A provocative question–of course knowing the answer precisely would mean that Amazon actually knew which CDs were counterfeit to begin with. That means we need to guess, but sometimes guesses are more accurate that we may give them credit for. And we guess it’s in the 2 million unit range–and absurdly high number for the smartest guys in the room.

via How many Counterfeit CDs Does Amazon Sell? — Artist Rights Watch

The Obama Department of Justice filed notice on November 11 that it intended to use the peoples money to appeal BMI Rate Court Judge Louis Stanton’s devastating ruling against the DOJ’s bizarre position on “100% licensing”. Professor Steve Winogradsky and I summarized the results of the ruling in this post. Aside from the terrible legal […]

via How President Trump Can Give Songwriters and Publishers Immediate Relief from DOJ and LOC Overreach — Music Tech Solutions

DATE:            November 9, 2016

TO:                 Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress

FROM:           David Mao, Deputy Librarian of Congress

SUBJECT:      Hiring Criteria for Register of Copyrights

As you requested, following are recommended factors to consider when hiring the next Register of Copyrights.  Obviously, these are only suggestions as your power is absolute.

1. Be a kissass.
2. Have no original thought.
3. Be a kissass.
4. Speak to no one but your absoluteness.
5. Have excellent skills at making change in the LOC gift shop.
6. Demand even more deposit copies under compulsory licenses that permit free copying by our allies.
7. Know her/his place under your absoluteness.
8. Be a kissass.
9. Not look too hard for the owner of orphan works.
10. Support your brilliant interpretation of Section 115 to give our allies a free license, no liability and hiding in plain sight!  That is almost as brilliant as your interpretation of Section 108 to turn the LOC into a major feeder of Bit Torrent sites!  Genius!

Separately, we should continue to quote your brilliant Congressional testimony where you say that the the Library supports “creators”.  We know you meant YouTubers! Brava oh absolute one!  Fooled them again with your genius!

You may also be interested in the slides from my lunch time talk, “How to Sell the Library:  Tips for the Sovereignly  Immune” at which I will discuss including the Library’s mandatory deposit copies in Google’s scanning project, especially the sound recordings and movies!  Justice for Mickey at last!

 

There’s a massive infringer hiding in plain sight. That’s a tactic that worked from the Case of the Purloined Letter to Osama Bin Laden–worked for a while, anyway. So who is this massive infringer? Pirate Bay? mp3skull? YouTube-mp3? No–it’s Facebook. That’s right. Facebook, the property that every band is told they must be on, the […]

via Facebook the Massive Infringer — Artist Rights Watch

But if social media and online living has taught us anything it’s that anyone can become a target. This is true for Hulk Hogan as it is for Hillary Clinton and all who emailed John Podesta. Which brings me to Google’s Eric Schmidt. He once famously said “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” In the remaining week before the US election with so many more Podesta emails to be released, it will be interesting to see if that quote doesn’t come back to haunt him.

via @adland: Wikileaks shows Google’s Eric Schmidt is extra cozy with US Government — Artist Rights Watch

Ms. Hayden is now looking for a copyright office successor, and don’t be surprised if she chooses someone whose experience includes time at Google. This is reason enough for Congress to take a look: If the position is open to political influence, then the register should be politically accountable—and report to elected officials, not the nation’s librarian.

via @wsj: A Copyright Coup in Washington: The new Librarian of Congress ousts a federal copyright defender [Congress should investigate] — Artist Rights Watch

Google has targeted music, books, movies and is making a play for an even greater target: television. And they’ve already stacked the government deck in their favor. What’s at stake here? One of the greatest land-grabs in the history of content. And no one is looking.

via @emzanotti: Power Grab: Is Google Trying to End Copyrights Once and For All? — Artist Rights Watch

Remember when the Librarian of Congress issued a press release about how Maria Pallante was being “promoted” from the Register of Copyrights to something that sounded awfully functionary–and not a promotion. I don’t know how the Librarian runs things, but it’s not exactly industry standard to lock someone out of their email account when you’re giving them a promotion.

But what’s worse–the Librarian’s moves against Pallante are a textbook example of retaliation constructive termination.  That’s the one when a boss makes somebody’s life so miserable at work that the level of passive aggressiveness is so hostile and so toxic that any reasonable employee would rather resign than submit.

via And Your Little Dog, Too: The Librarian of Congress Give Us A Lesson in Constructive Termination — MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY

[Editor Charlie sez: Insightful must-read artist rights interview with Mike Huppe, the CEO of SoundExchange.] During the following interview, held at the Omni Hotel in Nashville, we covered a variety of topics such as what Huppe calls the AM/FM Artist Loophole, the DMCA Safe “Ocean,” internet enabled auto dashboards and the organization’s new ISRC online […]

via @davidmross: @mikehuppe: Standing Up For The Value Of Music — Artist Rights Watch

I’m looking forward to participating on a great panel on fixing our future in the music business, moderated by the brilliant Dr. Gigi Johnson, founder and executive director of the UCLA Center for Music Innovation. Music 2020: Recreating Music’s Future will be a lunch time panel held on October 13 in Los Angeles under the […]

via Save the Date! Oct 13 in LA MUSIC 2020 Panel at @AIMPorg — MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY