Earlier today, Megaupload released a pop video featuring mainstream artists who endorse the cyberlocker service. News of the controversial Mega Song even trended on Twitter, but has now been removed from YouTube on copyright grounds by Universal Music. Kim Dotcom says that Megaupload owns everything in the video, and that the label has engaged in dirty tricks in an attempt to sabotage their successful viral campaign.
Although as many as 70% of 18–29 year olds in the United States confess having pirated music or videos online, only 1–2 percent of them do it on a significant scale, according to the results of a survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International.
Conan O’Brien and NBC were said to be close to a deal late last week to secure the host’s exit from “The Tonight Show” after just seven months on the job, clearing the way for Jay Leno to return to the desk he occupied for 17 years.
(Source: Nate Anderson – http://arstechnica.com) With a new school year in full swing, Ars takes a look at the RIAA’s newly updated copyright curriculum. Your kids could be learning from it–so what does it say? School kids in America could certainly stand to learn about copyright in the classroom–it’s a fascinating topic that increasingly impacts the life of every “digital native” and intersects with law, history, art, and technology. But should they be exposed to industry-funded materials meant to teach kids: That taking music without paying for it (“songlifting”) is illegal and unfair to others (RIAA) Why illegally downloading music… Read more »
The president of indie label trade group The American Association For Independent Music (A2IM) issued this statement today arguing against New York state’s proposed tax on digital music sales: “The A2IM board and members of our community are very concerned about the effect this tax would have on all members of the music community. While A2IM understands the need to shrink the state’s budget deficit during this time of economic recession we feel taxing the music industry is the wrong answer. Due to changes in technology, the music industry has already been faced with declining revenues for a prolonged… Read more »
All is fair in Chinese Democracy, except when the citizens are denied the opportunity to drink what the Dr. ordered. Axl Rose, wholely mum when Dr. Pepper announced that it would bestow a free 20-ounce bottle to all Americans when Guns N’ Roses’ years-in-the-making album finally dropped, is taking the company to task via his attorney after learning that not all customers were served. The soft-drink slinger had arranged to bestow online coupons to any thirsty freebie-seeker who visited its website on Nov. 23, but the site crashed due to…well, high traffic brought on by people’s insatiable desire for free… Read more »
A business management and accounting firm sued Courtney Love for nearly $1 million on Tuesday, claiming she failed to pay them a share of profits from the sale of Nirvana’s publishing catalog. Love is the widow of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain. The five-page lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday afternoon claims she sold a portion of his share of Nirvana’s publishing catalog for $19.5 million. Los Angeles-based London & Co. alleges Love broke an oral contract to share 5 percent of any of her earnings or those from her company, The End of Music. That company, according to… Read more »
The Department of Justice on Thursday slammed intellectual property legislation that would re-organize its IP enforcement structure, calling it unnecessary and counterproductive to the work it has already accomplished. “We have a current structure … that works quite effectively,” Sigal Mandelker, deputy assistant attorney general, told the House Judiciary subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. Judiciary Chairman John Conyers last week introduced H.R. 4279, which would further crack down on intellectual property violations, and create several new government positions with the power to enforce the new law. It is intended to preserve American economic prosperity, according to sponsors.… Read more »
Sumner Redstone, the billionaire businessman who grew up in Boston’s former West End and went on to build a career at the forefront of the entertainment industry, delivered a message to a standing-room-only crowd at Boston University yesterday: content is still king, but in the digital age, copyright is what matters. Redstone, 84, the majority owner of National Amusements and the chairman of the boards of Viacom, the CBS Corporation, and the MTVi Group, spoke at the School of Law Auditorium about the challenges of keeping a media company profitable in the digital age and answered questions from Bill Schwartz,… Read more »
Small Webcaster Community Initiative (SWCI), a coalition of streaming-media companies, today announced their intent to form a U.S. trade association. The new organization aims to promote and protect independent online music radio through grassroots civic campaigns, including political action and educational outreach. In addition they should not try to silence an entire industry. People need choices, and currently terrestrial radio does not offer that choice. Internet radio does. This announcement comes in the immediate wake of a determination by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board for significantly higher royalty rates for all Internet radio stations operating under the Section 114 and… Read more »
