Limewire shutdown its popular file-sharing software in October after a federal court ruled against it for copyright violation. The company continued to run a legitimate digital music store, selling music from small, independent labels. It has decided to shut that service down as well, though the reasons are unclear.

Peter Kafka at MediaMemo thinks the decision is an attempt to shore up some cash against the impending January court ruling to determine how much Limewire owes the record labels listed in the October suit. It’s strange though, since Limewire had been talking up its service just months ago.

In any case, it’s a bummer. I’m sure a lot of people will be sad to see Limewire, both legitimate and otherwise, go.

You may remember the story of a grad student last summer who, after a bout with the RIAA, was served a $670,000 fine for illegally downloading 30 songs. A judge ruled this past week to reduce that penalty by 90 percent, all the way down to $67,000. Unfortunately, the student says, that fine is just as unpayable as the first.

The judge did say the new fine was still “severe, even harsh,” to which the RIAA gave its usual “profound economic and artistic harm” defense. Regardless of where you stand on the moral points of the story, I think it’s fair to say that making a spectacle of one individual to scare off the masses isn’t the best use of our judicial system. Piracy is still a huge deal, but when I see the lifestyle most musicians lead, I’m less inclined to give a shit when they get ripped off a couple times. We’ve heard time and time again that tours are where artists can really make some money.

For the RIAA, here’s a thought: find a new way to monetize your options. There are, I dunno, a billion ways you can make cash that won’t piss off the people who love the music you supposedly protect. Find a way to work the free market. Create a convenient and comprehensive streaming service. Do something, anything but cry foul when the internet finds a way to distribute media for free. It will happen for the rest of your lives. Get around it.

Nicholas Chartier, the producer of 2009’s Hurt Locker, has been notoriously outspoken against file sharing. The production company behind the film, Voltage Pictures, has fired up a lawsuit against some 50,000 people who downloaded the movie illegally. But Chartier doesn’t want to stop with them. He wants their kids in jail so that these filesharing types learn their lesson.

He recently responded to an email from a Boing Boing reader who said he would boycott films from Chatier and Voltage Pictures because of the suit with this:

Hi Nicholas, please feel free to leave your house open every time you go out and please tell your family to do so, please invite people in the streets to come in and take things from you, not to make money out of it by reselling it but just to use it for themselves and help themselves. If you think it’s normal they take my work for free, I’m sure you will give away all your furniture and possessions and your family will do the same. I can also send you my bank account information since apparently you work for free and your family too so since you have so much money you should give it away… I actually like to pay my employees, my family, my bank for their work and like to get paid for my work. I’m glad you’re a moron who believes stealing is right. I hope your family and your kids end up in jail one day for stealing so maybe they can be taught the difference. Until then, keep being stupid, you’re doing that very well. And please do not download, rent, or pay for my movies, I actually like smart and more important HONEST people to watch my films.

best regards,
Nicolas Chartier
Voltage Pictures, LLC

You totally aren’t throwing gasoline on the fire there Chartier. Yes, I’d imagine your fan base will grow by the hundreds of thousands after reading this. I mean, how could they not respect such a balanced and well-said argument as this. Surely, everyone thinks a murderer’s children should hit the ol’ shock chair right along with him, right? We can’t have murderous offspring running around can we? No, we most certainly can not.

What a jackass.