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The RIAA v. The People: Four Years Later
August 31, 2007
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It was another crazy week in the news media.
Among other things, the "Queen of Mean," Leona Hemsley, passed away and left $12 million to her dog in her will. Miss Teen South Carolina, Lauren Caitlin Upton, became the latest real-life blonde joke. Democrat presidential candidate, John Edwards, said Americans should be willing to give up their SUVs to drive more fuel-efficient vehicles--and then proceeded to get into his Cadillac SRX Crossover SUV in Iowa.
While those and other stories making the rounds this past week on cable TV and the Internet were amusing, there was a 25-page report released this week by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) titled 'The RIAA v. The People: Four Years Later," which should be read by all industry professionals. It's a sobering and well-documented report. (You can read the entire report at: http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/riaa_at_four.pdf )
The report opens with the following: "On September 8, 2003, the recording industry sued 261 music fans for sharing songs on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks, kicking off an unprecedented campaign against its own customers. Four years later, the recording industry has filed, settled, or threatened, legal actions against 20,000 individuals. The targets are not commercial copyright pirates. They are children, grandparents, single mothers, college professors -- a random assortment of the tens of millions of American music fans using P2P networks. The industry shows no signs of slowing its lawsuit campaign, with members of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filing hundreds of lawsuits each month, including most recently, 400 per month targeted at college students.
The lawsuits, however, are not working. Today downloading from P2P networks is more popular than ever, despite the widespread public awareness of the lawsuits. At the same time, the lawsuit campaign has enriched only lawyers, rather than compensating artists for file-sharing. One thing has become clear: Suing music fans is no answer to the P2P dilemma."
I've talked repeatedly here in the newsletter over the past five years about the RIAA's wasting precious industry time and resources by filing these lawsuits, but it sure is rewarding to see such a well-researched report mirror almost everything I've said. In my opinion, any industry executive who does not read the report is derelict in his or her duties.
After reading the report, one can't help but ask how the industry let it all go this far? Why didn't somebody at some label somewhere stop and look at the data and ask, "What the hell are we doing?"
The EEF even offers a suggestion as to what to do now. They suggest forming a voluntary collective licensing regime that would fairly compensate artists and rights holders for P2P file-sharing, and they explain how it could be done. It's all in the report, and it all makes good business sense. If you read it and think otherwise, drop me an e-mail and explain why. But remember, there is no way of eliminating file-sharing and downloading. If you think otherwise, do you have a better idea?
This report should also again cause label executives to wonder exactly what the RIAA is doing in general to serve the industry's best interests. It's clear, now more than ever, that the costs of filing and pursuing these lawsuits is simply not justifiable. The $600,000+ in lobbying costs for the first six months of the year are also very questionable.
Sure, there will be many label professionals that will argue the EEF's research is skewed to serve their advocacy in preserving free speech rights such as those protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in the context of today's digital age.
But the EEF doesn't promote "getting something for nothing." They are just more rational and logical than the RIAA and many label executives in addressing the matters at hand.
The ball is now in the court on the RIAA and labels' side.
Peter Gabriel Finds A Way to Avoid Record Companies: Go Where the Money Is
A boutique investment firm in London has found an unlikely new business idea: releasing comeback albums for artists that major labels may not longer be lusting after. The Wall Street Journal profiles venture capitalists Ingenious Media PLC, which has so far invested between $400,000 and $2 million per album to finance 15 records by acts like UB40, the Prodigy and Peter Gabriel (who invested his own money in the fund).
Read more about it by clicking here.
Separating Fact From Fiction On Digital Copyrights
Maura Corbett, a spokeswoman for the Digital Freedom Campaign and a partner at Qorvis Communications, says copyright law wasn't intended to serve as a stick for rights holders to wield against the freedom of information.
Read more about it by clicking here.
BBC Unearths Fresh Dylan Footage
LONDON - The BBC is to screen previously unseen footage of classic Bob Dylan solo performances from the '60s in a new 80-minute documentary. The material will be shown as part of the U.K. preem of much anticipated Bob Dylan docu, "The Other Side of The Mirror -- Dylan at Newport."
"The Other Side of the Mirror" is due to air on BBC 4 Oct. 14 -- and will form the lynchpin of a themed night dedicated to Dylan and the Newport Folk Festival produced by award-winning arts documentary strand "Arena."
Read more about it by clicking here.
CD Baby Offers DRM-free Digital Downloads
Here's a great way for independent musicians to sell their recordings. For a one-time fee of $35 per album, it will set up both mail-order distribution (which costs $4 per CD) and digital distribution through all the major music stores, including iTunes (for which it takes 9 percent of what the store gives its artists, which is usually about 60% of the list price).
Read more about it by clicking here.
Russian Music Download Site To Reopen
Russian music download site Allofmp3.com has said it will resume business soon, after a Moscow court ruled its operation is in accordance with Russian law. No music is currently on sale, but a statement on the website says business will begin shortly, with enhanced payment procedures and a larger selection of music.
Read more about it by clicking here.
YouTube Signs Royalties Deal With U.K. Songwriters
YouTube has reached a deal with a British licensing organization that collects royalties on behalf of 50,000 composers, songwriters and publishers. At a press conference Wednesday in London, the MCPS-PRS Alliance, which represents creators of more than 10 million pieces of music, announced a deal that lets people who use Google's video-sharing site incorporate recorded music legally into videos.
Read more about it by clicking here.
PC Magazine's Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites
Everyone has their web standbys -- the sites they go to automatically for news, shopping, networking, whatever. But what's better than discovering a new, under-the-radar resource that blows those old favorites out of the water? These 100 sites -- which offer the best in reference, entertainment, blogs, web apps, and more -- are all bookmark-worthy. Check 'em all out, and you'll keep going back for more.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Column: The Seven Computing Wonders of the World
There are things all over the globe that inspire awe in everyone who sees them. We gaze in wonder at things that seem too good to be true. The same thing can be said of the computing world; there are contraptions and devices that we herald and gawk over endlessly. In his weekly column, PC Magazine editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff runs down the seven greatest computing wonders.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Record Store Raids Rattle Hip-hop Fans
Copyright issues endanger future of popular mixtapes.
Local DJ Jeff Newlin knew the recording industry was cracking down on illegal "mixtape" CDs. There have been highly publicized raids in cities such as New York and Atlanta over the past two years in which DJs and record store clerks were arrested and tens of thousands of CDs were seized.
This month, the counterfeiting raids reached Nashville, when Metro police seized more than $21,500 worth of CDs and DVDs from two Nashville record stores, Platinum Bound and Key 2 Music.
The Recording Industry Association of America and other industry groups have put intense focus in recent years on illegal downloading of pirated music and movies, with efforts including lawsuits and arrests. While mixtapes fall under the same laws regarding copyright infringement, they're in a grayer area ethically and artistically.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Review Roundup: Cheap MP3 Players 101
All budget MP3 players are not created equal. Each device has its own special appeal that the others don't share. It's easy to pick and choose who wins the award for "Most Popular," "Best Dressed" and a host of other awards. But who takes home what prize among the Apple iPod shuffle, Sansa Express, Creative Zen Stone, and their other bite-size competitors?
Read more about it by clicking here.
NEW APPLES HEADING TO MARKET
Apple is expected to introduce new iPods this coming week with more video functions. Stay tuned.
HOW "GREAT" THE BAND WILL ACTUALLY BE REMAINS TO BE SEEN
Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik, percussionist Sheila E. and Aussie TV personality Ian "Dicko" Dickson have been tapped as the judges for Fox's "American Idol" spin-off, "The Next Great American Band."
CLASSIC REMAKE
Keanu Reeves has signed on to star in 20th Century Fox's remake of 1951sci-fi classic 'The Day The Earth Stood Still,' Variety reports. And if you've seen the original, then you know the magic words are "Klaatu, Barada, Nikto."
WINEHOUSE TROUBLES
After postponing her tour indefinitely earlier this month, Amy Winehouse has now canceled all of her upcoming U.S. appearances, including a performance at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 9.
CONGRATS TO
Queen guitarist and songwriter Brian May, who was awarded a doctorate -- and not just a celeb-friendly honorary one -- in astrophysics from London's Imperial College Thursday, three full decades after he dropped out of school to join a band with a bloke named Freddie Mercury.
ON THE ROAD
Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello are teaming up for a 13-date tour of the East Coast, kicking off Sept. 22 in Duluth, Georgia, and wrapping up Oct. 9 in Rochester, NY.
BIGGER BANG BUCKS
According to Pollstar data, the Rolling Stones' "Bigger Bang" tour drew 2.2 million people and generated around $300 million.
GET WELL WISHES TO
Bo Diddley, who was reported in stable condition at a Florida hospital after suffering a heart attack, his publicist said Tuesday.
CSI: VIENNA
Viennese forensic expert Christian Reiter, applying CSI-like methods to strands of Beethoven's hair, said his analysis (published last week in the Beethoven Journal) shows that in the final months of the composer's life, lead concentrations in his body spiked every time he was treated by his doctor, Andreas Wawruch, for fluid inside the abdomen. Those lethal doses permeated Beethoven's ailing liver, ultimately killing him.
SIRIUS SERIOUS ABOUT THE DEAD
A new Sirius Satellite radio channel devoted exclusively to the Grateful Dead debuts Sept. 7 with the broadcast of a rare 1974 performance by the band at the Hollywood Bowl, the company announced Wednesday. "This is gonna be one fun channel," guitarist Bob Weir said in announcing the station.
MARLEY ESTATE SAYS NO
A company owned by the family of the late Bob Marley said Thursday that it will sue Universal Music Group and Verizon Wireless for using the reggae icon's name, likeness and image without permission to promote a new set of Marley-inspired ringtones.
CMA INFO
George Strait and Brad Paisley led the field in nominations for the Country Music Association Awards Thursday with five nods apiece, including dueling nominations for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year. Kenny Chesney, Alison Krauss and Martina McBride earned four nominations each, while Carrie Underwood, John Rich and Keith Urban racked up three apiece. The awards will be handed out Nov. 7.
THE NFL HAS FAITH
Faith Hill will sing the opening theme to NBC's Sunday Night Football before each game this season, the network announced Wednesday. The self-proclaimed Tennessee Titans fan takes over the job from Pink, who performed "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" last season.
Quotes of the week
"I am not going to apologize for my subjective opinion. It is Keith (Richards) who should apologize. After all, it costs around 1,000 kronor ($145) to see a rock star who can hardly handle the (guitar) riff to 'Brown Sugar' any more."
-- Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet's music writer Markus Larsson in the web edition, responding to a complaint letter Keith Richards wrote to the paper in regards to Larsson's mediocre review of the Rolling Stones concert there."I liked the addictions. I'm not going to lie about it. But I got in too deep. I probably would've died if I hadn't stopped."
-- Kelsey Grammer, on his self-destructive past, to Parade. Everybody liked (and likes) the addictions, Kelsey, but it's good to hear someone come out and actually admit it."It's just a nasty rumor. Everything's fine."
-- Carey Hart, on reports that his marriage to musician Pink is on the rocks, to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. No offense, Carey, but the world at large doesn't care one way or another."I didn't do anything wrong. I wasn't expecting [the question]. I lost my train of thought."
-- Lauren Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina Teen USA, whose mangled and incoherent (and unintentionally hysterical) response to a pageant question has become an Internet sensation on YouTube and elsewhere. (If you haven't already seen the video, you can watch it here) When asked about the reason why some Americans could not locate the U.S. on a world map, Lauren replied, "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps." And to further prove our nation is dumbing down, Lauren ended the pageant as third runner-up."I'm scared because it's a room full of actors who probably hate me."
-- Ryan Seacrest, joking on his KIIS-FM morning show about hosting the Emmy Awards. Probably true, Ryan. But a key reason they probably hate you is because that with your radio show, "American Idol" host gig, E! Television contract, you make more than 99% of the people there.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
USA Today Crossword Puzzle Grants False Sense Of Intelligence
DES MOINES, IA-Forty-five minutes after sitting down with a cup of coffee and the USA Today crossword, local window fashions salesman Tom Dolan completed the puzzle's last three open squares and was filled with a sense of intellectual accomplishment.
Read the rest and laugh here: http://tinyurl.com/3yco42.
The Blogs
Check out a great blog (that I contribute commentary to) by Jerry Del Colliano, the Director Executive Programs, Clinical Professor Music Industry & Recording Arts, at the Thornton School of Music,University of Southern California, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com.
Box Office
Check The Daily & Weekly Box Office (and more film info) at: www.boxofficemojo.com.
TinyURL
Check out www.tinyurl.com where you can make a smaller URL that will work for any webpage you wish to link to or reference. (As you can see, I'm using it in my news stories above!)
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