Up until now I had done a pretty good job of ignoring the political and cultural tailspin brought on by the powers that be. Yeah, I’m losing civil liberties left and right, sure . . . I’m not really free . . . yes, the President is a monkey bent on forcing a theocracy onto the unbelievers. That’s all fine. Just fine.
I own land in Suburbia, which means I’m pretty far from free and my civil liberties are already crippled. I’ve accepted that. And ignoring Bible thumping nuts just comes with the territory. But the constricting grip of the government has become a bit more noticeable in my little corner of the Internets. Last week, the FBI indicted two Ryan Adams fans who posted songs from Adams’ Jacksonville City Nights on the internet before it was released. The charges stem from the Family Entertainment And Copyright Act of 2005 which prohibits videotaping movies in a move theater and more specifically, making available material intended for commercial release on a computer network before it’s release date (Check out section 103).
These two fans now face a possible sentence of 11 years in prison. 11 years. Which, I guess, is appropriate for liking Ryan Adams in the first place.
All jokes aside, I’m not going to be indignant about this, or rant and rave - that would be silly and a waste of time. But this bothers me very deeply (as shallow as that is). It also sets a very dangerous precedent for MP3 blogs that had been, up until this point, a legal grey area and free from the RIAA's witch hunt.
I’m not sure how to proceed. So I’m turning to you, faithful readers. What should be done? How will this play out?
I'll tell you how this will play out.
You'll exchange your 15-year prison sentence (for posting MP3's) for a tour of duty in Iran and die in some remote dessert, you godless, consuming, American fuck.
My advice is to stop posting MP3's until things settle down.
[1] KW, thank you for your sound advice, however, FECA will remain a problem until the RIAA has satisified its lust for blood - which will be never. This means that a stop in posting would be indefinte.
Also, I hope you haven't forgetten about our little wager. Remember when you bet me that by the end of 2006 we would be fighting in N. Korea and dying in rice paddies? And I said, no, it will be in the sands of Iran? You can probably give me five dollars whenever.
I think it depends on the end of the WBC. Korea beat us, that pissed us off, and now we're gonna hit SE Asia like it's 1968.
You can give ME $5 whenever.
anyone wanna buy a bootleg DVD of Brokeback Mountain?
[3] Korea beat us? Does that mean we are out? Can I stop caring now?
[4] Hell, yeah I want to buy a bootleg copy of Brokeback Mountain. But only if the tape quality is poor and I can see the heads of the people sitting in front of the taper. And I will pay no less then $23.
I remember when porn was free on the internet. Now why didn't anybody start a BLOG talking about the latest and greatest shot of Ms. X's ABC?
I would say the best bet is to quit while you are ahead.
Hmmm. Thanks for this information and definitely scary post, RFO. So, what to do now about little eLarceny? Guess we are starting to embody our name?
[6] Uhhh...this is the Internets, everything is free, you just have to know where to look. And from what I understand, there are tons of porn blogs, not that I've ever visted one.
[7] I'm still really surprised at this turn of events. I had thought that if the hammer was going to fall it would have fallen on one of the big guys, not some fan site. And why Ryan Adams? Why alienate more fans? I don't get it. Anyway, I guess we should change our name. What's your favorite?
http://www.elaw-abiding.com
http://www.escrupulous.com
http://www.econscientious.com
[8] I definitely vote for http://www.escrupulous.com