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In The News - February 2008

Posted by

Mike (Shmoo) on March 1, 2008 at 1:20 PM

We are looking for links that are of interest to independent musicians, fans, and those who give a damn about copyright/music biz issues.

Please provide us with a link and brief summary of the articles and items you share, but try to keep lengthy comments to a minimum when using the "In The News" thread.

To make your link "clickable" simply use this format: [url= (complete url goes here) ] (plain-text goes here) [ /url]

REMOVE all spaces between ALL the brackets:

[ (No spaces here) ]

before posting! (The plain text CAN have spaces, but nothing else in the string can or it will not work right!)

Try it out! (Don't worry, I will come back and delete/fix any broken links when I have the time.) --Shmoo

User Comments

independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 1:21 PM Last months version of "In The News" http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/28808
independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 1:26 PM Man runs into burning home to rescue vintage Les Paul guitar, escapes safely I can't say I blame him. I'd have likely done the same to save mine.
independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 1:40 PM Broadband in the USA sucks by comparison.
independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 1:46 PM Third undersea cable cut, this time near Dubai hmm... are terrorists responsible, or is it the record companies who want to kill the Internet? (Or, is there a difference?)
independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 1:52 PM As if you didn't already know, RealPlayer sucks! RealPlayer dinged by software watchdog group
independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 2:41 PM Why Newspapers are hurting in the Internet age. In short, it's the same as with the RIAA labels - failure to adapt from an anti-competitive business model.
independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 2:43 PM The cover story of this month's California Lawyer Magazine is a pretty nice story on the Electronic Frontier Foundation, its history and the current fight against AT&T for its role in the NSA's domestic spying program.
independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 2:47 PM Galactic Civilizations II: big budget game, no DRM "The link containts their no nonsense understanding that to truly avert piracy, you must make your product worth buying, not loaded up with non user friendly DRM. These guys really deserve some credit. The game, a Turn Based, RTS strategy hybrid set in space, looks fantastic too." I don't play many video games, but this sounds like the sort of game I'd enjoy! Might end up buying it. --Shmoo
independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 2:49 PM Death sentence for downloading? Authorities in Afghanistan have sentenced a 23-year-old journalism student to death for having downloaded and shared copies of a report criticizing the oppressive treatment of women in some Islamic societies.
gdZiemann	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 3:01 PM Actually, newspaper is a lot more competitive than the music biz. Without reading the actual article, newspapers' problem is that we just got tired of reading yesterday's news.
independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 3:06 PM Web Trend Map 2008 I didn't see DMusic Networks on there, so I submitted it.
independentmusician	Date: February 2, 2008 @ 3:08 PM Sony kills DRM stores -- your DRM music will only last until your next upgrade The Sony 'Connect' DRM-tastic music store is closing shop on March 31, 2008. Another failed experiment in DRM is leaving its paying customers out in the cold with soon-to-be unusable content (unless you violate the DMCA) in the form of audio files DRM locked to Sony's ATRAC media players. Yet another in a seemingly endless stream of examples of how media companies are punishing their paying, legitimate customers for the RIAA's own infuriating technological shortsightedness.
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 12:43 AM Seems like I have to post a version of this story every year: For 200 members of the Immanuel Bible Church and their friends, the annual Super Bowl party is over thanks to the NFL Federal copyright law includes an exemption for sports bars, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, but churches are out of luck. Churchgoers who aren't adverse to a little drinking-and-driving still have the opportunity to see the game together in public on a screen bigger than 55 inches.
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 12:49 AM "an exemption for sports bars" Really? Don't these kind of bars automatically have to pay for a license (even if they for some reason don't want to air any NFL?) A mandatory license is not an "exemption" ...it's like a tax ...or, rather more yet like "protection insurance" paid to the mafia.
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 12:51 AM Slashdot users squabble over who would be the best presidential candidate for tech issues.
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 1:36 AM Obama on tech issues at YouTube
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 1:39 AM A survey of what webservers each canidate's running.
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 1:51 AM RIAA's Watchdog Affidavits For Your Reading Pleasure
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 1:55 AM Google translated article ...showing that a new Italian copyright law would authorize users to publish and freely share copyrighted music (p2p included). The new law, already approved by both legislative houses, indeed says that one is allowed to publish freely, through the Internet, free of charge, images and music at low resolution or "degraded," for scientific or educational use, and only when such use is not for profit. As Monti says in the interview, those who wrote it didn't realize that the word "degraded" is technical, with a very precise meaning, which includes MP3s, which are compressed with an algorithm that ensures a quality loss. The law will be effective after the appropriate decree of the ministry, and will probably have an impact on pending p2p judicial cases. :)
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 2:10 AM Mall pianist chases down teen who stole tip jar
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 2:50 AM Flash price drop spurring innovation A massive decline in the price of NAND flash memory, the chips that store photos in digital cameras and music in iPods, is prompting innovation among companies trying to increase sales.
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 2:57 AM Top 10 tech, media deals since 1995
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 3:02 AM Breakthrough in striking writers talks? ...no specific details on the possible agreement, but I have a feeling the writers are going to give in too easily.
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 11:37 PM Our friend Cory Doctorow just whelped a baby girl.
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 11:43 PM Jon Newton takes a look at the RIAA's war against students.
independentmusician	Date: February 3, 2008 @ 11:48 PM Is Time Warner cable f**king with iTunes downloads in the same way Comcast has been messing with p2p traffic? Damnit! We need the FCC to get its' ass in gear and start doing its' job! (Guess we are gonna have to wait for Obama to appoint a new chair.)
independentmusician	Date: February 4, 2008 @ 12:32 AM Yet another undersea cable cut.
independentmusician	Date: February 4, 2008 @ 3:52 AM TechCrunch endorses Obama and McCain
independentmusician	Date: February 4, 2008 @ 4:01 AM Yahoo music users going to RealNetworks Yahoo Inc. will cease operating its online music subscription service and switch its customers to RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody music service as part of a new deal between the companies that calls for Yahoo to promote Rhapsody on its site.
leflaw	Date: February 4, 2008 @ 2:55 PM WOW: http://www.douglaskarr.com/2007/06/23/2008-el ections-by-server/ Only the cool candidates use Linux - the dopes use Microsoft 2003 server!!!
independentmusician	Date: February 4, 2008 @ 10:55 PM DRM free Beatles sent Across The Universe
independentmusician	Date: February 4, 2008 @ 10:56 PM Consumers pay too much for too little.
independentmusician	Date: February 4, 2008 @ 10:57 PM Pirate Bay: big revenue claims fabricated by prosecutors
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 12:55 AM Did Fox infringe the copyright of Arcade Fire on NFL and Superbowl ads? "Turns out Fox never even asked the band if they could use their song, and they certainly weren't given permission to do so."
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 12:58 AM Study finds U.S. music awash in booze and drugs "Primack's team used charts in Billboard magazine, a trade publication covering the music business, to identify the most popular songs of 2005 based on sales and airplay." So, the RIAA is to blame. lol
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 1:02 AM Apple to save Yahoo from Microsoft?
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 1:33 AM Touring and promotion company Live Nation Inc said on Monday it has elected Michael Cohl as chairman of its board, effective immediately.
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 1:35 AM AT&T hikes broadband prices
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 5:41 PM URGENT: Canadians need to take action on Canadian DMCA NOW
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 5:48 PM Ron Paul Campaign Answers Slashdot Reader Questions
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 5:57 PM Time-Warner Considers Per-Gigabyte Service Fee, After iTunes
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 5:57 PM "Steven Levy at the Washington post suggests Time-Warner's real aim is to hobble iTunes, raising the cost of a movie download by $10 (or $30 for a high-definition movie). Eyeing Time-Warner's experiment, Comcast cable also says they're evaluating a pay-per-gigabyte model."
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 5:58 PM Microsoft claims that a small group led by a recently jailed Taiwanese man was the source of almost all high-quality pirated copies of its software up until his arrest in 2004.
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 6:16 PM CNet asks: "In '08 presidential race, who's the most tech-friendly?" With a quick to read chart.
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 6:19 PM Only Barack Obama and Ron Paul gave forthright replies, and they deserve credit for their directness.
independentmusician	Date: February 5, 2008 @ 6:25 PM North-south divide revealed in British music taste
gdZiemann	Date: February 6, 2008 @ 12:51 PM DMusic artist Brian Fitzgerald one of three finalists in contest to perform with the Foo Fighters at the Grammys
gdZiemann	Date: February 6, 2008 @ 12:52 PM Send Brian to the Grammys. Follow the link and then vote for him.
gfmlcka	Date: February 7, 2008 @ 10:19 AM Total Bullshit. http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/02/report-do j-serv.html
independentmusician	Date: February 7, 2008 @ 11:26 AM Customs agents have begun using their authority to insist on copying data brought to the border on laptop computers, cell phones and other devices. The government claims that this intelligence-gathering by Customs is the same as looking in a suitcase. In response the EFF is filing a lawsuit attempting to force the government to reveal its policies on border searches. 'The question of whether border agents have a right to search electronic devices at all without suspicion of a crime is already under review in the federal courts. The lawsuit was inspired by some two dozen cases, 15 of which involved searches of cellphones, laptops, MP3 players and other electronics. ...and if that don't work, just wait until the RIAA gets word that one of their songs was copied.
independentmusician	Date: February 7, 2008 @ 11:46 AM A 5th undersea cable has been cut!!! Somebody REALLY hates the Internet.
gdZiemann	Date: February 7, 2008 @ 11:34 PM Somebody REALLY hates the Internet. Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
independentmusician	Date: February 7, 2008 @ 11:55 PM Here's someone who DOES hate the Internet: Comcast has changed its Terms of Service to include policies on traffic management.
pessimist	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 6:22 AM "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." (ROFL!) George at his best.
pessimist	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 6:27 AM Re: Comcast In some ways, they're horses' asses; I endure them because where I live there is no other choice (it's either Comcast or dial-up). My older son is in the same boat, and he hates them too.
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 10:12 AM Should You Watch Sunday Night's Grammy Awards? Actually, there is ONE compelling reason to watch the Grammys this year. Let George tell ya why: http://azoz.com
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 10:20 AM DefectiveByDesign.org will be taking action this Saturday at the Boston Public Library to demand that they remove DRM technology from their collection! We will be gathering outside the entrance at the main branch of the Boston Public Library (700 Boylston St., Boston MA 02116) at 1PM on Saturday, February 9th, 2008. Please, Sign-up if you are attending. * Location: 700 Boylston St., Boston MA 02116 * Time: 1:00--3:00PM on Saturday, February 9th, 2008
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 10:31 AM EFF filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings asking a U.S. District Court judge to throw out a copyright infringement suit brought by talk show host Michael Savage against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Savage sued CAIR in December, alleging that CAIR infringed the copyright in his show when it posted brief excerpts from Savage's radio program in order to criticize Savage's remarks. Link
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 10:33 AM Warner sues SeeqPod
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 10:57 AM Mellencamp songs off McCain's playlist Mellencamp: "Hey McCain, if you are trying to portray yourself as a conservative Republican, why you wanna use songs by a liberal Democrat. I supported Edwards!"
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 11:06 AM Metallica and U2 are headliners at Bonnaroo this year. Don't go. They both hate you.
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 11:10 AM Deal reached in Writer's Strike?
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 11:12 AM The new Hotmail update (deliberately?) don't work with Firefox 2.0 hmm... doesn't M$ own Hotmail?
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 11:15 AM First Amendment ruling in favor of Trolls. I don't like trolls, but I like government censorship even less. A recent ruling by the Court of Appeal of the State of California (PDF) in Krinsky v. Doe H030767 overturned a lower court ruling (.pdf file)
gfmlcka	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 1:20 PM Go Ray!! http://www.p2pnet.net/story/14902
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 1:39 PM TVNZ will ditch premium downloads from its internet-based video on demand service and the digital rights management software designed to prevent piracy as it looks to advertising for its revenue.
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 1:59 PM BOC to have a monkey on cowbell. lol
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 2:03 PM Yoko suing Lennon Murphy over the use of his name. "Getting Sued by Yoko Current mood: angry Category: Music Yoko Ono filed what is for the most part a law suit with the Trademark and Trial Board of the US Patent & Trademark office this past week. You can read the filing yourself by clicking on the link below. Yoko waited 8 years until 2 days before the statue of limitations ran out to file this complaint. 5 lawyers including 2 trademark experts we have spoken with agree that Yoko has no grounds for these claims and is just trying to push Lennon around and make her spend money she doesn't have. Yoko seeks to gain the rights to the Trademark "LENNON" which Lennon Murphy has owned since 2003. This lady is a scum bag and so is her lawyer Peter Shukat who first became aware of Lennon in 2000 when approached by Arista records for consent by Yoko and the John Lennon estate to release Lennon's debut 5:30 Saturday Morning CD under the name "LENNON." They made no objections at that time, nor did they for the next 8 years. Now everything Lennon has worked for is on the line, if Yoko prevails, Lennon might never be able to tour or release records using the name Lennon." http://www.johngaltentertainment.com/lennonyo ko.pdf
independentmusician	Date: February 8, 2008 @ 2:46 PM In other Beatle-related news. OBIT: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died today at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, a spokesman said. He was thought to be 91 years old.
TrueAudio	Date: February 12, 2008 @ 5:24 PM McCain Received $100,000 From Convicted Felon Jack Abramoff http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/12/mcca in-received-100000-_n_86245.html
independentmusician	Date: February 12, 2008 @ 6:47 PM Undeterred by the threat of a hostile takeover, slumping Internet pioneer Yahoo Inc. completed an acquisition of its own Tuesday by buying online video service Maven Networks Inc. for $160 million.
independentmusician	Date: February 12, 2008 @ 6:51 PM Classical artists embrace digital culture When British violinist Tasmin Little announced in January that she would be giving away her "Naked Violin" album as a free download, she tapped into a growing trend: classical music artists and retailers utilizing digital formats and business models.
independentmusician	Date: February 12, 2008 @ 6:59 PM the telecom companies are one step closer to getting off the hook for their illegal collusion with the US government. Best government that money can buy.
independentmusician	Date: February 12, 2008 @ 7:02 PM Tolkien Trust Sues New Line, May Kill "Hobbit"
independentmusician	Date: February 12, 2008 @ 7:17 PM U.S. Copyright Lobby Complains About Canadian Copyright
independentmusician	Date: February 12, 2008 @ 7:19 PM Blog, social network buzz correlates to better album salesBlog, social network buzz correlates to better album sales The blogosphere appeared to be most strongly correlated to better album sales—if 40 or more legitimate (written by normal people and not by marketers) blog posts were made before an album's release, sales ended up being three times the average.
independentmusician	Date: February 12, 2008 @ 7:19 PM Does chatter matter? (further reading for the above link.)
independentmusician	Date: February 12, 2008 @ 7:45 PM Man arrested at gunpoint after police mistake his MP3 player for a gun
pessimist	Date: February 13, 2008 @ 12:16 AM "Best government that money can buy." And best corporations that government can enable. Our government is crappy. Mega-corporations are crappy. The future of this country looks crappy. Where does realism end and pessimism begin? Or can they be an overlapping Venn diagram?
independentmusician	Date: February 13, 2008 @ 1:48 AM Canon Files For DSLR Iris Registration Patent Canon has filed for a patent for using iris watermarking (as in the iris of your eye) to take photographer's copyright protection to the next level. You set up the camera to capture an image of your eye through the viewfinder. Once captured, this biological reference is embedded as metadata into every photo you take. Canon claims this will help with copyright infringement of photos online.
pessimist	Date: February 13, 2008 @ 5:38 AM Governments and corporations have a very contagious form of copyright mania. It infects all those with vested interests, and even makes the uninvolved sick to their stomaches.
pessimist	Date: February 13, 2008 @ 10:06 AM "sick to their stomachs" or gives them stomach-aches I hate oppressive governments (like the U.S.'s) and invasive cartels (like the RIAA & the MPAA)! And I also hate how too many people are unaware or don't care. [gnashed teeth]
Twarrior	Date: February 14, 2008 @ 11:25 AM You've been pumping my retard, I'm the Ferangi in your yard, with sawdust and yoda! lmao! No, I'm not smoking anything I shouldn't be ... but you might want to consider it before watching this shit lol ... your gonna piss yer pants laughing trust me lol Better Graphics, Worse Audio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fSpI4oZoDc Better Audio, Worse Graphics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdG_fey4_ow Hell, watch both. lol But this is funny, seriously. lol I really needed to share this. lol ... and seeing as Dahler Mendi isn't an RIAA Artist, I'm sure he wouldn't mind it! ;-) -Dave
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:35 AM Hmm... From: Michael Moniz To: Bob Lefsetz Subject: Grammy Comment(My Grammy Moment) "One more thing I can't believe no one caught on to, which further make the Grammys a fucking joke, was the "My Grammy Moment". The way the contest was structured, you would think it's meant for non-established performing musicians to get a chance in the pseudo spotlight. The winner last night? Ann Marie Calhoun. Now you may ask who the hell she is. She's currently in fucking Ringo Starr's touring/promo band for his new album! Alarm bells went off in my head when I saw her as one of the final three. I had just seen her a couple weeks before as part of Ringo's band on the Craig Ferguson Late Late Show. Add to that, her performing on a Dave Matthews record, and touring with Jethro Tull and Steve Vai!! (check out her site and Wikipedia entry). Pretty much a scam to the actual amateur musicians from around the country who submitted to this contest thinking they actually had a real shot. And for the record, I watched to see what kind of train wreck the show was gonna be, and for comedic value, by an hour and a half in, I'd taken all the punishment I could take and flipped off the tv."
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:44 AM EFF fighting for Digital Rights in Europe
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:45 AM Support EFF at this Weekend's ShmooCon! Going to ShmooCon? Donate during the T-shirt Charity Drive and support EFF! Charitable attendees pay to receive a shirt and a poker chip to give to a charity of choice. On the last day of the conference, SchmooCon organizers will convert the chips into monetary donations for your favorite non-profits. ShmooCon is an annual East coast hacker convention hell-bent on offering three days of an interesting atmosphere for demonstrating technology exploitation, inventive software & hardware solutions, and open discussions of critical infosec issues. For more about ShmooCon: http://www.shmoocon.org/ For more about the ShmooCon contests and events: http://www.shmoocon.org/contests.html ======= No relation. :)
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:46 AM Arlen Specter wants an exception for churches for the NFL's prohibition on public display of the Super Bowl.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:47 AM A new survey finds social networking sites are safer for children than other types of Internet communication.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:47 AM Blogger ID protected!
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:52 AM Lawrence Lessig to run for Congress? With the unfortunate passing of Congressman Tom Lantos, parts of Silicon Valley and San Francisco will be holding a special election in June to send a replacement to Congress. Given the area, it would be great to have someone who is both tech- and policy-aware fill the seat — and it looks like that just might happen. Lawrence Lessig has apparently bought 'change-congress.com.' A 'Draft Lessig' group is forming on Facebook, featuring some of Lessig's old co-workers at Harvard and Jimmy Wales, among others. No word from Lessig himself yet, but he's been increasingly vocal about politics of late. If it happens, it would be a huge step forward for the representation of technology in Washington.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:54 AM Comcast's FCC Filing Called Unfair, Not Good Enough "What Comcast is really doing wasn't at all comparable to limiting the number of cars that enter a highway. Instead, it was more like a horse race where the cable company owns one of the horses and the racetrack itself." --Vuse
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:56 AM After the recent draft legislation in the UK, which would create a 'three strikes' policy to cut off anyone accused of online piracy, the ISPs are asking for liability protection when users are wrongly identified.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:57 AM EU Commissioner drinks US brand kool-aid. Asks for copyright to be extended to 95 years.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:58 AM Rep. Ed Markey (D — Mass.), who chairs the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, introduced a bill yesterday whose end result could be the penalization of bandwidth throttling to paying customers.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:59 AM Oklahoma State U bows to the RIAA Hours after a federal court judge ordered Oklahoma State University to show cause why it shouldn't be held in contempt for failing to respond to an RIAA subpoena, attorneys for the school e-mailed a list of students' names to the RIAA's attorneys. But now that the RIAA has what it wanted, the group is unsure about how to go about sending out its pre-litigation settlement letters. Some of the students are represented by an attorney, meaning that the RIAA is barred from contacting them directly.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 12:02 PM US to use spy satellites on US citizens. Probably already are doing so. (Possibly why they are gonna try shooting down the one falling on us soon. The don't want no evidence if the hard-drives onboard survive re-entry ya know.) tin-foil hat ;)
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 12:10 PM New Net Neutrality legislation. http://www.freepress.net/docs/markey_086_xml. pdf it would add a section to the 'Broadband Policy' section of the Communications Act which spells out principles the FCC is expected to uphold, in addition to having them hold summits which would 'assess competition, consumer protection, and consumer choice issues related to broadband Internet access services' and make it easy for citizens to submit comments or complaints online.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 12:12 PM US-based International Intellectual Property Alliance claims Canada has joined Russia and China among the biggest violators of US copyright law.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 12:23 PM I apologize to Yoko. http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/29294
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 12:31 PM Australia set to give the go-ahead for Creative Commons licensing for public sector information. HEY, WAIT! Shouldn't "public sector" info be public domain anyways???
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 5:24 PM I hate Clear Channel, but this ain't right: Great White concert fire that killed 100 costs Clear Channel $22 million. For advertising the concert.
Jefrystube	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 5:37 PM And the format winner is: Blu-ray. Walmart to sell that format exclusively, game over HD. Linky
Jefrystube	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 5:38 PM http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/15/technology/wa l-mart_blu-ray/index.htm?cnn=yes so much for posting a link.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 7:03 PM [url = http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/15/technology/wa l-mart_blu-ray/index.htm?cnn=yes ]Linky[ /url] Removing the 3 spaces will get you: Linky :)
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 7:05 PM An article from BBC News online states that ISPs in the UK are resistant to the government's desires for monitoring their users' data.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 7:11 PM Porn producer Vivid wants Google to make porn harder to find. It's for the sake of the children... (yeah, right.)
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 7:47 PM Violinist: Fall fractures $1M fiddle OUCH!
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 7:50 PM The chief songwriter and founder of the band Boston has more than a feeling that he's being ripped off by Mike Huckabee. In a letter to the Republican presidential hopeful, Tom Scholz complains that Huckabee is using his 1970s smash hit song "More Than a Feeling" without his permission.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 7:59 PM Beyonce called Tina the "Queen" and Aretha got mad.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 8:10 PM Google plans to enter the online music market in China for the first time, as it steps up its battle with local incumbent Baidu.com
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 8:14 PM Online retailer Play.com is to launch a new UK download store called PlayDigital, offering music from EMI and independent labels as MP3 tracks which could be played on all digital devices including iPods.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 10:00 PM Army looking for entertainers
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 10:06 PM If interested in performing for the troops, I guess this is where to start.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 10:36 PM The integrity of "American Idol" as a contest for raw, undiscovered talent was called into question again after an Irish singer who once had a major-label deal, and solo album that flopped, advanced to the top rung of the competition this week.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 10:52 PM I'm not sure she was actually signed with anyone or not, but our own Brian Fitzgerald was beat out by Ann Marie Calhoun at the Grammy's. http://www.annmariecalhoun.com/ She's got a lot of prior "big name" affiliation but I, myself am not complaining much about it, even tho some folk are crying foul. (Not Brian tho. He's as gracious as can be! And, from all reports, had a great time!) Except for Ann being the one who got to stand up during the "solo" with the Foo Fighters, all three of the finalists seemed to get about equal "face-time" during the Grammy's.
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:04 PM But I guess the "question" is: Are these big music industry "seek-a-star" contests "rigged" or is it that truly talented individuals who enter ALSO are likely to have a prior history of working (or trying to crack into) the music biz? We know Brian is "true indie" through and through (unless he took any wooden nickels this past week or so, lol.) ----------- Long story short. I feel "cheated" because I wanted our friend to win, but I see no evidence that Ann Marie's win was "in the fix" (She IS very good, AND cute as hell to boot!)
independentmusician	Date: February 15, 2008 @ 11:10 PM So, why am I going on and on about it? (Lingering doubt and mistrust.) :) lol (Hey, it's in my nature! I'm that friggin' Boycott-Riaa guy after all ain't I?)
independentmusician	Date: February 17, 2008 @ 12:09 AM Canadian version of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act has been delayed again - possibly because of massive public outcry, and possibly even because of opposition from the industry itself. Canada's biggest ISPs have banded together to oppose the proposed new legislation and suggest their own solution, which include allowances for expanded fair dealing, private copying, no liability for ISPs and legislation that concentrates its wrath on commercial pirates instead of penny-ante downloaders and seeders.
independentmusician	Date: February 17, 2008 @ 12:12 AM Atheletes allowed to blog at Olympics, but only with a ton of restrictions "protecting" the Olympic's copyrights. No pictures of events. No "interviews" of other players. etc.
independentmusician	Date: February 17, 2008 @ 12:31 AM White House objects to plan for .gov P2P security
independentmusician	Date: February 17, 2008 @ 12:39 AM several BitTorrent developers have proposed a new protocol extension with the ability to bypass the BitTorrent interfering techniques used by Comcast and other ISPs
independentmusician	Date: February 18, 2008 @ 12:16 AM Prince and the Village People to sue Pirate Bay
independentmusician	Date: February 18, 2008 @ 12:18 AM Web Sheriff urges ABBA to join in the suit.
independentmusician	Date: February 18, 2008 @ 12:52 AM OBIT: Juno-award-winning folksinger Willie P. Bennett has died at his home in Peterborough, Ont.
independentmusician	Date: February 18, 2008 @ 12:57 AM Music and extras being released on USB flash drives. Neat! (If you can trust the vendor.) Sounds like a good way to infect someones computer with RIAA created mal-ware, spyware, and other viruses. Can you say "root-kit"?
independentmusician	Date: February 18, 2008 @ 1:24 AM It's a doggone chartbuster -- a song audible only to dogs has topped New Zealand record charts, and is looking to go global.
independentmusician	Date: February 18, 2008 @ 6:44 AM Australian Government Considers Copying UK Copyright Law Ideas Under the three-strikes policy, a warning would be first issued to offenders who illegally share files using peer-to-peer technology to access music, TV shows and movies free of charge. The second strike would lead to the offender's internet access being suspended; the third would cancel the offender's internet access
independentmusician	Date: February 18, 2008 @ 11:24 PM FOR SALE - World's largest recorded music library. USED - so Boycott-RIAA compliant 3 Million Records 300,000 Compact Discs More Than 6 Million Song Titles http://www.thegreatestmusiccollection.com/
independentmusician	Date: February 18, 2008 @ 11:29 PM Graphs and charts tracking Oscar leaks over the past 6 years.
independentmusician	Date: February 18, 2008 @ 11:49 PM Wikileaks Under Attack: California Court Wipes Wikileaks.org Out of Existence an injunction written and requested by lawyers for the Cayman Island's Bank Julius Baer. It seems that the bank is trying to keep the public from accessing documents that may reveal shady dealings. Wikileaks was only given a couple of hours notice "by email" and was not even represented at the hearing where a U.S. judge took such a drastic step attempting to totally shut down an important information outlet. The result was this totally unprecedented attempt to totally wipe out the existence of Wikileaks. UPDATE: Pukebazooka points out that the court order is to remove the DNS hosting records, so that "even though this prevents the wikileaks.org link from working, it doesn't actually take down the site: everything is up and running at 88.80.13.160.
independentmusician	Date: February 19, 2008 @ 12:07 AM HD DVD goes the way of Betamax
brenthannah	Date: February 19, 2008 @ 11:01 AM http://www.foxytunes.com/ A service that allows you to attach any tune you have listened to on your computer to an email. Now how the heck is the RIAA going to let that happen?
gfmlcka	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 12:26 PM RIAA training video. For prosecutors: http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/02/riaa-trai ning-v.html Jeez.
brenthannah	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 5:23 PM Another link to the video highlights. http://gizmodo.com/358648/ Piracy, Terrorism, Crack it's all connected. Of course! Why didn't I see before?
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:13 PM Competitors Ally With Comcast In FCC P2P Filings Apparently a lot of the other ISP's want to screw you too!
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:14 PM DVD Jon's "DRM Killer"
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:15 PM The Church of Scientology can delete auctions from eBay with no supervision under the VeRO program ...and has used this to delete all resale of the e-meters Scientologists use. This is to stop members from buying used units from ex-members instead of buying from the official (and very expensive) source. Given Scientology's record of fraud and abuse, should eBay give them this level of trust? Will this set a precedent for other companies that want to stop the aftermarket resale of their products?
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:17 PM UK Report slams EULA's with the conclusion that many consumers are signing away their legal rights and agreeing to unfair terms, which they could never have scrutinized before purchase. The report also acknowledges that even if the EULA were available prior to purchase, it would be unreasonable to expect an average consumer to understand the terms to which they were agreeing.
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:21 PM Pew report on why people first went online ...and why they stayed.
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:23 PM Random House Audio abandons audiobook DRM (.pdf) "Since our decision has been based in part on our experience with eMusic, I would like to share those results with you. EMusic started selling audiobooks mid-September, and their program has been a success, with strong sales every month since launch. Since they sell content only in the MP3 format (in other words, without DRM), our goal was to find out if allowing them to sell our content would lead to any increase in illegal filesharing. For tracking purposes, we watermarked all of the eMusic files and then hired a piracy watchdog service to monitor and report back to us if any of our titles appeared on the major filesharing networks. We tracked a mix of popular titles, including some that were not available through eMusic. Because piracy is already a fact of life in the digital world, what we were interested in finding out was not whether piracy exists, but rather whether there is any correlation between DRM-free distribution and an increased incidence of piracy. The results: we have not yet found a single instance of the eMusic watermarked titles being distributed illegally. We did find many copies of audiobook files available for free, but they did not originate from the eMusic test, but rather from copied CDs or from files whose DRM was hacked. It is worth noting that these results are entirely consistent with what the music industry has found in the last six months. After conducting their own tests with Amazon, Walmart.com and others, the major labels have reached the conclusion that MP3 distribution does not in itself lead to increased piracy, they are now moving their entire catalogs to this approach. "
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:23 PM EFF's Pioneer Award winners.
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:47 PM A bunch of current newsworthy links! copyright issues newsletter from Univ. of Maryland
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:48 PM Leflaw files Supreme Court petition to protect Kareoke Should publishers be allowed to prevent Karoake renditions of songs?
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:49 PM Should file sharing be decriminalized? Yes according to the Jon Healy of the LA times....(The question itself is comical, if it weren't so tragic - ed.)
independentmusician	Date: February 21, 2008 @ 11:50 PM Folks, I'm doing a lot of cross-linking because my admin powers are partially broken. (Has something to do with DMusic's upgrade I assume.)
independentmusician	Date: February 23, 2008 @ 12:09 PM Foo Fighters Sue Marvel Comics Over X-Men Cartoon
brenthannah	Date: February 23, 2008 @ 9:11 PM Jack Black on Piracy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LkWKvMCzqA&fe ature=related
independentmusician	Date: February 24, 2008 @ 1:49 AM Law students at the University of Ottawa's Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) have created a great, 5-minute video explaining time-shifting and Canadian copyright law. (YouTube vid)
independentmusician	Date: February 24, 2008 @ 1:54 AM Record company profits aren't more important than privacy and free speech A clampdown is music to the record industry's ears
independentmusician	Date: February 24, 2008 @ 1:58 AM Fight against the latest UK copyright term extension NOW!
independentmusician	Date: February 24, 2008 @ 2:03 AM Adobe infects Flash with DRM Seth Schoen, staff technologist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation and one of the world's top DRM technical researchers, has written up an analysis of the DRM that Adobe has built into the latest version of Flash for videos, which prevents video viewers from making mashups and re-edits of the video they see on the net.
independentmusician	Date: February 24, 2008 @ 3:26 AM MySpace + RIAA = yuck. [url= http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080220/ap_on_hi_ te/myspace_online_music;_ylt=AqiCX96OV4Fe4GY5 XZH_RnAN7YV4]News Corp, is in talks to create an online music joint venture with the four biggest record companies
pessimist	Date: February 24, 2008 @ 6:48 PM Here's the best bottom line against DRM (whether in video tools or in music): "Ultimately, there's a classic suite of arguments against DRM that will be as true for online video as they were for music: DRM doesn't move additional product. DRM is grief for honest end-users. And there's no reason to imagine that new DRM systems will stop copyright infringement any more effectively than previous systems."
independentmusician	Date: February 25, 2008 @ 12:31 AM Photographer/web developer Wins Copyright Lawsuit Against Vilana Financial. THIS is a rare example of copyright used for its' intended purpose.
independentmusician	Date: February 25, 2008 @ 12:35 AM If all goes IBM's way, it'll soon constitute patent infringement if Bennigan's gives you a free lunch for being inconvenienced by a long wait for your meal.
independentmusician	Date: February 25, 2008 @ 12:45 AM Library of Congress sells out to M$ for a mere 3 million. The Library, in turn, agrees to put kiosks running Vista in the library and to use Microsoft Silverlight to "help power the library's new Web site, www.myloc.gov.
independentmusician	Date: February 25, 2008 @ 12:47 AM the lawsuit against Microsoft's "Windows Vista Capable" marketing campaign has been granted class-action status.
independentmusician	Date: February 25, 2008 @ 12:58 AM Deadline in Viacom, Google copyright suit extended
independentmusician	Date: February 25, 2008 @ 12:59 AM Britain threatens legislation over Internet piracy
independentmusician	Date: February 26, 2008 @ 3:10 AM Wired is running a long excerpt from the book "The Economics of Free" by Wired's editor-in-chief Chris Anderson.
independentmusician	Date: February 26, 2008 @ 3:11 AM The FCC held its hearing on network neutrality and Comcast today at Harvard.
independentmusician	Date: February 26, 2008 @ 3:13 AM Judge rejects the "making available" theory.
independentmusician	Date: February 26, 2008 @ 3:14 AM In Atlantic v. Brennan, in a 9-page opinion [PDF], Judge Janet Bond Arterton held that the RIAA needs to prove 'actual distribution of copies', and cannot rely — as it was permitted to do in Capitol v. Thomas — upon the mere fact that there are song files on the defendant's computer and that they were 'available'.
independentmusician	Date: February 26, 2008 @ 3:32 AM Warner Music digital head Zubillaga to quit Zubillaga has overseen key digital initiatives at Warner as the company has made the difficult transition from selling music on CDs to selling songs in digital files such as MP3 and licensing music videos for Web sites like YouTube and Yahoo Inc. He will be replaced by long-time Warner digital executive Michael Nash.
independentmusician	Date: February 26, 2008 @ 3:36 AM http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20080226/tc_cmp/2 06900113;_ylt=AjrujmTfy5855MSWSolXL7_6VbIF Officials warn against broadband providers who interfere with users' access, while a leading ISP denied accusations it discriminates against some types of traffic.
pessimist	Date: February 26, 2008 @ 4:53 AM Re: Judge rejects the "making available" theory At last, justice is served on that issue.
Scarlock	Date: February 27, 2008 @ 5:44 PM Comcast Blocks Public from FCC Hearing
pessimist	Date: February 27, 2008 @ 8:07 PM Why am I not surprised.
brenthannah	Date: February 28, 2008 @ 11:52 AM UMG v. Lindor: expert witness concludes RIAA's expert witness work is "borderline incompetence" http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com /2008/02/marie-lindor-files-expert-witness.ht ml Is anybody updating this site anymore?
pepe512000	Date: February 28, 2008 @ 12:34 PM Pass or fail? RIAAâ€™s college litigation campaign turns one From Carey Sherman concerning there battle against students; There has been a wide variety of reaction to the campaign, according to Sherman. "We just got an e-mail the other day from some small indie artist that said 'I know some people think [the campaign] is unpopular, but thank you because it's making a difference." Seriously?
leflaw	Date: February 28, 2008 @ 4:08 PM grger
pepe512000	Date: February 28, 2008 @ 7:26 PM This anti-riaa "music" video is hillarious; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF7cHmyEJ-c
brenthannah	Date: February 29, 2008 @ 11:13 AM University of San Francisco Law Clinic Joins Fight Against RIAA http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/08/02/29/0120224. shtml
RaidHHI	Date: March 1, 2008 @ 3:41 AM Civil Rights Groups want the FCC to Okay bandwidth throttling; No joke! http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20080301/tc_p cworld/142986;_ylt=AspsQPRIM2wg8uRbLaHTFfVk24 cA
pessimist	Date: March 1, 2008 @ 3:58 AM Net neutrality or bust!!
pepe512000	Date: March 1, 2008 @ 4:26 PM RIAA Not Sharing "Getting money out of the major labels is never easy, but given the industry's downward financial spiral it is exponentially more difficult now, the source said." "The record labels are experts at transferring money around and putting the onus on artists managers to find it." ~~Duh, really?~~
independentmusician	Date: March 1, 2008 @ 11:21 PM "Content discrimination is a real threat to an open Internet, but so are bandwidth hogs-- particularly those who traffic in illegal, pirated material. Bandwidth management can be objectionable if it is aimed at censoring certain content, but it is in the consumer's interest if it is aimed at preserving bandwidth for consumers that pay for it." --Harry Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce What a dupe!
independentmusician	Date: March 1, 2008 @ 11:28 PM I have a sneaky suspicion Mr. Alford has financial ties to AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. Wikipedia says they are sponsors of the NBCC.
independentmusician	Date: March 1, 2008 @ 11:51 PM Wikileaks Gets Domain Back, Injunction Dissolved
independentmusician	Date: March 2, 2008 @ 12:27 AM OBIT: MIA singer DOA.
independentmusician	Date: March 2, 2008 @ 12:52 AM Former Depeche Mode member launches open letter to public on music industry mayhem