M.E.L.O.N.

10 Years After Napster: Welcome to 1998

by Tony Berman

Imagine a music service that allowed you to search for and download nearly any song for free with no monthly limits or caps. You could burn the downloaded music to a CD, either creating mixes or burning complete albums. This service exists, but it isn’t called Napster, and this isn’t 1998. All-you-can-eat music download services are being utilized by various universities who pay a site license on behalf of their students. While the downloads aren’t exactly free if the students are paying for it in the form of tuition or a technology fee, most college students don’t feel like they’ve paid for anything when it’s wrapped up in their regular tuition bill. Why does this feel an awful lot like what Napster was proposing to the record labels 10 years ago? Because that’s exactly what it is.

Sampling Q&A

What is Sampling?  Sampling has several definitions, but the one used most commonly in music today is the practice of taking a section of recorded music, such as a guitar riff or a horn flourish, and inserting it into a new recording, often with some modification and in a loop. The use of samples in music can vary. Some samples are a straightforward reproduction of a familiar section of a popular song set to a new style of music. Examples of this approach are MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This,” Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby,” and Kid Rock’s “American Badass,” which sample Rick James’ “Superfreak,” Queen’s “Under Pressure,” and Metallica’s “Sad But True” respectively.

Will the PRO-IP Act Prove to be PRO-blematic?

by Shana Dines

Despite much controversy, President Bush signed into law the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008, affectionately known as the PRO-IP Act, on October 13, 2008. 

The usual suspects were characteristically divided over the PRO-IP Act.  Big content owners (RIAA, MPAA) in the entertainment industry enthusiastically pushed the bill, while public interest groups (EFF, Public Knowledge) fiercely argued to have some of the most extreme provisions of the bill pulled. 

Another supporter of the act was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which reported that 40% of the nation's economic growth, more than $5 trillion, comes from intellectual property.  This includes music, movies, pharmaceuticals, fashion, and software, which together represent more than half of U.S. exports. 

Particularly in light of the current economic crisis, Congress and the President seemed eager to protect such a large portion of the economy.

Neither side got everything they asked for, however, both were relatively successful in reaching a compromise. 

Tech News: Veoh Sails into "Safe Harbor"

by Shana Dines

In a previous article, we explained the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's "notice and takedown" and "safe harbor" provisions that were meant to insulate certain internet services from copyright infringement committed by their users. 

Viacom sued YouTube in early 2007, alleging that at least 150,000 clips on YouTube included content owned by Viacom that had been viewed at least 1.5 billion times, in total.  Viacom further condemned YouTube for profiting from a "massive copyright infringement."

Veoh, another online video site that offers a combination of licensed studio content and user-generated content, has also come under fire for hosting user-generated videos containing copyright infringements.  While Universal Music Group (UMG) has a case against Veoh still pending, Veoh recently won another case against them based on the safe harbor provision.

(c):Defendant Destroyed Evidence, RIAA Wins

by Shana Dines

In a previous article about the lawsuit against Jammie Thomas, we discussed the arguments on either side of the "make available" theory of copyright infringement.  Just this week, Judge Davis granted the pending motion for a new trial.  The jury award of $222,000 in the Thomas case was considered the pride of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). 

While this decision strikes a definitive blow to the RIAA's campaign to sue illegal file-traders for copyright infringement, there are still plenty of other cases pending on similar issues.  In another case that seemed to be leaning towards the defendants, the RIAA ultimately achieved a small victory earlier this month. 

The latest victims are the Howells, a husband and wife from Phoenix, AZ who decided to proceed in court without an attorney.  They had been faring relatively well for the past year, successfully blocking two summary judgments, however, the decision was ultimately ill-conceived. 

The Howells are now faced with a fine of $40,850 for destroying evidence that was critical to the case against them. 

iTunes is getting iTaxed in Many States

by Shana Dines

The economy is in a recession.  Gas prices are up.  Mortgages are foreclosing.  But digital music sales are on the rise, with iTunes reportedly selling over 5 billion songs, to date. 

Not surprisingly, politicians have begun viewing the billion-dollar industry as a potential revenue generator for the government through taxation. 

Many states, including California, have tax laws that unintentionally protect digital downloads from taxing because of language written well before the internet was even envisioned.  However, a growing number of states have started (or will soon start) taxing digital music downloads, either through reinterpretation of existing tax laws or by passing new laws.

Truth or Consequences: New Law Protects Performers and Public from Impostors

by Tony Berman

researched & edited by Shana Dines

While I was in Las Vegas the past couple of days, I checked out the listings of entertainment at the casinos.  There were obvious “tribute” shows such as “The Rat Pack is Back,” “Barbra and Frank: The Concert That Never Was,” and “Four Lads From Liverpool.”

Then there were some performers that made me wonder - “The Platters,” “Cornell Gunter's Coasters,” and “The Marvelettes.” 

I thought, “Didn’t Cornell Gunter die in the '90s in Las Vegas after being shot?” Who were these Coasters then?

And what about these Marvelettes?  I knew that for many years, none of the original members were able to tour under the name "The Marvelettes" in the United States due to a decision by Motown Records to sell their name to a promoter who had much younger girls on both coasts appearing as "The Marvelettes." 

"Did original Marvelette Gladys Horton regain control of the name?" I wondered.

And how many of the original Platters would be at this gig?  Certainly not Zola Taylor, who I knew had died last year.

Impersonators and tribute bands have long been a popular, inexpensive alternative to seeing the real musical groups, especially those who have passed away.  However, when a group falsely claims to include an original member and bills themselves as the real thing, they cross the line and become impostors.

Events: Bandwidth Conference

The Bandwidth Music | Technology Conference is taking place August 14 & 15 at the University Club in Nob Hill. 

BEAT-Law's Tony Berman will be leading the discussion about digital legal issues @ 1 pm in the Library.

Other featured speakers include Susan Bonds and Alex Lieu, President/CEO and Chief Creative Officer of 42 Entertainment, Jonathan Poneman, co-founder of Sub Pop Records, and Alexandra Patsavas, founder of Chop Shop Music. 

From their website:

Bandwidth features conversations with movers and shakers, as well as a chance to interact with others in an intimate environment - the right people in the right space in numbers that make it easy to connect.

Topics focus on marketing, fan behavior, trends and future forecasts, and an examination of the ways people discover, purchase, interact with, and are exposed to music.

Hope to see you there!

(C): $200K Victory for RIAA May be Retried

by Shana Dines

In our previous article, Copyright: Registration Pt. 2, we mentioned the case of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) suing Jammie Thomas for 24 counts of copyright infringement through the web-based P2P trading network, KaZaA.  In October 2007, the jury awarded the five record label plaintiffs (including Capitol and Sony/BMG) statutory damages of $222,000, which is less than 10% of what they were legally entitled to. 

Thomas filed an appeal 11 days after the jury verdict was entered on the grounds of excessive damages.  Finally, 7 months later, Judge Michael Davis filed an order stating that he was considering granting a new trial not based on excessive damages, but based on a possible "manifest error of law."  The hearing over this matter was held yesterday, August 4, 2008.  Although a decision will not be entered for another month, many commentators are expecting Judge Davis to declare it a mistrial.

Tech News: New TLDs Will Stir Up .change

by Shana Dines

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced their unanimous decision to allow new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) last month. 

Generic top-level domains are the series of letters at the right end of a website address.  The most commonly used gTLDs are .com, and .org, while some restricted TLDs include .gov and .edu.  There are also country code TLDs, like .il for Israel and .au for Australia. 

This program, set to take effect in early 2009, could potentially add limitless new gTLDs to the realm of IP addresses.

The news comes to a mixture of reactions, ranging from fear to excitement to apathy.