Upon learning of the allegations against the student, the College had no choice but to refrain from assisting the accused. "The College's position is that this is a matter between the student and the recording industry," said Dean of Students Ben Lieber. "We were glad to give the student whatever advice we could but there was no way we could intervene to stop this from happening."
After spending his or her own time and money seeking an attorney, the student encountered a local alumnus who was eager and willing to represent his fellow Lord Jeff in the case. The litigation, which began on Nov. 29, has resulted in an average settlement cost of $4,000 per student.
The College hopes that everyone will learn a lesson from this student's dilemma. "I think that what [this litigation] suggests is that the recording industry is quite serious about going after people who do offer their copyrighted material on the Internet," said Lieber. "The financial consequences of doing so clearly are not trivial."
Students at the College expressed mixed feelings about the outcome of the recent settlement. "The industry has a right to sue people, but they are deceiving themselves if they think that is going to stop people from downloading music when it has been shown to not really have any effect," said Jared Anderson '08. "I don't see any practical way to solve the problem because no one can afford all the music they want. Unless the industry can find a way to make larger quantities of music more accessible at a cheaper cost this kind of thing is going to continue."
Emily Eisen '05 was interested in the companies' motives. "If anyone should sue people who allegedly 'steal' music by downloading it, it should be the individual artists who are not profiting from the distribution of their work, not these five major companies," she said. "Record companies don't appeal to a sense of intellectual property for the sake of the artist's work-they do it to protect their profits."
Eisen commented on changes in the music industry. "Marketing divisions have built up a culture that expects over-processed pop and equally manufactured stars, but I think it's interesting that a lot of people don't feel compelled for one reason or another to pay for this type of music," she said. "I'd bet the majority of songs that students download are of the 'hit-of-the-day' variety. So while I think it is important to discuss concepts of ownership when thinking about the distribution of digital music, I feel very little pity for the companies who are losing their financial hold on the music industry."
Some students believe that the benefits of online music are endless. A member of WAMH's e-board, Dan Reiss '05, witnessed the effects of the changing industry. "[My] impression first off is that over the last four years, seeing seven ... WAMH e-boards, the group of students that is able to be knowledgeable about music has expanded significantly," said Reiss.
The increase of music availability over the Internet has made involvement in the College's radio program more accessible for students. "I've noticed, unsurprisingly, a drop in the number of incoming DJs and students as a whole that have CD collections. It's almost unfashionable to have CDs anymore, is my sense" Reiss said.
Most students exhibited little sympathy for the corporations. "The fact that the student had to settle for almost $3,000 is ridiculous," said Phillip Boulay '07. Ding'An Fei '06 agreed. "I think it's totally okay to download music," he said. "And, to sue anyone, the companies had better sue everyone, because you can't just randomly pick someone and make them the scapegoat."
Reiss was disgusted by the recent litigation. "I think it reflects perfectly the behavior of a group that is having its monopoly challenged. Granted, the 'recording industry' is no single entity, but their behavior viz music sharing has them working closely together, enough that I am willing to call their behavior monopolistic," he said.