Do We Want ISPs Penalizing Music Fans?

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Noted singer songwriter Billy Bragg has written an excellent column in The Guardian, coming out against the pro-RIAA '3-strikes' legislation the big 4 record labels are trying to push through. In the article, entitled 'Do we want ISPs penalizing our fans?', Bragg writes: 'Having failed miserably in previous attempts to stamp out illicit filesharing, the record industry has now joined forces with other entertainment lobby groups to demand that the government takes action to protect their business model.' He goes on: 'Fearful of the prospect of dragging their customers though the courts, with all the attendant costs and bad publicity, members of the record industry have come up with a simple, cost-free solution to their problem: get the ISPs to do their dirty work for them. They are asking the government to force the ISPs to cut off the broadband connection of customers who persistently download unauthorized material, without any recourse to appeal in the courts.'"

Comments

Re:Court first then cut.

[seanpark]

At least one ISP has responded to these sort of requests with a "so where's your billing address, RIAA?" I think they were in New Orleans, and they certainly have a point. Why should ISPs police their networks and eliminate revenue without compensation?

Re:Enough already

[JCSoRocks]

Actually, I happen to be a musician and I disagree. I don't support piracy and I don't want people stealing my stuff. However, I also despise the RIAA, what it's doing, and how it's doing it. I also hate to see due process get thrown under the bus for the sake of an aging business model. Touring has always made musicians truckloads more money than CDs ever have. CD sales are just used by huge record companies as a revenue stream for themselves and as an indicator telling them who to send on huge tours. Regardless of how you feel about piracy, RIAA's idiotic tactics are going to make people want to stop supporting musicians entirely.

Re:Court first then cut.

[NewYorkCountryLawyer]

I think that RIAA and MPAA are anti-freemarket organizations

Definitely. The 4 big labels and 6 big motion picture companies, who are supposed to be competitors, do everything in collusion. And when they are beaten in the marketplace they go running to their friends in government to strongarm their competition. Their monopolies are becoming more and more worthless, because of (a) the ability of musicians to market their music directly to their fans, and (b) the ability of filmmakers to find an audience online. And so they are running to their friends in government, because competition -- the "free market" -- is anathema to them.