Capitol v. Thomas
Encyclopedia
Capitol v. Thomas was the first file-sharing
copyright infringement
lawsuit
in the United States
brought by major record labels to be tried before a jury. The defendant, Jammie Thomas-Rasset, was found liable
in a 2007 trial for infringing 24 songs and ordered to pay $
222,000 in statutory damages
. The court later granted her motion for a new trial because of an error in its jury instructions
. In a second trial in 2009, a jury again found against Thomas-Rasset, this time awarding $1,920,000 in statutory damages, a sum that was later reduced to $54,000. The record labels refused to accept the reduced award, so a third trial solely to determine damages was held in November 2010, resulting in a jury award of $1.5 million against Thomas-Rasset. In July 2011, the court again reduced the $1.5 million jury award to $54,000, or $2,250 per song. The record labels have indicated that they plan to appeal this decision.
mother of four from Brainerd, Minnesota
, and works as a natural resources coordinator for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians
.
The RIAA sent Thomas a cease-and-desist letter and settlement offer in August 2005. Thomas refused to settle, and was sued on April 19, 2006 by several major record labels for copyright infringement by unauthorized downloading and sharing of 24 sound recordings on Kazaa
under the username "TEREASTARR@KaZaA". The labels' complaint alleged that Thomas infringed copyright on February 21, 2005, downloading and distributing songs by such bands as Aerosmith
, Green Day
, and Guns N' Roses
. Rather than seeking actual damages, the plaintiffs sought relief via statutory damages
, assessed in accordance with 17 USC 92 § 504(c)(2).
and was presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. Davis. Thomas was represented by Minneapolis attorney Brian Toder. The plaintiffs alleged that on February 21, 2005, Jammie Thomas shared a total of 1,702 tracks online; however, plaintiffs sought relief for only 24 of these.
Thomas contended that she was not the person behind the "tereastarr" account and denied having downloaded any files. During the trial, her lawyer suggested her computer could have been under the control of people elsewhere due to "a spoof, a zombie or some other type of hack". Juror Michael Hegg later commented, "She's a liar." A hard drive containing the copyrighted songs was never presented at the trial, though Thomas did turn over a hard drive that referenced neither Kazaa nor the infringing files to the plaintiffs' attorneys.
The jury was instructed that merely "making available" sufficed to constitute an infringement of the plaintiffs' distribution right, even without proof of any actual distribution. The issue of whether copyright infringement required actual distribution was raised by the defense during examination of Sony BMG's head of litigation on the first day of trial, but the court sustained the plaintiffs' objection and did not permit the topic to be revisited until jury instructions were prepared just before the trial's conclusion. Despite disagreement from the defense, the court proceeded to interpret "making available" as distribution for purposes of instructing the jury.
On October 4, 2007, after 5 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict finding her liable for willful infringement, and awarded statutory damages in the amount of $9,250 for each of the 24 songs to total $222,000.
In May 2009, during preparation for the retrial, Brian Toder stepped down as Thomas-Rasset's lawyer. Thomas-Rasset then accepted Joe Sibley and Kiwi Camara
's offer to defend her pro bono.
The retrial was held on June 15, 2009 under the updated case name Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset. In this trial, the jury was instructed to find the owners' copyrights were infringed provided the ownership claims were valid and provided there was an infringement of either the reproduction right (via Thomas-Rasset "downloading copyrighted sound recordings on a peer-to-peer network, without license from the copyright owners") or the distribution right (via Thomas-Rasset "distributing copyrighted sound recordings to other users on a peer-to-peer network, without license from the copyright owners"). For each song reproduced or distributed, the infringement had to be assessed as willful or non-willful, and damages assessed accordingly. The jury was not allowed to be specific about which rights (distribution or reproduction) were infringed, and the judge did not attempt to define distribution in the second trial.
After 5 hours of deliberation on June 18, the jury found Thomas-Rasset liable for willful copyright infringement of all the songs in question, and awarded the plaintiffs statutory damages of $1.92 million ($80,000 per song, out of an allowed range of $750 to $150,000).
should have been inadmissible because it was collected in violation of state private investigator and wiretap statutes. The motion called for either a retrial with that evidence suppressed, a reduction of damages to the statutory minimum ($750 per song; $18,000 total), or a removal of statutory damages altogether.
The following January, Judge Davis reduced the amount of the damages to $54,000 under the common law
doctrine of remittitur
, characterizing the original damages as "monstrous and shocking."
A few days later, the plaintiffs proposed a $25,000 settlement to Thomas-Rasset. She declined. The plaintiffs then rejected the damage reduction ordered by the judge. Because of the parties' failure to reach a settlement, on June 18 the court appointed a special master
to facilitate negotiations.
For this trial, the jury was instructed that the issues of the defendant's liability and willfulness had been determined by a previous jury, and in determining the damage amounts, it "may consider the willfulness of the defendant's conduct, the defendant's innocence, the defendant’s continuation of infringement after notice or knowledge of the copyright or in reckless disregard of the copyright, the effect of the defendant’s prior or concurrent copyright infringement activity, whether profit or gain was established, the value of the copyright, the need to deter this defendant and other potential infringers, and any mitigating circumstances." The amounts were to be assessed within the statutory range of $750 to $150,000 per song. On November 4, 2010, a jury in Minneapolis decided that the amount should be $62,500 per song, for a total award to the plaintiffs of $1.5 million.
A month later, Thomas-Rasset's attorneys requested that the court reduce the award to either zero or an amount the court believes is constitutional
, arguing that the Due Process Clause
had been violated because the plaintiffs hadn't proven that the defendant, specifically, had caused them any actual harm, only that file sharing, in general, had.
In July 2011, the court ruled that the $1.5 million award was "so severe and oppressive as to be wholly disproportioned to the offense and obviously unreasonable." The court again reduced the jury award to $54,000, or $2,250 per song. The record labels filed for appeal in the Eighth Circuit
on August 22.
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
brought by major record labels to be tried before a jury. The defendant, Jammie Thomas-Rasset, was found liable
Legal liability
Legal liability is the legal bound obligation to pay debts.* In law a person is said to be legally liable when they are financially and legally responsible for something. Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law. See Strict liability. Under English law, with the passing of the Theft...
in a 2007 trial for infringing 24 songs and ordered to pay $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
222,000 in statutory damages
Statutory damages
Statutory damages are a damage award in civil law, in which the amount awarded is stipulated within the statute rather than being calculated based on the degree of harm to the plaintiff. Lawmakers will provide for statutory damages for acts in which it is difficult to determine a precise value of...
. The court later granted her motion for a new trial because of an error in its jury instructions
Jury instructions
Jury instructions are the set of legal rules that jurors should follow when the jury is deciding a civil or criminal case. Jury instructions are given to the jury by the jury instructor, who usually reads them aloud to the jury...
. In a second trial in 2009, a jury again found against Thomas-Rasset, this time awarding $1,920,000 in statutory damages, a sum that was later reduced to $54,000. The record labels refused to accept the reduced award, so a third trial solely to determine damages was held in November 2010, resulting in a jury award of $1.5 million against Thomas-Rasset. In July 2011, the court again reduced the $1.5 million jury award to $54,000, or $2,250 per song. The record labels have indicated that they plan to appeal this decision.
Background
Jammie Thomas (born 1977), now Jammie Thomas-Rasset, is a Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
mother of four from Brainerd, Minnesota
Brainerd, Minnesota
Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County and one of the largest cities in Central Minnesota...
, and works as a natural resources coordinator for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe , also known as the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians or the Mille Lacs Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, is an Ojibwa tribe located in Minnesota. The tribe boasts 3,942 tribal members as of July, 2007...
.
The RIAA sent Thomas a cease-and-desist letter and settlement offer in August 2005. Thomas refused to settle, and was sued on April 19, 2006 by several major record labels for copyright infringement by unauthorized downloading and sharing of 24 sound recordings on Kazaa
Kazaa
Kazaa Media Desktop started as a peer-to-peer file sharing application using the FastTrack protocol licensed by Joltid Ltd. and operated as Kazaa by Sharman Networks...
under the username "TEREASTARR@KaZaA". The labels' complaint alleged that Thomas infringed copyright on February 21, 2005, downloading and distributing songs by such bands as Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
, and Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
. Rather than seeking actual damages, the plaintiffs sought relief via statutory damages
Statutory damages for copyright infringement
Statutory damages for copyright infringement are available under some countries' copyright laws.The charges allow copyright holders, who succeed with claims of infringement, to receive an amount of compensation per work...
, assessed in accordance with 17 USC 92 § 504(c)(2).
Timeline
| Event | Date | Finding | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st civil jury trial, U.S. District Court (MN) United States District Court for the District of Minnesota The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Minnesota. Its two primary courthouses are in Minneapolis and Saint Paul... |
04 Oct 2007 | Liable | Statutory damages of $222,000 ($9,250/song). |
| 2nd civil jury trial, U.S. District Court (MN) | 15–18 Jun 2009 | Liable | Statutory damages of $1,920,000 ($80,000/song). |
| Remittitur Remittitur A remittitur is a ruling by a judge lowering the amount of damages granted by a jury in a civil case. Usually, this is because the amount awarded exceeded the amount demanded... by Chief Judge Michael J. Davis Michael J. Davis Michael James Davis is an American lawyer and United States federal judge. He has sat on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota since 1994.-Early life, education, and career:... |
22 Jan 2010 | n/a | Statutory damages reduced to $54,000 ($2,250/song). The plaintiffs rejected this adjustment. |
| 3rd civil jury trial (damages only), U.S. District Court (MN) | 02–04 Nov 2010 | n/a | Statutory damages of $1,500,000 ($62,500/song). |
| Damages reduced to "constitutional maximum" | 22 Jul 2011 | n/a | Statutory damages reduced to $54,000 ($2,250/song). |
First trial
The first trial against Thomas was held in Duluth, MinnesotaDuluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
and was presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. Davis. Thomas was represented by Minneapolis attorney Brian Toder. The plaintiffs alleged that on February 21, 2005, Jammie Thomas shared a total of 1,702 tracks online; however, plaintiffs sought relief for only 24 of these.
Thomas contended that she was not the person behind the "tereastarr" account and denied having downloaded any files. During the trial, her lawyer suggested her computer could have been under the control of people elsewhere due to "a spoof, a zombie or some other type of hack". Juror Michael Hegg later commented, "She's a liar." A hard drive containing the copyrighted songs was never presented at the trial, though Thomas did turn over a hard drive that referenced neither Kazaa nor the infringing files to the plaintiffs' attorneys.
The jury was instructed that merely "making available" sufficed to constitute an infringement of the plaintiffs' distribution right, even without proof of any actual distribution. The issue of whether copyright infringement required actual distribution was raised by the defense during examination of Sony BMG's head of litigation on the first day of trial, but the court sustained the plaintiffs' objection and did not permit the topic to be revisited until jury instructions were prepared just before the trial's conclusion. Despite disagreement from the defense, the court proceeded to interpret "making available" as distribution for purposes of instructing the jury.
On October 4, 2007, after 5 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict finding her liable for willful infringement, and awarded statutory damages in the amount of $9,250 for each of the 24 songs to total $222,000.
Retrial
The judge in Thomas' trial then ordered a retrial because recent case law cast doubt on the theory of "making available" as sufficient for infringement. The retrial found Thomas-Rasset liable for willful copyright infringement, and awarded plaintiffs damages of $1.92 million.In May 2009, during preparation for the retrial, Brian Toder stepped down as Thomas-Rasset's lawyer. Thomas-Rasset then accepted Joe Sibley and Kiwi Camara
Kiwi Camara
Kiwi Alejandro Danao Camara , also known as K.A.D. Camara, is a Filipino American attorney. In 2001, he became the youngest person to matriculate at Harvard Law School, from which he graduated magna cum laude in 2004. He was also involved in a racial controversy at the school that attracted...
's offer to defend her pro bono.
The retrial was held on June 15, 2009 under the updated case name Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset. In this trial, the jury was instructed to find the owners' copyrights were infringed provided the ownership claims were valid and provided there was an infringement of either the reproduction right (via Thomas-Rasset "downloading copyrighted sound recordings on a peer-to-peer network, without license from the copyright owners") or the distribution right (via Thomas-Rasset "distributing copyrighted sound recordings to other users on a peer-to-peer network, without license from the copyright owners"). For each song reproduced or distributed, the infringement had to be assessed as willful or non-willful, and damages assessed accordingly. The jury was not allowed to be specific about which rights (distribution or reproduction) were infringed, and the judge did not attempt to define distribution in the second trial.
After 5 hours of deliberation on June 18, the jury found Thomas-Rasset liable for willful copyright infringement of all the songs in question, and awarded the plaintiffs statutory damages of $1.92 million ($80,000 per song, out of an allowed range of $750 to $150,000).
Motion for injunction
On July 6, 2009, the plaintiffs filed a motion asking for an injunction against Thomas-Rasset that would require her to destroy all infringing sound recordings on her computer and desist from any further infringement of their copyrights. Their motion claims trial evidence established that Thomas-Rasset "was distributing 1,702 sound recordings ... to millions of other users," and that the plaintiffs would face "great and irreparable harm" were she to continue to infringe upon their copyrights.Reduction of damages and settlement offer
Also on July 6, 2009, Thomas-Rasset filed a motion asserting the statutory damage award was so disproportionate to actual damages as to be unconstitutional, and announcing her intention to appeal two prior court orders permitting the plaintiffs to present certain evidence at trial. The evidence in question included allegedly incomplete and therefore inadmissible copyright registrations, and Thomas-Rasset claimed that evidence collected by MediaSentryMediaSentry
MediaSentry was a United States company that provided services to the music recording, motion picture, television, and software industries for locating and identifying IP addresses that are engaged in the use of online networks to share material in a manner said organizations claim is in violation...
should have been inadmissible because it was collected in violation of state private investigator and wiretap statutes. The motion called for either a retrial with that evidence suppressed, a reduction of damages to the statutory minimum ($750 per song; $18,000 total), or a removal of statutory damages altogether.
The following January, Judge Davis reduced the amount of the damages to $54,000 under the common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
doctrine of remittitur
Remittitur
A remittitur is a ruling by a judge lowering the amount of damages granted by a jury in a civil case. Usually, this is because the amount awarded exceeded the amount demanded...
, characterizing the original damages as "monstrous and shocking."
A few days later, the plaintiffs proposed a $25,000 settlement to Thomas-Rasset. She declined. The plaintiffs then rejected the damage reduction ordered by the judge. Because of the parties' failure to reach a settlement, on June 18 the court appointed a special master
Special master
In law, a special master is an authority appointed by a judge to make sure that judicial orders are actually followed.In England, at common law, there were "Masters in Chancery," who acted in aid of the Equity Courts. There were also "Masters in Lunacy," who conducted inquiries of the same nature...
to facilitate negotiations.
Third trial
After unsuccessful negotiations, a third trial to re-determine the amount of damages was set for October 4, 2010, later rescheduled to November 1, 2010.For this trial, the jury was instructed that the issues of the defendant's liability and willfulness had been determined by a previous jury, and in determining the damage amounts, it "may consider the willfulness of the defendant's conduct, the defendant's innocence, the defendant’s continuation of infringement after notice or knowledge of the copyright or in reckless disregard of the copyright, the effect of the defendant’s prior or concurrent copyright infringement activity, whether profit or gain was established, the value of the copyright, the need to deter this defendant and other potential infringers, and any mitigating circumstances." The amounts were to be assessed within the statutory range of $750 to $150,000 per song. On November 4, 2010, a jury in Minneapolis decided that the amount should be $62,500 per song, for a total award to the plaintiffs of $1.5 million.
A month later, Thomas-Rasset's attorneys requested that the court reduce the award to either zero or an amount the court believes is constitutional
Constitutionality
Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...
, arguing that the Due Process Clause
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
had been violated because the plaintiffs hadn't proven that the defendant, specifically, had caused them any actual harm, only that file sharing, in general, had.
In July 2011, the court ruled that the $1.5 million award was "so severe and oppressive as to be wholly disproportioned to the offense and obviously unreasonable." The court again reduced the jury award to $54,000, or $2,250 per song. The record labels filed for appeal in the Eighth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Arkansas* Western District of Arkansas...
on August 22.
The 24 songs
| Artist/Band | Song | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Aerosmith Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many... |
"Cryin' Cryin' "Cryin" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Taylor Rhodes. It was released by Geffen Records in October 1993 as a single from their April release, Get a Grip. The song features a music video with Alicia Silverstone.-Chart... " |
1993 |
| Bryan Adams Bryan Adams Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written... |
"Somebody" | 1984 |
| Def Leppard Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell... |
"Pour Some Sugar on Me Pour Some Sugar on Me "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It reached number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100... " |
1988 |
| Destiny’s Child | "Bills, Bills, Bills Bills, Bills, Bills "Bills, Bills, Bills" is a 1999 hit single by Destiny's Child, released as the first single from their second album The Writing's on the Wall. It echoed the female empowerment sentiments of TLC's single "No Scrubs", and featured the same producer and songwriter... " |
1999 |
| Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those... |
"Rhythm Is Gonna Get You Rhythm Is Gonna Get You "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" is a song written by Enrique Garcia and Gloria Estefan, and released by Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine in 1987 as the lead single from the album Let it Loose .... " |
1987 |
| Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those... |
"Here We Are" | 1989 |
| Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those... |
"Coming Out of the Dark Coming Out of the Dark "Coming Out of the Dark" is a single by American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan. It was released in 1991 worldwide as the leading and first single of the album Into the Light, becoming the singer’s third number one in the U.S.-Song history:... " |
1991 |
| Goo Goo Dolls Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are a Grammy-nominated American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik and vocalist and bass guitarist Robby Takac. Since the end of 1994, Mike Malinin has been the band's drummer, a position previously held by George Tutuska... |
"Iris" | 1998 |
| Green Day Green Day Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool... |
"Basket Case Basket Case (song) "Basket Case" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the third single from their third album, Dookie. The song spent five weeks at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart.Rolling Stone Readers ranked it No... " |
1994 |
| Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album... |
"Welcome to the Jungle Welcome to the Jungle "Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on its 1987 debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction. It was released as the band's second single on October 3, 1987, and reached number #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number #24 on the UK Singles Chart... " |
1987 |
| Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album... |
"November Rain November Rain "November Rain" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, written by lead singer Axl Rose and released as a single in June 1992. It appears on the album Use Your Illusion I. The music video for this song was also released in 1992, and won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography... " |
1992 |
| Janet Jackson Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years... |
"Let's Wait Awhile Let's Wait Awhile "Let's Wait Awhile" is the fifth single from Janet Jackson's third studio album, Control . It was written by Jackson, and the Flyte Tyme duo, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It was produced by Jackson, Jam and Lewis... " |
1987 |
| Journey Journey (band) Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded... |
"Don't Stop Believin' Don't Stop Believin' "Don't Stop Believin is a popular song by the American rock band Journey, originally released as a single from their 1981 album Escape, which became a #9 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 on its original release. It re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 2009 as a result of increased prominence of digital... " |
1981 |
| Journey Journey (band) Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded... |
"Faithfully Faithfully (song) "Faithfully" is a popular song and power ballad by the band Journey, and the second single from their album Frontiers. It was written by Neal Schon, Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving the band their second consecutive top twenty hit from Frontiers... " |
1983 |
| Linkin Park Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries... |
"One Step Closer One Step Closer (Linkin Park song) "One Step Closer" is a song by the American rock band Linkin Park. It was released as the first single and second track of their debut album, Hybrid Theory. This song is also featured in the game Rock Band 2.... " |
2000 |
| No Doubt No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact... |
"Different People" | 1995 |
| No Doubt No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact... |
"Bathwater Bathwater "Bathwater" is a ska punk song written by Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, and Gwen Stefani for No Doubt's fourth studio album Return of Saturn . It was released as the album's fourth and final single on November 14, 2000.-Background and writing:... " |
2000 |
| No Doubt No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact... |
"Hella Good Hella Good "Hella Good" is a song written by Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, and The Neptunes for No Doubt's fifth studio album Rock Steady . The song draws influence from electro, rock, and funk music... " |
2001 |
| Reba McEntire Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma... |
"One Honest Heart If You See Him If You See Him is the twenty-fourth album, released in 1998 by American country music artist Reba McEntire. The lead single was "If You See Him/If You See Her", a duet with Brooks & Dunn, which was concurrently released on Brooks & Dunn's corresponding album If You See Her; the song reached Number... " |
1998 |
| Richard Marx Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard"... |
"Now and Forever Now and Forever (Richard Marx song) "Now and Forever" is the title of a 1994 song written, produced and performed by the American singer-songwriter Richard Marx... " |
1994 |
| Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four... |
"Possession" | 1993 |
| Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four... |
"Building a Mystery Building a Mystery "Building a Mystery" is a song by Sarah McLachlan, from her multi-platinum album Surfacing, first released in 1997. At a live performance, Sarah explains the song as being "basically about the fact that we all..... " |
1998 |
| Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop... |
"Run Baby Run Run Baby Run (Sheryl Crow song) "Run Baby Run" is a 1995 single by singer Sheryl Crow from the album Tuesday Night Music Club released by A&M Records. It was originally released as a first European single from the album both in 1993 and 1994. It failed to chart in 1993 but it reached a no... " |
1993 |
| Vanessa Williams Vanessa L. Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine... |
"Save the Best for Last Save the Best for Last "Save the Best for Last" is a 1992 single written by Phil Galdston, Wendy Waldman and Jon Lind in March 1989. It is considered Vanessa Williams' signature song. The lyrics' redemptive themes resonated with Williams' story, as she had put together a successful recording career following her earlier... " |
1992 |
See also
- Trade group efforts against file sharingTrade group efforts against file sharingImpact of illegal downloading on the film industryArts and media industry trade groups such as the Recording Industry Association of America and Motion Picture Association of America strongly oppose and attempt to prevent copyright infringement through file sharing...
- Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. TenenbaumSony BMG Music Entertainment v. TenenbaumSony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum is the subsequent appeals lawsuit following the initial case Sony BMG v. Tenenbaum decided on 31 July 2009 by the Massachusetts District Court. The initial court decision stated Joel Tenenbaum was to pay a sum of $675,000 for damages on counts of willful...