RIAA, ISP, partnership: ‘returns for both’
p2pnet news view | RIAA News:- The RIAA and Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG just don’t get it.
They’re DONE! Finished.
It started when they started suing kids and their parents, the people who kept them fat and happy. But now it’s all over because instead of realising there’s still time to to mend fences by acknowledging their customers as reasonable and responsible people who’ll do the right thing, given half a chance, the labels are continuing to treat them like dirt.
Six years after starting their Lawsuits of Mass Destruction,the Big 4 say they’ve switched directions. But they’re not opening up their catalogues, lowering their wholesale rates and starting to talk with the music lovers of the 21st digital century and the people innovating in the fields of P2P distribution.
Rather, they think they’ve found a new way to screw their customers.
Get the ISPs do the dirty work.
How about this for pure cheese »»»
During this past summer, we began discussions with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who suggested that now was the time to take our practice of last resort – lawsuits – and replace that form of deterrence with productive engagement by the ISP community in the form of graduated response programs.
That’s RIAA Mitch ‘Mr Smooth’ Bainwol, quoted by The Flat Hat, the College of William and Mary’s student newspaper, in a supposedly informative post which might have been written by the RIAA itself.
“Replace that form of deterrence with productive engagement.”
So what does it mean, exactly?
Not a thing. Nothing. Nada. It’s just more RIAA BS.
But in ‘Why RIAA, ISP cooperation may deliver returns for both sides,’ Larry Dignan, ZDNet editor in chief (right), reckons it’s win-win all around.
Laying it on “bandwidth hogs,” the fictional entities created from whole cloth by the major providers to justify traffic throttling [also read censorship], “So what’s in it for the ISPs?” – he asks in a ZDNet OpEd, going on »»»
My hunch is that ISPs will get some sort of cut of any music partnerships. But the real payoff comes from forcing mass downloaders – the folks that eat up all the bandwidth – to go elsewhere. The ISPs want to be careful about outright booting customers, but they surely won’t mind nudging bandwidth hogs to drop service.
Here’s a scenario:
1. Mr. Downloadeverymovieandsong guy is identified as someone who is swiping songs illegally.
2. The RIAA is happy to stop him. But so are the ISPs. ISPs hate bandwidth hogs–that’s why some are flirting with bandwidth caps.
3. The ISP and the RIAA serves notice to Mr. Downloadeverymovieandsong guy.
4. Mr. Downloadeverymovieandsong guy gets angry. He blogs. He forms a Twitter coalition. And as a protest move he goes to another ISP, say Comcast to Verizon.
5. Well guess what? Comcast is stoked that Mr. Downloadeverymovieandsong guy is gone. He was screwing up the broadband pipe anyway. And double bonus if this guy goes to a rival.
6. The return on investment from booting Mr. Downloadeverymovieandsong guy is clear: Comcast can use that capacity on a user that provides better profit margins.Given that scenario the ISPs partnered with the RIAA come out as winners. Sure, there may be bad press, but nudging bandwidth hogs off an ISP’s network is worth it. ISPs are making a good trade: Profit margin in exchange for a little grief from customers they don’t want anyway. That’s a pretty good deal.
Now you know. 
Jon Newton – p2pnet
[The pic on the right is from a story in The Inquisitr slugged, This can’t end well but for whom is still an open question.]
January , 2009e
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January 30th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Wait till the mobile broadband gets a hold and becomes more popular, then we can all fuck these morons (IISP’s) off, forever.
As for RIAA NOBODY wants your music at YOUR prices anymore, so get real.
January 30th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Being as my Comcast account was suspended last week for “unusual amount of activity” (and we got it turned back on in 24 hours), I can not wait for this to hit the courts. If I could afford it, I would be one of the ones to do it.
This is totally unfair business practice. They give a cap, but no way to measure it. It is like saying that the car of your engine will blow up from excessive use if you drive over 750 miles in a week, but then don’t give you an odometer. 750 may seem like a lot, and even if you know you don’t drive that far, you are going to drive less because you have no idea on how far you really are driving.
Switching is no option, because there isn’t anything better out there. They are a virtual monopoly and yet again, the consumers get screwed.