IP Democracy: RIAA Tries to Inject "Songlifter" into P2P Lexicon

Courtesy of Techdirt, this lame effort by the RIAA to coin a new phrase that attempts to equate unauthorized music sharing with, er, shoplifting. Regarding the recent round of lawsuits against 750 individuals for unauthorized file-sharing, Cary Sherman, head of RIAA said in a statement

Prosecuting songlifting [emphasis added] is integral to helping protect the ability of record companies to invest in the up-and-coming bands of tomorrow and level the playing field for legal online services. The illegal downloading of music is just as wrong as shoplifting from a local store. It’s against the law, and breaking the law must carry consequences.

Songlifter? That actually sounds kind of pleasant. This is one attempt to reframe the debate that I hope falls flat.

I hope the RIAA picks a less wussy coinage to characterize the organized file-sharing ring busted by the Feds yesterday. TheJustice Department filed suit against against three members of the “Apocalypse Crew” warez (organized trafficking in copyrighted music) group.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on March 1, 2006 9:50 AM to IP Democracy