Money [http://money.cnn.com/], Atlanta, GA, is listed as having a personal crime rate FIVE times the national average - and the "police" (Influenced by the RIAA) have the time and resources to bust people for selling unlicensed MIXES? It looks like some organizations need to have their priorities straightened, and perhaps that involves ignoring the RIAA when it comes calling for an entire SWAT team. "Guns drawn"? "Prepared for the worst"? What were the rappers going to do; bust a cap in they asses wit' a Mac book and some jewel cases? I don't think anyone is going to start a fire fight over a bunch of CDs; least of all a couple techies in a recording studio.
I don't know what else you would expect from this group.
First and foremost, what they are doing is entrapment and they have no ability to come into your office and take anything. ONLY the police are allowed to and then, only with a warrant (or with exigent circumstances, which only exists when there is a threat to health or safety... which clearly does not exist here).
The RIAA are a bunch of high bankrolled bullies who make it seem like they have a quasi-legal status. What they do to DJs is larceny and no less.
This is why you get a signed contract or some record of a discussion.
MEF
The RIAA does this thing enough times, they're going to kill someone.
The routine use of paramilitary police raids for nonviolent offenders gets people killed on a routine basis. Three cops are now on trial for murder in Atlanta because they raided a house, killed an innocent old lady, and then lied after the fact to establish a bogus justification for the warrant. Police in Virginia raided a dentist's house for records related to illegal gambling, and one of the cops violated the two first laws of firearms safety and shot him dead when he tripped with his fucking finger on the trigger.
The steady flow of federal dollars for "homeland security" has exacerbated a problem which was started by the War on Some Drugs: incompetent, ill-trained paramilitary police forces who are both encouraged to "prepare for the worst" and given access to powerful weaponry. The result is a bunch of corpses. Corpses of innocent people, non-violent offenders, and even cops. The nature of unannounced no-known raids turns non-violent, low-stress situations into violent and stressful ones, with predictable results. In many of these cases (like the aforementioned dentist), regular cops showing up, knocking on the door, and serving a warrant, would be sufficient to perform the desired search. But when a dozen cops burst through the door with guns drawn, people get killed.
The RIAA instigates enough of these raids, the RIAA are going to kill someone. For copyright violation. It's just a matter of time.
This is truly what Fascism is, the binding together of corporate and governmental power. The corporations prosper and the power of their capital is fused with the power of the state to govern. Viewing fascism as corporations serving the government is only half of the story, the other half is that that power of the state is made available to corporations. This is almost a textbook example of the latter.
Think global, act loco
It's all about control. The RIAA's mission is about controlling the distribution channel. These individuals had gotten successful enough that they became a credible threat. The RIAA can't allow them to continue being successful. So the RIAA sent a rather thuggish message
The truely disturbing element of all this is that the law enforcement folks allowed the RIAA representatives to play a pseudo-law-enforcement role. The defense attorneys should petition to discard all evidence that's come in contact with the RIAA representatives. At a minimum, the evidenciary chain of custody has been broken. The RIAA has a substantial interest in the outcome of the case, and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the evidence. Law Enforcement officers are specially trained to be impartial. They're directly accountable through the courts. They're held to a higher standard. They're an element of "due process." The RIAA is none of these (though they pretend to be law enforcement on TV.)
After reading the article, it all seems like a publicity stunt to me. The SWAT team/police were probably invovled unknowingly. Notice in the article, after posting bail, they immediately go to a radio station to promote their upcoming (I believe officially licensed) mixtape.
"Men in RIAA jackets helped cart away 'evidence'."
So since when do the RIAA have to legal power to seize "evidence"? Because if they don't SWAT can be charged with aiding in a felony (theft) and the RIAA people involved can be charged with theft
And even if they do have the power (which i seriously doubt) any lawyer could easyly get the DJ's off because if highly doubt the RIAA follow any standard procedures with "chain of evidence"
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200009/file-sharin
Unless you are Cher or Elton John, you are not going to do well with the current copyright situation. You'll see your music sell a million albums and yet make a mysteriously small amount of money.
This is the meat but it goes into quite a bit of detail.
From the article:
Last year the worldwide sales of all 600 or so members of the Recording Industry Association of America totaled $14.5 billion--a bit less than, say, the annual revenues of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance. As for the tiny labels at South by Southwest, many of the dot-coms in attendance could have bought them outright for petty cash.
After the show I asked Cleaver if he was concerned about the fate of the music industry in the Internet age. "You must be kidding," he said. With some resignation he recounted the sneaky methods by which three record labels had ripped off the band or consigned its music to oblivion, a subject to which he has devoted several chapters of an unpublished autobiography he offered to send me.
(He had nicer things to say about his current label, Checkered Past.) Later I asked one of the music critics if Cleaver's tales of corporate malfeasance were true. More than true, I was told--they were typical. Not only is the total income from music copyright small, but individual musicians receive even less of the total than one would imagine. "It's relatively mild," Cleaver said later, "the screwing by Napster compared with the regular screwing."
Although many musicians resent it when people download their music free, most of them don't lose much money from the practice, because they earn so little from copyright. "Clearly, copyright can generate a huge amount of money for those people who write songs that become mass sellers," says Simon Frith, a rock scholar in the film-and-media department at the University of Stirling, in Scotland, and the editor of Music and Copyright (1993). But most musicians don't write multimillion-sellers. Last year, according to the survey firm Soundscan, just eighty-eight recordings--only
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
In Soviet America, RIAA raids you!
In the dentists case, it looks like the county routinely uses SWAT teams for search warrants. In any case, the officer that shot Mr. Culosi was a 17 year veteran, so his carelessness should get him charged with negligent homicide rather than manslaughter.