GNR Blogger Sentenced

As part of a plea deal Kevin Cogill was sentenced to a year’s probation, two months of home confinement and ordered to record a public service announcement on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America. As part of the sentence, Cogill must also present his computers for government inspections.

Cogill, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of copyright infringement, apologized for leaking the album Axl Rose spent more than 10 years recording.

“I never intended to hurt the artist,” Cogill told U.S. District Magistrate Judge Paul L. Abrams. “I intended to promote the artist because I’m a fan.”

Cogill posted the complete Chinese Democracy album on his blog, Antiquiet, in June 2008, months before the long-awaited effort was released, saying the tracks came from an unidentified source. Although Cogill did not make the tracks available for downloading, he did stream the music to his readers and was arrested by federal agents two months later.

Cogill is getting off easy. Shortly after his arrest he was facing a possible prison sentence of up to three years and a $250,000 fine for serving up GNR before its time, an action estimated to have resulted in approximately $371,000 in lost sales.

“It doesn’t help to educate the public of the importance of respecting copyright law when you become too heavy-handed with punishment,” defense attorney David Kaloyanides said.

Cogill will also have some say as to what he tells others in those RIAA public service announcements.

“You need to reach the fans,” Kaloyanides said. “He (Cogill) speaks their language.”