Twenty One Pilots Fans Facing Prison Time? Why Jail Is Unlikely ... - Hollywood Take

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Could Twenty One Pilots fans go to prison over the "Heathens" leak? Earlier this week, Atlantic Records filed a motion asking Reddit for the IP address of the person who leaked the song before its release. And news of this potential lawsuit has the Skeleton Clique worried they could also get arrested for downloading the song illegally.

So could the Skeleton Clique face jail time? The Recording Industry Association of America website states, "Making unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings is against the law and may subject you to civil and criminal liability. A civil lawsuit could hold you responsible for thousands of dollars in damages. Criminal charges may leave you with a felony record, accompanied by up to five years of jail time and fines up to $250,000."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THE 'HEATHENS' LEAK

The site also states, "It’s never okay to download unauthorized music from pirate sites (web or FTP) or peer-to-peer systems, such as BitTorrent."

Watch the video for "Heathens" below.

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Still, as of now, Atlantic is only going after the person who leaked "Heathens," not the fans who downloaded it before its release. But even if Atlantic does try to arrest the Skelton Clique, the fans are more likely to be punished with a fine rather than jail time.

Most of those sued by the RIAA for copyright infringement  have accepted settlements for several thousand dollars. But a few people named have decided to take the RIAA to trial.

In 2007, Jammie Thomas-Rasset was found guilty of illegally downloading and sharing 24 songs. She was initially ordered to pay $222,000 in damages, but that decision was thrown out because the judge failed to properly instruct the jury.

In a retrial, RIAA was awarded $1.92 million in damages, about $80,000 per song. But a court of appeals later reinstated the $222,000 verdict. In another high-profile case, student Joel Tenenbaum was ordered to pay the RIAA $675,000 for illegally downloading  and sharing 30 songs.

Atlantic Records is trying to determine who leaked Twenty One Pilots' "Heathens" before its scheduled release (Photo: Splash News).

The person who leaked "Heathens," however, could face more serious legal consequences. Back in 2009, Kevin Cogill pled guilty to copyright infringement for leaking part of the Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy. He did avoid jail time, but he was sentenced to two months of home confinement and a year of probation. More recently, Adi Lederman was sentenced to 14 months in jail for hacking into Madonna's computer system and leaking demos from her album Rebel Heart.

What do you think of "Heathens"? Let us know your take in the comments section below!

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