Quote:
Originally Posted by David Marseilles
Perhaps not one you'll like.
There's no question about the increase in awareness--even if someone wants to write off any info from the RIAA as propaganda (it is, but then so is almost all the info that wasn't from the RIAA -- not a lot of competent neutral sources in the music wars). RIAA foes thought suing grandma was a misstep, but it was a strategy. The more sympathetic the person sued, the more coverage each suit got. Since they could only sue a tiny percentage of infringers, they needed shocking coverage to achieve a chilling effect.
(snip).
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The stupidity of the average person doesn't shock me as much as it used to, yet I still find point 1 staggering. How is it possible that only 35% of people were aware it was illegal?
Bearing that in mind, do you not think, assuming point 3 is not a coincidence, that the industry could have achieved the increased awareness by gentler methods? Those lawsuits generated an awful lot of ill will, and at a time when there was already growing resentment toward big corporations.