Leaked RIAA Training Video

An anonymous reader writes "Gizmodo has a clip of that RIAA training video produced with the NDAA for US prosecutors that was leaked to torrent sites a few days ago. It argues they should pursue piracy cases because it leads to bigger and badder wares, like handguns, drugs, terrorist orgs, and hardcore repeat offender criminals. It's kind of sad how far they're stretching to bring law enforcement into the matter."

While it may be true

[joeflies]

that people involved in piracy of US copyright overseas may be involved in organized crime, it doesn't seem to match the profile of the people they are suing. If they want to fight organized crime, terrorists, etc, then shouldn't years of effort resulted in at least one lawsuit against a terrorist?

And here I thought...

[hedgemage]

That music downloads only led to communism.
http://www.modernhumorist.com/mh/0004/propaganda/mp3.cfm [modernhumorist.com]

You know what?

[The Ultimate Fartkno]

I'm in the entertainment industry. I'm one of those corporate media whores who "hasn't come up with an original story in decades" and "keeps shoveling sellout pop shit down (your) throats" and "wouldn't know real talent if it walked up and kicked (me) in the balls." I'm part of the complex, epic machinery that creates the media that all of you "share" because it's all shit and worthless and you wouldn't bother downloading it if you weren't "sticking it to teh mang" and at the end of the day my rent and car payment and grocery store bills all depend on selling the stuff that you all pretend to loathe while you're copying it at terabytes per day.

And, sadly, all that being said I'd still rather have you guys steal all my work in "protest" than have the RIAA represent me and blame the Pirate Bay for 9/11, herpes, Ashlee Simpson's "career," and the fucking Kennedy assassination.

Seriously. I hate those assholes.

I still have rent to pay, though, so go buy a fucking CD you torrented or something, okay?

Re:gateway crime misinformation

[DracusMage]

'Cause you start out stealing songs and then you're robbing liquor stores
And sellin' crack and runnin' over school kids with your car

I never thought that a Weird Al song would actually be a part of the RIAA's groundwork for getting the government to do their bidding. But if the RIAA says that downloading songs is going to lead to running guns and drugs, then we should take this a step further.

In order to better "think of the children" we should immediately disband the RIAA and all of the record companies. I mean, if stealing songs leads to drugs being sold to children, or guns being fired at people, we should do the "right thing" and keep anyone from stealing music. Since they can't do this the way they are going at it, then obviously we should stop the music piracy by stopping the music.

Is this a hoax

[computerchimp]

Comon....this has got to be a hoax cc

Re:gateway crime misinformation

[IdleTime]

USA should follow Norways example on how to deal with RIAA, MPAA and other such extortion outfits.
http://torrentfreak.com/norwegian-police-deal-massive-blow-to-mpaa-lawyer-080220/ [torrentfreak.com]

"Like many lawyers in the anti-piracy arena, Tøndel tries to blur civil and criminal law to obtain leverage. The police are clear - their priority is investigating real crimes, such as murder and robbery and sadly for him, file-sharing does not fall into those categories. Tøndel must now make his claims against alleged pirates in a civil court.

Following this major setback, Tøndel wrote to the Department of Justice and demanded a meeting with them. Unfortunately for Tøndel, the response wasn't what he'd been hoping for -the Department of Justice completely refused him a meeting- leaving him to start suing IP addresses, which he's not allowed to do. Ouch."

I say this with the utmost respect

[Smordnys s'regrepsA]

Most of us WANT you to lose your job. Nothing against you personally. A lot of us know how you feel, stuck in a dieing job with bosses who don't understand what is happening with/to the world.

I don't hate your musicians, I just hate the fact that some spoiled brat can make twice as much as me with half the effort and no college degree. I hate that those brats are being taken advantage of by overgrown bullies that make more money than I can, with low level degrees from classes whose main requirements to graduate are Show Up, and Bullshit Convincingly. I hate that there are sound technicians who took years out of their lives to learn how to use complex machines to make music sound better, when I can do the same damn thing with a $500 microphone, $1000 computer, and free/second-hand software that requires a week of spare time to master ($500 mic optional, I've heard some damn good professional-quality music come from a $25 mic).


Lucky for you for as bad as your industry's future looks, it will take quite a while to crash and burn. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Re:gateway crime misinformation

[Scrameustache]

This is just the same old "gateway crime" argument, which, if history is any example, will inevitably be scientifically proven false by statistical studies showing (perhaps a correlation, but) no causation.

Science which will be ignored by lawmakers and buried by the media [salon.com].

Re:gateway crime misinformation

[OECD]

Tøndel must now make his claims against alleged pirates in a civil court.

Nooooo! The humanity!!! Think of the terrorists/children!

Barely off topic: How hard is it for a Yank to immigrate to Norway?

I LEARNED FROM THE RIAA

[Anonymous Coward]

I was one of the first pirates that got caught under the .NET act. i am an avid slashdot reader and love
the articles and this one certainly caught my eye.

I was involved with piracy for one simple reason: education.

to pirate a software was to learn how to use it. Then, build a career on the knowledge
you learned. since knowledge is priceless (until the vapid idea of intellectual property was
invented to draw boundaries in our imaginations) I was not considering piracy a crime, since it was a COPY that I had no funds to pay for.

a Copy of MS Office was 499$. I thought it was worth 499. I just couldn't afford it being a latch key kid with a limited income.

I pirated my whole computer career. Getting my first copy of Windows NT enabled me to have cutting edge technology. Linux would have been free, but I was interested in making a career and took the VOLE path.

Anyway, it fascinates me that even after I was prosecuted by the FBI for conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and spent 3 years probation and .5 years in jail (a real federal prision, mind you) that I still work for a company, that still pirates, and it's so rampant now with volume licensing I still have learned that the lesson is: I AM A TERRORIST.

I will always be a terrorist.
I make bombs in my basement.
(I'm being fascecous however you spell it).
I am causing poverty in foreign countries.

bullshit.

the question will always remain: did I ever deprive someone of the money (hence STEALING) or did I never give them the possibility to MAKE the money (hence, piracy).

It was already decided in the courts (in 1984) and the politicians love to hear MPAA and RIAA sing praises that they are LOSING money.

They LOST the opportunity for the MAINTAIN THE VALUE of the COPY of the PROPERTY BY REQUIRING a LICENSE of something that you cannot CONTROL (a copy, either heard through OSMOSIS or from free marketing from your friend whom just got this really cool CD) or was it because The idea of *ECONOMY* HAS CHANGED.

Now go make some laws that surround the new ECONOMY where the works are judged VALUED by their CONTENT and you have "RIAA and MPAA making pieces of SHIT and demanding payment for it".

Still the same argument. SOMEONE needs money for their hard work.

Why can't we all just do what we ENJOY to do. Do you really need BLING on that finger to make your image? Do you need that money to afford that cocaine and 40's you drink and the mercedes you drive? Do you REALLY need my 15$ to put you at the top of your game?

Cause all I need was a copy of that CD to tell me IT WAS A PIECE OF SHIT.

Re:That solves everything!

[Anonymous Coward]

Well it's obvious you haven't got a fucking clue what you're talking about because the video is NOT talking about downloads, it's talking about ACTUAL piracy. That is, counterfeiting. Copying something and then selling it for a profit. And you know what? I'm dead set against that. I support the police and the MPAA/RIAA in their crusade to stamp out counterfeiting, because that really DOES harm the producer as well as the consumer. I only wish they'd spend half the effort stamping that out as they have trying to convince people that copying DVDs and CDs is wrong.

Re:gateway crime misinformation

[timmarhy]

"If it's commercially feasible, the free market should spit out a music label that allows more flexible licensing"

Oh please not this fucking argument again. IT'S NOT A FREE MARKET, RIAA are a cartel which buys off radio stations and setups up crappy tv shows.

your argument is fine if the consumer was actually given a real choice.

Re:gateway crime misinformation

[robertjw]

That's a great point. I find it interesting how many video tape collections I've seen on garage sales in the last few years since DVDs became commonplace. People are trying to sell their pirated VHS tapes.

It's actually funny how much things change. I remember back in high school in the 80s when it was a big deal to get a bootlegged concert tape. You could get in SERIOUS trouble for bringing a tape recorder to a concert. These days many artists promote it and even have websites where fans can share their bootlegs.

Re:It actually does solve a lot...

[iminplaya]

The police just found themselves a skeleton key.

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is
the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough
criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that
it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Ch. III, "White Blackmail"

Re:gateway crime misinformation

[Myrcutio]

There is one assumption thats being made here, that if we didn't pirate the music, we would go out and buy it. Fact of the matter is, alot of people who pirate music do it because they weren't willing to pay for ANY music in the first place. These "damages" (which only really hurt the record companies, the artists make trivial money on actual CD sales), are not actually damages at all. there was never money to be stolen, i as a college student have no money to speak of, and therefore can afford no CD's.

I can definately guarantee that when my favorite band comes to town, i won't be pirating the video of the concert, i'll fork up the cash and go see them. THAT's the only place left to make money off music, live performance.

Re:It actually does solve a lot...

[Anonymous Coward]

... but doesn't a warrant limit the scope for investigation?

That is, if the warrant is about piracy, evidence for piracy is all you get out of a search, at least formally?

But, assuming you are right, it must be a good sign that investigations of suspicion of terrorism can't just barge in anyhow, and that they need something more solid, like suspicion of piracy to get in ... But somehow I think it really is the other way around ...

Re:gateway crime misinformation

[cp.tar]

If you want to read a book for free - go to a library. Does reading the book for free promote the author? Maybe. But you also just took a royalty (that YOU owe them) out of their pocket.

I'm an adult now. I pay for things. I'm not defending the industry and their actions/tactics; I'm just saying the artists deserve to be paid. Too bad I can't collect two cents from you for my opinion, I think you owe it to me.

If artists enabled me to download their music from their site for twice the price they're earning per track now — which is, AFAIK, a few cents — I would gladly do it.
Since I cannot, and my loss would be disproportionately bigger than their gain, I say the hell with it.

MAFIAA's business model is outdated, no longer in step with available technology.
If it were about the artists, they would have adapted the business model to fit modern conditions. Instead, they are trying to adapt us to fit their existing business model.
Some artists have already offered their music on their websites. Many more will follow in their track. When that happens, I'll gladly buy music from them.

Re:Sweden's neutral!

[s2jcpete]

The Swedish fielded two volunteer SS battalions during WW2: 5th SS-Panzer Division "Wiking" and 11th SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland"

Re:Sweden's neutral!

[DataBroker]

Sweden was able to stay out of the first world war and keep an "armed neutrality" during the second world war.

I went to Denmark, and was told all about Sweden's "armed neutrality". I was told that the only reason that Sweden was allowed to remain neutral was because it succumbed to Germany's will. It essentially agreed to work full-time supplying war materials (iron ore) if Germany agreed not to destroy it. For more, check out this link. [wikipedia.org]

Minor disclaimer: I'm relaying info a Dane gave me on the Swedes. Don't kill the messenger. Personally, I love all things Swedish and offer the traditional salute; bork-bork-bork!!

Re:It actually does solve a lot...

[gstoddart]

All that was suggested was that if officers wanted into a suspects home, but did not have enough evidence to issue a warrant on the suspected charges alone, they could use piracy as a means to get that warrant. The intent, which should be obvious by now, is to get into the house so that evidence of terrorism, drug trafficking or violent intent involving firearms might then be 'coincidentally' discovered.

That is a very terrifying concept. Will the RIAA fake some evidence to suggest that someone at that address has been sharing files? Or are the RIAA pushing to have law enforcement have a blank cheque to enter homes on the suspicion that someone might have been pirating music? In which case, the RIAA is trying to get the police to have greater powers to investigate copyright infringement than actual crimes which they are supposed to be investigating?

I fail to see how the police could get a probable cause warrant for piracy without any supporting evidence. Or, are the RIAA trying to claim that everyone is so likely to be pirating that they should be able to enter any dwelling on the presumption that piracy has likely happened, and we don't need any stronger evidence than that?

Currently, the police aren't the ones who are supposed to be investigating copyright issues unless it's on a commercial scale. The sheer idea of making up a bullshit premise to enter a property, and thereby granting legitimacy to having the police as an enforcement arm of the RIAA, is a scary thought indeed.

I seriously hope someone gives these guys the smackdown they deserve over this. This undermines most of the checks and balances in the legal system in sort of a scary way.

How many people do you know that haven't pirated anything at all?

Quite a few, actually -- and without any evidence to suggest that someone did, using the presumption that they likely did is a complete end run around evidentiary responsibility. I think we should be sending police into the homes of the RIAA randomly on the assumption that record execs have a house full of hookers and blow at any given time. See how they like it.

Cheers

Re:Sweden's neutral!

[Ox0065]

so...

compulsory military service (or alternatively community service) exists in Sweden. (^-^) Didn't you know?

...also, as I understood it, Sweden & Finland were instrumental in disabling Germany's hard water (read nuclear bomb) plant for long enough for the USA to steal all the technology / scientists they needed to whip up a couple first. 12 Scandinavian commandos bombed a factory guarded by 500 SS soldiers in the middle of German occupied Norway TWICE with no casualties. They went to ground in the countryside after the first attack. There had been an earlier British attempt of which there were no survivors.

http://www.espionageinfo.com/Gu-In/Heavy-Water-Technology.html [espionageinfo.com]

Re:That solves everything!

[fbartho]

What romantic image? That kind of piracy has no romantic image, it's modern day boat bound assault and mugging with the added bonus that the criminals often have the greatest chance of getting away with it if they kill everyone (and less chance if they don't). The only romantic imagery associated with the word "piracy" is the comedic pirates of the Caribbean style piracy something purely in the entertainment realm. Which also is entirely different from the casual copy+share methodology if most college students on bittorrent, something that's entirely unromanticized, but it's something that a ridiculous portion of the college demographic participates in to some degree and views as normal while stressing and fearing the RIAA & co. Finally, it's something that is also entirely different from the sleazy pirating for sale which runs rampant in Asia, but that is really insidious when it happens locally.