Decius wrote:
] ] The music industry has turned its big legal guns on
] ] Internet music-swappers - including a 12-year-old
] ] New York City girl who thought downloading songs was fun.
] ]
] ] Brianna LaHara said she was frightened to learn she was
] ] among the hundreds of people sued yesterday by giant
] ] music companies in federal courts around the country.

The register has a take on it too : http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/32731.html

If it wasn't time to boycott the RIAA before, I think this latest round of litigation should provide more than enough reason.

Support indies and used record stores, folks... Ella Guru is right around the corner from Chez Biltmore and the owner, Don, deserves your cash far more than either RIAA or their major label interests.

The only place i'm torn is iTMS -- with hopes of owning a Mac soon, i'm having trouble reconciling my desire to prove that the mechanism they've set up is viable with my desire to not give RIAA any money.

It really shouldn't be this difficult to experience art (to the extent that the majors produce such).

[edit]
Found this link too -- looks like grandpa is about to get screwed too... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3092854.stm

Decius wrote:
] ] The music industry has turned its big legal guns on
] ] Internet music-swappers - including a 12-year-old
] ] New York City girl who thought downloading songs was fun.
] ]
] ] Brianna LaHara said she was frightened to learn she was
] ] among the hundreds of people sued yesterday by giant
] ] music companies in federal courts around the country.

With this kind of indiscriminate attack on hundreds of people, ranging from kids to grandparents, what the RIAA *has* succeeded in doing is getting enormous amounts of bad press, and even congressional inquiries. The story has moved from the out-of-the-way "geek outrage" column, to mainstream headlines, which increases the likelihood that something will actually be done about it.

Now as to whether or not what "will be done" will be a wise and thoughtful choice, that's an entirely different question!