The Recording Industry Association of America yesterday hired the director of the ATF to handle its own law-enforcement issues. Bradley Buckles, who headed the ATF for the past four years, will lead the RIAA’s Anti-Piracy Unit.
Just call it the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and File-Sharing.
“Brad’s appointment should signal to everyone that we continue to take piracy, here and throughout the world, very seriously,” said Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the RIAA.
Anti-RIAA activists were less charitable. Holmes Wilson, co-founder of Downhill Battle, a defense fund for music downloaders sued by the RIAA, said, “If they have the same success stopping downloading as the ATF had stopping illegal gun sales, I don’t think downloaders have anything to worry about.”
The RIAA isn’t the only media company bringing in the big . . . er, guns. Sources say that Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein has had conversations with former New York police chief Bernard Kerik about launching an investigation into movie piracy.
As of last week, the RIAA said it had reached monetary settlements with 220 users it had accused of copying and distributing digital music in violation of copyright law, with another 1,000 users voluntarily promising to refrain from such activities.
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