With ASCAP and BMI still under unaltered consent decrees and SESAC agreeing to rate-setting arbitration in a 2015 settlement, the Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC) is going for the grand slam with an antitrust lawsuit against boutique performance rights organization Global Music Rights.
Author: thetrichordist
@alexeheath: Facebook is doing a $6 billion stock buyback [But Nothing for Songwriters] — Artist Rights Watch
Facebook is buying back up to $6 billion of its stock from shareholders, the company announced in a SEC filing on Friday–and still no music licenses.
@DavidIsraelite: It’s Time for Facebook to Accept Songwriters’ Friend Request — Artist Rights Watch
With views in the millions, it’s time for Facebook to answer songwriters’ friend request and properly license their platform. Otherwise, it may find itself de-friended by the music industry.
via @DavidIsraelite: It’s Time for Facebook to Accept Songwriters’ Friend Request — Artist Rights Watch
How many Counterfeit CDs Does Amazon Sell? — Artist Rights Watch
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
How President Trump Can Give Songwriters and Publishers Immediate Relief from DOJ and LOC Overreach — Music Tech Solutions
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 […]
A Memo to the Librarian of Congress
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.
- Be a kissass.
- Have no original thought.
- Be a kissass.
- Speak to no one but your absoluteness.
- Have excellent skills at making change in the LOC gift shop.
- Demand even more deposit copies under compulsory licenses that permit free copying by our allies.
- Know her/his place under your absoluteness.
- Be a kissass.
- Not look too hard for the owner of orphan works.
- 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!
Facebook the Massive Infringer — Artist Rights Watch
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 […]
@adland: Wikileaks shows Google’s Eric Schmidt is extra cozy with US Government — 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.
@wsj: A Copyright Coup in Washington: The new Librarian of Congress ousts a federal copyright defender [Congress should investigate] — 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.
@emzanotti: Power Grab: Is Google Trying to End Copyrights Once and For All? — 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
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