Category Archives: Copyright

Megadeth Drummer Says Piracy Has Hurt Sales of New Album

There are more and more artists everyday realizing what we’ve know for well over a decade, that artists and creators are the victims of technocratic imperialism and labor exploitation. The latest is Shawn Drover of Megadeth.

Metal-Rules.com: “Super Collider” debuted at #6 on the Billboard Top 200 albums in the USA and #4 on Canadian Billboard charts. That’s the highest ranking since “Youthansia” back in 1994, so congrats! According to sales figures, “Super Collider” sold below “TH1RT3EN” for week one… Do you attribute that to changing times, illegal downloading, etc?

Shawn Drover: Of course it is. We are certainly thrilled to have a #6 record on Billboard in America and #4 in Canada, but sales are way down for the entire music industry right across the board, which is a real drag. Internet piracy, torrent sites and all that are the reason why. Concert attendance for us is still great around the world, so we are definitely happy about that.

Read The Full Story Here at Blabbermouth.Net:
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=191371

Uncertainty, Copyright and Courage by Paul Williams

On Wednesday, June 5th, ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams delivered a powerful keynote to attendees of the CISAC World Creators Summit in DC. He spoke passionately and pointedly about what it means to be a creator in today’s challenging digital environment.

This excerpt of the talk touches on one of many well made points.

Literature, music and art have value to individuals, to businesses and to countries. They open our hearts and minds. They inspire. They teach. They comfort. They drive economic growth and innovation. They define our time; they define our cultures; they bring us together.

So then, why are we now in the position of having to defend ourselves against the insidious erosion of the basic principles of copyright in so many parts of the world?

Intellectual property rights are a cornerstone of democracy. As a citizen, a creator and a consumer, I should have a reasonable expectation that I live in a society where thieves and outlaws are not allowed to run rampant – even when they are operating in cyberspace. But when lawmakers in North America and Europe tried to enact legislation that would help enforce laws against online fraud and theft, the technology sector said it would break the internet. They called it censorship.

Creators are in the business of free expression. Freedom of speech is about political speech, it is not about protecting fraud or theft. They trivialized what free speech means. Forces that want to control and diminish the value of our work for their own economic benefit are systematically attacking the rights of creators. They are methodically attacking the validity of copyright laws. They are building their businesses in a way that makes enforcement of our copyrights next to impossible.

The hope that creative work will pay off for the author, composer, filmmaker or photographer if it becomes successful is no longer a given. Fair payment has become another profound uncertainty in the professional life of every creator. This is true for people at the top of their game, and especially so for those just starting out. This is true globally – not just in the United States, in Canada, in the European Union – all over the world.

PLEASE READ THE FULL KEYNOTE ADDRESS HERE AT ASCAP:
http://www.ascap.com/playback/2013/06/action/uncertainty_copyright_and_courage.aspx

DMCA Safe Harbor is NOT a “License to Infringe”

Thanks to Music Tech Policy for alerting us to this post from The Association of Independent Music Publishers:

Apparently, some internet users interpret the DMCA “safe harbor,” which is designed to strike a balance between copyright and technology, as something quite different, a “license” to post anything you like, even if you know it is infringing, unless and until the copyright owner complains.

The distinction may seem small, but it may represent how the general public regards copyright on the internet.  Instead of avoiding infringement and respecting copyright, the concept of the “DMCA License” is that you don’t have to respect copyright.  Do what you like, and at the worst the copyright owner might force your ISP to remove the material.

There is no such thing as a “DMCA License” because under the DMCA, copyright owners are not in any way consenting to unauthorized use.  They are simply trying to keep up with the millions of infringements, using what the law gives them to work with.

READ THE FULL POST HERE:
http://www.aimp.org/copyrightCorner/8/The_DMCA_License

Google in Spotlight for Links to Criminal Websites… Again…

Just like groundhog’s day for Google… Here we go… Again…

“On every check we have made, Google’s search engine gave us easy access to illegal goods including websites which offer dangerous drugs without a prescription, counterfeit goods of every description, and infringing copies of movies, music, software and games,” said Attorney General Hood.  “This behavior means that Google is putting consumers at risk and facilitating wrongdoing, all while profiting handsomely from illegal behavior.”

If reading this triggers a sense of deja vu, don’t worry– you’re not crazy.  Less than 2 years ago, in August of 2011, Google agreed to a 500 million dollar settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over online advertisements for illegal Canadian pharmacies.

READ THE FULL POST AT VOX INDIE:
http://voxindie.org/google-links-to-criminal-websites-under-scrutiny

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN READING:
Google, Advertising, Money and Piracy. A History of Wrongdoing Exposed.

AND:
ADWEEK : “Ad Industry Takes Major Step to Fight Online Piracy”… Again…

New models, huh?

YouTube’s biggest partners are learning there’s nothing innovative in the exploitation of labor. David Newhoff at The Illusion of More offers this insight…

…the first and most important story is this one about YouTube’s biggest producing partners coming to realize that their revenue doesn’t exactly coincide with increases in viewership.

I can’t say I was surprised to read, “These partners feel that YouTube’s business approach enriches YouTube without making them nearly as wealthy.”  Presumably, this is simply a failure of the partners to embrace the new model of “you make product, we make money.”

READ THE FULL POST HERE AT THE ILLUSION OF MORE:
http://illusionofmore.com/new-models/

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So Much For Innovation, YouTuber’s Meet The New Boss…