HACKENSACK, N.J. -- It all began with a few Madonna songs.

Every so often, Alison Horbach logged on to KaZaA, the popular music-sharing network, and sifted through its thousands of tracks, downloading free music onto blank CDs. The 25-year-old Weehawken, N.J., construction worker didn’t think she was doing anything wrong, because she wasn’t selling the songs to others.

But like hundreds of users of KaZaA and other sites, the 500 or so files that Horbach downloaded for free ended up costing her a couple thousand dollars.

Horbach was one of 85 New Jersey residents-- among nearly 4,000 people nationwide -- ensnared by the recording industry’s crackdown on Internet music swapping.

Nearly a year after record labels began their legal campaign, a clearer picture is emerging of their targets. Some, such as Horbach, say they didn’t know they were breaking the law. One defendant contends he is a victim of mistaken identity. Yet another has chosen to fight back.

Most, however, have decided to settle. Of the New Jersey residents targeted, 40 have paid varying sums to record companies and promised to stop downloading and making music available to others online.

Many of the settlements remain secret because they were reached before the record companies filed suit against those involved. But among those cases entered in court records, New Jersey residents paid between $1,000 and $5,400.


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