What portion of major record label gross income goes to pay artists and how much does the average American spend on music each year? A few years ago I heard that (1) the major record companies paid 4% of their income to the musicians, and that (2) the average American spent $20 a year on music. I've tried and failed to find these figures again. The first seems especially difficult to find (or maybe I'm just being dumb). There is plenty of information about what the average contract gives to the artist, but I'm not interested in that -- I'm looking for aggregated figures. Help? [more inside]
posted on Jul 9, 2008 - 8 answers

If I run an open wireless access point using DHCP, is there a way for anyone to identify which PC or device in the IP range is receiving or sending traffic? If I run a shared connection and someone does something unlawful, is it my problem or theirs? [more inside]
posted on Jul 2, 2008 - 18 answers

So which P2P networks garner the most RIAA lawsuits? The lawsuits are, of course, a sort of cloak and dagger affair, but isn't there some data on this kind of thing? [more inside]
posted on Jun 20, 2008 - 5 answers

How'd the RIAA become so powerful, yet so villified? Does anyone (I may have heard of) have anything *good* to say about the RIAA? [more inside]
posted on Apr 10, 2008 - 8 answers

I'm looking for a complete or brief history of downloading. [more inside]
posted on Feb 15, 2008 - 13 answers

It appears my sister is being sued by the RIAA. [more inside]
posted on Jan 11, 2008 - 32 answers

Has anyone ever been sued for downloading music? [more inside]
posted on Dec 31, 2007 - 25 answers

Help me figure out a good way to word my speech statement [more inside]
posted on Oct 18, 2007 - 14 answers

Downloading/Sharing vs. buying used CD’s…What’s the difference? [more inside]
posted on Oct 9, 2007 - 8 answers

My friend and I have amassed a large collection of live dj sets (e.g., think sven vath live from Ibiza). We were thinking of making this collection available to the public through a website where the sets could be downloaded free of charge. How wary of the RIAA should we be? [more inside]
posted on May 22, 2007 - 9 answers

Help me make sure that my money gets to Handsome Dick Manitoba: downloading vs buying music, and how to find out if an artist actually gets money from their own album sales? [more inside]
posted on May 22, 2007 - 32 answers

Is there a place to get the RIAA lawsuit summaries in plain english? [more inside]
posted on May 10, 2007 - 2 answers

Is using allofmp3 any more or less legal than downloading from an open server that lives somewhere under explicit RIAA coverage? What about an open server in Russia?
posted on Jan 17, 2007 - 19 answers

Has anyone written about what a world without (or with very limited) intellectual property rights would be like? Alternatively, are there other models for encouraging creativity without IP rights? [more inside]
posted on Jan 2, 2007 - 21 answers

So I'd like to start a site where people can submit/dl alternative album art for music. More inside? Yes, please. [more inside]
posted on Sep 27, 2006 - 9 answers

I own a copy of Tres Hombres by ZZ Top. I'd like to get it into mp3 format so that I can listen to it in the car, etc. The problem is that the copy I own is on a record. Assuming I download with bittorrent, and then the RIAA comes after me, can I use the defense that I actually already owned it, so downloading could not be considered criminal? Would it be different if I owned a record rather than a CD? In other words, can you legally download the mp3 of an album you already own?
posted on Aug 14, 2006 - 16 answers

Can ASCAP/BMI sue you or levy fees for original music not in their catalog? [more inside]
posted on Jul 12, 2006 - 7 answers

What are the most frank, telling criticisms of issues like RIAA/DRM/Music Industry that you've read before? [more inside]
posted on Apr 3, 2006 - 13 answers

Is this music download site legit? [more inside]
posted on Feb 14, 2006 - 17 answers

Has anyone tried to fight the RIAA and Movie Studios by arguing that copyrights can be interpreted laterally instead of just horizontally? [more inside]
posted on Apr 17, 2005 - 19 answers

(RIAA-filter) Concerning downloading copyrighted material, is the act of downloading illegal, or just possesion? If you download a song and delete it, are you stil culpable? Of what offense? And is intent a factor?
posted on Feb 12, 2005 - 18 answers

I know that the RIAA has sued users of certain P2P networks like Kazaa, with mixed results. I'd like to know if there are any other examples of companies or agencies suing individuals for alleged copyright infringement...(like maybe the MPAA going after people on BitTorrent or something.)
posted on Oct 31, 2004 - 5 answers

I've been thinking about the music industry lawsuits. They're based on the IP addresses of the 'uploaders', correct me if I'm wrong. If I live in a shared flat, and we share broadband via a router - how can anyone tell which PC is the evil lawbreaker?
posted on Oct 8, 2004 - 21 answers