Patience in a world of instant gratification

May 4, 2006 at 9:21 am by U2isABLE · Filed under In the News...

I was reminded today about how it’s becoming harder and harder for people to show some restraint and *wait* until an album release day.

Just saw that the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ new album, “Stadium Arcadium” has been leaked on the ‘net and that their representatives are in pursuit of who leaked it. As this is becoming more and more of a problem in the music industry, a new law is now in place to prohibit people to pirate new releases. Last year, Congress passed something called the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 where it states:

Any person who, without the authorization of the copyright owner, knowingly uses or attempts to use an audiovisual recording device to transmit or make a copy of a motion picture or other audiovisual work protected under title 17, or any part thereof, from a performance of such work in a motion picture
exhibition facility, shall - “(1) be imprisoned for not more than 3 years, fined under this title, or both; or “(2) if the offense is a second or subsequent offense, be imprisoned for no more than 6 years, fined under this title, or both.

In the RHCP’s case, it could mean upwards of 11 years in prison for the crime of leaking the music. The labels are now embedding in industry advance copies of the “for promotion only” discs information that will trace that disc back to the person mailed it. This has been a standard practice for a few years, and with U2’s release of “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” the label took great steps to be able to trace who was given a copy of it in advance.

It is well documented about U2’s struggles with music piracy prior to an album release for the past 15 years. For fans out there who can’t show patience and wait until it’s been officially released, be warned that it could (and quite possibly will) lead to jail time. Worse yet - you won’t be able to listen to the tunes in the slammer!

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