It really doesn't matter. The only damages the RIAA can reasonably claim for you having pirated music is around $1/song. It's UPLOADING that music that they care about, because then they can pretend that your upload is providing that song illegally to 20,000 people and therefore claim that that single song is worth $20,000 in damages.
They RIAA has NEVER sued ANYONE for merely possessing pirated music. I don't think they've ever sued anyone for downloading music either. It's all about what you upload. If you aren't uploading anything, you should be fine.
You're absolutely correct that the RIAA has never sued mere downloaders or possessors, because how can you prove that someone downloaded it? Unless you're tapping the network at the ISP and deep-scanning all packets, the only way prior to seizing their hard drive to know that a person downloaded a song (which you have to be able to do to file the complaint) is to be the person who uploaded the song to them... And if you're an RIAA distributor, uploading songs so that you can nab anyone who downloads, well, they just downloaded legally since you're the owner and you put it up for free public distribution.
But, it's not just $20k in (claimed) damages... Since they're going after uploaders, they're going after distributors... and the distribution rights can be much, much more. For example, when Michael Jackson bought the distribution rights for the Beatles' discography, he paid about $115k per song. Similarly, Apple paid more in royalties that $20k for Rebecca Black's Friday. That's why the statutory damages for infringement are as high as they are: it's all about the distribution right, not the individual sale price.
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It really doesn't matter. The only damages the RIAA can reasonably claim for you having pirated music is around $1/song. It's UPLOADING that music that they care about, because then they can pretend that your upload is providing that song illegally to 20,000 people and therefore claim that that single song is worth $20,000 in damages.
They RIAA has NEVER sued ANYONE for merely possessing pirated music. I don't think they've ever sued anyone for downloading music either. It's all about what you upload. If you aren't uploading anything, you should be fine.
You're absolutely correct that the RIAA has never sued mere downloaders or possessors, because how can you prove that someone downloaded it? Unless you're tapping the network at the ISP and deep-scanning all packets, the only way prior to seizing their hard drive to know that a person downloaded a song (which you have to be able to do to file the complaint) is to be the person who uploaded the song to them... And if you're an RIAA distributor, uploading songs so that you can nab anyone who downloads, well, they just downloaded legally since you're the owner and you put it up for free public distribution.
But, it's not just $20k in (claimed) damages... Since they're going after uploaders, they're going after distributors... and the distribution rights can be much, much more. For example, when Michael Jackson bought the distribution rights for the Beatles' discography, he paid about $115k per song. Similarly, Apple paid more in royalties that $20k for Rebecca Black's Friday. That's why the statutory damages for infringement are as high as they are: it's all about the distribution right, not the individual sale price.
These guys are nothing but a disaster. http://www.betanews.com/article/Guilty-Duluth-Woman-Owes-222000-for-Pirating-Songs/1191536175