The main problem with the music industry is not the artists, they don't make any money off album sales; not because of pirating, but because the distributors suck every last penny from the sales. The RIAA is not made up of artists, they are made up of distributors. The distributors are no longer needed in digital distribution, so they are losing money, the artists are not losing money, as they always made their money from the live performances.
When you try to defend the music industry, really think about who you are defending because it isn't the artists.
Very well said.
I think the time will come that musicians will be making some real money from the recordings, which has never been the case before, because they get to keep a much, much higher percentage.
It was a sad day for the big labels when indie artist Amanda Palmer brought in over a million dollars ($1,192,793, to be exact), independently of the labels, to mix, distribute, and promote her new album. On her Kickstarter page there's a video where she explains the whole thing, and points out that if she'd financed the album by letting a record label do it, she herself would wind up receiving zilch from the album sales.
All she needed was a twitter account, a facebook account, a Kickstarter account, and 25,000 friends.
That is exactly the part I was referring to. Thanks
I knew exactly which part you were referring to.
Let me tell you... a lawyer who tells a judge to look at things 'holistically' is
[1]-an idiot, and
[2]-in trouble.
So this guy fits in well with the RIAA.
I think that was just my bad wording, what I was trying to say was that he was basically telling the judges to ignore what was written down.
That's exactly what he said. The judge said something like "the statue requires that there be a sale or other transfer of ownership, or a rental, lease, or lending. So you agree that that occurred here?" The RIAA lawyer responded "well your honor you have to read the statute holistically".
I.e., the RIAA lawyer was asking the judge to ignore the clear words of the statute. Only an RIAA lawyer would have that much chutzpah. This guy was really struggling.
This clip is just begging to become the next big internet meme... Can't someone mix it up and put a good beat on it?
Good idea. I hope they emphasize the "holistic" argument by the RIAA lawyer; that was the high point for me.
Paraphrase:
Judge: you agree, do you not, that there must be a sale or other transfer of ownership, or a lease, rental, or lending?
RIAA lawyer: don't look at the words of the statute, those will only confuse you... you've got to interpret the statute holistically
What do I think? I think RIAA can suck it.
You are not alone
Jammie doesn't get distribution rights, so why should she be paying for distribution rights?
If you keep on being logical like that, you'll never be hired as an RIAA lawyer.
The 8th Circuit is bound by New York Times v. Tasini, which held that placing a work in a database for public download was distribution
Oh so this is a slam dunk then. You must be very pleased.
Good answer, and a worthy place for the money to go in this case. I second NYCL on this one.
Now, now, I was just kidding. Wouldn't want the US Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit suing me for copyright infringement
When a dinosaur dies, it's tail thrashes around a lot, and does a lot of damage
That statement got me really curious.
+5 Funny. Too bad I'm not a moderator.
And the courts ruled that making available is not distribution.
Correction: the lower court ruled that making available is not distribution.
Correction. THIS court, in a previous case not involving RIAA mp3 files, ruled that making available is not distribution. Which is why Judge Davis ruled that making available is not distribution.
In actuality, Jamie Thomas made thousands of songs available. The RIAA only picked a small subset for trial.
Think it could it have anything to do with the fact that there's no such thing as "making available" in US copyright law?
Who owns the copyright to the audio?
Me.
That'll be 99 cents please. You can make payment to my Dwolla account.
1. Tell everybody on Slashdot about a free mp3 file involving an RIAA case
2. ???????????
3. Profit!
The rate at which a disease spreads through a corn field is a precise measurement of the speed of blight.