LANSING -- One of the city's oldest music venues has learned a valuable lesson about internet access.

The lesson: Be careful who you share your wireless password with. 

Cyber security hit home for Mac's last week when a 3-inch thick package with about 500 letters was placed in front of its doorstep by a mail carrier. 

"I thought it was a new router, DVR box or new remotes for the TV," said Scott Bell, who books shows at the venue. 

    It wasn't. 

    Inside were letters that Bell said were typed on what appeared to be Comcast letterhead and had New Jersey addresses. 

    The letters said someone downloaded about 500 rap songs illegally using Mac's wireless internet access. 

    All but about 10 letters named songs from discography of the Memphis group Three 6 Mafia, Bell said.

    The rest, Bell said, named songs from Nashville rapper Young Buck's 2004 album "Straight Out of Cashville."

    Michelle Gilbert, a Comcast spokesperson, confirmed Tuesday night that letters were sent to Mac's by Comcast because owners of songs notified the company of copyright infringement.

    "We have an obligation to share the information with our customers because it went over our network," Gilbert said. 


    If more copyright infringement occurs, Comcast would be required under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to terminate Mac's Bar's internet service, Gilbert said. 

    Bell said he's convinced someone or a group of people illegally downloaded rap songs using Mac's wireless access. 

    He suspects the songs were snatched on Feb. 16 during a concert at Mac's. 

    Someone working the show, either a DJ or sound engineer, created an online "drop box" with the songs and apparently forgot to protect it with a password, Bell said. 

    Once someone noticed the stash of free music online, a downloading frenzy began, Bell said.

    "I don't think it takes much," Bell said of the music thefts. "It may have been one or several people sharing it." 

    Mac's staff hasn't heard from Comcast since it received the letters on Friday. They haven't heard from the rappers who made the music or their management either.

    It's business as usual at a building with a drinking and music history that dates back to the early 1900s.  

    The only difference is there's a new wireless password and fewer people allowed to know what it is. 



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