A pair of Nebraskans are about to pay the price for enjoying some ZZ Top and Bon Jovi courtesy of a bit of alleged Internet piracy.

Brian Moyer of Lincoln and Noel Sipes of Omaha have been sued by the Recording Industry Association of America for allegedly using their personal computers to illegally share dozens of music files, the RIAA said Thursday.

The association accuses Moyer, 6227 Colby St. in Lincoln, and Sipes, 4025 Frederick St. in Omaha, of pirating songs including Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal,” En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go” and Ben Harper’s “Steal My Kisses” — and now it’s demanding they stop.

The pair will either have to settle with the association or face costly court battles with the billion-dollar industry.

Neither Moyer nor Sipes could be reached for comment.

The lawsuits against them are just two of 63 in the latest batch rolled out by the RIAA. They come a week after the industry announced an increased effort to crack down on illegal file-sharing on college campuses, where the practice is especially widespread.

Three dozen unnamed University of Nebraska-Lincoln students are facing legal action for using UNL’s computer network to allegedly share music and movie files.

Now it seems the RIAA doesn’t want to let anyone off the hook. Moyer and Sipes are not college students.

“The vast majority of people are well aware this activity is illegal,” said RIAA spokeswoman Jenni Engebretsen. “We want them to know that there are indeed consequences.”

Testifying before a House Judiciary subcommittee on Thursday in Washington, D.C., RIAA President Cary Sherman promised that the lawsuits, although viewed as a last step by the industry, will continue.

“Our job has just begun,” Sherman said.

The RIAA is seeking unspecified damages from Moyer and Sipes. The lawsuits were filed in U.S. district courts in Lincoln and Omaha.

They are not the first Nebraskans to be sued over music piracy. In 2005, a UNL student settled with the association after being slapped with a lawsuit for allegedly downloading thousands of songs illegally.

Settlement amounts are not made public, but they generally reach $4,000 or more, much less than a court battle could cost.

Still, settling isn’t always the way to go, said San Francisco-based attorney Matt Zimmerman.

And the RIAA doesn’t always target the right people, said Zimmerman, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization that focuses on citizens’ rights in the digital world.

Sometimes people are punished because a friend downloaded music onto their computer, he said. Other times, the RIAA doesn’t correctly identify a computer owner.

“I’d say the RIAA has been successful in intimidating people into settling,” he said. “But you have more options than what the RIAA tells you.”

Anyone on the receiving end of an industry lawsuit should consult a lawyer before making a quick decision, he said.

Further, he called the RIAA’s ever-growing load of lawsuits “remarkably short-sighted.”

“They should be thinking of ways to make music more accessible, not punish people who clearly enjoy their product,” he said. “Suing your customer base to protect your product generally seems like a bad idea.

“It’s a very short-sighted way to cultivate business.”

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.