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The RIAA's 'New Rules'?
February 24, 2006
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"The record companies, my clients, have said, for some time now, and it's been on their website for some time now, that it's perfectly lawful to take a CD that you've purchased, upload it onto your computer, put it onto your iPod."
-- Music Industry Attorney Don Verrilli to the Supreme Court last year. (Source: Click Here )
After the Supreme Court decision in the MGM vs. Grokster case last year, the one thing most everybody assumed (and rightly so based in part by the words of Mr. Verrilli above) was that while the court considered downloading files for free illegal on P2P sites, we could all still burn our own CDs, put songs onto our iPods (and other digital storage devices; but with 40 million plus iPods sold, that battle is really over, isn't it?), our computers, and not have to worry if we were breaking any laws.
Well, I guess we assumed wrong. According to this post, 'RIAA Says Ripping CDs To Your iPod is NOT Fair Use' on the Electronic Frontier Foundation website: (http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004409.php)
"As part of the on-going DMCA rule-making proceedings (http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004212.php), the RIAA and other copyright industry associations submitted a filing that included this gem as part of their argument that space-shifting and format-shifting do not count as noninfringing uses, even when you are talking about making copies of your own CDs: "Nor does the fact that permission to make a copy in particular circumstances is often or even routinely granted, necessarily establish that the copying is a fair use when the copyright owner withholds that authorization. In this regard, the statement attributed to counsel for copyright owners in the MGM v. Grokster case is simply a statement about authorization, not about fair use."
Of course this announcement will be contested vigorously by a host of legal groups, and consumers will surely laugh at to what new definition constitutes "fair use" of copyrights. Maybe it's time to remake The Beatles 'Yellow Submarine' film, but this time the Blue Meanies will be the RIAA, DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) people and they can shoot arrows (more legal briefs) into Pepperland to kill the music.
Some will say it seems ridiculous to have to talk about such a serious subject as copyrights and artists' being fairly compensated for their creative work in a such a manner, but it is equally as ridiculous for the RIAA and other organizations to try and redefine what they said just a short time ago in language that was very clear and understood by all.
There's a whole lot more about the DMCA you should know about it and I recommend you spend some time at www.anti-dmca.org regardless of what side of the fence you're on because the issue is not at all one that can be viewed in black and white. Just spending a little time at the site will have you shaking your head and saying "What?!" out loud.
Technology never sleeps (possible new Neil Young album title?), and while SO much is going on all around us (just see some of the news stories below!), maybe it's time the RIAA and other organizations get on board the last train to Clarksville.
New Rule (With apologies to Bill Maher): If you work for the RIAA or some other organization that is trying to change the definitions of what constitutes "fair use," use the same words when pulling out your credit card and paying for that alleged "business lunch" you're having and see if the words are applicable when you submit your expense report.
THE SALES PICTURE
Sales for the week were down 1% from last year. Year-to-date album sales are down 2.3% units versus same period in '05.
Good news: Digital album sales are up 147.6% versus '05, while digital track download sales are up 109.5% units from last year.
Internet Technology Spawns A Surprise New TV Player: Radio
A COMPANY CALLED ISEERADIO IS previewing a technology at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville that allows radio stations to broadcast live as well as on-demand video to iSeeRadio's "customizable media player," which uses IPTV technology to deliver the video. According to an iSeeRadio press release, average viewing time among customers using the media player is 70 minutes a day, with broadcasts dominated by in-studio video of popular DJs and celebrity guests.
Of course, the programs also include video advertising, and the potential for new and different types of programming remains to be explored -- both potentially important factors as radio stations search for ways to supplement traditional ad revenue. Logical areas for new programming include music videos as well as broadcasts of live performances at radio stations or other venues.
Read more about it by clicking here.
A Sirius Loss Despite Subscriber Gains
Sirius Satellite Radio on Friday posted a wider quarterly loss on increased marketing costs, but subscribers rose sharply in the run-up to the launch of a new show by radio host Howard Stern. Sirius posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $311.4 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with a loss of $261.9 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts had forecast a loss of 22 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue jumped to $80.0 million from $25.2 million, beating analyst estimates of $76.1 million.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Can Yahoo Do Content?
Early in Lloyd Braun's tenure at the helm of Yahoo's media group, he ran a quirky idea past his colleagues: a plan to add pizzazz to the company's Internet news site by creating a show anchored by animated puppets. Braun discussed the puppets and other new ideas in hallway talks with executives from Yahoo's media team, according to people familiar with the conversations. Despite Braun's enthusiasm, however, the puppets were politely ignored.
After nearly 15 months on the job at Yahoo, there have been more awkward moments like the puppet-news pitch than success stories for Yahoo's media group and Braun, a marquee Hollywood executive who's supposed to be turning the Internet search heavyweight into an entertainment industry player.
Read more about it by clicking here.
One Billion (Yup, That's BILLION) Songs Sold And Counting
While label executives try and get Steve Jobs to raise his 99 cents a song pricing, and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer wastes more taxpayers' money to investigates online-music pricing, Apples iTunes store passes the one billion mark in songs sold. That means one billion people actually decided to BUY music rather than steal it. So whether you like the iTunes model or not, give Mr. Jobs and company credit for that alone.
So while the big wheels keep on turnin', iTunes keeps on burnin'.
Read more about it by clicking here.
AOL, iTunes and Yahoo!Music Capture eTuners
From The Center For Media Research: A drilldown look at online music destinations, viewer demographics, advertisers, ad types and sizes.
Read more about it by clicking here.
NBC Launches New Show With iTunes Promo
From Cnet.com: NBC broke new ground this week with its legal drama "Conviction," becoming the first network to premiere a prime time series in the iTunes Music Store for free and before its televised broadcast.
As part of a multiplatform launch, iTunes users can download the hour-long pilot in its entirety at no cost. The promotion will extend until the show's network debut March 3, after which each episode will become available to download for $1.99 the day after it airs.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Hollywood Hails P2P Shutdown
Swiss and Belgian police have shut down a major component of the eDonkey file-sharing network, used mainly to trade copies of copyrighted movies and music, the Motion Picture Association said on Wednesday.
Razorback 2 was the biggest server on the eDonkey peer-to-peer (P2P) network, which transfers data from user to user. Music companies have blamed P2P piracy for causing a drastic downturn in sales, and Hollywood is trying to prevent a similar impact on the movie business.
Read more about it by clicking here.
DIVORCE COURT
Nick Lachey filing a response to Jessica Simpson's divorce petition. Lachey contests the ex-couple's separation date, he says Dec. 13, she says Nov. 23. A judge will decide which date, which will determine value of their community property. He is asking for half.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
Michael Jackson releasing at the end of the month his long-promised all-star charity single benefiting victims of Hurricane Katrina, according to the Bahrain Prince hosting him in the Gulf country. Guest artists on "I Have This Dream" include Snoop Dogg, R. Kelly, Ciara and Keyisha Cole.
DEATH ROW SUES
Attorneys for Death Row Records mogul Suge Knight suing several lawyers and defendants for $106 million, claiming he and his label were the victims of a fraudulent lawsuit.
A LINE HE SHOULD NOT HAVE CROSSED
A Corona, California man arrested for copyright infringement for attempting to upload a copy of the film Walk the Line to the Internet that was intended for an Academy Award voter. He faces up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine if convicted.
BARRY & ROBIN TOGETHER AGAIN FOR ONE NIGHT
Barry and Robin Gibb, two-thirds of the Bee Gees, reunited on stage for a Miami charity concert, their first performance since the death of brother Maurice three years ago. The Gibb brothers performed a private concert last Saturday night at the Diplomat Hotel to raise money for the Diabetes Research Institute at an annual benefit for the organization.
PAPA WAS A ROLLING STONE ... LITERALLY
Mick Jagger visited his Brazilian son Lucas at school on Monday in Sao Paulo, two days after the Rolling Stones gave a free concert at Copacabana beach. The rock star's cameo caused so much commotion that his son left in tears with his mother.
READY TO TAKE THE HEAT
Kevin Federline is ready for the backlash over his new role as "white boy rapper" and defends himself in this week's issue of Newsweek as a father and husband. "If I was that bad, you think anyone, let alone Britney, would put up with it?" Hmmmn … guess, we'll have to wait and see.
G'N'R LEAKED
Three studio-quality tracks from Guns N' Roses' long-delayed Chinese Democracy album leaked to the Internet. The news comes a few weeks after singer Axl Rose turned up at a Korn tour party in Los Angeles and told Rollingstone.com that "people will hear music this year."
DOING GOOD
Celine Dion, Elton John and comedian Jerry Seinfeld performing a benefit at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and raising $2.1 million for some 8,000 casino workers living in the Gulf Coast region. Meanwhile in Brazil this week on U2's Vertigo Tour, Bono donated one of his guitars to benefit Brazil's Zero Hunger campaign, which aims to ensure Brazilians have three meals a day before the end of this year.
HE QUESTIONS THIS DECISION? DUH!!!
Brian Dunkleman telling Inside Edition he questions his decision to walk away from cohosting American Idol after the talent search's debut season, especially as he watches Ryan Seacrest's ever-increasing fame.
STERN EXPANDS HIS HORIZONS
Howard Stern launching a film festival as part of his "commitment to democratize entertainment," In Demand Networks announced Wednesday. The top three films in the Howard Stern Film Festival competition will receive cash prizes and air on Howard TV On Demand.
MANAGER SUES KILLERS
The Killers' former manager, Braden Merrick, suing the band for $16 million for alleged breach of contract, claiming he was fired last May once the band began to gain success.
COMING SOON!
- Rhett Miller, The Believer (2/28)
- Hank Williams III, Straight to Hell (2/28)
- Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (3/7)
- Donald Fagen, Morph the Cat (3/7)
- Prince, 3121 (3/21)
2006 Industry Conferences
Date Name Location Music 2.0 February 23-24, 2006 Los Angeles, CA Digital Music Forum & Mobile Music Leadership Summit February 28th-March 1st, 2006 New York, NY South by Southwest (SXSW) March 10-19, 2006 Austin, TX CEA Entertainment Technology Policy Summit March 14-17, 2006 Washington, DC Digital Hollywood Spring March 28-30, 2006 Santa Monica, CA MusExpo 2006 April 30-May 3, 2006 Los Angeles, CA Streaming Media East 2006 May 23-24, 2006 New York, NY Home Entertainment 2006 June 1-4, 2006 Los Angeles, CA
Quotes of the week
" One started a film festival, and the other one makes salad dressing."
-- Bill Maher in Star, on how Robert Redford and Paul Newman were the original gay cowboys in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." All my friends say I have to get right back on the bike, and I keep saying, 'Maybe not a bike.' "
-- Sheryl Crow in Star, on getting her love life rolling again after her breakup with cyclist Lance Armstrong." The word from Fox News is that Prince Abdullah of Bahrain has thrown Michael Jackson out of his palace. Michael Jackson is now homeless in Bahrain. That's pretty dangerous isn't it, for a cartoon character to be walking around in a Muslim county. That's not good right now. "
-- Jay Leno
NARIP Information
NARIP (The National Association of Record Industry Professionals) promotes career advancement, education and good will among record executives. To find out more about this great organization, how you can join or attend their events, just go to: www.narip.com.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
IN THE WORDS OF THAT FAMOUS BROADWAY PRODUCER MAX BIALYSTOCK, "WHEN YOU GOT IT BABY, FLAUNT IT!": Would you pay $3,000 for a martini? Connecticut's Foxwoods Resort Casino is offering a new signature cocktail. It's called the Sapphire martini and is made with Blue Curacao, Bombay Sapphire Gin, a splash of dry vermouth and is coated with blue sugar on the rim. But it's not the booze that makes it so expensive. Each Sapphire martini comes with a pair of custom-made blue sapphire and diamond earrings. The casino isn't alone in offering ultra pricey drinks. The Algonquin Hotel's Blue Bar in New York offers a $10,000 diamond martini. They have sold two since 2004.
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