So how does this affect our movement against the RIAA? On the one hand, EMI is still a member of the RIAA and the RIAA is still suing college students and invalids. On the other hand, this is a huge test of the DRM-free music market, and it's one of the most important times to buy music in years.

Like we said when we started this boycott, money talks. If you like something or you don't like something, vote with your wallet. It's a two-way street; while not buying music from the RIAA when you don't like their practices is important, it's equally important to show support when they get something right.

So we say go out there and buy DRM-free music from iTunes. Is it perfect? No. It could be Lossless and it could be the same price as DRM'd tunes, and we sure would like to see those lawsuits stop. But this is a monumental step, and if it's successful we'll certainly see other major labels following suit by releasing their catalogs without DRM. If the demand is there, the supply will arrive in due time.

We sent a message last month by letting the major labels know that we won't give them money for damaged goods. Now that they've, shockingly enough, listened, it's time for us to uphold our end of the bargain. You clamored for legal, DRM-free music? You got it. Now go get it. –Adam Frucci

If this is true—EMI being wishy-washy doesn't add to the cred factor but we're going with it—this is huge, and quite frankly, awesome. Sure, you could chalk it up to mounting EU pressure, Jobs' cry heard round the world, or the crushing impingement of reality, but we totally think our RIAA boycott just worked. One down, three to go. – Matt Buchanan

[via Idolator]
Shackles image via Flickr

Standing Up to the RIAA

Our first tip: be magnanimous about your impending victory.

The biggest trick the RIAA pulls is to convince legislators, the media and technology users that it's viewpoint is so compelling that there's no valid (or even legal) opposition to their behavior, and the general public should give up, and suck down burdens like DRM, endless lawsuits, patronizing anti-piracy warnings and consumer-unfriendly legislation.

In the language of the entertainment industry, fencing in legitimate activity like this is called "educating the end-user." But recently, those end-users have been doing some schooling of their own. Consumer-unfriendly practices get punished in the marketplace and every threat against an innocent child or a pensioner generates terrible publicity. Meanwhile non-paranoid business models succeed, and entertainers who treat their fans well do better than those who treat new opportunities like incoming missiles.

The RIAA's tactics are outdated and failing. It can't go on forever. Of course, it's gone on far too long already, and you're right to be frustrated at the collateral damage you have to suffer along the way. The good news is: There's plenty of ways to speed things up. It may be a downhill battle, but that doesn't mean you
still can't have fun oiling the sled.

Move the Market

Support for DRM is dying in the music industry. In tests, two-thirds of Euro music executives think about dropping DRM. Between being taunted by Steve Jobs, being sued in the face over rootkits and watching eMusic and its companions surround their lousy DRM offerings, they've been getting that message. Rub it in with your dollars.

Dig past the marketing, and learn about the DRM at your online music store. When buying hardware, find out and complain about copy controls and equipment that doesn't provide "unprotected" outputs. Encourage your favorite magazines and blogs to cover the downsides of burnt-in DRM. In short: Do what you do already. Then get your friends to do it too.

Fight for Copyright Reform

The greatest damage that the RIAA causes is when it whispers into the government's ear that even more legal shackles for technology and users are necessary. Read about what's being proposed—bills like The PERFORM Act, a backdoor assault on your right to record off the radio. Support reforms like the FAIR USE act. It doesn't cure all of copyright's ills, but it does get rid of statutory damages in cases against gadget makers. That means that the rightsholders can't hold the insane threat of $30,000 per infringement over innovators' heads.

You can write a letter to your rep on these topics and more in two minutes with the EFF's Action Center (and while you're there, sign our petition against the RIAA lawsuits).

Been there and done that? Then pick up the phone and call your rep for a little personal chat. Just take a couple of minutes to write down what your concerns are — excessive RIAA lawsuits, the DMCA anti-circumvention rules, the new webcasting fees, the attempts to kill home recording by suing XM and Sirius. Politely spell out your concerns, and ask for a written reply that explains what your rep plans to do about it.

If you're really serious, meet your representative in person. It's not as hard as you think. If a politician visits your college or workplace ask a question about the music industry's behavior (and if a representative of the RIAA or MPAA turn up, try asking some of our Frequently Awkward Questions. They love 'em.) Google your congressperson's local town hall meeting hours. If you're in Washington on business during a session, mail them to say you'll drop in. Don't worry about the details of policy: Just talk about how it affects you (and your business, or your opportunities). At the end of your chat, send their staff to speak to us, or to Public Knowledge in Washington, or to the Digital Freedom campaign to find out more.

Be polite and respectful: Every ordinary-looking voter who says that this is
what they worry about makes politicians reconsider the propaganda they're
sent.

Use your social network. If everyone is six degrees away from everyone else, someone in your family or your social network is one hop closer to whoever represents you in Congress. The RIAA paints its opposition as evil, cutlass-wielding criminals. Five minutes talking sense with a friendly face makes congresscritters a lot harder to sway with its propaganda.

Stand by Your Rights

Use 'em or lose 'em. Demand products with the features that the music industry would love to ban: that make space-shifting, or analog output reproduction, or off-the-air recording, easy and affordable. Rip those CDs to within an inch of lives for use on your portable player or home computer. Learn and understand about [fair
use](http://www.chillingeffects.org/fairuse/faq.cgi "Chilling Effect's Fair Use FAQ"). Sample and excerpt away for parody or educational use, and use YouTube or another video-sharing site to share your works when you do. Support your local library: Librarians are a powerful voice in asserting reasonable copyright law. Buy sell, and trade those secondhand CDs: It will remind you of the power of the first-sale doctrine, and will make you madder than hell if they come to take it away. It also lets you buy RIAA-connected music without contributing to their sales figures.

If you don't exercise those rights, you're playing the game how the RIAA want you to play it: defensively. It's time to go on the offense.

It'll take more than a month, but we're in for a long haul, and time — and technology — is on your side.

BB Spot [via Boing Boing]

Check the comic above, and hit the jump for more info on ACT-I-VATE.

–Adam Frucci

Yes, they'll be taking it to the streets to talk to kids about copyright infringement, P2P downloading, and taking pictures of those in attendance for evidence in future lawsuits. Gizmodo readers in the area, please go, bring your smarty pants, and don't let them get out of there without hearing your nasally, nervous diatribe against their practices. Do it for the children! –Adam Frucci

Thanks, Aaron!

Event Page [Arizona State]

Tune in next week, when the RIAA is expected to demand that this adorable puppy be put to sleep for accidentally stepping on the keys of this laptop when excited, initiating the download of a Carrie Underwood song. –Adam Frucci

Recording Industry vs. The People [via Boing Boing]

The RIAA filed a similar lawsuit against XM last year that is still pending. The NMPA represents musicians under Famous Music, Warner/Chappell, Sony/ATV, and EMI publishers. Gizmodo angry, Gizmodo smash! –Travis Hudson

NMPA files suit against XM Satellite Radio [Orbitcast]
Related: RIAA Boycott Coverage

Will the RIAA pay up? Doubtful, but this sends a clear message that the U of N isn't going to put up with their BS. First the ISPs, now the colleges. You just can't find an institution that'll bend over and take it, can you, RIAA? –Adam Frucci

TechDirt [via BoingBoing]

There are tons of record stores out there with sizable used CD departments, full of gems that you wouldn't expect to find for so cheap. If you're too lazy to go to a physical store, there are plenty of places online to buy used CDs such as Prex and Spun. There, now you can buy your precious CDs without the RIAA getting any of your money. –Adam Frucci

RIAA Boycott [Gizmodo]

For starters, the RIAA is incredibly stupid, but they are not evil. Like it or not, they actually do represent and help to pay the salaries of the artists whose music you wish to "share."

Should they be suing teenagers in Poughkeepsie? Of course not. Should they be pushing DRM down our throats? No. But what you fail to grasp is that they are doing these things because they are short-sighted, small-minded,
incredibly ignorant bureaucrats who truly believe they are protecting the interests of artists and the people who pay them. They are not evil. They are not fascists. They are just profoundly stupid.

Instead of demonizing them for doing the only thing they know how to do, why don't you come up with a better way? You guys understand the future of tech and what it means for music and movies better than most anyone, so why don't you stop throwing rocks at the dinosaurs and start solving the problem.

Now, I realize that these guys aren't evil incarnate and we just share differing beliefs, but I don't think I've demonized them personally too much (well, maybe a little bit yesterday). This is clearly an ideological debate, and we're just trying to get people talking about it so progress can be made.

As for us needing to solve the problem, to be fair, we're a blog. It isn't our job to develop new products or services, and I certainly would have no idea where to start doing something like that. If anyone has new, groundbreaking ideas or innovations in this field, of course I would love to post them here and get them publicity. However, there's a huge line between writing about technology and developing technology.

Plus, I write 13 posts a day, dude. There are only so many hours around to do stuff in. Publicizing the issue and educating people about what's at stake is our way of helping to solve the problem, as far as I'm concerned.

So what do you guys think? Are we way off, or do you think we're on the right track? I'm not just looking to get a pat on the back here, either. I really care about this issue, and if you guys have ideas as to how we could be more effective, I want to hear them.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

"File-sharing, P2P—call it what you like. When you asked a customer why he wasn't buying anything, 9 times out of 10 it was 'BitTorrent this, LimeWire that'. Add that to the fact that huge numbers of PC users have burners and fast broadband and its obvious why I had to get out and earn a living another way. We had it good for a while but I don't think those days are coming back."

Say it with me: get rid of DRM and we'll buy more music, get rid of DRM and we'll buy more music, get rid of DRM and we'll buy more music. Music fans are not inherent criminals. –Adam Frucci

TorrentFreak [via BoingBoing]

It's a regular who's who of major label execs, and it even has their phone numbers. You know what that means. Get to it, friends. –Adam Frucci

Faces of the RIAA [Consumerist]

He goes on to say that labels need to drop DRM in order for sales to really take off, as he only gets his music from eMusic or downloads it illegally to avoid DRM. Once they ditch DRM, he says, iTunes will lose their "monopoly" and the market for online music will really open up.

As if we needed another reason to idolize David Byrne. You're dreamy, David! –Adam Frucci

Rocker David Byrne Making Sense at SXSW Fest [NY Times]

You stole two thirds of your music. You told the NPD you did. So now, "finding a record store still in business anywhere near a campus is a difficult assignment at best." It's not because of Best Buy and Wal-Mart undercutting them with lower prices or anything, it's because those super low prices weren't low enough for your thieving asses.

And these damn universities are so uncooperative. The RIAA is being super helpful and showing them all kinds of ways block P2P entirely to stop you bastards in your tracks, since "the overwhelming, if not sole, use of these applications on campus is to illegally download and distribute copyrighted works." It's not like anyone actually uses that BitTorrent store, after all.

It's a damn shame schools aren't doing more, because they have a "moral responsibility, as educators, as organizations transmitting values" to teach you jackasses not to steal music. Which is why "when schools increasingly provide their students with amenities like cable TV, there is simply no reason not to offer them cheap or free legal access to the music they crave." Yeah, schools should pay for the licenses for those services. The RIAA deserves that money, so they get paid even if you resort to stealing music encoded at a higher bit rate with no DRM. Greedy assholes.

Artists' mansions are shrinking. Their children are only able to afford a Wii and a 360, but not a PS3. Think about that the next time you download Nelly's new album, or even some up-and-coming band's new record which you tell all your friends about so they go to their shows and stuff. You just stole a CD from them.

God, why do you keep complaining about the RIAA? They're just trying to "educate these particular students about the importance of music... and the importance of respecting and valuing music as intellectual property." You don't have to be a pirate for life. The RIAA can help. It just needs a small settlement to get you started. – Matt Buchanan

Explaining the Crackdown on Student Downloading [Inside Higher Ed via Boing Boing]

For current students, you should probably not use the University's bandwidth for your bittorrenting. For prospective students, here's one more place to cross off your list.

Update: Looks like both Giz and Wired misread the email. UM won't be giving up the names without a subpoena. Good for them!

On Friday, March 9, and Saturday, March 10, the University of Michigan received notification that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) intends to sue or receive settlement from more than a dozen members of the U-M community engaged in unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing of music over the Internet. The RIAA has designated these individuals through IP addresses, and the University is in the process of identifying and notifying them.

This action is part of an increased effort to curtail unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing. As a result, individuals who engage in this practice are more likely than ever to be identified and sued by the RIAA. Most have settled these lawsuits out-of-court, typically for $4,000-$4,500.

The University does not condone unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing. Individuals who engage in it are violating a variety of University policies including Standard Practice Guide 601.7 - Proper Use of Information Resources, Information Technology, and Networks at U-M. This reminder also has been sent to all faculty and students.

Faculty, staff, or students who have installed peer-to-peer file sharing programs on their computers and are concerned that they might be unwittingly sharing files illegally should visit the University of Chicago's useful web page that describes how to disable file sharing on a variety of programs (http://security.uchicago.edu/guidelines/peer-to-peer/).

U-M maintains a web page (http://www.copyright.umich.edu) that describes the University's position on illegal sharing of copyrighted materials and also includes a growing list of FAQs. All members of the University community are encouraged to study the materials on this page.

Lawful downloading of music is possible through sites such as Apple iTunes, MSN Music, Rhapsody, Ruckus, etc. Details about a number of these sites are available at:
http://mp3.about.com/od/wheretobuymusic/a/all_profile.htm and http://mp3.about.com/od/freemusicdownloads/tp/freeandlegalmp3.htm.

Paul Howell
Chief Information Technology Security Officer

University of Michigan Identifying Students to RIAA, According to Email [Wired]

It's 80 pages long and I am far too busy/lazy to read through the entire thing, but it looks like the general gist of it is that file sharing supports terrorism and corrupts our children. It claims that peer-to-peer networks increase the chances of government workers sharing sensitive data, which is kind of a stupid argument (let's ban phones, while we're at it, so they can't call people and tell them secrets).

An even more backwards argument is that by exposing kids to P2P software they are at a higher risk to pirate music, therefore be sued by copyright holders. The bad news about all this? It will make people protecting their copyrights seem antagonistic. Actually, the copyright holders that are being antagonistic are the ones making themselves seem that way, chief. If any of you out there with too much free time on your hands wants to comb through this beast for some fun quotes, pass em along and we'll post the best ones. –Adam Frucci

Shadowmonkey [via Fark]

We imagine if anyone has the pull to effect a reversal of the new royalty scheme, it's NPR, since it's partially funded by taxpayers. Then again, funneling tax dollars to RIAA fat cats toward obscene royalty payments probably isn't all that unconscionable to some of the government officials who've been receiving massive lobbying largesse for years on end. Even though we rarely tune in, public radio is a worthy cause, so we're totally with NPR on this. – Matt Buchanan

Update: It should be noted that Sound Exchange split off from the RIAA after being created by it, and now represents indie labels as well as ones under the RIAA banner. We still think the rate hike is a bad idea, though. Thanks, Idolator for the clarification.

NPR may lead fight against Internet radio royalty rate hike [Chicago Tribune via Consumerist]

Way to go, guys. We have to hand it to you—every time we think you can't go any lower or give us fresh reasons to hate you, you go exceed all of our expectations. Who's next, an aborted fetus? Thanks for adding more fuel to the boycott fire each and every day, we appreciate it. Though you really could just stop, we'd appreciate that too. – Matt Buchanan

Warner Music sues paralyzed stroke victim [Boing Boing]
RIAA Boycott [Gizmodo]