Money for Nothing
In a case that no doubt sent shudders up the spines of file sharers, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) secured a $220,000 judgment against a single mother for downloading and sharing copyrighted music online.
Jammie Thomas, 30, was ordered to pay $9,250 for each of the 24 songs that the recording industry focused on in the evidence. Thomas is alleged to have shared 1,702 songs.
The culture of sharing music and other files online is so firmly entrenched that the defendant may have felt that she could go forward, notwithstanding the evidence and law arrayed against her. Also, an industry official was cited as saying how surprised he was at the length of jury deliberations. While this comment may indicate any number of things, it is not unreasonable to think that the jurors wrestled with a law they found abhorrent.
Much like during the era of Prohibition, this is an area and time where there is a chasm between the law and what people believe the law should be. While the music industry has initiated 26,000 suits against alleged copyright violators, these actions constitute but a minute percentage of the total number of people involved in illegal file sharing. These suits are incredibly expensive, and with music sales plummeting, it may be time for the recording industry to find another business model.
