RIAA to sue file traders

The chief lobby group of the nation's major recording labels today said it is preparing hundreds of lawsuits against Internet users who illegally trade copyrighted music files......The first round of lawsuits will be prepared during the next eight to 10 weeks. They will ask for injunctions and monetary damages against file swappers, (RIAA President Cary) Sherman said.
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You can argue the propriety of fair use and file trading, if you want, but what fascinates me is the political cluelessness of broadbased lawsuits.

First, it turns otherwise law abiding citizens into criminals. Anyone who lives in a major city can buy bootlegged CD's. By attempting to sue average customers to scare them off of file trading, and we're talking a large percentage of the US population and maybe the majority of working adults, they set themselves up to be ambushed in Congress. What legislator is going to protect their right to control their property when they are going to drag in teenagers and unaware parents into expensive legal proceedings.
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The major labels are living in the past. They are clutching at straws while their comfy world explodes because they see their customers as marks and criminals and their customers are rebelling and going elsewhere. The musicians are rebelling, too.

Peter Gabriel
Summer 2003
The Encore Series

The Peter Gabriel Encore Series, a collection of authorized two-CD sets consisting of complete, unedited live recordings from PG's Summer 2003 U.S. tour.

Each concert will be recorded by Ben Findlay (Real World staff engineer) and released as a "limited edition" double-CD, professionally mastered and manufactured (not CD-R's) that will come in a gatefold package with exclusive artwork especially designed for the Encore Series by Real World. Each set costs $25 (plus S&H) and will ship approximately three weeks after the original show date.

As a special offer, The Encore Series is also allowing fans to purchase the entire set of 15 concerts for only $325! that's like getting two shows free! NOTE: Special Offers are shipped as full sets only!
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What is even more interesting is what Phish is doing...

LIVEPHISHDOWNLOADS

Phish Summer Tour is now available for pre-order.

Shows will be available for download within 48 hours of each performance.

Live Phish Downloads offers high quality, unedited soundboard recordings of select shows in standard MP3 and CD-quality FLAC files via a state-of-the-art delivery system. All download files are compatible with Windows, Mac and Unix, allowing for maximum flexibility and ease of use. Once downloaded, shows can be burned to disc, transferred to portable players, or played through your computer. Each show also comes with printable booklets, tray inlays, and labels if you elect to burn your files to CD.

Browse the show catalog to view the full list of offerings, including archive shows, recent Phish tours, and Trey Anastasio's recent spring tour. Be sure to register so you will be notified by email each time a new show is available for download.
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Phish is selling their 21 show summer concert series for $179.95. Single shows are $9.95 and they typically take up 3 CDs. Yesterday I bought and downloaded one of Trey's shows. It was only 2 CDs but it had a guest guitar player on two tracks of the first set and on the entire second set — Carlos Santana. Wow! And they ended the second set with Duke Ellington's Caravan and the encore was the Beastie Boys' Root Down.