Parents 1, RIAA 0

[MD-2389]

http://techdirt.com/articles/20050921/0959248_F.shtml

For years, we've been asking why so many parents just roll over when the RIAA comes calling about unauthorized file sharing activities of their kids. It was never clear if there was any real liability, but many parents agreed to pay up because they either didn't understand the law (and the RIAA certainly didn't help), or just wanted to protect their kids. This issue has finally been getting more attention lately, as a few parents have started fighting back against the RIAA, raising the question of liability for the actions of others. This came out last week, so we're a bit late on it, but it's worth noting that in at least one such case, a judge has said that the liability cannot be placed on the parent, freaking out the RIAA, who withdrew the case, and then tried to have the judge open up another way to go after the kid -- and the judge refused. This is bad news for the RIAA, especially if more parents begin to realize that they can fight back. However, the one downside to this ruling was denying the mother's request to have the RIAA pay her attorney's fees. For that, the judge said that the RIAA had "taken reasonable steps to try to prosecute this case and litigate against the proper defendants." That seems questionable. We've been pointing out for years that the RIAA and the MPAA seem to send out threatening letters without any effort to actually determine who was involved. They simply determine who owns the connection and go after them, even though it's quite clear at this point, in an age of easy networking, that the owner of a connection is often not the person using it. In fact, in home situations, the owner of a computer may not even be the person using it.

[JMEaT]

Stupid RIAA.

[Iceman]

Man that's great. Maybe if we get caught I can just blame it on my kids and be done with it!

[Canuck]

Ever day your rights are being erroded.
My American friends can help to fight by joining this organization;
http://www.eff.org/

They make complaining easy and effective.

[Dedman]

Don't steal music.

[Valin Halcyon]

Depends on how you define the ownership of music that determines how it can be stolen.

Copyright law was originally designed to protect book writers and canvas artists...not intangible art creators. This is an argument that goes back to the creation of the recordable tape cassette which allowed people to copy, for the first time, music.

There needs to be a change to that area of law, the problem is, no one has a clue what that change should be, and groups like the RIAA keep trying to enforce the old stupid laws that no longer work.

[Mobius]

Don't steal music.

Yes. Don't steal music! Because that would mean going to a store and lifting a CD from them. You can be arrested for that.

Theft (stealing) is defined by the fact that the theft deprives the owner of the original goods or product.

So, by definition, COPYRIGHT VIOLATION IS NOT THEFT!

SO GET OUT THERE AND VIOLATE COPYRIGHT!!111

What America seems to have forgotten, is that copyright laws are only acceptable to the population at large, provided it does not stop them from doing exactly what they want to do.

I predict, in a short period of time, that copyright laws in the USA will be changed quite dramatically, because the public will not accept draconian laws about sharing music.

[SilverFJ]

When millions of people are listening to my band and I have 35 cents in my pocket I'm going to rampage.

[MD-2389]

Stupid RIAA.

Yeah, you can't say much for an organization that wants to impliment DRM on digital radio.....nevermind that the quality is nowhere NEAR CD quality. Especially if the RIAA has their way.

[SilverFJ]

You want free music then listen to the radio.

[MD-2389]

Heh, I would if there were any stations worth listening to. All I listen to in my car now are CDs that I've mixed.

[Valin Halcyon]

You can't find radio with good music anymore. Take the soundtrack of the EVE Online trailer as an example. Heard anything like that on radio recently? I haven't.

Radio is saturated with Brittany Spears, R&B, Hip-hop and the likes...the rare classical station does exist sometimes..and club music is so passe.

Find me a station that plays 24/7 modern electronica.

[Grendel]

Interesting approach: http://www.pandora.com

[Zuruck]

Quit stealing music.

Copyright violation is still theft, you didn't pay for that music. You want it cheap? Use iTunes right now until it goes up. It's no big deal people, but don't act like it's your right to take that music. is the RIAA a bunch of asses? Absolutely, but that's how it goes. I'd rather steal gas than music. Why can't we figure out how to do that?

[DCrazy]

Well technically copyright violation isn't theft in the legal, larceny sense. It's copyright violation. It's illegal, it should be illegal, and anyone who scoffs at the validity of copyright claims should get their head out of their ass.

The RIAA is mean and unfair, I definitely agree with that. IMO, stuff you buy from the iTunes Music Store should *not* be DRMed, but that's the breaks. Jobs pulled his weight in making the first real, usable, cost-effective online track-by-track music store. Those who continue to commit copyright violation while claiming they are justified in their actions are either stupid or in denial.

[dissent]

*sigh*

I've just been listenin' to some tunes on my eight-track...

What's all this RIAA stuff ya'll are yammerin' 'bout???

[Dedman]

I totally agree with Zuruck and DCrazy. As heavy handed and mean spirited as the RIAA is, people must realize that they have a point.

Blaming the RIAA for coming down on you for copywright infringment is a bit like getting pissed off at that cop who writes you a ticket for speading. He may have been an a$$ while doing it but that doesn't mean you weren't breaking the law.

[SilverFJ]

That doesn't mean that cop's gunna ★■◆● with the wrong dude and get shot in his house one night.

[Canuck]

In Canada we are less brainwashed;

Levy's;
http://neil.eton.ca/copylevy.shtml#is_it_a_tax

As long as I am being "levied" and I am not using the material for profit I can copy away even from the net.

The RIAA has supposedly been paying artists their share of the levys for years, (there is a really long application process and formula to petition for your sh*t nibblet "share" of the pie) but very few receive much. So the RIAA and the Government end up with the rest.

[Sirius]

IMO, stuff you buy from the iTunes Music Store should *not* be DRMed, but that's the breaks.

You can break the DRM pretty easily; burn it and then rip it again.

If you don't want to spend 20 cents or whatever recordable discs cost these days, you can even burn it to a CD-RW and erase it when you're done.

In some countries the ripping part might be illegal though. Only thing is, people who won't download pirated music more often than not still don't think twice about ripping CDs anyway. If you want them on your computer without having to juggle CDs, there aren't too many cost-effective ways to do it.

[Testiculese]

Use iTunes

Right..there's a solution! Piss-poor bitrates on encrypted files that I can't transfer from machine to machine without THEIR app installed. Sounds Macintoshy.

[Duper]

My kid and I just went around about this VERY issue last weekend.

I told her that if I found any program on her system for file sharing (messaging software excluded of course) that she would be without a computer. I relaly didn't want this kinda legal nightmare on my hands. She really had no clue that they could come after you.

[Valin Halcyon]

Just move to Mexico like me and DL to your heart's content. Mexico has NO digital copyright law, and would point and laugh at the RIAA. They'd be stopped at the border in the ISP's network.

The only case where Mexico would care, is if you burned the stuff to CD to resell on the black market...which I don't. If you're not using it to make money or selling it for money..Mexico does not care.

[Top Wop]

Use iTunes

Right..there's a solution! Piss-poor bitrates on encrypted files that I can't transfer from machine to machine without THEIR app installed. Sounds Macintoshy.

Not to mention Itunes is a bloated and buggy POS.

[Sirius]

She really had no clue that they could come after you.

From my experience (IOW the cases I've seen in the news) they only tend to come after the worst offenders.

The problem is, you don't really know whether it's you so yeah, better safe than sorry.

[Dedman]

Use iTunes

Right..there's a solution! Piss-poor bitrates on encrypted files that I can't transfer from machine to machine without THEIR app installed. Sounds Macintoshy.

Not to mention Itunes is a bloated and buggy POS.

Still, does this justify theft? I don't think so.

[Testiculese]

Was just pointing out the alternatives are worse then what's "free". Give decent quality, unrestricted recordings, and there're many singles I would buy. But when the free file is higher quality than the legal one, I'm not buying. I'd rather own the CD anyway, so I buy those when I like more than 50% of the songs. But many artists I only like 2-3 songs from them, and can't justify buying the CD for one song, and another CD for two songs. I sure as hell am not buying the garbage on iTunes, and being restricted with their proprietary crapware...so what's left?

Personally, the 'free' files suck as well, and I don't bother, so the artist loses twice. No money, and no listening. It's not like most of todays 'music' can be called such anyway!

[Pun]

Just move to Mexico

Where in MX do you live, Valin?

[DCrazy]

Just got my iPod to talk to FreeBSD (had to modify the USB subsystem and recompile the kernel) but I am now completely divorced from Windows. It's a great feeling.

Therefore, the argument about being tied to Apple's "crapware" is null and void.

Let's recap:

Argument 1: iTunes is bloated, I don't want to use it.
Defeated - see above.

Argument 2: AAC is restrictive.
Defeated: So buy the CD.

Argument 3: I don't want to buy the CD, so I'll download it.
Defeated: That's copyright infringement.

I'm sorry, but there is absolutely no justification for downloading music other than "I don't want to pay for it." I am willing to admit that fact as I download music -- I am fully conscious that I have no legal or moral justification for infringing the record company's copyright. Those that deceive themselves into thinking they have justification need a rude awakening.

[Krom]

How about I take the final option; don't buy their crap CDs that suck, don't download their crap songs that suck, don't listen to their crap music that sucks on the radio and ridicule anyone who does.

[Duper]

How about I take the final option; don't buy their crap CDs that suck, don't download their crap songs that suck, don't listen to their crap music that sucks on the radio and ridicule anyone who does.

X2

WOOT!

[TheCope]

I'm sorry, but there is absolutely no justification for downloading music other than "I don't want to pay for it." I am willing to admit that fact as I download music -- I am fully conscious that I have no legal or moral justification for infringing the record company's copyright. Those that deceive themselves into thinking they have justification need a rude awakening.

The cost of raising a rock star
Friday October 14, 6:00 am ET
Jay MacDonald

So your kid wants to be a rock 'n' roll star? Great for him -- but what's it going to cost you?
Poll America's preteen population and a hefty number of them will say they want to be a rock star when they grow up. Insert here Mom's old punch line: "You're going to have to choose one" (either grow up or be a rock star).

For good or ill, MTV, "American Idol," "Rock Star: INXS" and the advertising world have convinced even tone-deaf toddlers that becoming the next Britney Spears or Clay Aiken is not only possible, it's almost inevitable.

Behind every Hilary Duff, Jason Mraz and Avril Lavigne, you'll find relieved parents who've invested plenty to turn their adolescents into "fabulescents." Naturally, as a loving parent, you want to do everything within your power to help your child achieve his dream.

But as a responsible parent, it is also your duty to shine a little ray of reality into his imaginary music video. The fact is, the odds are astronomically against you having the next Elvis Presley living upstairs. Then again, Mr. and Mrs. Springsteen probably thought the same thing.

Can you afford to raise a rock star? What's the likely price tag of fame? And how will you know when it's time to staunch the flow of dough and pack your mascaraed headbanger off to law school instead?

Read on: Your mansion in the Hollywood Hills may depend on it.

Like father, like son
To explore this increasingly common parental dilemma, I called my brother Kent in Seattle, a hotbed of teen ambition if ever there was one. Kent spent the bulk of his 20s as a professional singer-songwriter, performing in clubs from coast to coast before settling down and raising a family.

Now his 19-year-old son Harry, drummer for an up-and-coming emo band called Daylight Breaks, is following in his footsteps. After years of drum lessons, home recording and banging out Green Day and Blink 182 covers at local talent shows, Daylight Breaks is looking forward to performing its own material soon as an opening band at Graceland, the Seattle club that recently launched Death Cab for Cutie.

"I guess the leaf doesn't fall far from the tree," Kent says. "He definitely has the knack for it. He's drumming all the time. At the dinner table, the table is rocking. I have to tell him all the time, 'Harry, stop drumming.'"

Kent has briefed Harry on the realities of the music business: "Oh yeah, he's heard lots of stories about the life of a traveling musician. He's aware of the downsides."

Cue the cold shower: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook, competition will remain keen and job growth will be slower than average, 3 percent to 9 percent, for self-employed musicians through 2012. Even if you land a steady gig, the median annual earnings of salaried musicians and singers remains in the mid-$30,000 range. Statistically, of the roughly 215,000 professional musicians out there, four in 10 will work day jobs to support themselves.

Kent and wife, Jennifer, have encouraged Harry to pursue his dream. But until it happens, he's attending community college, where he's studying sound engineering.

"An education is important and not just for the degree," Kent says. "There's a real learning aspect to just being in a college environment, so we're encouraging him to go on with college. If that doesn't happen, if he gets sidetracked by the opportunities in the music business, so be it. We're not going to deny him that."

Music for moderns
Peter Spellman, for one, believes your kid can be a star. As director of career development for Berklee College of Music in Boston, he spends his days helping budding musicians become better business people.

The good news is, thanks to the Internet and affordable recording technologies, the balance of power has shifted toward the musician and away from the recording industry. The bad news is, as a result, there's more competition than ever.

"I see a shift from the 'music' business to the 'musician' business," says Spellman. "We may not see a lot of millionaire artists in this new picture, but we'll be seeing more and more middle-class musicians making a sufficient living while still having full ownership rights to their creations."

Harry's timing, it turns out, is pretty good: The so-called "echo boomers" are just entering their 20s, prime clubbing age, and they're going to want to dance, dance, dance. Clubs, especially in college towns, remain the incubator for breakout bands, although live performance is by no means the only route to stardom these days.

"Today there are many artists who are creating success without doing any live performing at all," says Spellman. "Dance and electronica are huge, and they don't require any live performance whatsoever, just good production values, good mixing and arrangements, good desktop tools and connection to the distribution channels."

Longevity in the music business today is a question of hats, says Spellman: The more you can don, the better your chances of survival. As a drummer, songwriter and self-taught recording engineer, Harry is on the right track. Other musical hats that can increase your income stream include arranger, sound designer, scorer, music editor, jingle producer, educator, even music therapist. Corporations are increasingly developing their own proprietary music divisions as well, where Dilbert, strangely, is meeting Mick Jagger.

Spellman says the future for many original artists will lie outside the traditional music industry in niche markets, where the artist handles more of the tasks of promotion and distribution but keeps more of the profits as well. He says that by abandoning artist development in their rush to profits, the major record companies have overlooked the reason they were invented in the first place.


"Structurally, they are set up to be anti-art," Spellman says. "They wear the 90-day glasses. They are totally dependent on the indie sector to deliver the talent, totally. We would never have heard Bruce Springsteen or Bob Marley if that had been the model in the 70s; these guys never turned any profit for three records, and then suddenly things started blowing up. Record companies are good at pop pabulum, but they're not good at the niches, and that's where the riches lie now."

The dream maker
So how much money will you have to spend to make your kid a rock star in the new music business?

"I get asked that a lot in workshops, and I don't mean to be facetious or joking but the answer is: as much as you've got," says Christopher Knab, music consultant and owner of FourFront Media & Music in Seattle.

Knab is one of the dream makers, a 60-year-old music-industry veteran who prepares parents and would-be rock stars alike for the harsh realities of making it today. Repeat after him: Talent is never, never enough. If you don't have money, figure out a way to get some. If you don't know the business, learn it. And if you don't have the guts to stick with it, forget it.

"Of the calls I get, 98 out of 100 are people who don't have any money, but they say, 'I've got some really good songs' or 'I've got really great music.' So what, you know? There are millions of great songs and talented artists. The industry won't pay attention these days because of the flood of music that's out there; everybody and their sister is recording. What will wake them up is when they start hearing over and over again, 'Have you heard this new record?'"

How does a young rocker create the coveted buzz? Start small. Play locally. Develop an awesome Web site and fan database. Listen and make adjustments to your style and performance. Promote your songs at college radio stations. And learn as much as you can about the mechanics of the business by reading books and attending seminars such as CMJ conferences. (CMJ is the Rolling Stone of the echo boom.)

"If you have a pool of water and you drop a pebble into it, the ripples move out," says Knab. "The first ripple of concentration should be your local scene. If it pays off, move to the next ripple out. Develop your mailing list, and stay in touch with your fan base with fliers for upcoming shows."

Which brings us to that parental dilemma: How do you know when your star just isn't going to make it?

"The live shows are always the litmus test," says Knab. "If fewer and fewer people show up at your gigs, take a hint. At some point, the audience determines it. They never lie."

Spellman encourages parents to give their kids a shot at stardom. Even those who don't make it often find the experience great preparation for success in another field.

"I'm very bullish on it; as long as they have the talent and drive, why not pour it into a career that has these tremendously open outlets now?" he says. "It's no more risky than working for a company today. Musicians are really sort of wired in a lot of ways to bring a lot of significant skills and talents to the new economy. Why not give them a shot at it? What's the worst that can happen? They're going to have to try something else and re-purpose. Who doesn't have to do that?"

So, go ahead and rip-off people making 35 grand a year. You revolutionaries.

[kurupt]

so who are we to believe? the artists who say file sharing gets them more exposure and more sales because of it, or the artists who say file sharing makes them poor?

not that i care, im gonna download what i want anyway because i have no morals. but its an interesting argument nonetheless.

[Top Wop]

Still, does this justify theft? I don't think so.

Of course not. But if you want to play back Quicktime files without an alternative they force that buggy and bloated piece of software on you.

[Money!]

I knot this is a b1tch move, but this is what it boils down to:

Why pay 5 grand to fill up my iPod when I can do it for free?

[Canuck]

We have been paying a "levy" for years on all media, blank or not to reimburse the artists and music labels for copying music. Whether or not you do or don't.

Because you have paid this levy it is LEGAL to copy music... not one of you have seem to have read the information I posted. I can send you my original Cd's and you can make a copy... legally. The artists are supposedly getting paid by the RIAA.
It's not my problem the RIAA is a bunch of crooked a**holes and the artists are not getting paid... that's the RIAA.

Way too much lemming like statements are being presented here. You should really stand up for and protect your rights before the big corporations take them all away.

By the way I do not even have file sharing software on my system, but many of my friends do.

I personally have bought CD's of bands I would have never even have browsed for in a music store but heard from file sharing. That's why the record labels are terrified, they no longer are needed to promote and manufacture the music.

It's NOT illegal to copy music for your personal use.
Anyone that calls me a thief for it, doesn't know what they are squawking about and can get bent.
I paid $10.50 on a stack of 50 CDRs to the recording association and artists because they have prelabeled me a thief. I will now copy music because of this.

[Top Wop]

^X2

[DCrazy]

Canuck: that's the case in Canada.

Plus, sharing over the Internet might constitute broadcasting, which is a totally different right under copyright protection. Interestingly enough, that distinction saved a Russian outfit (allofmp3.com) from prosecution. They charge a few pennies per kilobyte to pay for their bandwidth, but you can get loads of songs in MP3, WAV, FLAC, etc. The fact that it's considered broadcasting makes it legal.