Stop the RIAA lawsuits

[eclectica]

http://www.stopriaalawsuits.com/

We are calling for a mass boycott of the purchase of RIAA CDs from October 20 to October 27. It is apparent that the leeches are not using the proceeds of their CD sales to reimburse the artists. Instead they are filing yet another round of lawsuits against their fans.

How you can help stop the lawsuits:

1. Don't Buy Music From The Five Major Record Labels
Show the major labels that suing fans is bad business. RIAA Radar (http://www.riaaradar.com/) can tell you whether a CD you're considering purchasing was made by a major label.

2. Tell Your Friends, Family, and City Why Buying Major Label Music is Unethical
Hand out these quarter-page flyers in Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and other big stores that only sell RIAA music.

http://www.stopriaalawsuits.com/quarter.gif

Download and print this handout. (http://www.stopriaalawsuits.com/stop_handout.pdf)

If you run a website, we invite you to join the coalition-- the more voices we have, the stronger we are. Simply send an email from your domain to: stopRIAAlawsuits@downhillbattle.org

You can also add this button to your page:

http://www.stopriaalawsuits.com/stopriaa.gif (http://www.stopriaalawsuits.com/)

3. Support the Individuals and Families That Are Being Sued
These lawsuits are driving many families into bankruptcy. If we can rally around the people that are being sued, we can make the record industry's scare tactic fail. Visit the Peer-to-Peer Legal Defense Fund (http://www.downhillbattle.org/defense) and make a contribution.
Quotes from people being sued. (http://www.downhillbattle.org/defense/details/quotes.shtml)

4. Support Independent Musicians and Record Labels
Supporting independent record labels (who don't sue their fans) can help change the music industry for the better. Here is a very biased list of great indy record labels:

Saddle Creek (http://saddle-creek.com/) The Omaha Nebraska music family. Check out the Faint if you like 80s music. Bright Eyes is among the best American music in the past 10 years.

Def Jux (http://definitivejux.net/) Possibly the best independent hip hop label. Mr. Lif brought creative instrumentation back to underground hip hop.

GoKart Records (http://www.gokartrecords.com/) This punk rock label is waging it's own campaign against the RIAA: they're giving out free downloads of several current releases. They've also released a 150 band, 300-song compilation that will be the first ever mp3 CD in record stores (and it's a double CD!) If you listen to this comp, you will never want to listen to major label pop-punk again.

K Records (http://www.kpunk.com/) Calvin Johnson from the lo-fi rock band Beat Happening started this label back in the eighties, and this is one of those labels where everything on it is good. Allstars include: Mirah, the Microphones, and Wolf Colonel

Coup D'Etat (http://www.coupdetat.tv/) Hip Hop. This is a hot label, with a hot name, and a hot webpage. Make sure you listen to the "15-minute mix"

Warp Records (http://www.warprecords.com/) Excellent electronic music. But even if you don't like electronic music, check out Broadcast (60s pop), or Anti Pop Consortium (hip hop). There is enough stuff on this site to keep you listening for days. The radio mixes are all amazing.

Dischord (http://www.dischord.com/) The guy who started this punk and hardcore label, Ian McKaye, is a personal hero to quite a lot of people, and his bands (Fugazi, Minor Threat, Rites of Spring) are all worth hearing.

Magnatune (http://www.magnatune.com/) This is an online label with a wide range of genres represented (including classical, and jazz). You can download albums at true CD quality, and the artist always gets half.

Fivetrees (http://www.fivetrees.com/) Another interesting online music venture which is a sort of cross between a record label and a webhosting service. They specialize in English folk music.

Secretly Canadian (http://www.secretlycanadian.com/) This is another great midwestern rock label. Songs: Ohia is devastatingly good acoustic rock.

Polyvinyl (http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/) Check out "Mates of State". The girl's on the organ, the guy's on the drums, and they're experts at duets.

Fujichia (http://www.fujichia.com/) This punk/electronic label has amazing things to offer the world, and good stuff to say about music. Investigate.

[eclectica]

Stop RIAA Lawsuits Coalition www.stopRIAAlawsuits.com
Contact:
Holmes Wilson- hw @ downhillbattle.org
Jon Newton (p2pnet.net)- p2p @ shaw.ca

Coalition calls for boycott in response to second round of RIAA lawsuits

(MONDAY October 20, 2003)- In response to the second round of lawsuits begun by the major labels and the RIAA, a coalition of over 100 websites is calling for a weeklong boycott of major label music. The Stop RIAA Lawsuits Coalition (www.stopRIAAlawsuits.com) is urging music fans to avoid buying major label CDs, and to support independent label music.

“The vast majority of those being sued are working families with children,” said coalition member Holmes Wilson, whose site downhillbattle.org started a defense fund for those who were sued, “Regular people can’t afford a legal defense against these companies. When you buy a major label CD, your money is going to fund lawsuits against families with children.”

"The major labels’ reaction to file sharing has been to launch a fierce legal attack against some of their most loyal customers,” says Peter Allen, owner of guitartabs.com, “We intend to show them that this is not an acceptable reaction, and as consumers, we will not tolerate this sort of treatment."

“These suits have nothing to do with protecting musicians,” said Jacob Berendes, a musician and independent label owner whose label, Fujichia Records has joined the coalition, “The major labels treat musicians terribly: you spend $16 on a CD and the band gets only 80 cents, if they’re lucky.”

The site stopRIAAlawsuits.com will feature information about the lawsuits, a list of coalition members, places to buy used CDs online, and, most importantly, resources for finding the best independent music. “Independent labels give their musicians a much bigger cut of CD sales,” said Andrew Ross, who’s band’s site joined the coalition, “and they’re not hiring expensive lawyers to bully families with reckless and unwarranted lawsuits.”

“Rock, hip-hop, electronic, jazz, whatever genre of music you’re into, there are independent label bands you’d love,” said Ross, “and boycott-week is the perfect time to find them.”

The popular website and coalition member RIAAradar.com lets music fans check to see if an album they want to buy is on an RIAA label. RIAA Radar can even make recommendations for non-RIAA independent music with similar appeal.

Consumer backlash against the lawsuits will be felt worldwide: “This is an amazing effort, and it's only just begun,” said Jon Newton, who runs the filesharing news site P2Pnet, “I've heard from reporters in Japan, France, Germany and Denmark who are now doing stories on the RIAA's 'sue 'em all' subpoena campaign because of this coalition. It’s all about achieving critical mass: what started out as a small group of people can become a powerful body exerting enough pressure to make the Big Five record labels pay attention.”

[eclectica]

From: eclectica
Date: 2003-10-26 @02:39 GMT
To: STOP RIAA Lawsuits coalition
Subject: extend the boycott?


I'm just getting things going here and cutting up yet more of the pdf quarter-page fliers. So far all I did was put about twenty all over the CD section at Costco in Brooklyn, which has a small display of CDs.

I plan to put more of the fliers all over the CD racks next week in the Best Buy in Manhattan. You mentioned that and Walmart as recommended sites because they only sell RIAA material. Maybe I could hit K-Mart too.

I actually feel like I didn't do enough so far and I have a guilty conscience. I think the boycott ought to be extended until the end of the year, past the end of the holiday shopping season, or sooner if the RIAA decides to unconditionally drop all lawsuits. I feel like the results will be too slow and imprecise for the RIAA to get any message from the one-week boycott, and the campaign is taking a while to warm up. But then again a long, boycott becomes impotent and tired in its feel, and the energy is lost.

You folks have done great and I appreciate your hard work and the fighting spirit you have. You give me someone to look up to as role models.

-eclectica

[eclectica]

From: STOP RIAA Lawsuits coalition
Date: 2003-10-29 @17:40 GMT
To: all coalition members
Subject: The Boycott Continues


We have received a lot of emails from you requesting that we extend the boycott. We feel that as long as the RIAA remains a horrible blight our work must go on. We shall continue the boycott until such a point that the RIAA gives up its futile efforts. However, we can not let our extended efforts lull us in to a sense of complacency. We must continue to fight the good fight and recruit new people to our cause. Please email 3 or more sites and invite them to join. Go out there and poster the world with our message. We have some more exciting events in the works and we want everyone to hear about them.

Sincerely,

The stopRIAAlawsuits.com Coalition

[Unregistered]

we are only getting started

[eclectica]

Originally posted by Unregistered
we are only getting started
I am reminded of the words of John Paul Jones:
"I have not yet begun to fight!"
(see here (http://www.lhd6.navy.mil/_files/history/serapisbattle.htm) for the story behind that quote)

[Criminal_Sniper]

hmm interesting
that was me btw
after i formatted i didnt log back in :p

[Criminal_Sniper]

NS.TST-US.COM 68.163.90.234
NS1.TST-US.COM 68.163.90.236
NS2.TST-US.COM 146.82.174.236
NS1.SPEAKEASY.NET 216.254.0.9
NS2.SPEAKEASY.NET 216.231.41.19

these are riaa's?

[eclectica]

What I do to check an IP address is I go here:
PeerGuardian IP database (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tim.leonard1/pgi.htm)
Then I copy the entire text file into notepad, and after highlighting it all, I go to search-->find and enter the IP address I am looking for to see if it comes up. Since the list has ranges rather than specific IP addresses, you might want to search by the beginning, network range, such as "146.82", for example.