Canada's leading music label helps family fight RIAA lawsuit

January 28, 2006

When one has the unfortunate of being hit by an RIAA lawsuit, they either face settling it for a several thousand dollar fee or face court, which can cost them a lot more. Well, one Texas teenager is actually getting the help of Canada's leading privately owned record label, Nettwerk Music Group to help fight his case! The label represents several top Canadian artists such as Avril Lavigne, Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan and unlike the leading US record labels, this label is not only against copy-protection systems, but is totally against the RIAA's campaign of suing music fans.

According to the Nettwerk CEO, suing music fans is actually causing the problem of lost sales since it is deterring artist creativity as well as the music business. So, to show how strongly Nettwerk is against the RIAA's activity, they will help the family fight the case and should the family lose the case, Nettwerk will pay off all legal fees and fines such that the family will have nothing to lose.

As the lawsuits continue, the file sharing level has remained the same over the past two years; however more & more Canadian artists are either going against legal action or asking for alternative methods. While the record labels in Canada are looking to limit DRM usage and avoid legal action, they are still working out a way of addressing the file sharing issue. Thanks to DamnedIfIknow, kalas and RTV71 who all let us know about the following news:

Nettwerk Music Group, Canada's leading privately owned record label (and a label that refuses to use copy-controls), has taken the remarkable step of joining the fight against the RIAA's strategy of lawsuits against alleged file sharers. The company, which represents some of Canada's top artists including Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne, and Barenaked Ladies, has intervened in a lawsuit against a Texas teenager. The RIAA claimed thousands in damages based on alleged downloads, including Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi."

Nettwerk CEO Terry McBride says in response:

"Suing music fans is not the solution, it's the problem. Litigation is not 'artist development.' Litigation is a deterrent to creativity and passion and it is hurting the business I love. The current actions of the RIAA are not in my artists' best interests."

Nettwerk Music Group has agreed to pay the total expense of all legal fees as well as any fines should the family lose the case against the RIAA.

The full article can be read here.

It will be interesting to see how well the case goes with the Canadian music label actually helping the victim fight his case. For the RIAA, this case will be against them regardless of whether they win or lose, since the victim has nothing to lose besides the time spent in court. However, as the Canadian Nettwerk Music Group will cover the fines and legal fees, there is a good chance that a higher fine may be imposed, since the RIAA can potentially sue for up to a maximum of $150,000 per song in damages!

kalas wrote: Seems to be interresting and hopefully something positive. DamnedIfIknow added: Wow.....yup that says it all.

Feel free to discuss and find out more about the legal issues of file sharing on our Music Download, Peer to Peer (P2P) & Legal Issues forum.

Source: Michael Geist