RIAA has a soul...

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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:12 am

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122966038836021137.html?mod=rss_whats_news_technology

I found that interesting. Apparently, even though its still illegal to download music, they won't pursue downloaders, just uploaders.

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:16 am

thank GOD!

i heard this a while back and was so happy... but i download movies so lets hope the MPAA has a soul too!

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:20 am

[rant] There's no way I can see this as anything but yet another cynical public relations ploy. They certainly had no problems suing children before, and seem collectively to have some difficulty finding the reasonable place to draw the line. What if it turns out that some 10-year-old is a major uploader?

And before anyone jumps on me for being a potential lad hugger, I am not condoning illegal activity. But the current state of the recording industry has nothing to do with music downloads and everything to do with industry practises that are, at best, exploitative, and have absolutely nothing to do with improving the quality of popular music.

Yeah, it's a business, and yeah, businesses are about maximizing stockholder value. Got it. But their business practises have done nothing to advance that particular goal, while at the same time producing nothing but steadily worsening dreck on the airwaves... Has anyone listened to rock radio these days? [/rant]

Internet radio is where it's at. Honestly I get way better music by checking out what Eater members post in the http://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=134623&start=625 topic.

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:26 am

Quote:

Yeah, it's a business, and yeah, businesses are about maximizing stockholder value. Got it. But their business practises have done nothing to advance that particular goal, while at the same time producing nothing but steadily worsening dreck on the airwaves...

Other than the last line which I would change to, while at the same time producing lame behind the times vehicles, you could be describing the US Auto industry.

On another note, I had heard that RIAA was going to ISP's and "requesting" the ISP's to either bump from their service completely or severely slow the service of major up/downloaders.

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:39 am

I think its just a sneaky way for the RIAA to invade your privacy. They'll somehow use their relationship from the ISPs in order to corner people. I wish they would just leave downloaders alone, as an artist should be more happy about people wanting to listen to his/her music than receiving 12$ for the whole album, especially when the album as a collective sucks.

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:03 pm

actually the amount of lawsuits are going to drop heavily as anyone in court who has a half decent brief is proving that IP no's are not a good enough way to proove guilt. A certain UK based company of legal ambulance chasers has come under massive criticizm for their possibly illegal ways of data collection also and they've been hauled over the coals for asking for reembursement (i.e demanding money with menaces) from totally innocent people. There was also a company who bought the rights to a porn film to put on a torrent site and then go after the people who downloaded it, they forgot that unrestricted distribution of porn in this way is illegal and they couldn't really build a succesful case against any of the downloaders.

Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:01 am

I find it totally ironic that most "law abiding" people feel quite happy to steal music. The local CD shop in my town is about to close it's doors. Many people still prefer the old fashioned cd and beleive or not many people do not and will never own a computer.
My biggest regret is I will be the one closing the doorsfor last time. Illegal downloading is stealing from the artists the producers and me. Rolling Eyes

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

A music related article I just spotted on Yahoo news, it's about Apple and their iPod now being made copy-protection free:

Quote:

Apple to sell copy protection-free songs

7 hours 28 mins ago

Apple has agreed to start selling digital songs without copy protection software from its iTunes store along with over-the-air download songs for its popular iPhone, according to people familiar with its plans. Skip related content

The maker of the iPod is also set to announce a deal to roll out variable pricing on digital songs at the iTunes Music Store with songs priced between 79 cents (53 pence) and $1.29.

Apple is expected to announce the changes at the Macworld Expo trade show in San Francisco later on Tuesday.

Copy protection software, also known as digital rights management or DRM, has proved a controversial topic with music fans and record labels alike.

DRM was designed to prevent fans from illegally sharing digital downloads on file-sharing services. But it also prevented many fans from moving their own songs between devices and became increasingly unpopular.

Apple's founder, Steve Jobs, publicly called on major record labels to drop DRM in February 2007.

In exchange, labels have been asking that iTunes agree to sell songs at variable prices. Currently, iTunes sells all individual songs at 99 cents regardless of their popularity or date of release, unlike most other retail outlets.

Apple is also expected to announce details to allow iPhone 3G and iPod Touch Wifi users to buy songs while on the go, over the air through its popular App Store.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke, editing by Matthew Lewis)

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090106/tot-oukin-uk-apple-b86c26b.html

Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:12 am

may be the cost of cds has some thing to do with people dowloading on to a pack of 50 blank cds for under $20 . why is it that a cd costs 19.99 or $24.00 and some guy in bali can do the same thing for 50 cents and make a liveing ow thats right the buyers have to keep the singers and actors (not all) but alot in the life style that they think they need re cars boats flash houses wild partys and million dollar weddings and devorses .harry im sorry i know its not your fault you have over heads its all the ones that touch it before it gets to you

Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:28 am

As someone who has put together music, but none released as I quit making music for the time being, it is a catch 22 (esp for the type of music I mixed). Do I want my own music copied and me not recieving a dime for it for someone's listening pleasure in a home library? OH HELL NO!!! Do I mind if other DJ's copy my music for their club libraries to remix my stuff? Not at all, it's getting my name out there in a new light. Do I download music? All the time when I was DJing. Do I see a problem with that? No, I'm remixing their music or playing it a club. That's advertising and I've got no problem saying what artist is hitting the sound system. Do I have a problem with someone taking my music, remixing it and putting it on their own album to sell? Only if they didn't get my permission first.

An artists perspective. Try seeing it from the unpublished artists side, especially with today's rise in bands that are coming about from places like myspace. If you start getting popular, leaked music is not going to make the record industry want to sign you to make all that money off of you (if that's where you want to go with your music). As far as bigger artists, they will have the problem of illegal downloads, but they have the pocket money to fight it back with industry backing. Do I buy CD's or music online? If it's for my listening library you bet. But as someone said internet radio is where it's at these days. Wink

Just my 0.02

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:22 pm

The internet has made the entire issue of copywrite a global one. It will be interesting to see how this develops of the next decade. Obvioulsy the wrong approach is to just introduce more legislation.....

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:26 am

My sympathy to Harrya if the shop is closing. I don't download a lot, well, almost nothing, I listen to it online, maybe download a track, but I prefer to get the cd, and then load from that the tracks I want to my laptop in hi def,

Plus I can get my local shop to import or source cd's I really want, without having to go through Amazon etc because I don't have a credit card.

It's the price of cd's here, well anywhere that gets right up my nose, $35 and up, unless I go shop around the discount stores, which becomes a day long venture and very hit and miss.

I'm old enough to remember buying LP vinyl for £1/19/6 and 45rpm for £0/6/8 and considered that good value. Even though it was 1/4 my wages each week.

With the advent of cd's, mass production cheaper methods (yeah right as the Tui Billboards put it) the perceived value isn't there.

$35 for a cd of some crap bimbo or mouthbreathing gangsta wannabe with a great? youtube video doesn't make for good music