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N.Y. Times Op-Ed: CD Copy-Protection is Bad for Consumers, Musicians, Labels

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 9, 2005 - 4:13am.
New York - The New York Times this week published an op-ed piece written by Damian Kulash, Jr., the lead singer for the U.K. band OK Go, on the Sony BMG copy-protected CD debacle and how such anti-piracy technology is actually hurting up-and-coming bands like his. "Sony BMG and the other major labels need to face reality: copy-protection software is bad for everyone, consumers, musicians and labels alike," writes Kulash. "It's much better to have copies of albums on lots of iPods, even if only half of them have been paid for, than to have a few CD's sitting on a shelf and not being played."
tags: Consumers | Labels | N.Y. Times Op-Ed | CD Copy-Protection | Musicians |

Musicians File Brief Supporting Grokster in Supreme Court Appeal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 1, 2005 - 8:13am.
Washington -- In stark contrast to the efforts of much of the recording industry to shut down file-sharing networks, a number of musicians have filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that, while they don't endorse copyright infringement, file-sharing is a viable means of distribution for many artists, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. Artists including Steve Winwood, rapper Chuck D and the band Heart signed on to the legal brief, which supports file-sharing services Grokster and Streamcast Networks in a Supreme Court appeal brought against the company by the major record labels. Lower courts have ruled that file-sharing software providers are not liable for any copyright infringement committed by users of their software; the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the appeal on March 29. "Musicians are not universally united in opposition to peer-to-peer file sharing" the court filing reads. "To the contrary, many musicians find peer-to-peer technology . . . allows them easily to reach a worldwide online audience. And to many musicians, the benefits of this . . . strongly outweigh the risks of copyright infringement."
tags: Law | Grokster | Musicians | Supreme Court Appeal |

Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno Encourage Musicians to Embrace Digital Distribution

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2004 - 2:30am.
London -- Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno have created a musicians' union that aims to allow fellow artists to distribute their music online and bypass or supplement the traditional record label model for selling music. The two artists released a manifesto of sorts called the "Magnificent Union of Digitally Downloading Artists" (MUDDA) at the MIDEM music industry conference in Cannes. The document details how artists can use the Internet to release their music in formats other than the industry standard album. "I'm an artist who works incredibly slowly," Gabriel told the Associated Press. "If some of those (songs) could be made available, you don't have to be so trapped into this old way of being confined only by the album cycle." Gabriel is also a co-founder of On Demand Distribution (OD2), a European provider of licensed songs and delivery technology for the region's leading digital music services.
tags: Musicians | Digital Distribution | Peter Gabriel | Brian |

Dutch P2P Firm Honest Thief to Use Distributed Computing to Pay Musicians

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2003 - 1:40am.
Arnhem, Netherlands -- The Honest Thief, a Netherlands-based file-sharing software provider that is aiming to take advantage of a P2P-friendly court ruling in the country, on Friday announced the release of a beta version of Thank You, its software program that will pay musicians for songs traded through the sale of its users' unused computing resources to research facilities. The company said version 2.0 of Thank You will be available in the second quarter, and will offer file-sharing providers a system that utilizes its users as distributed computing nodes whose computing power is sold to research facilities -- the proceeds from which will be collected and doled back out to musicians whose music is traded on the service. "We are the first to figure out a way for both file sharing providers and musicians to earn an honest Euro," said company founder Pieter Plass. "We are the first, but certainly not the last, to eliminate the record companies from the equation. The record companies are not dead yet, but they're certainly on life support. And The Honest Thief pulls the plug." http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/230665103&ticker=
tags: P2P | Musicians | Dutch | Honest Thief |