first of all, internet prices tend to be cheaper than store prices in most cases. secondly, if you found a less expensive method and place to legally purchase your CDs, then why are you even complaining about the higher prices in the US?? just spread the word, and whenever enough people know about it, "supply and demand" will readjust the US prices to be more competitive on their own.

 

There (were) certain artists I will always buy.

Supply and Demand? The Demand has gone way down, now look what the RIAA is doing.

If everyone started to buy their CD's from canada, the RIAA will lobby congress to put a media Import tax and will jack the prices up again.

 

we consumers as a whole have greater power than the RIAA will ever have. if you feel so strongly against the RIAA's action, then find a way to convince as many consumers as you can to boycott purchasing music CDs.

 

the RIAA will do no such thing. they will continue to make their money no matter where you purchase your CDs. on the other hand, the US gov will definitely have a huge problem with that and may try to impose a tax like you mentioned, but this will be at no fault of the RIAA.

 

You're right VTEC_Junkie, RIAA is doing nothing wrong. Certainly nothing illegal. I just feel there's a better means to get to the end they are trying to achieve.

And I feel strongly enough about this that, well, if you make and sell CDs, and you are a member of the RIAA, you can forget about selling me that CD of yours.

 

Personal opinion to follow--

Stealing anything is wrong. If you buy the disc you have paid for it and the artist has recieved their $. What you do with it after that is your business. As I said JMO.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gomarlins3
[B]Personal opinion to follow--

Stealing anything is wrong.

 

personally, i don't think there is any better way. the bottom line is that as long as people do not feel that they will ever be held accountable for what they do, they will not refrain from doing it. what most people are failing to realize is that the RIAA is not trying to be the bad guy. they have expressed concern and emphasized that distributing music files over the internet without permission is illegal for years, yet people continue to ignore the issue and practice illegal distribution. ironically, the more public concern the RIAA expresses, the more popular illegal music file swapping has become. there are more files being traded during the heydays of kazaa than there ever was with napster. apparently, just telling people that they are doing something wrong does not deter them from doing so, so what other alternative is there but to hold people accountable for their wrongdoings?? the problem is not in the technology, because P2P can have other benefits other than merely trading copyrighted music, and such technology should not be banned just because users cannot control themselves from behaving illegally. instead, the problem is with the users and their insistence on ignoring and violating copyright laws.

as for your boycottig the members of the RIAA by not purchasing their CDs, remember the members of the RIAA are corporations, meaning you are not targeting any specific individual, but a large group of shareholders which may include your friends and family. also, keep in mind that these corporations employ thousands to millions of employees and that when people stop spending money on their CDs, jobs can also be affected. members of the RIAA are merely looking out for their interests, and those interests affect millions of people directly or indirectly that include individuals other than shareholders. the music corporations generate sales that support jobs and pay off investors. these earned money, in turn gets spent or invested by these individuals which ends up supporting other people's jobs and businesses, etc., etc. when illegal music swapping occur to the degree that it has in the past few years, i'm sure sales of CDs are affected to some extent (although there has been no proven figure). the less money people spend on CDs, the less money will be earned to support the employees and shareholders, and the less money they have to spend, which in turn affect other jobs in the economy. this is why it is so important that people spend money on things they use and enjoy instead of stealing them, because it does not only affect the profit of a certain business, but will have a ripple effect that affects other businesses in the economy as well--the economy that WE are all a part of...

 

can someone explain to me how they can catch someone using, for example, kazaa? please give me the details, i dont want to deal with these goons.

 

Anytime you connect to anything on the internet you connect using an IP address. this is a 4 number sequence, say 125.54.156.14. They can get this from you via Kazaa.

Taking that number's first 2 digits, will display your hosting provider. They have a court document saying this IP address connected at this time and the ISP's must give your information based on their logs.

Funny Story...

I used to run a web chat room, where this kid from the UK would come on and start stuff with everyone. I took his IP address and found out where it came from. He was from some Essex county or whatever school system. I gave them his IP address, the time he was on and the stuff he said. They emailed me back and said he was suspended for 2 weeks for violating their internet policy. He didn't do anything, I think he called me gay or something. I just wanted to see what would happen...