From the desk of...Ryan Taughrin

Downloading music on internet benefits artists

RYAN TAUGHRIN
Arts Editor

I wonder if the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was serious when it sued Russian download site allofmp3.com for $1.65 trillion in November 2006.

Did it expect a challenge when they filed a lawsuit against 87-year-old Hurricane Rita survivor Rhonda Crain in the summer of 2007 for downloading music through the KaZaa file sharing network?

I bet they really expected to get $250,000 for every song downloaded by 12-year-old Manhattan resident Brianna LaHara.

One of the biggest catalysts for problems surrounding music downloading and file sharing comes from the RIAA and its inability to properly analyze the changing trends in the music industry. RIAA states, "Its mission is to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes our members' creative and financial vitality."

If only the emotions and creativity that go into music could be encompassed within a single mission statement.

While I have analyzed and dissected the music industry in casual conversation and journalistic print, it has always been a challenge to take a definitive stance on the subject that has divided a multi-billion dollar industry.

Instead of giving an artist a little over 9 percent of the money they would receive when I purchase an album, I'm much more comfortable handing $10 for merchandise to the guitarist who just melted my face off at the end of their band's set; or the drummer whose stick I wrestled away from 35 other sweaty concert goers because he threw it into the crowd.

Call me crazy, but I just like getting rid of the middleman.

When I am at the Vans Warped Tour and Geoff Rickly, lead singer of New Jersey post-hardcore outfit Thursday demands that every single one of this fans go out and listen to their music by any means necessary because those "illegal" means have landed them such a loyal fan base, I cannot help but smile and agree.

Before the last song of his set at Water Street Music Hall in February 2007, Jack's Mannequin vocalist Andrew McMahon delivered similar sentiments. As McMahon announced the name of the last song, fans began cheering frantically. Since the track was one that the band never officially released, McMahon simply smiled and congratulated concert goers for utilizing illegal file sharing to help spread his creation across this planet, whether or not it was supposed to be available for distribution.

By this time, I imagine the RIAA is already rounding up my IP address and sending my service provider a letter informing me that I have broken a law under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

It feels like they need to screen the people they plan on targeting.

Unless, that is, this is all just a giant scare tactic.

Between the empty threats the above people have received and the recent leak of thousands of MediaDefender emails that have unveiled the shady and underhanded tactics being used by peer-to-peer protection agencies, it is becoming much easier to stand beside those who choose to download.

Whatever you want to call it, I know for a fact that I will do everything I can to scrape up $10, $15 or $20 to make sure I am in the front row at the show, screaming every single world of every single stolen song back at the artist who is thriving off of the people in the crowd connecting with him.

No definition of intellectual property will ever be able to contain the emotional or intellectual bond between musician and music fan. Ever.