Joel Tannenbaum ordered to pay $675,000 for illegally downloading 30 songs

This is the second post I’ve done recently about court cases involving illegally downloaded music.

My first blog on the subject was on June 19th when we talked about the Minnesota woman who was ordered to pay $80,000 per song ($1.92 million) for her illegal downloads.

Today we talk about a guy named Joel Tannenbaum, a Boston University student whose penalty was not quite as steep – he only has to pony up $30,000 per song or a total of $675,000.

One question – isn’t it simpler and cheaper to just pay for your downloads?

I get it. Some people think listening to music is their G-d-Given right. Well, that’s a nice thought. But here’s another….what about the artists? I can get on board with the philosphy that the record companies are making out like the real bandits – they do. But when you download your music on the sly, you are short-changing a lot of people who worked on the record, including not only the celebrity artists, but many musicians whose names you do not know.

This is how they make their money! Back in olden times when I was a kid, we had to go out and actually buy the whole album just to hear that one song we liked. And, we could only play that album on a turntable or on a low-quality cassette tape or later, a CD.

Digital music is fantabulous…it goes with you everywhere and you can select your preferred artist, genre and create your playlists to accompany any activity you can think of.

Pay the .99 cents! They really mean it.

I am old enough to remember when Brother came out with these – the typewriters with the screen in front that showed you your typing before it printed – one line at a time.

Oh Brother!

I watch Law & Order religiously and I cannot believe that with all of the high-tech gadgetry available and showcased that they are still using this antiquated equipement. The reason? Some of their forms still utilize carbon paper. Edith Linn, a retired NYPD officer and professor of criminal justice at Berkely College in NYC conducted a study of 500 NYPD officers on arrest behavior. Out of these interviews came the newsflash that many cops are adverse to following up on routine arrests for minor offenses because of the outdated equipment and the amount of time it takes to construct a report.

We can link a decades old crime with the perpetrator using advanced science but we can transition from the typewriter.

Amazing.

Today’s post is a sad one, but shines a ray of hope on a region in turmoil. I am writing in green to show support for the citizens of Iran and their cause.

No doubt you’ve heard all of the rumblings about the elections in Iran. If you frequent Twitter, Facebook or any of the social networking platforms, you’ve been exposed. Here’s a timeline version of what’s been going on, taken from Reuter’s website.

“(Reuters) – Here is a summary of the main developments in the aftermath of Iran’s June 12 presidential election, which took place against a background of tension with the West over Tehran’s nuclear program.

June 13 – Hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad officially wins presidential election with nearly 63 percent of the vote compared with 34 percent for reformist challenger Mirhossein Mousavi, authorities say. Thousands of protesters clash with police. Mousavi calls result a “dangerous charade”.

June 14 – Mousavi says he has formally asked Iran’s Guardian Council to annul the election.

June 15 – Seven people are killed during a huge march by Mousavi supporters in central Tehran, state media says. There are also pro-Mousavi demonstrations in the cities of Rasht, Orumiyeh, Zahedan and Tabriz.

June 16 – Leading Iranian reformist Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice-president, is arrested, his office says.

– The Guardian Council says it is ready to carry out a partial recount of ballots but rules out annulling the poll.

– Tens of thousands of pro-Mousavi demonstrators march in northern Tehran. Ahmadinejad’s supporters mobilize thousands of demonstrators in central Tehran.

– Authorities ban foreign journalists from leaving their offices to cover street protests.

June 17 – Thousands march in central Tehran.

– Ahmadinejad defends the legitimacy of the vote, telling a cabinet meeting it has “posed a great challenge to the West’s democracy,” Mehr news agency reports.

– Saeed Laylaz, editor of business daily Sarmayeh, and pro-reform activist Mohammadreza Jalaiepour are arrested, a reformist source says.

June 18 – Thousands of Mousavi’s backers rally in Tehran to mourn those killed in the mass protests.

– A spokesman for the Guardian Council says it has begun examining 646 complaints submitted after the June 12 vote.

– Iran’s English-language state television has reported eight people killed in five days of protests. The ISNA news agency, quoting provincial officials, says 88 people were arrested in post-election unrest in the city of Mashhad and up to 60 people in Tabriz in the northwest.

June 19 — Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says protest leaders would be responsible for any bloodshed if rallies continued against the election, which he said Ahmadinejad had won fairly by 11 million votes.

June 20 — The Guardian Council says it is ready to recount a tenth of the votes in the disputed election.

– Riot police are deployed in force, firing teargas and using batons and water cannon to disperse groups of several hundred Iranians who had gathered across Tehran.

– A suicide bomber blows himself up near the shrine of Iran’s revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reports.

– State television says more than 450 people are detained during clashes in Tehran in which at least 10 people are killed.

June 21 — Mousavi urges supporters to continue protests, issuing an oblique appeal to security forces to show restraint.

– Ahmadinejad accuses the United States and Britain of interfering in Iran’s affairs.

June 22 — Hardline Revolutionary Guards issue a statement saying they will “firmly confront in a revolutionary way rioters and those who violate the law”. Police break up a protest in Tehran hours after the Guards issued their statement.

– People in Tehran again chant “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) from their rooftops at nightfall.

June 23 – Guardian Council again rules out annulment of the election saying there has been no major polling irregularities.”

Just yesterday, a protester named Neda Agha Soltan was shot and killed in the street. Someone captured this heinous act with their cell phone and it’s been getting lots of play on YouTube. Video follows, but please be warned: it is violent and graphic and YouTube requires that you verify that you are over 18 to view it.

There has been so much controversy over the middle east, Iran, Iraq and the degree to which the US should get involved but I think the events of the last few weeks show us that the citizens want some sort of democracy and a fair election process. I am sure that they know the western world is on their side in this endeavor, as their continuous Twitter and other internet communications indicate. This is GREAT. Unfortunate is that lives are lost but this is an important fight and a stand that, in my opinion, needs to be taken.

All of the Tweets, photos and video footage show us that these are a people willing to fight for their desired rights – rights they have long been denied. It’s nothing short of amazing.

So maybe Iraq was the wrong venue at the wrong time, but the ideology was right on target. If only the violence would stop.

links that may be of some interest to you..

thestar.com | nytimes.com (they have a great blog that is tracking the protests and running commentary) | reuters.com

Here’s something cool. Today’s blog comes to you from somewhere over the east coast as my daughter and I fly to Florida for a couple of days. In the air using gogoinflight.com and it only cost me $2.49.

I’m starting a running series I’ll call “So 5-Minutes Ago” – which, pretty literally means that this particular topic or web address was the most popular at the time I wrote this piece.

This morning when I began this (at around 10am) this was the top story, according to website Alexa.com. A federal jury ruled against a Minnesota woman named Jammie Thomas-Rasset in our country’s first music file-sharing case to ever go to trial. Others have all been settled where the accused pays a fine to the extent that it causes some moderate to severe discomfort; just enough to ensure they won’t make the mistake again of sharing music files that they do not have the rights to.

Thomas-Rasset was accused by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and various subsidiaries of the major record labels including Sony, EMI, Universal & Warner. She had, unlike others before her previously accused of similar “crimes” – elected to go to trial and take on this Goliath-like opponent in court as opposed to agreeing to pay a monetary settlement to make the lawsuit go away. Others have paid on average approx $3500 to settle their suits and move on, but Thomas-Rasset took her chances at trial.

She was accused of sharing 1700 music files on a service called Kazaa where, for just $19.98 per month you can download as many songs as you like and play them on up to 3 PCs for the life of your subscription. One catch – you cannot load this music onto an IPOD or other personal listening device.

Kazaa didn’t always charge for this service. Just a few short years ago, Kazaa and others like it was a free file-sharing platform where users uploaded files to share with other users. This is when the alleged “crime” took place. Needless to say, the record companies didn’t like this, and I’m sure the musicians were torn between loving the fact that there music was in wide circulation and being really bummed that they weren’t getting their due royalties.

In all fairness, internet-based laws have been slow to catch up with the technology that drives the need for them and so the debates will continue to rage on.

The ruling in the case? The suit only addressed the sharing of 24 songs and awarded the record companies $80,000 per song – or $1.92 million. A little footnote – this was the second time Thomas-Rasset went to trial on this. Initially heard by a judge in 2007, she lost that time too and was ordered to pay only $222,000. A new trial was ordered when the original judge decided he’d made a mistake in giving the jury instructions.

If you’d like to visit the “hottest” url on the web (as of this writing) and get the full story, click here.

Off for a weekend full of family

Happy Father’s Day and welcome to all of our new Mutt Media fans!

Last night’s episode of Law & Order SVU shed some light on a rapidly-growing occurance and one that I don’t think is going away anytime soon….teens and text messaging or as it has been coined, “Sexting”.

Sexting has received a lot of press in the last couple of months. I’m attaching here a short clip of Katie Couric covering it on CBS. Loosely defined, it is the transmission of nude or semi-nude photos using the text message or MMS feature on your cell phone or PDA. There are laws on the books that specifically prohibit the dissemination of pictures of this kind of children who are underage and authorities all over our country are using these Child Pornography laws to prosecute teenagers. The laws do not distinguish whether or not these photos are consentual in nature and currently, by the letter of these laws, teenagers can and will be prosecuted.

If convicted, they can be branded as Sex Offenders under Megan’s Law which would require these teens to register with local authorities. Information about their whereabouts can and is published for all of their community to see. This is a stigma that can follow them for the rest of their lives.

I think we can all agree that the laws in place haven’t caught up to technology. Poor judgment and decision-making are a natural part of growing up. Our children are in the (un?)fortunate position of acting as the “crash test dummies” in our new age of technology. Like it or not, they are paving the way for their children, who will, in all likelihood – be much more aware of their online image and more adept at controlling their personal information.

We are all learning that that our momentary lapses in judgment can often come back to bite us and we should really be guiding our children to guard their images carefully. No small task, to be sure. It’s a lesson in personal responsibility.

Here’s an interesting footnote – two teens in Pennsylvania have turned the tables with the help of their parents. At a slumber party they took pictures of each other in their underwear. Pennsylvania District Attorney George Skumanic Jr. offererd them a deal to help them avoid prosecution. Before agreeing to this deal, they filed suit alleging that their civil rights were being violated.

Please share your thoughts – I welcome them. Just click on the link below where it says “Leave a Comment”or send me an email (which I may publish here – full disclosure!) feedback@muttmedia.net

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