It’s Hard Out There For A Pirate:

[06-13-06]

I have been told that writing stories about the RIAA has become redundant. I suppose it’s like giving Clear Channel shit and expecting people to care anymore. We all know it’s a long-established fact that the RIAA is looking to protect the profit margins of major recording companies, and they’ll go at great lengths to do so, including suing the parents of minors, grandmothers, people without computers and those who are deceased. But how ’bout suggesting that a student drop out of college in order to pay a settlement? According to Cassi Hunt, a 20-year-old student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), that’s exactly what happened.

"Are. You. Shitting. Me." (Her words, not mine.)

This is among the commentary that you’ll find on the shrewdly titled Screwpirates.com, a website set up by Hunt to fundraise for her cause as well as inform fellow students and visitors about her first-hand experience with the RIAA.

So, how did we get here, you ask? Well, Hunt is pretty much your average college student, balancing classes alongside part-time jobs and bouts with insomnia. Like thousands of other students who reside on a college campus, Hunt once had access to a high-speed campus network p2p, i2hub (a service which has since been shut down due to the pressure of the RIAA and the MPAA).

"Irony of ironies, I rarely download music," Hunt told TMT. She was subpoenaed for allegedly sharing 272 songs, small cookies for anyone who lived through the Napster days. While she rarely downloaded music, Hunt often plugged into i2hub for access to movies and television shows. "Let’s just say I don’t get Comedy Central."

Hunt first had an inkling of some trouble a’brewin’ last fall, but her fears ultimately became reality with a mailing around the Christmas holiday from her school, due to the fact that in these "John Doe" lawsuits, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) is contacted first. Finally in January she received a letter from a Colorado-based law firm informing her that she was indeed named in a suit for copyright infringement. Dismayed, Hunt dialed up an RIAA representative where she was connected to the "settlement negotiation hotline." Apparently, there is very little negotiation involved on the part of the accused. If the case had gone to trial, Hunt could have been liable for up to $750 per song. The cost of a court case alone makes this essentially a no-win situation for any alleged pirate. However, the RIAA was willing to "settle" for $3,750, common practice for cases such as this. Frustrated, Hunt decided to regroup.

On her second attempt calling the "settlement negotiation hotline," Hunt was reunited with the same woman she had spoken to previously. In her writings, Hunt affectionately referred to her as "Bowie." Not in honor of David, but rather because bowie means "yellow-haired," which she was "pretty sure was the case." Stereotypes aside, Hunt contacted "Bowie" with the goal of negotiating the $3,750 offer. That was simply not to be. The RIAA usually requests that they receive payment of said total within 15 days, but they also offer a six-month payment plan. Besides battling in court, those were the only options. When Hunt inquired if there were any other conceivable alternatives, she was told there are circumstances in which payments could be altered, such as swashbucklers with special medical conditions. According to "Bowie," Hunt did not qualify for such a special circumstance. She didn’t leave her new friend hanging, though. Hunt was left with some wise, albeit cold advice:

"In fact, the RIAA has been known to suggest that students drop out of college or go to community college in order to be able to afford settlements."

This alleged quote has spearheaded the firestorm surrounding the case and made the bad PR for the RIAA even worse. Hunt has since penned a series of widely read articles for MIT’s publication The Tech. Additionally, her story was picked up by Rolling Stone, MTV, Digg, Slashdot, and Fark, among other notable outlets. What makes this situation remarkable is not the case itself, which is a dime a dozen (some 18,000 people have been named in file-sharing suits since 2003), but rather Hunt’s detailed account of her experience — a rarity in cases like this. The same high-speed technology that got her in this mess has enabled her to wield a sword of her own. Now the RIAA is the one playing damage control.

"It’s not our position to tell individuals how to pay for a settlement," an RIAA representative told Digital Music News. "It is our role to enforce our rights under the laws."

Hunt has since agreed to the six-month settlement plan offered by "Bowie." She’s raised over $500 dollars on her website through selling merch, holding raffles, and accepting donations. She’s also received an outpouring of support from independent labels. In reality, Hunt can consider herself lucky. Some are not as fortunate as her. You may recall the case of two bloggers who were arrested for distributing some pre-release tracks of a Ryan Adams record, Jacksonville City Nights. If the two men are convicted on counts of conspiracy and pre-release distribution, they could face substantial jail time. Their offense was particularly risky, because it violates a new provision of the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act (FECA). Publishing music or movies before their public release is now a federal crime.

"We commend Congress for giving prosecutors the tools they need to achieve swift and successful enforcement of this devastating form of piracy," RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol said in a statement available at RIAA.org. "The message here is clear: Significant crimes bring significant consequences."

While it’s likely that some sort of plea agreement will be reached in the Adams’ case, it’s safe to say that these gentlemen are being used as an example to scare off bloggers who aren’t in the good graces of the RIAA and major labels. Sure, major labels will give out free songs, but only in an environment they can control.

"I agree that those who commit copyright infringement, in any form, should be punished," adds Hunt. "But let the punishment fit the crime. Sharing a song is on the order of a traffic violation, not theft! As it stands, the law allows the RIAA to become the judge."

Hunt’s concerns certainly are not falling on deaf ears. On one hand, you have music bloggers who are admittedly given pre-release music by record labels on a regular basis. Then you have file-sharers on p2p networks. So it’s okay to download pre-release songs from "selected bloggers," but it’s illegal to share these same songs via a p2p service? You can’t have it both ways, RIAA. Until this hypocrisy is addressed, music fans will continue to be prosecuted and subject to scare tactics. Very often, these folks are sued with little in the way of conclusive evidence or any idea what they are being subpoenaed for. It’s been suggested that even having a shared folder puts you at risk for a lawsuit. If you can stand for that, fine. Maybe you’ll never get caught. But what if you do? Do you have $3,750 lying around? If so, I know someone that needs it.

* How can you be active on the digital front? Check out the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF), which currently has a number of efforts fighting for the rights of file-sharers. Also, like most causes, feel free to write your Congressman and tell them what you think about the copyright laws. *

Photo: Digg.com

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