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EMI Caught Offering Illegal Downloads

Posted by Zonk on from the dirty-dealings dept.

Hypocricy, LLC writes "While the RIAA is swift to punish any person caught offering illegal downloads, they're not very swift with outrage when a member company like EMI offers illegal downloads. Not only did the band King Crimson's contract never allow digital distribution to begin with, but band member Robert Fripp claims that EMI offered their music for sale even after their contract ended entirely."

5 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. TFA proceeds on a false assumption.... by idontgno · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's not illegal if a corporation is doing it. Or The President (same thing). Or the CIA. Or if the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Defense say it's OK.

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  2. But since by JamesP · · Score: 5, Insightful

    this is "official piracy" there is no DMCA, there is no "thousands of dollars lost per song", etc, etc

    Record companies do this ALL THE TIME.

    Thay will most likely get a slap in the wrist and carry on with their criminal activies as usual.

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  3. Re:Seriously, by Sancho · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It was also, almost certainly a mistake. Compare to most copyright infringement, which is almost always willful.

    The band absolutely deserves every cent that EMI made selling their music. They might even deserve a bit extra. But to suggest that this was intentional without knowing for sure is really pretty silly. "Never attribute to malice that which is easily attributed to stupidity," and all that jazz.

    What's more interesting to me is the intellectual masturbation that this can generate. The customers didn't know that they were buying illegal songs. They expected, due to the distribution mechanism, legal downloads.

    What about people on p2p? They tend to expect illegal downloads, but some bands such as NIN have released music on these networks. How can anyone differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate downloads?

  4. Re:Seriously, by Stormwatch · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The band absolutely deserves every cent that EMI made selling their music. They might even deserve a bit extra.
    Wasn't there recently a woman who shared a bunch of tunes on P2P and was fined in some dozen thousand dollars? This company should pay in the SAME proportion. That would be, what, enough to bankrupt the company?
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  5. Re:Anything is okay if the "Decider" says it's oka by Torvaun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I can find Iraq on a map, will you stop lumping all Americans together as morons? If I send video of a protest, will you stop lumping us all together as murderers?

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