RIAA sues XM

[Hamma]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4989498.stm

Man the fucking RIAA needs to be stopped, they are so fucking overboard with their "Stolen Recordings" just get lost already, you have plenty of cash.

[Rbstr]

It's legal to record songs/vidoes off broadcast, like the radio or broadcast TV.

I don't see why XM should be different.

[Giovanni]

Because the RIAA are fucking idiots?

Seriously.... 150000$ per song downloaded? That's bullshit.

[Hamma]

It's legal to record songs/vidoes off broadcast, like the radio or broadcast TV.

I don't see why XM should be different.
No kidding :lol:

BUT WAIT OMG ITS THE INTERNETS!!!!! DIGITAL MEDIA OMFG TEH NAPSTER ALL OVER AGAIN1!1111!!

Bunch of fucking morons in the RIAA.

[Kikinchikin]

I hate the RIAA.

[Shadwulf]

who doesnt

[Jaged]

Why do we even have a RIAA? Shouldn't someone assassinate the leader already?

[Rbstr]

Yeah I'll get right on that....

[Hamma]

:lol:

Seriously who are they defending? I wonder if half the bands out there even agree what these dickwads are doing everyday. Sueing college kids with no money, raping companies for millions for no reason. Where does it end?

[Setari]

:lol:

Seriously who are they defending? I wonder if half the bands out there even agree what these dickwads are doing everyday. Sueing college kids with no money, raping companies for millions for no reason. Where does it end?
End? What do you mean, end? When was the last time anyone tried to do something about an organization like the RIAA?

[Giovanni]

Metallica is one of those who accept the RIAA. Apprently 30 million each is not enough. There's alot of bands who are just in it for the money. Most of them support the RIAA movement... :ugh:

[Kikinchikin]

It seems to me though that, since most bands don't really make the money from their albums (unless they go like platinum), rather from their touring, that they would want music to be downloaded so that their name could be circulated as widely as possible. I know I've read interviews with several bands who support piracy solely for that reason.

[Giovanni]

Yeah but those who support don't need their name spread... can you tell me of one person that doesn't know of Metallica? (That's not an hermit)

These guys make already alot of money... seems like it just isn't enough. In fact I'm pretty sure you won't see an artist on the RIAA represented list that isn't atleast platinum hell... even double platinum.

In short... the ones who support them are the greedy bastards.

[Setari]

I'm going to rape the RIAA head exec with a dollar sign-shaped dildo... just as soon as Ivan lends it to me.

[Ivan]

I'm going to rape the RIAA head exec with a dollar sign-shaped dildo... just as soon as Ivan lends it to me.
Well, let's just say I lost it while in use...:(

[LimpBIT]

Well, let's just say I lost it while in use...:(

I hardly even have a reaction to that......my first thought was :doh: but than turned into :rofl:

[Hamma]

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Hamma]

Here's a funny story about how much the RIAA "really" loses :lol:

http://donnysblog.com/one-month-of-torrents-is-worth-more-than-the-gdp-of-france-riaa-rant.php

[Hamma]

XM Responds

http://www.xmradio.com/lineup/statement.jsp?refsrc=hp_ex

Statement to XM Subscribers - The XM Nation

Everything we***8217;ve done at XM since our first minute on the air is about giving you more choices. We provide more channels and music programming than any other network. We play all the music you want to hear including the artists you want to hear but can***8217;t find on traditional FM radio. And we offer the best radios with the features you want for your cars, homes, and all places in between.

We***8217;ve developed new radios ***8212; the Inno, Helix and NeXus ***8212; that take innovation to the next level in a totally legal way. Like TiVo, these devices give you the ability to enjoy the sports, talk and music programming whenever you want. And because they are portable, you can enjoy XM wherever you want.

The music industry wants to stop your ability to choose when and where you can listen. Their lawyers have filed a meritless lawsuit to try and stop you from enjoying these radios.

They don***8217;t get it. These devices are clearly legal. Consumers have enjoyed the right to tape off the air for their personal use for decades, from reel-to-reel and the cassette to the VCR and TiVo.

Our new radios complement download services, they don***8217;t replace them. If you want a copy of a song to transfer to other players or burn onto CDs, we make it easy for you to buy them through XM + Napster.

Satellite radio subscribers like you are law-abiding music consumers; a portion of your subscriber fee pays royalties directly to artists. Instead of going after pirates who don***8217;t pay a cent, the record labels are attacking the radios used for the enjoyment of music by consumers like you. It***8217;s misguided and wrong.

We will vigorously defend these radios and your right to enjoy them in court and before Congress, and we expect to win.

Thank you for your support.
Awesome, just ownage. :lol:

[Rbstr]

If we want to fix this, the people of this country need to do something about it.
Right now, people just sit around and say the RIAA sucks, we need to get up and do stuff. Protests, boycotts. People need to feel like thier rights are being infringed!

It seems to me that kind of action died in the late 60's and early 70's(the three assasinations in a sence, seemed to kill it). Sence then we haven't really reformed anything. We're letting things stagnate, changes are needed but no one is steping up to do it.

If I was a charismatic and pursuasive speaker, I'd get some shit together and start the revolution! So many people are annoyed with how things are going, the right words would be all it takes.

[Giovanni]

Hahahaha you're actually expecting the American people to get up and do something about the whole thing? It won't happen. People are too lazy nowadays. How many people bitch about the price of gaz and don't do shit about it? (It's also much more wide-spread then the RIAA problem)

In montreal there was a planned protest for the gaz protests and how mny showed up? A few hundred. The damn thing was advertised for months and almost noboby showed up for it. Now you really think a bunch of people are gonna march and protest the RIAA? I think you're having hallucinations because half of the people who complain can't bother missing their precious shows.

[Kikinchikin]

I hate it, but Gio's right. America is overcome with apathy today. I long for the same political climate of the 60s and early 70s, where people actually gave a damn about the direction that the country is going in. Today everyone is so self-absorbed they don't care about anything as long as it doesn't effect them drastically.

I'd be down for some good ol protesting any day, be it the RIAA, gas prices, or something else with any merit at all. Everyone knows there are a shitload of things that need to be fixed/changed.

[Rbstr]

I was just talking about how no one does anything:
That we need to.
Not whether we're are doing it or not. Or even if we are capable.

You seem to acctualy agree with my main statment. Unless you misspoke(typed 0_o )

Now I go on to say that with so much discontent all it takes is a leader to get people to do shit.
I suppose you can disagree there, but your case doesn't provide good evidence to that end.
I'm saying a figure, a leader, is needed to instigate the masses into doing something, someone people like to hear speak, someone with a message on how to fix the problems that eveyone wants solved.
It seems to me your protest example lacked that essential ingrediant.

You can find a figure(s) behind most major political movements and/or reforms in this country. Alot of times, without that person(s) I think alot would have turned out much differently, if they happened at all.

Everyone says they would, but no one does, and i think that's because of the lack of such a person.

[Kikinchikin]

Agreed. An influential leader could start getting things accomplished, but there really aren't any issues that are so flagrantly wrong or inflammatory like there were in the 60s to get someone to really stand up and be noticed. Racial inequality is on another tier compared to gas prices. Still it's certainly possible and I hope someone takes up the call.

[Rbstr]

Your right that is another problem facing the reform-minded.

Class inequality and the disparity of wealth has been a calayst for change however.

Given some time though some issues, like the new Ma Bell monopoly, the demise of net nuetrality, unethical buisiness practices, increasing competition with china ect. for recorces and the unending perhaps escalating war on terror/islamists will push that variable to the critical point.

[Giovanni]

I seriously doubt there will be any sort of revolution what-so-ever. If (that's a very big IF) a leader were to rise from the mass he would probably be just another greedy bastard. Good people are rare to come by, nobody would want to fight for a just cause anymore since it's all about the money. Our values are not what they used to be, we don't do things for other people anymore and if we do it's in hope of gain.

Example: My girlfriend can't say no to a friend in need. A couple of weeks ago her old boss and friend asked her to fill in for one of her employee's, she had already 8 hours of work in her but she said yes. When I asked her "Why the fuck did you do that? You're going to be tired as hell!" she awnsered "Well, I'm not doing this to help her really, I'm getting paid and she's going to owe me one later on."

Thus if someone was to rise and be a leader for the masses, he would probably have a selfish goal hidden behind his good itentions. Take Hitler for example: he was considered a war hero and he fought for the poeple in a political manner, once he had enough power and support (if I remember correctly over 60% of the polls, if not more) he quickly outlawed other political parties and syndicates in order to take full power and begin his march on the world.

What's to stop a new-found savior amongst our people to have the very goal Hitler had (althought slightly different)?


Note: yes I am taking it to extremes but it's for imagery really.

[Rbstr]

I'm not talking "REVOLUTE!" style revolution, I'm talking New Deal style, a revolution in the countries thinking - reform essentialy.

The only way to prevent the "Hitlers" out there(I dissagree with your assesment of the motivations involved in his coming to power, and the motivations of Hitler himself, but I'll use your version of hitler as the theoretical worst case revolutionary to easy confusion) is to not let a group get turned into a scapegoat(the case of ***, *******, gays ect.) and to not let our own assumptions of national superiority cloud our moral vision to the point we are OK with invading other countries because we can make better use of the area ourselfs.

That's the danger of letting a situation become to dire. It becomes much easier for people to turn to immoral deeds to improve their situation.

[Kikinchikin]

If we stay on the current track that we are on right now for another 10-15 years I could see a large scale reform movement happening, but I don't forsee us continuing the way we are right now come 2008. I could be wrong of course.

[Hamma]

Agreed.

Money will be the destruction of this amazing country, all these fucktard Senators taking bribes and donations from all these huge ass companies. American Politics right now is all about who has the most money not the people.

[Kikinchikin]

Completely right. And I could get on a high horse and say how the Democrats will change everything once they get a candidate in office, but chances are good it will just be more of the same. It's going to take an honorable and effective administration to get things back in order or else the people will take it into their own hands.

[Giovanni]

Completely right. And I could get on a high horse and say how the Democrats will change everything once they get a candidate in office, but chances are good it will just be more of the same. It's going to take an honorable and effective administration to get things back in order or else the people will take it into their own hands.

Both things won't happen.

It's in our nature to be malevolent. A select few resist the call of money and greed. Also, the general population is too lazy to do anything, it's evident that capitalism doesn't work but people aren't doing anything about it.

Also, it takes alot of money to take a party all the way. You really think a party with high values and no money will get far? Come election day they'll say: "Who the fuck is that guy?!" and check the name of the moron who said the most keywords!

Keywords being words that make the focus group tap the pedal like mindless idiots.

"Values" *Focus group taps the pedal*
"Reform" *Focus group is confused*

Why is it so? The majority of people out there are idiots. It's been said before "Never underestimate the power of stupid people, in large groups" and it's been proven last election day. The people voted... but they didn't know who they voted for...

It's true, they had two choices:

1. Bush, the idiot.
2. Kerry... the other idiot.

Voting for one or the other is choosing to replace an evil by the other (more or so) and quite frankly if the people had to chose between three guys:

1. Bush
2. Kerry
3. Brand new guy with a good stance on most issues, atheist and open about it with almost no funding...

They'll go with one or two... because they will have the most coverage and the most keywords such as religion wich apparently means moral fiber for alot of the rednecks out there! "He beleives in god! He must be good!"

People don't want a good leader, they want someone with values to wich they can identify to. Who wants someone in office that has a great stance on say: Nature preservation or health-care when they could have someone who's loaded with cash that will say the word "god" every 3 sentences!

That's the sad truth for the majority of people... there's really no way around it. The mass will lead our future and the mass is full of idiots and nuts.

[Ivan]

The human race as we know it now has not and if things continue the way they are now, will never be able to rule them selves fairly for justly.

[Giovanni]

The human race as we know it now has not and if things continue the way they are now, will never be able to rule them selves fairly for justly.

God damnit! Ivan just wrote in two lines what I said in like... )!&($!?(8665419 paragraphs!

Damn you Ivan! :P

[Ivan]

That's cause I'm cooler than you.

[Giovanni]

I know... you and all those magnificent dildos!

[Kikinchikin]

There's no completely effective form of government other than perhaps a direct democracy, which is completely impossible with the amount of people in countries (plus you'd still have to worry about factions). I don't really want to get into a political ideology debate, but to provide a short term and relatively easy "fix," we could start by removing the "winner take all" electoral system so that other parties could potentially have a legitimate chance. I know that Europe has this, and granted it still doesn't solve a lot of the problems, but it would at least be a step in the right direction.

[Giovanni]

Actually a socialist/partly communist party would probably do a great job.

For example: Those big companies that give nothing to society with overpaid CEO's etc. give them an ultimatum, you still direct the company but under a goverment salary or you lose it all and we put a new boss.

The profit are then used for fixing shit (health-care system, roads, etc.) do the same thing with overpaid athletes (hockey, etc. 150000 to play a fucking game should be fine especially with all the fame they get).

Reduce the military budget (a little...)

Take care of the unemployed etc. (kicking the leeches off the wellfare system and putting them to work as labor)

There's alot of sutff that could be done to fix the problems that plague our society... sadly... our goverment would have to be the equivalent of Hitler's NDSAP but without the racism and war mongering (before the war they fixed alot of problems germany had).

I personally think it would work... but maybe I'm crazy.

[Kikinchikin]

Communism... doesn't... work.

[Rbstr]

Human greed get all up in it's grill

[Biohazzard56]

OT: Gio's Sig OWNS

[Giovanni]

I didn't say total communism. I said partial. Mainly the whole forced work and company controlling parts.

[Kikinchikin]

Think about it though, forced work gives no one any drive to succeed to escape the hassles of work and achieve early retirement. I can't think of any element of communism that could be applied practically to society. It's a nice set of ideals, but the fact is humans will always look for a way to 1-up each other no matter what. Government inhibition of this instinct wouldn't work.

[Rbstr]

Heavy socialism can work, but Communism can't, Human nature just doesn't let it.

People forced to work do not do good work, and if sallaries are capped and you get paid the same no matter what, why the fuck should a company's controlers care if it does a good job or not.

Anyway I think one law could fix the disparity of wealth:

An company's top executive cannot make X% more than the lowest paid skilled worker(an engineer, a MBA'ed manager, someone with a technical degree ect. Janitors and that type would be thrown into a revised minumum wage system that figures dependants into the equation[discrimination based on family would not be allowed]) in the company.

That way if an executive want's more money the rest of his workers get more too.

[Kikinchikin]

Heavy socialism can work, but Communism can't, Human nature just doesn't let it.

People forced to work do not do good work, and if sallaries are capped and you get paid the same no matter what, why the fuck should a company's controlers care if it does a good job or not.

Anyway I think one law could fix the disparity of wealth:

An company's top executive cannot make X% more than the lowest paid skilled worker(an engineer, a MBA'ed manager, someone with a technical degree ect. Janitors and that type would be thrown into a revised minumum wage system that figures dependants into the equation[discrimination based on family would not be allowed]) in the company.

That way if an executive want's more money the rest of his workers get more too.
That's actually a pretty decent idea.

[Hamma]

Indeed. Rob for President!