Feds Want 6mos for Man Who Uploaded ‘Chinese Democracy’

Prosecutors and RIAA blame the leaked pre-release tracks for poor album sales, but even Axl Rose says defendant’s not to blame.

Federal prosecutors are seeking a six-month prison stint for Kevin Cogill over a misdemeanor charge for posting pre-release tracks from the new Guns N’ Roses album “Chinese Democracy” to his music blog Antiquiet,

“Making a pre-release work available to the worldwide public over the internet where it can be copied without limit is arguably one of the more insidious forms of copyright infringement,” writes prosecutor Craig H. Missakian in a court brief. “That is because once released it is virtually impossible to prevent unlimited dissemination of the work.”

The feds also calculated total copyright infringement damages of $371,622, which it based on estimates it made on how many times the tracks were illegally downloaded as a result of the leak (375,376) and then pegged at a 99 cent iTune’s download.

The RIAA estimated damages of more than $2.2 million based on a more aggressive calculation of a “$6.39 legitimate wholesale value” for all 9 tracks which it argues were downloaded about 350,000 times. It also “kindly” offers to reduce the amount to $30,000 if Cogill agrees to “participate in a public service announcement designed to educate the public that music piracy is illegal.”

For all the blame the RIAA and Guns and Roses may want to place on Cogill for reduced album sales or leaked tracks, isn’t the real crime here the fact that frontman Axl Rose dragged the album out for 14+ years?

“Rose was the only original band member to continue working on the album while the Guns N’ Roses band underwent additional artist changes, three different studio affiliations, and four band managers,” reminds Cogill’s defense attorney, David J.P. Kaloyanides, in a brief to the court.

He also points out that Axl Rose himself has said that Cogill is not to blame for poor album sales.

Kaloyanides continues:

Industry executives have blamed the album’s poor sales on Rose himself for failing to promote the album through videos, tours and interviews. Other insiders have attributed it to Best Buy, arguing that the retailer did little to promote its exclusive rights to sell the album. Rose has pointed the finger at Interscope Records and its CEO, Jimmy Iovine, for not putting enough support behind the album’s production and marketing. In an interview with the music news magazine Billboard, Rose expressed his opinion that Interscope and UMG had not approached the album seriously and did nothing to promote the album prior to its release.

Notably absent from any public discussion of the possible reasons for the album’s poor showing is any mention of the numerous leaks of the Chinese Democracy racks either by Mr. Cogill or any of the other leaks throughout the years.To the contrary, in the same Billboard interview, Axl Rose expressed that he did not believe that the album’s sales were harmed at all by Mr. Cogill’s actions.

Also left from the discussion is the reality that the album just plain sucks. I have yet to meet or hear from a person who either likes “Chinese Democracy” or has purchased a copy for themselves or as a gift for someone else.

Have you?

Cogill is scheduled to be sentenced May 4.

Stay tuned.

jared@zeropaid.com

Related Posts

1. Chinese Government Relaxes Its Total Ban on Wikipedia
2. Chinese tech buffs slake thirst for U.S. TV
3. News Corp. may start Chinese MySpace
4. Chinese Telecom Carriers Set to Block Skype
5. Music Sales Strong Despite Digital Piracy