YouTube and the copyright cops: safe... for now?
- Category: Latest
- Published on Sunday, 16 July 2006 18:00
- Hits: 724
If you've never heard of YouTube, let me introduce you: YouTube is a massively popular video sharing site that has quickly become one of the Internet's most trafficked websites, climbing into the top 50 of all sites online in a year's time (as tracked by Alexa). According to Nielsen NetRatings, the site serves almost 13 million users a month and serves up 50 million videos each day. Maybe you've been by the site to see Jon Stewart's hilarious (yet depressingly accurate) coverage of the "'Net neutrality" debate, or maybe you enjoyed watching Ernesto Hoost and friends in Silent Library. And maybe, just maybe, you've enjoyed some videos that weren't uploaded without the copyright owner's permission, too. See, YouTube's continued survival is bit of a mystery to some. The site thrives in part on what appears to be copyright infringement, but aside from a few scuffles (most notably with NBC), there's been nothing Napster-ish about its history. TV clips, movie clips, you name it... they all appear on the site regularly, and without authorization. So far, the major lawsuits haven't shown up.
Sony bows to Apple format
- Category: Latest
- Published on Tuesday, 09 May 2006 17:00
- Hits: 935
Sony Corp. on Tuesday announced a symbolic concession to Apple Computer Corp.
on digital audio technology.
The company will make its latest music management software compatible with the AAC data compression technology used by Apple.
The change will enable users of some types of Walkman digital audio players to listen to music imported from Apple's music management software.
Sony long clung to its proprietary data compression technology, known as
Atrac. It has since turned to an open-door policy, embracing such popular
formats as MP3 and Microsoft Corp.'s WMA.
Warner Music faces 14 lawsuits over download fees
- Category: Latest
- Published on Monday, 08 May 2006 17:00
- Hits: 989
Warner Music Group reported on Friday soaring digital music sales, even as
the company continues to lose money and faces numerous lawsuits related to
alleged price fixing of music downloads.
In documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Warner Music said the company has been named in 14 class-action lawsuits, most of which allege a "conspiracy among record companies to fix prices for downloads."
"The company intends to defend against these lawsuits vigorously," Warner Music said in its quarterly statement filed Friday.
The accusations come three months after Eliott Spitzer, New York's attorney
general, began investigating whether several of the big music companies agreed
to fix download prices. Such an agreement would violate antitrust laws.
Apple Wins iTunes Pricing Battle
- Category: Latest
- Published on Tuesday, 02 May 2006 03:42
- Hits: 840
The verdict is out - Apple Computer will continue to sell songs through its iTunes Music Store at 99 cents apiece. The company has confirmed renewing of contracts with four big record companies to arrive at this decision.
The agreements have come after months of bargaining, and are being seen as a defeat of sorts for music companies that have been so far pushing for a variable pricing model.
The "big four" comprising Universal, Warner Music, Sony BMG, and EMI North America tried to convince Apple to change the price and adopt a variable pricing scheme but in vain. Moreover, during the last few months, the officials of the four companies made a lot of statements to the effect that old records should be priced at 60 to 80 cents while new tunes should be around $1.20 per song.
Canadian musicians create consumer-friendly coalition
- Category: Latest
- Published on Wednesday, 26 April 2006 17:00
- Hits: 833
We are a growing coalition of Canadian music creators who share the common goal of having our voices heard about the laws and policies that affect our livelihoods. We are the people who actually create Canadian music. Without us, there would be no music for copyright laws to protect.
Until now, a group of multinational record labels has done most of the talking about what Canadian artists need out of copyright. Record companies and music publishers are not our enemies, but let’s be clear: lobbyists for major labels are looking out for their shareholders, and seldom speak for Canadian artists. Legislative proposals that would facilitate lawsuits against our fans or increase the labels’ control over the enjoyment of music are made not in our names, but on behalf of the labels’ foreign parent companies.
It is the government’s responsibility to protect Canadian artists from exploitation. This requires a firm commitment to programs that support Canadian music talent, and a fresh approach to copyright law reform. Canadian music creators have identified three principles that should guide the copyright reform process.
Class Action Giant Sues Labels
- Category: Latest
- Published on Sunday, 12 March 2006 16:00
- Hits: 692
One of the biggest names in class-action lawsuits has filed a complaint in federal court accusing major music labels of fixing prices for Internet music downloads and CDs, the court reported Thursday.
San Diego lawyer William Lerach’s suit says that Sony BMG, Universal Music, Time Warner, Bertelsmann, and EMI fought together to keep the online music market from emerging, and then “conspired to fix and maintain” music prices once services like Apple’s highly successful iTunes became inevitable.
Lerach's firm filed the suit on behalf of 11 plaintiffs who purchased music online or on CDs, and on behalf anyone who has "paid inflated prices" for music.
Fraunhofer develops tool against online music piracy
- Category: Latest
- Published on Thursday, 09 February 2006 16:00
- Hits: 697
Fraunhofer Institute has developed prototype technology to help curb the sharp rise in online music piracy, which, ironically, has been enabled through another invention of the renowned German research group: MP3 audio compression.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Integrated Publication and Information Systems Institute have successfully tested a software system, based on the group's own digital watermarking technology, for tracking pirated audio files in P-to-P (peer-to-peer) file-sharing networks, said Michael Kip, a spokesman for the institute.
The system lets content providers, such as music studios, embed a watermark in their downloadable MP3 files. Watermark technology makes slight changes to data in both sound and image files. For instance, the change could be a higher volume intensity in a tiny part of a song or a brighter color in a minuscule part of a picture.
Nettwerk Music Group Takes on the RIAA
- Category: Latest
- Published on Friday, 27 January 2006 16:00
- Hits: 711
Canadian-based artist label and management company Nettwerk Music Group has joined the fight against the RIAA on behalf of consumers who wish to download music.
In August 2005, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a complaint against David Greubel for alleged file sharing. Greubel is accused of having 600 suspected music files on the family computer. The RIAA is targeting nine specific songs, including "Sk8er Boi" by Arista artist Avril Lavigne, a Nettwerk management client. The RIAA has demanded Greubel pay a $9,000 stipulated judgment as a penalty, though it will accept $4,500 should Greubel pay the amount within a specific period of time.
"Suing music fans is not the solution, it's the problem," stated Terry McBride, C.E.O of Nettwerk Music Group.