more letters of support from you

More letters of support (and not) came pouring in today.   We want to thank you for continuing to freely share your thoughts and feelings.  And to everyone who has made a donation, we can assure you that all proceeds are going to cover our costs.

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I stumbled on your site just now through stumbleupon and have to say this is amazing.  I am so glad I caught this before the trial really got under way.  It is incredibly brave of you to stand up against the legal machine the RIAA has put together.  Know that you are not alone even though it may seem like it.  As little as it is, you have my full support which, for the moment pretty much consists of good wishes but that’s better than nothing right?  The RIAA’s disgusting practices drive me absolutely crazy (as any of my friends and family I’m sure will tell you).  The costs to us are high and the payment to the artists is low.
I love what bands such as Radiohead are doing with the donation style.
In all honesty, the RIAA’s actions are part of what has driven me to more indie bands (although I personally like the music better).
Seriously a call center for settlements?!  If that hasn’t convinced the public that this has gone too far, I don’t know what will.  Obviously you know all to well how wrong this is so I won’t go on my traditional rant here (yeah it has become a regular thing) and in the coming trial I wish you all the luck in the world.  I fully intend to make a donation as soon as I have something to spare.  Being a student, there’s more than one reason expensive music gives me problems :-).

Good luck!
-Andy

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…and whilst I’m no lawyer, you simply must prevent the RIAA from arguing in court that illegal downloads are costing the recording industry millions. It’s patently and demonstrably untrue. I mean we all know of the studies that show downloaders and filesharers actually spend more on music, I would think, in no small part due to filesharing. It’s nothing short of free advertising for the record companies. You download a couple of new tracks for free, you like it a lot, you buy the CD. You don’t like it so much you probably don’t listen to it again. Of course there are people who will only download and never buy anything themselves, but in of itself that’s not a problem and certainly not why record companies profits are down.

Put simply record company profits are down because the majority of it’s product is crap. If they want to point at reduced profits they should be looking at the turgid abortions that pass for modern day popular music. The endless stream of boy bands, 3rd rate rap acts and Reality TV winners. Meanwhile genuine musicians with actual song writing talent struggle to be heard above the cacophony of over-produced under-developed shite. Seeking to alienate their major support base is only going to drive the record companies further into the ground.

I hope you’ll get by, though I have a feeling you may struggle as of course, you have infringed copyright by filesharing. But isn’t it a little unjust for only a tiny minority of filesharers to be prosecuted in this way? Not that the US judicial system is in any way shape or form just of course.

Good luck

Ben Morgan

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Joel,
I just came across your story and just wanted to offer my support to you.  I saw this article that just came out today and maybe could be helpful in your case for siting some numbers of the music industry in the UK.

From Zeropaid.com July 27th, 2009  < http://www.zeropaid.com/news/86724/uk-music-economist-says-music-industry-revenue-up-4-7/
- Regards,
Alex

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Heard about this - I live in England… and I just wanted to say go guys! It’s so good to see some people fighting back instead of being bullied by the fat cats out there. Take it for the team and WIN WIN WIN - thinking of you from over the water x

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You and I do not always see eye-to-eye, but on this matter, we are agreed.  Not only should you win this case, but there should be legal recourse for you to go after the RIAA for maliciously dragging you into this law suit.  Unfortunately, I fear that your case is much stronger in the court of public opinion than in that of law.  It is a good thing that Prof. Nesson has taken the case.  The fourth amendment argument was a good one; it shows just how removed the legal system is from technology.

I wish the best to you and your family.

-David Greenberg

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It seems to me that you may be missing a very important defense. This has nothing to do with whether or not Joel pirated music or not. The fact is, his sharing of music does not represent a crime. In fact, this may be completely legal. Sharing a copyrighted work potentially represents fair use. This is determined by the person downloading the music. If they are simply downloading a CD which was chewed up by their dog, this represents fair use and is a violation of the law. If the person downloading the music is pirating a CD they don’t own, this represents theft (under present law.) As such, Joel is only liable for the music that he pirated (or what the music industry can prove that he pirated) at a rate of .99 cents per track or 9.99 per CD in accordance with current pricing. If he already owns any of those CDs, then he is not in violation of the law by downloading them. Since it cannot be determined how many copies were downloaded or even if they were downloaded illegally,  then there is not a even a proponderance of evidence to show that a crime was committed. Furthermore, should a theft have occured, it was not a crime committed by joel, but by the downloader. Joel should only be responsible for what he downloaded. If the recording industry wants to recoup their losses, they need to go after the downloaders, not the sharers. Crucifying joel and jammie in order to make a point is unfair, unethical, unconstitutional, and illegal.

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I’ve been following your case and just wanted to express my support. Hoping to donate a little bit once my paycheck comes at the end of the month.

What you are doing is so important, Joel. Best of luck, and many thanks for martyring yourself for the cause.

-Ethan

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Dear Joel and all of your legal team-

I greatly applaud you for the work you’re doing. As a musician myself, I know that Record Companies screw us out of a great deal of money, and the main source of revenue for us is from shows, not CDs. It’s impossible to make a decent living uness you’re selling shows out left and right. The record companies are the ones who make the money, and it’snot as if they need it all at this point. I know that other musicians I know, as well as myself, are more interested in getting people to come to their shows, it’s the better part of being a performer. The CDs are just a way to let people enjpy it between. I see no reason why you should be sued for such an exorbitant amount of money over a few songs when there are people out there who have half of iTunes on their various harddrives. I wish you luck, and I hope that this, along with other actions, will help reform the greedy record business. Lord knows the musicians wouldn’t be angry if they got more per CD to make it worth even trying to deal with a company.

Much Love and Wishing you Luck

Grace

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Joel, Charles, and everyone involved,

I want to thank you, Joel, for persevering through the troubling events leading up to this case; and I want to thank you, Charles and students, for having the kindness to reach out to Joel and the courage to stand against the RIAA. I hope that the case goes well, and that it sets in motion a revolution that changes how we think about digital media and intellectual property. I support you from afar, and I wish I could support you in court.

–
Colin Roberts
University of Michigan

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A case in Michigan was thrown out because Mediasentry was operating illegally (a court a ruled they could no longer investigate because they lacked a private investigator’s license) If they can rummage through Joel’s personal life in depositions, can’t you throw that in their face?

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