Karaoke Forums

Just called this guy -

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/msg/4209494090.html

Asked about his discs and he has "about 600". Told him I would have to delete mot of the music from the system. When he asked why and I started to explain the piracy issue, he said "Oh, I know all about the lawsuits, but we don't worry about that over here in Spokane (WA). I stopped buying discs 10 years ago and have run all that time with no issues."

10 years of operating as a pirate. And he is probably right. Spokane, WA isn't really a high profile area, though I know for a fact there is a LOT of piracy there.

Location. Location. Location.

-Chris

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-Chris

6K for that stuff with stolen music is way high. Thank goodness he's throwing in a van.

So Chris, why not forward these type of ads to SC or DT? Surely going after someone like this would be easier than trying to catch a media-shifting KJ. The guy pretty much admits he stole all the karaoke, that's a pirate defined, right? Maybe Harrington Law will see this post and take action.

to what end? that has been done by many on here before and AFAIK not one has even been contacted let alone sued.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

Agreed, and as previously stated ad nauseum, those two companies have no interest in actually fighting priracy. The will grab a fee of some sort ( if the person is stupid enough to believe they actually have a case) and let them continue.

Ther is simply no agency to whom one can report piracy in hopes of curbing it. It bites, but it's a fact.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

There is an agency....a very big and well known one in fact.....that you can report piracy to -

The FBI's Intellectual Property Rights Center - http://www.iprcenter.gov/

Are you suggesting that the FBI also has no interest in fighting piracy?
Maybe it's a Sound Choice + FBI conspiracy to allow piracy to exist so Sound Choice can sue KJ's?

I am seriously beginning to question the intelligence of some folks on the forums.

-Chris

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-Chris

Since you brought this up in the first place, my question to you is this... Did you go ONLINE (to the link you just provided) and click on the tab that said REPORT IP CRIMES and report that CL Ad? If you did, I would be very curious to know if you got/get a response back from them, either asking for more information, or at least acknowledging your entry (and MAYBE even stating that it is under investigation (although I doubt that they could say something like that if there was an on-going investigation)).

been done, Bill Bene.
the end result is that the FBI only got hit for not paying taxes on his income from selling the illegal drives, not for making them or owning them or selling them.
it would be great to see them get hit, but unfortunately it won't happen.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

IMO. Let me repeat ... IMO. The F.B.I. could care less about "Johnny Download" and his torrent filled hard drive of karaoke tracks. It would cost more to investigate and get an actual warrant than the end result would be worth. (Sound familiar?) On the other hand, going after someone who sells pirated music & karaoke drives for big money is another thing. The ease involved of actually buying a drive to gather evidence would make a search warrant very easy to obtain. Then the double whammy, let's see your tax statements. Ever hear of the drug tax? They make drug dealers pay taxes on the drugs they've sold just like a pharmacist. http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/28/news/economy/illegal-income-tax/ So do you think Uncle Sam wouldn't want a piece of the change from your hard drive sales? I would : )

The "pirate" karaoke host, not the villainous "media shifter" mind you, who makes $150.00 a few times a week doesn't even register a blip on the F.B.I. radar. So ... report them all you want too. You can also report "Johnny Smoke a Joint" too because I'm sure they would love to chase nefarious heads while they're on their wild goose chase for the karaoke torrent hound.

Again, IMO, there are very few who care at all about karaoke pirates. The handful of real host who have taken the crusade upon themselves wouldn't total .001% of the U.S. population of 311,000,000. Ask Americans about health care and immigration and see what kind of response you get. Ask them about karaoke being pirated on the internet and if we should send the Feds after them on their tax dime and let me know what you find out.

Let's make the day after Thanksgiving the new National "Tell the F.B.I about a Neighborhood Karaoke Pirate Day" ... that should catch on like a Black Friday sale ... Argghhh ...

In the mean time, rest easy knowing you have Sound Choice & PR on your side. I'm off to download a few viruses so I'll have something to scan my drives for tomorrow instead of being stuck in line to buy a Chinese T.V. for $99.99 or getting a busy error on my goverment run F.B.I report a karaoke pirate page. I gotta feeling that thing is going to be worse than Healthcare.gov by tomorrow : )

Yes, I did. And yes, I have been reporting the folks that regularly sell hard drives on Craigslist. I have reported the iRC channels. I have never received any kind of confirmation or follow-up that it is being investigated. But I still report them.

-Chris

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-Chris

Chris,

Are you saying Harrington Law would not be interested in talking to this guy?

I can't speak for Mr. Harrington. I don't report much at all to the manufacturers any longer. They have their own agenda.

-Chris

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-Chris

You just answered your own question, Chris, and for the record, I reported pirates to them dating back to duped disc days-by phone- with the same result. Again, with everything from domestic terrorism and cartel driven drug iput to kidnappings, along with joint agency work regarding arms sales and counterfeiting todeal with, they just don't seem to put karaoke piracy way up there.

BTW- your councilmen/assemblymen hold the problem in equal esteem.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Bingo Chris their own agenda!

You are a businessman trying to promote and expand your business. The pirates are a major concern to you since they are an obstacle in the road to your goals. You obviously feel threatened by them, that is why you are so focused on the piracy problem.

The manus on the other hand have a completely different set of goals and means to solve their problems. Their biggest problem is how to recover money for stolen material. It is actually better for you to not report to the manus any longer. All you are doing is providing them with a customer list of potential clients, that once they pay up are going to be in direct competition with you. These new legal competitors will no longer have to hide in the shadows but directly compete with you with no fear. That is why it is foolish to look on these manus and their reps as anything but pushing their own interests. After all that is the side their bread is buttered on.

It seems to be a long process for some reason. Even with as aggressive as BMI seems to be you will read about people saying they thought they had gone away after they blew them off but then they got served TWO years later.

Chris, there may be some truth to Lone's thinking on that theory. However it does seem as though things have quieted considerably in the last year, and that has let the "real pirates" come out of the cracks again. They are a little bit like cockroaches that they say will survive a nuclear explosion. There will always be pirates. It's all about risk vs reward.

Were I to be so inclined, I wouldn't hesitate to crank up a pirate show in Myrtle Beach, SC, where I live now. There are at least 20 that I'm aware of and this area has never been swept by the manufacturers. I guess that's why they are so prominent here and when you talk to them about the possibilities, there is no fear of Sound Choice, I promise you.

That is the key mrmarog, the risk reward ratio not only for pirates but also for manus. The reason "things have quieted considerably in the last year", can be traced to the fact SC is not really winning in court. The bulk of their 1,000 plus wins have been out of court settlements or default judgements. Another reason for the recent legal low profile at least in SC's case has been their own legal problems concerning EMI and CAVS. If these corporate legal battles go against SC then that could put them out of business. Of course like other corporate roaches they could go into foreclosure and avoid paying legal awards and continue business as usual. The initials CB come to mind with that scenario.