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News ArchiveThis list of articles is in reverse chronological order (newest at the top). Perspective MattersFebruary 10, 2008 -- Today's collection of topics includes the magic filter that the RIAA wants to install in your PC, the DOJ's interest in the labels' newest joint venture, the current dearth of songwriters, Neil Young's observation that music has lost its power to change the world, Sweden performers' group asks for legalization of file sharing, and whatever else that comes to mind before I get to the end. (Read More) RIAA Says Songwriters OverpaidFebruary 4, 2008 -- On Friday, the RIAA pitched their long-running sob story to the California State Legislature, voicing their concern for "the songwriters who pen the music and lyrics; the background musicians who perform it; the engineers who texture, layer and refine it; the artists who make it soar"? Meanwhile, on the East Coast, they are arguing that songwriters and publishers are ruining the music business. (Read More) Urgent Messages from the MentalsJanuary 29, 2008 -- RIAA acknowledges existence of the other 3 million of us. ASCAP reminds us that war is peace and the RIAA has always been the enemy. Writers Guild gives the Grammys a waiver. U2's manager whines about the Internet. Ah, I love the smell of stupid in the morning. Somehow makes the day worth living. (Read More) QTrax Fumbles on the KickoffJanuary 28, 2008 -- Early this morning, the big music news was that a company called QTrax had "announced deals with all the major music labels and publishers to offer the first free and legal ad-supported P2P service to include major label music." Good story, except the part about deals with all the major labels turns out to be bullshit. And it gets worse from there. (Read More) Industry Still Can't Buy a ClueJanuary 26, 2008 -- A couple of months ago, we heard a lot of hubbub about how it was time for the music business to change, some it actually coming from the labels themselves. Of course, expecting the people who screwed everything up to fix it is like calling a blind interior decorator to spruce up your living room. (Read More) Catching Up on Latest LunacyJanuary 18, 2008 -- I'm finding a benefit in being too busy to write every day. As the noteworthy things I haven't written about pile up, it forces a wider perspective. So... this week, we've got Tanya Andersen, the continuing saga of fail at EMI, the merciless rape and pillaging of MediaDefender, a dumbass debate on DRM, plus the usual collection of idiots, all seasoned with a healthy dose of sarcasm. (Read More) Free Jack Bauer!January 12, 2008 -- While I generally avoid the celebrity news, not to mention that I'm still busy trying to produce the recordings we made last weekend, I cannot help but wonder why Kiefer Sutherland has to spend more time in jail than Britney, Paris, Lindsay and the entire cast of "Lost" combined. (Read More) Kick-Starting the New YearJanuary 9, 2008 -- Last week, I said indies should record some cover songs. Then I went to Tucson and spent the next two nights doing exactly that with The Hurricane. A few more days getting the ADAT tracks into ProTools, and the first finished tune has appeared, with another 20 or so in the pipeline. Here's the handy listening guide for the tracks as they appear, as well as some amusing stories from the weekend. (Read More) Time for Musicians to Step Up the FightJanuary 3, 2008 -- The RIAA tries to pretend that everything they don't own doesn't exist, even as they continue to reduce their output. Indie musicians can turn this to our advantage. Right now, the door is open for us to take everything the RIAA has and make legal recordings to replace the illegal ones they keep making. (Read More) Harvard -- Music's Legal Hero of 2007December 31, 2007 -- In today's New York Times, Adam Liptak seems to cautiously support the actions of Oregon's Attorney General, who is fighting the RIAA on behalf of the University of Oregon. Liptak uses the word "surprise" a lot in his story. He's surprised, the RIAA is surprised, everybody's surprised. Except for a couple of guys in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Read More) 2007 -- Year of Living LudicrouslyDecember 29, 2007 -- Before we stumble into 2008, it's time to take one last look back to mock the lunacy from 2007. And there was a lot of it. (Read More) Someone is Murdering Mexico's MusiciansDecember 26, 2007 -- This one is at Time, and is a serious story about how musicians in Mexico are finding themselves targets of the very people they have been singing about in recent years -- the local drug lords. (Read More) RIAA Gives Last-Minute Christmas GiftDecember 22, 2007 -- Just when I was convinced that the year was pretty much over as far as the music business is concerned, when the RIAA sent out a Christmas video greeting so that we don't forget that they are morons. (Read More) Warner Music Screws Led Zeppelin FansDecember 13, 2007 -- Three days ago, Led Zeppelin got back together after 28 years and performed a two and a half hour set that everyone lucky enough to have seen seems to agree was magic. The next day, a few videos popped up on YouTube. Today, they're gone and I'm wondering how Warner Music can claim copyright infringement for something they didn't record. (Read More) This, That and the Other ThingDecember 5, 2007 -- Today's offering includes a batch of items that I don't want to let slip past unmentioned, including Tom Petty's movie, Guitar Hero III and Rock Band games, CD sales, Jammie Thomas, RIAA v Limewire, and a few notes on the Rock History research. (Read More) Radiohead, Prince Snubbed By Brit AwardsNovember 30, 2007 -- The big boys are discovering what the rest of us have known all along. It doesn't matter how many physical CDs you distribute, or how many people download your newest album -- if your music is not distributed by the gatekeepers, your content is not even worthy of consideration. It doesn't count. (Read More) Yes, They Really ARE That StupidNovember 28, 2007 -- If you watch the music industry too closely, you tend to get the mistaken impression that there is some sort of master evil plan that the international cartel has going that will, in the long run, make some sort of twisted sense. There is no master plan. There isn't any plan at all, which is a sure sign that the artists don't need them any longer. (Read More) Yahoo, Sony Rewrite Law? Or Terminology?November 28, 2007 -- "You make a video with a recent Bob Dylan song on the soundtrack, and upload it to Yahoo Video. Using such copyrighted material in user-generated content for Yahoo might now be legal, following an agreement announced between Sony BMG and Yahoo." If I put the same video described above on this site, it would not be described as "legal" by Sony. Because the law hasn't changed. Saying so seems deceptive. (Read More) History in the MakingNovember 25, 2007 -- Been spending quite a bit of time on my Incomplete History of Rock and Roll. It has been sectioned off into several pages, which could use some navigational aids, but I'm going to cram a lot more content into during the next few days, particularly the music biz's Grand Spiral O' Death. Then I'll worry about making it more user friendly. Bronfman's Phony SurrenderNovember 20, 2007 -- Sometime last week, in a land far, far away, Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman declared consumers to be the winners of the 21st Century Music War. Ever seen the "new ball" trick in a high school football game? The teams take position at the line of scrimmage, then the quarterback says, "Wait! New ball!"? The center hands him the football and the quarterback wanders over near the sidelines, asking for a new ball. The rest of the offense stays right where they are. Just before he gets to the sidelines, where the coach is standing, holding another ball, when the quarterback make a break for the end zone while the defense is adjusting their jock straps. Bronfman's "surrender" is kinda like that. (Read More) Columbia House's Debt ScavengersNovember 17, 2007 -- In June, I received a letter from Nationwide Collections Inc. of Fort Pierce, Florida, trying to collect a debt "originally owed to Columbia House." They wanted me to "prevent legal action" and let me know that a judgement against me could affect my "ability to get credit, buy a home or car" unless I promptly paid the balance due of... $19.77. Yeah, right. (Read More) Downloading Is Not Theft v2.0November 16, 2007 -- The U.S. law never mentions downloading of music files, much less prohibit it or equate it with theft. Downloading is not a crime, no matter how much bullshit they quote trying to tell you it is because what they can't quote is an actual law. (Read More) Dear Congress: Are You Insane???November 12, 2007 -- It's a rhetorical question. They want to take away the financial aid of all students attending universities that do not subscribe to RIAA-endorsed music services. (Read More) Praise for Prince Was MistakeNovember 8, 2007 -- Not too long ago, I praised Prince as being a genius for giving away free CDs in a London newspaper. I regret having written anything about this artist and will not make the same mistake in the future. I now question the wisdom of having touted other artists simply because they left their old label. (Read More) EMI's New Owner Threatens Artists - Or NotNovember 3, 2007 -- EMI's new boss is Guy Hands, who has "promised 'fundamental change' in how EMI approached the music business, warning that artists would have to meet their side of the bargain" -- but not until "EMI's own standards had been raised" and he uses words that many in the music biz have long ago banished from their vocabulary, like "honesty, transparency and performance." (Read More) Clear Channel's Silly Springsteen BanOctober 30, 2007 -- Clear Channel has instituted a ban on playing songs from Bruce Springsteen's latest album, Magic, according to Fox News' celebrity gossip reporter, Roger Friedman, relying on unnamed sources. Despite the questionable credibility of anyone identifying themselves as a celebrity gossip reporter, coupled with being on Fox News, we'll talk about this anyway. (Read More) Wisdom in the Great White NorthOctober 25, 2007 -- While the RIAA continues the music inquisition and people continue to share music with reckless abandon, the question that the media seldom asks is where the artists stand on the issue of the record labels suing their fans. This has not stopped some of them from telling us anyway. (Read More) Led Zeppelin: Old Dudes That Can Still Rock The Cartel That Couldn't Think Straight Don't Like the RIAA? DELETE Them From P2P RIAA Juror: 'We Wanted to Send a Message' Piracy or Pathetic Paucity of Product? Warner, Universal Compete to be Worst Label Copyright Office Violating Copyright Law Apple's Bizarre Antitrust Problem Copyright Office Fails Mission Again Why Prince's Free CD Was Genius Universities to RIAA: Take a Hike The Blame Game: Artists and Ticket Prices New Bogus Copyright Threat: Guitar Lessons |
Deep ArchiveArticles from prior to October, 2006. These are being revived in no particular order. December, 2002 -- RIAA Statistics Don't Add Up to Piracy July 19, 2005 -- Bullshit from a PRO |