Student sued by recording industry in Mass. music downloading case testifies

Student testifies in Mass. music downloading case

BOSTON — A Boston University graduate student accused of illegally swapping music online has admitted downloading and sharing hundreds of songs.

Joel Tenenbaum, who is from Providence, R.I., took the stand Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston. The case is only the nation’s second music-downloading case against an individual to go to trial.

A lawyer for four major recording labels questioned Tenenbaum about songs he downloaded using the Kazaa file-sharing network. Tenenbaum acknowledged downloading songs from various artists, including Nirvana, Green Day and The Smashing Pumpkins.

Tenenbaum’s lawyer, Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson, has said Tenenbaum “was a kid who did what kids do” and should not be harshly penalized for advances in technology that he says recording companies have been slow to adapt to.