Are You F&%#ing Kidding Me!?

As reported by the UK’s Register, Barack Obama’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has sided with the Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) in its lawsuit against a Massachusetts man accused of illegally downloading seven songs. He’s being fined $222,000 for DOWNLOADING SEVEN songs. What songs were they, lost demos of a supergroup of John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Cliff Burton and Keith Moon!? (Sorry, but when you google “dead bassist” the only results you get are Phil Lesh and Cliff Burton) At the risk of repeating myself, from this report, he’s being fined for downloading the songs, not posting them on a blog for the world to download for free.

I’m going to skip the obvious reactions- that the DOJ probably has Gitmo and other priorities it should be attending to, that in today’s economy $222,000 to some kid caught downloading is akin to $2,222,000 in normal economic climes. Instead let’s discuss the notion that the RIAA and DOJ going after kids downloading songs illegally is somehow going to deter others from doing the same, or in a larger sense this action will cure the music industry of its ails. When Napster hit the scene and was drawing 30MM uniques a day, I said then and I’ll say now that the record labels should have purchased it and turned it into the biggest music subscription service in the history of mankind. Instead they’re conducting open heart surgery on a splinter. They’re dropping the atom bomb on a roadside construction project. They’re invading Iraq when they should be tracking down Osama. Sheesh!