The RIAA lawsuit engine is in FULL GEAR.

Originally Posted by Monkey King

Do the artists themselves actually condone this sort of nonsense? There comes a time when you need to quit letting your lawyer speak for you and put your damn foot down.

They have no rights. As part of their contract, their recordings became the property of the label, and therefore, of the RIAA. They have no right to interfere with the activities of the RIAA whatsoever.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Koneko

hat's next? Suing people for watching those videos? Where's that thread about the RIAA charging everyone for even thinking about music? That pretty much sums this up.

Funny you should mention that... the last time a piece of news similar to this came up, I had a vision, you might say. A vision of the possible future, in a world that could even be our own. I posted it once already, but what the hell? It's only getting more and more revelevant as the days go by.

Spoiler:

Personally, I'm thinking that the day is not far off when the RIAA pass a bill allowing them to charge you every time you hear one of their songs. After all, if you listen to a song that you didn't purchase, that's like stealing. Then, when your guard is down, RIAA employees will jump out from behind a tree, with a portable stereo, and impose large on-the-spot fees. After all, you heard it, so you stole it. Thieves, like other criminals, must pay the price.

Then the MPAA will implement a technology to prevent you from showing your HD DVD and Blu-Ray movies to your friends. After all, if you watch a film you didn't purchase, that's like stealing. Sony and Microsoft will build this technology into their next consoles, because after all, if you play a game at your friends house that you didn't purchase, that's kind of like stealing too. Sony were already considering locking you out from loaning your games to a friend, so this is the logical next step.

The next step after that is the bill that allows them to charge you for thinking about, or remembering one of their songs. In order to enforce it, they will need to implant their CRM (Cerebral Rights Managent) chip into your brain. This will become compulsory,to prevent mental infringement of intellectual property. Thinking about it, or remembering it is almost like hearing it, and they already passed the bill that makes hearing a song without purchasing it a crime. Don't try to steal music by thinking about it, they will catch you.

Of course the MPAA will be on board with the deal, so that you can't think of, or remember films either, without paying. After all, if you think of a film that you don't own, isn't that like stealing? Naturally you won't be able to watch the movie channels on TV at someone else's house anymore. They paid for the film, but did you? You weren't planning to watch a film that you didn't purchase were you? That's definitely stealing.

Naturally, once the chip is in your head, the logical next step is thought-censorship. In order to make it palatable to the public, the first measure will be an anti-terrorism law that makes it illegal to even think of committing terrorist acts. As a rider, it will also be illegal to consider seditious acts of any kind, or to believe that acts of that nature could ever be justified. It will also become illegal to contemplate acts of Intellectual Property theft, or to tdissaprove of the combined MPRIAA, who by now are the political party who control both houses, and the Oval Office.

Once that's gone through, and the public are used to the idea of thought censorship, in order to appease the Bible Belt, it will become illegal to be an athiest. Other religions than Chrisitianity will still be tolerated, by way of throwing a bone to the few remaining liberals, who by now live lives of quiet desperation, and contemplate suicide daily.

At this time it will also become illegal to think about doing drugs, or having pre-marital sex. Thinking that the fees are unjust, or how nice it would be to have some freedom will be punished instantly by electric shocks, as will breaking any of the other mental laws. This will serve as negative reinforcement, and lead to a 100% approval rate for the government within 2 generations.

Having finally gained control of every aspect of our waking lives, the MPRIAA will then decree that we are not even permitted to watch, or listen to even the music that we have purchased without sending in a written request for permission, and paying an additional "appreciation fee". After all, paying for something once, and then listening to it twice would be like stealing. What isn't like stealing these days?

At this point, it will become illegal to enjoy yourself in any way whatsoever, without paying a fee to the MPRIAA. After all, wouldn't having fun that you didn't pay for be like stealing? Your chip will record all instances of enjoyment, and the degree of pleasure experienced, and you will be billed at the end of each month.

Finally, the MPRIAA will assume the role of the Papacy, and the United States of America, joining forces with the European Union, will be formally renamed as the Holy American Empire, forcibly annexe the whole of Asia, and the Middle East, and the twin scourge of piracy and terrorism will be wiped out once and for all. By this point, of course, the government (and there is only one government) will not recognise any meaningful distinction between "terrorism" and "piracy". Naturally the tenets of the Christian faith will have become somewhat modified in the process, but you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. In particular, the first commandment, "Thou Shalt Not Steal Intellectual Property" will become the cornerstone of the faith. His Holiness, the head of the MPRIAA, hath decreed that this commandment stands above the other ten about loving people, and serving God, and that sort of thing. After all... you have to remember what is important in life.

Originally Posted by Helloween

God, what the hell. If this keeps up, music lovers are gonna have to maintain a listener's lisence if they wanna listen to music.

You can relax. Maitaining your required licences will all be taken care of automatically once your Cerebral Rights Management chip is implanted in your brain. You'll then be free to listen to as much music as you can afford, and you won't have to worry about inadvertently stealing anything. The minute that you even begin to think about music without paying the proper licensing fees, your chip's punishment circuits will kick in, and the appropriate fee (plus a fine) will be deducted instantly from your bank account.

Originally Posted by Avanent

Bush's next campaign on terrorism should target the RIAA.

If by "next" you mean "previous", and by "should target" you mean "was paid for by", then I agree entirely.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Monkey King

Were this to happen, it would be a fantastic amount of free publicity for the song and the artist, which would in turn be gangbusters for the sales of the CD itself. One goofy little internet video made a household name out of an obscure Romanian band that nobody had ever heard about - that "unlicenced" use of Numa Numa was great for business.

I don't really recognise the name "Numa Numa", but since you said that it was by a Romanian band, that must be another name for Dragostea Din Tea. If so, I'm pretty sure that you're right about the RIAA shooting themselves in the foot. I can only imagine that the label that owns that tune have made a small fortune out of the free publicity from that weird video.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.