Support for the College Four

The College Four settled with the RIAA for between $12.5-17K each – they could use some help paying it off:

At least one of the students is happy to oblige the potential donors. On Tuesday, Jordan added a PayPal link to his website, ChewPlastic, so supporters can help pay the $12,000 he owes the RIAA.

“I have gotten many requests that I put up a donation link on my site to help cover some of the $12,000,” the site reads. “I want to thank everyone for their generosity.”

Jordan also complained about the terms of the agreement.

“If the RIAA thinks that this is only a minor setback for me, they are greatly mistaken,” he wrote on his site. “I hope that they enjoy the new fax machine (or whatever they plan to spend it on), because the artists they supposedly represent will certainly never see a dime of it.”

….Still, just how much money the four students will be able to collect from their online supporters is an open question. In a recent example, people shelled out thousands of dollars to help one woman get out of credit card debt.

Jordan was unavailable to comment on how much he has collected.

Students at Michigan Tech set up a website called Free Joe where visitors can buy hats and T-shirts to show support for Nievelt, but none of the money will go to the settlement, according to the website.

“I’ve had two people offer personally to help out,” said Nievelt, who must pay the RIAA $15,000. “Other than that, no one’s really been getting in touch with me personally.”

“Obviously, it’s a lot of money and I’m going to have a difficult time paying it,” Nievelt said. But, he added, “It’s nice having it done with. It’s better than having to go to court.”

“There’s been a lot of support for his position,” said Nievelt’s lawyer, Tom Lewry of Brooks & Kushman in Southfield, Michigan. “But that’s not always easy to turn into financial support.” [Wired]

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