The RIAA has filed 477 more lawsuits today against computer users, according to this CNN article, a big percent of targets in this round have been identified as college students across 11 states. Charges are, of course, for illegally sharing music through the net.

The latest filings brings the number of lawsuits filed by the recording industry to 2,454 since last summer. None of the cases has yet gone to trial, and 437 people so far have agreed to pay financial penalties of about $3,000 as settlements.

I really think that The RIAA/MPAA should find a way to embrace file sharing tech rather then attempt to shut it down. When they pull stunts like this it makes me glad that I have not purchased a CD from a music store in over 7 years. I am all for supporting the artist but not greedy companies. And I would much rather purchase a DVD with my money then one or 2 songs from a CD & I feel that allot of the stuff that is put out by the labels is just cookie cutter junk.

I'm in Canada, so I don't have to put up with the RIAA's moronics, but I do think they should back off. If somebody wants to support an artist, they go to a concert. Something like 95% of CD sales goes to some corporate fat-cat who played his cards right and signed on a good band. I'd rather d/l music and send some of my fav. bands cheques in the mail, because at least that way I know I'm helping the band, not the record company.

edit: Does anybody actually know where the money from the RIAA's lawsuits goes? I don't.

I would guess the FBI.

If I start to feel guilty about filesharing, I just flip on MTV and watch an episode of cribs and Puff Daddy's platinum bidet just washes away that guilt.

I don't like those artists like Puff Daddy, or P. Diddy, or whatever. The artists I like, I'm sure are pretty well off, but they're hardly mainstream.

are you a fellow metal-head me(who else?) ??

What I meant by my comment was that the people who are hurt the most by file sharing are the ones who can most afford it. Most of the music I download is either out of print or not even available in the local music stores.

Attention metalheads- get your hands on some Godflesh- great hardcore metal band from the mid nineties- Im sure that its out of print so you will have to download it because the record labels are too assinie to recognize the value of their back catalogs. You will have to hunt for it in the virus-infested nether regions of Kazaa when, hey, if you could preview it legitimately and dowload a high bit-rate recording you might pay a couple of bucks.

puff daddy (or p.diddy) is a disgrace to music. he's not even really rap so in a way he's not really rap or hip-hop as he claims. p. diddy is just a walking cheese commercial with a rapper disguise.

Thanks for the band recommendation

Great tunes