BLOGGERS BEWARE
SoulOnIce
13,027 Posts
Haven't seen this posted around here yet - yeah, it's Ryan Adams, but it's also Universal Music and it's the Feds and it's a potential double-digitbid in Federal prison. Just another random displayto keep everyone frightened, or the first shot in awar that bedroom-blogger types don't have a prayer of winning? Feds bust fans for pirated Ryan Adams tunes[/b] WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - A pair of apparent Ryan Adams fans ran afoul of a new law making it a crime to publish songs before their release to the general public when they made portions of the singer's latest album available on a Web site frequented by his fans, federal authorities said Thursday.Robert Thomas of Milwaukee and Jared Bowser of Jacksonville, Fla., were indicted under a provision of the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act (FECA) law that makes it a separate federal crime to pirate music and movies before they are released to the public, Memphis-based U.S. attorney Jim Vines and FBI special agent My Harrison said.The indictments are believed to be the first under the prerelease provision of the 2005 FECA law. The men are alleged to have posted portions of Adams' "Jacksonville City Nights" on a fan Web site about a month before its official release last September. Adams records for Lost Highway Records, whose Universal Music Group parent did not grant authority for the Internet distribution."Any perception that copyright violations are victimless crimes is just plain wrong," Vines said. "Whether stolen intellectual property is given away or sold by thieves for a profit, the rightful owners of such property are still hurt. Many individual and corporate victims of copyright crimes live, work and create here in the middle district of Tennessee, and persons who knowingly violate federal copyright law face serious consequences whether or not they intend to harm anyone. Federal copyright violations are both a national and local priority and will be aggressively prosecuted in this district."If convicted on all counts, the defendants each face a potential of 11 years in prison. The case was investigated by FBI agents and is being prosecuted by the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section of the United States Attorney's Office.Recording Industry Assn. of America chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol said the indictments were particularly gratifying as they come from the heart of music country."Prerelease piracy is a particularly damaging and onerous form of theft," he said. "It robs artists of the chance to sell their music before it even hits the streets or becomes legally available online, and the ripple effects are felt far and wide throughout the entire music community -- especially when that theft strikes in Nashville, the very heart of our industry."We're extremely thankful for the efforts of Jim Vines, his team at the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI for their leadership," he added. "We commend Congress for giving prosecutors the tools they need to achieve swift and successful enforcement of this devastating form of piracy. The message here is clear: Significant crimes bring significant consequences."Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Comments
up full tracks either. This goes back to that shit
where you are arresting someone for essentially
doing free promotion for a release.
Partial tracks on a fan site? Sounds like Universal
should be paying them, not having them indicted.
Just kidding, I actually like some Ryan Adams.
"Where do you go when you are lonely..."
I'm a sissy.
I used to listen to Ryan Adams with a girl I hung out with,
I thought his 1st album & Whiskeytown stuff was pretty good,
and we would defend him when people laughed at us for having
his CD in the car...
Then we went to see him live, ended up walking out,
and never listening to him again. He comes up in conversation
once in a while - whenever we want to remember what a loser he was live
and have a good laugh.
The "highlight" was when he dragged a record player to the front of the
stage (his "set" was a big livingroom with furniture), put on a copy
of "Like a Virgin" by Madonna and started strumming guitar along to it
and encouraging the audience to sing along with the record.
This wasn't what got us to walk out, though - it was his shamelessly bad
Hank Williams cover.
That was like watching someone terd in the holy water at St. Patrick's on Easter Morning.
the words "Ryan Adams" everywhere in the article with "E-40?"
Then we can have ourselves a
cosign
dude is a capitol d Douche
makes the twat from wilco look like dylan
prison by all accounts
POST UP PREVIEW TRACKS OR YOU ARE SOFT