Industry out to get lowdown
by Sandy Stamper, Reporter

   The recording industry has launched a sweeping effort to identify and shut down individual song swappers, making good on recent threats to expand its legal battle against copyright theft.
   The Recording Industry Association of America has now issued more than 1,500 subpoenas to Internet service providers across the United States, trying to get the names of people who offered or are still offering music on file-sharing networks. These networks, such as KaZaA and Grokster, advertise unlimited downloads for absolutely no charge.
   A 1988 law, passed years before music downloading was popular, permits music companies to force Internet providers to turn over names of suspected music pirates, upon subpoenas from any U.S. District Court clerk’s office.
   However, a judge’s signature is not required.
   Last month’s crackdown targeted 261 pirates who found themselves being sued without so much as a warning, and the RIAA is promising more, Ted Bridis from CBS News reported.
   This round targets people who have shared 1,000 songs on average on their computer.
   This time, people are receiving letters from the RIAA, giving the recipients 10 days to contact the association to discuss a settlement and avoid a lawsuit, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
   RIAA president Cary Sherman told the Star-Telegram: “We want to go the extra mile and offer illegal file sharers a chance to work this out, short of legal action.”
   Reactions from TCC students reflect the idea that the lawsuits are absurd whereas the faculty seems to think that the actions taken by the RIAA are reasonable.
   Sophomore Cohe Bolin thinks the lawsuits are ridiculous.
   “I don’t think that file sharing is a bad thing at all. It allows you to experience many different genres that you maybe would have never heard otherwise,” she said.
   Bolin believes the lawsuits are being filed because artists and their companies have a money-and-greed issue they need to deal with.
   Amanda Leduc, SE Campus sophomore, has downloaded songs, but mostly music put out by underground bands.
   “I think Metallica just doesn’t want people in Belize to be allowed to enjoy their music. It’s a conspiracy,” she said.
   Biology student John Graham believes the lawsuits are frivolous.
   “Napster or KaZaA are just tools. They provided the ability to share files. The lawsuits could be compared to suing AOL or Earthlink because they were probably the ISPs of the individuals who downloaded mp3s. It is baseless,” he said.
   Karen Silverberg, NE Campus legal assistant professor, said pirates are stealing from artists entitled to money for their music. All the music is copyrighted, so downloading it for free is illegal.
   For more information, visit the RIAA’s Web site at www.riaa.com.