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U. Utah: Editorial: RIAA scare tactics method questionable
(U-Wire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
UWIRE-05/28/2008-U. Utah: Editorial: RIAA scare tactics method
questionable (C) 2008 Daily Utah Chronicle via UWIRE
By , Daily Utah Chronicle (U. Utah)
SALT LAKE CITY --
Downloading music files illegally from the Internet is not a foreign
process to many students. However, this practice might come back to
haunt 12 University of Utah students and employees.
The Recording Industry Association of America sent the university a
letter May 16 claiming that music was downloaded illegally using the
school's Internet service. The recording industry requested that the
university release the names of the offenders. University of Utah
officials have declined to do so unless served with a subpoena. The
industry is now offering alleged infringers a pre-litigation settlement.
The Chronicle understands and values copyright laws. They are an
invaluable asset to any newspaper, and we take them seriously. The
legality of the recording industry's actions cannot be questioned, but
something should be said about its tactics.
Illegal downloading, especially among college students, has become
commonplace in the United States. As a response, the recording industry
seems to be randomly selecting infringers to make examples of. The RIAA
has chosen to target college campuses because there are many users
centrally located.
The amount of money gleaned from these lawsuits and settlements is
comparatively small for the multi-billion dollar recording industry.
The goal, it seems, is to scare other illegal downloaders into changing
their ways. Far from being a successful strategy, this practice hasn't
scared away copyright infringers. It has merely intimidated and
alienated the recording industry's primary market.
This form of intimidation isn't a wise business strategy. You can only
scare so many rats back onto a sinking ship. Instead of using so much
time and resources to scare and coerce customers to come back, record
companies would be better off finding ways to adapt to a changing
industry.
Beyond failing to regain customers, these attacks are hurting the
recording industry's image. Unless the recording industry changes its
methods, the market is bound to drift further away. The industry's far
-from-endearing tactics are only fanning the waves.
##30##
((Distributed on bahalf of U-Wire via M2 Communications Ltd -
http://www.m2.com))
((U-Wire - http://www.uwire.com))
Copyright ? 2008 U-Wire
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