RomBox.com

MINNEAPOLIS — A jury has awarded the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) a “ridiculous” amount in a peer-to-peer MP3 file sharing lawsuit against a Mother from Minnesota.

A federal jury ruled that Jammie Thomas-Rasset willfully violated copyrights on 24 songs. The recording companies were awarded $80,000 per song ($1.92 million).

After hearing the verdict, Jammie Thomas-Rasset said the award was “kind of ridiculous”.

The record companies accused Jammie of offering 1,700 songs on the Kazaa music sharing software, though the RIAA to prove only 24 infringements.

RIAA Comment on Verdict in Capitol Records v. Jammie Thomas-Rasset
RIAA REACTION:
“We appreciate the jury’s service and that they take this as seriously as we do. We are pleased that the jury agreed with the evidence and found the defendant liable. Since day one, we have been willing to settle this case and we remain willing to do so.” — Cara Duckworth

PUBLIC REACTION:
Boooooo!

Instead of frowning on technology and the Internet, Epic Records has decided to embrace it with a new format for albums. The latest trial is with the band The Fray. Sony, owner of Epic, has launched a new iTunes “pass” for $17.00. The pass allows the user to gain access to songs, videos, pictures and backstage bonuses. Earlier this year, Depeche Mode launched it’s iTunes pass.

However, the idea is probably too little, too late, for the music industry. Independent artists have been doing similar marketing plans for years… not only that, they often give it away for free. Even well recognized names like The Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails have been posting free MP3 downloads, fan pictures from concerts, videos and blogs.

Maybe it’s time the record labels started being innovators?