Woman charged $80,000 for each illegally downloaded song

The fight against illegal music downloads is back again. According to Times Online, the federal jury reached ordered Jammie Thomas-Rasset to pay $80,000 per song. She violated copyrights on a total of 24 songs using Kazaa, a peer to peer file sharing network.

Thomas-Rasset and her lawyer have not decided to repeal or pursue a settlement. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is willing to settle the case for $3,000 to $5,000. Thomas-Rasset is a single mom of four who works for an Indian tribe in Minnesota. She stated that she cannot afford to pay the total amount charged.

I'm puzzled as to how the music industry can charge an individual $80,000 per song. That is an obscene amount of money, and that's the last thing any single parent would want to face during a recession. For any organization to prosecute a charge, the calculated amount must be equal to the loss of revenue. The music industry claims that they have lost billions from illegal downloads.

Times Online states that in December, the RIAA decided that they will stop suing individuals who illegally downloaded music and instead push internet providers to take action. Apparently, there was a shift in strategy.

I was also wondering why Thomas-Rasset chose to use Kazaa, considering all of their legal ramblings. A lot of people currently use LimeWire, whose case is still pending in federal courts. Some music fans rather use the paid legal digital media service that all of us are familiar with- iTunes.

So, what should Thomas-Rasset do? She can choose to settle for a much smaller amount, or continue to appeal in which lawyer fees will add up. The big question is whether or not she actually engaged in sharing music. The RIAA stated that under Thomas-Rasset's email alias, several tracks where shared. Thomas-Rasset denies sharing any music.