I personally think that their analysis was total bullshit. When I saw the ad, the message I got was that no matter what the RIAA's legal goon squad may do, it will not stop people from downloading music online. As an extra bonus, it allowed dozens of people persecuted by RIAA to get something back by way of fame and money (I assume all of the commercial's participants got paid, even if it wasn't as much as RIAA extorted from them).
As a long-time RIAA hater and unapologetic music downloader, I received nothing but a positive impression from the ad. It showed that even after RIAA did its worst to these people, they were still happily sitting around drinking Pepsi. That right there was a solid kick to the RIAA's fearsome image, and should only be applauded, IMHO.
As for the whole settled vs. prosecuted bit, I think that's just splitting hairs. They would have been prosecuted if they hadn't settled, because our legal system is solidly in the RIAA's pocket. The fact that this was brought to the forefront of the national conscience should also be applauded. No one likes big faceless agencies going after cute teenagers, and there isn't any stigma associated with being prosecuted for copyright infringement, last time I checked.
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kjpepper
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Date: 2004-02-11 05:15 pm (UTC)As a long-time RIAA hater and unapologetic music downloader, I received nothing but a positive impression from the ad. It showed that even after RIAA did its worst to these people, they were still happily sitting around drinking Pepsi. That right there was a solid kick to the RIAA's fearsome image, and should only be applauded, IMHO.
As for the whole settled vs. prosecuted bit, I think that's just splitting hairs. They would have been prosecuted if they hadn't settled, because our legal system is solidly in the RIAA's pocket. The fact that this was brought to the forefront of the national conscience should also be applauded. No one likes big faceless agencies going after cute teenagers, and there isn't any stigma associated with being prosecuted for copyright infringement, last time I checked.