Our friend Howard Berman (D-California) unsurprisingly supports removing the exemption, “Given the many different ways to promote music now that didn’t exist as effectively when this original exemption was made,” he said, “the logic of that I think is more dubious.” —MEGHANN MARCO
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NPR Asks For Help Against The RIAA
By 5.17.07
NPR is asking for your help. They’re asking that you take a moment from your day to contact your Congressperson and “Ask them to co-sponsor the Internet Radio Equality Act which was introduced in the House (H.R. 2060) by Representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Donald Manzullo (R-IL) and in the Senate (S.1353) by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) to save public radio webcasting.”
Should "Attempted Copyright Infringement" Be A Criminal Offense?
By 5.15.07
Our good friends Howard Berman and Lamar Smith, (you’ll remember them as the ones who took lots and lots of money from the RIAA as well as the friends and families of various record company and entertainment executives) are all for it, according to CNET:
We are reviewing (the attorney general’s) proposal. Any plan to stop IP theft will benefit the economy and the American worker,” said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who’s the top Republican on the House Judiciary committee. “I applaud the attorney general for recognizing the need to protect intellectual property.”
Berman’s office said they couldn’t comment because they were busy drafting their own version of the legislation.
Meet Sarah: She Paid $3,000 For Downloading Spice Girls Songs
By 5.14.07
Sarah Barg is a sophomore at University of Nebraska-Lincoln who used Ares to download 381 songs, most of them 80s ballads and “Spice Girls tunes.” When she got a letter threatening legal action, she thought it was a scam. Turns out, it wasn’t. Sarah’s parents had to fork over $3,000 to keep Sarah from being sued by the RIAA.
“Technically, I’m guilty. I just think it’s ridiculous, the way they’re going about it,” Barg said. “We have to find a way to adjust our legal policy to take into account this new technology, and so far, they’re not doing a very good job.”
Just for comparison’s sake, in Nebraska the maximum fine for a first time DUI is $500. And those are really illegal.—MEGHANN MARCO
Harder To Sell Used CDs Than It Is To Get A Driver's License?
By 5.8.07
…you’ll certainly feel like a criminal once the local record shop makes copies of all of your identifying information and even collects your fingerprints. Such is the state of affairs in Florida, which now has the dubious distinction of being so anal about the sale of used music CDs that record shops there are starting to get out of the business of dealing with used content because they don’t want to pay a $10,000 bond for the “right” to treat their customers like criminals. …
Congressmen Who Took Money From The RIAA Send Chiding Letters To Universities
By 5.3.07
“If we do not receive acceptable answers, Congress will be forced to act,” said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee after sending a chiding letter and “survey” to 20 U.S. universities thought to have the “greatest amount of online piracy.”
Proposed Legislation To Save Internet Radio
By 5.1.07
As you may well know, U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) filed legislation that would reverse a recent decision of the federal Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) to drastically increase the amount internet radio stations have to pay to air their songs. For those of you interested you can read the proposed legislation, here. This is yet another one of those situations where you may want to write a letter expressing your opinion.
The Politics of Retail: How Money Spent on Consumer Goods And Services Ends Up As Campaign Contributions
By 4.30.07
When you buy a light bulb at Home Depot or a pair of pants at Walmart, you probably don’t give much thought to the political leanings of said light bulb or said pants. Nevertheless, retail outlets, airlines, electronics manufactures, and record company executives do make campaign contributions, and when they do, we can look it up.
RIAA 1, Badgers 0: Judge Orders University of Wisconsin-Madison To Turn Over Student IDs
By 4.26.07
On Tuesday, 16 record companies represented by the Recording Industry Association of America filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking the names associated with 53 Internet connections for copyright infringement. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Shabaz signed an order requiring UW-Madison to relinquish the names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and Media Access Control addresses for each of the 53 individuals.
UW had initially declined to forward the “settlement” letters to their students, preferring to wait for a court order. The RIAA record companies responded by filing 53 “John Doe” lawsuits against the UW students. “We had every indication that they were going to be going in this direction,” said Ken Frazier, interim chief information officer at UW-Madison. “It’s the step the RIAA would have to take to get the identity of a user of our network.” “We continue to be really concerned for students,” he said. “The prospect of being sued in federal court is a really scary one.”
CD Sales Plummet, RIAA Gets Progressively More Emo About It
By 4.19.07
CD Sales dropped 12.8 percent last year after dropping 8.1 percent in 2005. Digital downloads didn’t pick up the slack, despite increasing 74.4%. All in all, the recording industry’s sales dropped 6.2 percent
RIAA 1, NPR 0: Copyright Royalty Board Denies Motion For Rehearing
By 4.18.07
Internet broadcasters suffered a blow Monday when the Copyright Royalty Board judges denied a motion for rehearing sponsored by NPR and other broadcasters. The motion denies a rehearing on the grounds that the parties did not offer sufficient new evidence. They also denied a motion to stay the enforcement of the new royalty rate until the appeal process is complete, claiming that if the rate is eventually overturned it can be refunded.
RIAA Files 23 "John Doe" Lawsuits Against NC State Students
By 4.13.07
From the Technician Online:
Pam Gerace, the director of Student Legal Services at the University, is fighting the lawsuits for her student clients. She advises that the students should remain anonymous.
RIAA, MPAA vs China: US Takes Pirating Complaints To The WTO
By 4.10.07
On Monday, the dispute got even hotter as the United States formally sued China in world trade court.
The RIAA And MPAA Need To Lie
By 4.7.07
The RIAA and MPAA are telling California legislators that lies and deceit are an integral part of their anti-piracy strategy. The importance of lying, masterfully demonstrated by Jim Carrey in his 1997 hit “Liar Liar,” is at issue as California legislators mull a measure that would ban pretexting. Otherwise known as lying, pretexting involves the use of “false statements and other misleading practices to get personal information.”
College Radio Feels The Effects Of The RIAA
By 4.6.07
Internet radio’s low overhead allows for stations to broadcast on a shoestring budget and still access a worldwide audience. For some college stations that only have small transmitters or broadcast in small communities, streaming actually becomes the main source for listeners.
RIAA Sends Cease And Desist Letters To Its Own Viral Marketing Campaign
By 4.6.07
Trent Reznor leaks songs from his new album via USB drives hidden in bathrooms. Fans share the songs. Websites post the songs. Websites receive cease and desist letters from the RIAA. From Billboard:
Another Web posting alleged that all this activity resulted in entertainment blog Idolator and other sites receiving e-mail from the Recording Industry Association of America, demanding that they remove the MP3s from their sites. An RIAA representative confirms this, a move that boggles the minds of many. “These f*cking idiots are going after a campaign that the label signed off on,” the source says.
Good job, guys. —MEGHANN MARCO
EMI To Go DRM-Free
By 4.2.07
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that EMI, a Big Four music label and RIAA member, will release “significant amounts of its catalogue” unencumbered by DRM. The announcement from EMI is expected at an 8 a.m. EST press conference in London, featuring Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Privately most labels rejected the idea out of hand, but EMI, the world’s third-largest music company by sales, was already quietly exploring the idea of dropping DRM. EMI has struggled to overcome poor results and a laggard digital strategy, potentially contributing to its willingness to take a bold stance on DRM.
EMI will make the DRM-free portions of its catalogue available for download via iTunes. We wonder how the RIAA will react. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
RIAA VP Laughs At Consumerist's "Worst Company In America" Contest
By 3.28.07
Four people, likely students, walked into the back of the room, all holding cardboard signs. One sign had a scythe attached and said, “Don’t fear the RIAAper.” Another guy had no pants on and had a sign that said, “The RIAA sued the pants off me.” Another girl had a sign that said, “Download like it’s 1999.” And the last girl had some spare change in her hand that was to go to “Metallica’s retirement fund.”
—MEGHANN MARCO
