Music Industry to Abandon Mass Suits - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122966038836021137.html

Music Industry to Abandon Mass Suits

The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry, which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since 2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl. [us album sales] Instead, the Recording Industry Association of America said it plans to try an approach that relies on the cooperation of Internet-service providers. The trade group said it has hashed out preliminary agreements with major ISPs under which it will send an email to the provider when it finds a provider's customers making music available online for others to take.

When you retard fair use with pointless DRM and then sue anonymous children for illegally downloading music while ignoring those of the execs at the top of the music industry, you're asking for a public relations nightmare. Now, with more than 35k lawsuits to its credit, RIAA says it will finally end the legal assault against consumers that began back in '03. RIAA will instead, focus its anti-piracy efforts with ISPs. Under the new plan, the RIAA will contact ISPs when illegal uploading is detected. The ISP will then contact the customer with a notice that would ultimately be followed by a reduction or cessation of service. As you'd expect, the RIAA is not commenting on which ISPs they are in cahoots with. The RIAA also says that it won't require ISPs to reveal the identities of individuals but could, of course, go after individuals who are heavy uploaders or repeat offenders. For the moment though, it appears that single-mothers are in the clear.

Fuck the RI double A

At 8.40am on Monday 15 December, a new post appeared on an internet forum called the Darkside Release Group.

all about axxo, I wonder if they talk about his terrible taste in movies ha ha. To read later.

Some great questions about file sharing, the hypocrisy of pirates wanting credit for their rips, and the legend of the great aXXo

"Though the mainstream media ignored it, this was a landmark moment for millions of filesharers worldwide: the 1,000th movie uploaded by aXXo, the internet's most popular and enduring pirate. If you already know his name, chances are you've been doing something illegal."

8 reasons why the music industry can't blame piracy alone for its decline in revenue.

During The Pirate Bay trial, the music industry placed the blame for the decline in their revenues squarely on the shoulders of file-sharers. Their logic is clearly flawed, but it could sway the verdict if no alternative explanation is presented. So, if piracy isn’t to blame, then what is *actually* killing the music industry?

Musikkbransjens motgang skyldes ikke bare pirater

1基の7.62mm機関銃が非武装の人間にどれほどの脅威か、この記事の記者が知らないはずはないだろう

Johann Hari on the motivations behind the Somali pirates.

There's a lot more to understand about Somalia... http://tinyurl.com/cfrrpf (via @Xtal)

True? Somali "pirates" are defending illegal fishing

Pirates of Somalia Somali pirates continue their attacks against international ships in and around the Gulf of Aden, despite the deterrent of stepped-up international naval escorts and patrols - and the increased failure rate of their attacks. Under agreements with Somalia, the U.N, and each other, ships belonging to fifteen countries now patrol the area. Somali pirates - who have won themselves nearly $200 million in ransom since early 2008 - are being captured more frequently now, and handed over to authorities in Kenya, Yemen and Somalia for trial. Collected here are some recent photos of piracy off the coast of Somalia, and the international efforts to rein it in. (30 photos total)

somali pirates.

Sélection de photos sur les pirates Somaliens qui sévissent actuellement dans le Golf d'Aden. Mais aussi des autorités internationales qui y sont basées pour les arrêter.

Somali pirates continue their attacks against international ships in and around the Gulf of Aden, despite the deterrent of stepped-up international naval escorts and patrols - and the increased failure rate of their attacks. Under agreements with Somalia, the U.N, and each other, ships belonging to fifteen countries now patrol the area. Somali pirates - who have won themselves nearly $200 million in ransom since early 2008 - are being captured more frequently now, and handed over to authorities in Kenya, Yemen and Somalia for trial. Collected here are some recent photos of piracy off the coast of Somalia, and the international efforts to rein it in. (30 photos total)

Collected here are some recent photos of piracy off the coast of Somalia, and the international efforts to rein it in.

Google Torrent Search

Duh.

Pirated Music is actually...good?

According to research, those who download 'free' music are also the industry's largest audience for digital sales

Pretty obvious: the more you get to listen, the more you eventually buy.

Piracy may be the bane of the music industry but according to a new study, it may also be its engine. A report from the BI Norwegian School of Management has found that those who download music illegally are also 10 times more likely to pay for songs than those who don't. Everybody knows that music sales have continued to fall in recent years, and that filesharing is usually blamed. We are made to imagine legions of internet criminals, their fingers on track-pads, downloading songs via BitTorrent and never paying for anything. One of the only bits of good news amid this doom and gloom is the steady rise in digital music sales. Millions of internet do-gooders, their fingers on track-pads, who pay for songs they like – purchasing them from Amazon or iTunes Music Store. And yet according to Professor Anne-Britt Gran's new research, these two groups may be the same.

This map shows all the piracy and armed robbery incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre during 2008. If exact coordinates are not provided, estimated positions are shown based on information provided. Zoom-in and click on the pointers to view more information of an individual attack. Pointers may be superimposed on each other.

Un mapa de todos los robos a mano armada y piratería incidentes (ambos con éxito y tentativa) informó el año pasado

Mappa con i punti di attacco delle navi pirata verso imbarcazioni commerciali.

Yarrr

La idea es ingresar pequeñas cantidades de dinero, ya que el coste de gestión de éstas es muy superior a la cantidad...

Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm (aka anakata) recieved a bill for the 30 million SEK that he, along with Peter Sunde (aka brokep), Fredrik Neij (aka TiAMO), and Carl Lundstrom, was fined in the verdict of the Pirate Bay trial just over three weeks ago. The bill inspired anakata to devise a plan involving sending money to Danowsky’s law firm, but not to pay the fine of course which they say will never be payed. Anakata’s clever plan is called internet-avgift, internet-fee in English. Anakata encourages all Internet users to pay extremely small sums around 1 SEK (0.13 USD) to Danowsky’s law firm, which represented the music companies at the Pirate Bay trial. The music companies will not benefit from this, instead it will cost them money to handle and process all the money.

I can give my two cents six and a half times over! http://tinyurl.com/pbwcks [from http://twitter.com/eronarn/statuses/1767170396]

Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm (aka anakata) recieved a bill for the 30 million SEK that he, along with Peter Sunde (aka brokep), Fredrik Neij (aka

DRM has affected how people use their content beyond simply protecting IP; restricts what would otherwise be considered fair use.

[ars technica]

A UK researcher has spent years interviewing people about whether DRM has affected their ability to use content in ways ordinarily protected by the law. Surprise! It has, even leading one sight-impaired woman to piracy.

End users are allowed to time-shift programs, but Jill Johnstone of the National Consumer Council notes that "the way DRM is being used is causing serious problems for consumers, including unreasonable limitations on the use of digital products and infringement of consumer rights. "

Fun to play if you're bored. You get to be a pirate!!

Wired Magazine's game about the business of Somali pirating; see related article published in Wired, "An Economic Analysis of the Somali Pirate Business Model." Commentary at http://jag.lcc.gatech.edu/blog/2009/07/cutthroat-capitalism.html

"You are a pirate commander staked with $50,000 from local tribal leaders and other investors. Your job is to guide your pirate crew through raids in and around the Gulf of Aden, attack and capture a ship, and successfully negotiate a ransom."

See the latest multimedia and applications including videos, animations, podcasts, photos, and slideshows on Wired.com

You are a pirate commander staked with $50,000 from local tribal leaders and other investors. Your job is to guide your pirate crew through raids in and around the Gulf of Aden, attack and capture a ship, and successfully negotiate a ransom.

People who illegally download music from the internet also spend more money on music than anyone else, according to a new study. The survey, published today, found that those who admit illegally downloading music spent an average of £77 a year on music – £33 more than those who claim that they never download music dishonestly. The findings suggest that plans by the Secretary of State for Business, Peter Mandelson, to crack down on illegal downloaders by threatening to cut their internet connections with a "three strikes and you're out" rule could harm the music industry by punishing its core customers.

RT @featureBlend: Secret copyright treaty leaks. It's bad. Very bad. http://j.mp/q0guK [from http://twitter.com/cyberdad/statuses/5427335635]

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad. It says: * * That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn't infringing will exceed any hope of profitability. * * That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel. * * That the whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules t

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad. It says: * * That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn't infringing will exceed any hope of profitability. * * That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel.

The most immediate revelation, of course, is that at some point next year revenues from gigs payable to artists will for the first time overtake revenues accrued by labels from sales of recorded music.

Experiments in web journalism * Home * About Times LabsTimes Labs Blog Do music artists fare better in a world with illegal file-sharing? This is the graph the record industry doesn’t want you to see. It shows the fate of the three main pillars of music industry revenue - recorded music, live music, and PRS revenues (royalties collected on behalf of artists when their music is played in public) over the last 5 years.

Do music artists fare better in a world with illegal file-sharing

Book piracy may explode soon, now that books are becoming widely available in electronic form. Here's an interview with a fellow who already trades extensively in pirated e-Books.

stealing books the electronic way

Great piece on bank pirating, with a huge discussion thread. Also, great stuff on this ebook / print book marketing plan: How about doing what Manning Publications did with a recent purchase; add a unique ‘code sheet’ in the book, ask for 3 random entries from it and, if not previously used, allow the person who bought the hard copy to download a *personalised* (ie their email address is embedded in various places throughout) electronic copy. Most books that I want to read in an electronic form I’ve already bought the dead tree version of! All credit to Baen and their authors though. Fantastic library, bought many more books they’ve published as a result."

"Who are the people downloading these books? How are they doing it and where is it happening? And, perhaps most critical for the publishing industry, why are people deciding to download books and why now? I decided to find out, and after a few hours of searching ... I found, on an online forum focused on sharing books via BitTorrent, someone willing to talk. He lives in the Midwest, he’s in his mid-30s and is a computer programmer by trade. By some measures, he’s the publishing industry’s ideal customer, an avid reader who buys dozens of books a year and enthusiastically recommends his favorites to friends. But he’s also uploaded hundreds of books to file sharing sites and he’s downloaded thousands. We discussed his file sharing activity over the course of a weekend, via email, and in his answers lie a critical challenge facing the publishing industry: how to quash the emerging piracy threat without alienating their most enthusiastic customers."

1) With digital copies, what is “stolen” is not as clear as with physical copies. With physical copies, you can assign a cost to the physical product, and each unit costs x dollars to create. Therefore, if the product is stolen, it is easy to say that an object was stolen that was worth x dollars. With digital copies, it is more difficult to assign cost. The initial file costs x dollars to create, but you can make a million copies of that file for no cost. Therefore, it is hard to assign a specific value to a digital copy of a work except as it relates to lost sales.

Hmmm, I never considered myself a pirate. I just thought I was reading. The people who lock ideas away behind hard-to-use uneeded "technologies" seem to be some kind of bad-guys though.

I found, on an online forum focused on sharing books via BitTorrent, someone willing to talk. He lives in the Midwest, he’s in his mid-30s and is a computer programmer by trade. By some measures, he’s the publishing industry’s ideal customer, an avid reader who buys dozens of books a year and enthusiastically recommends his favorites to friends. But he’s also uploaded hundreds of books to file sharing sites and he’s downloaded thousands. We discussed his file sharing activity over the course of a weekend, via email, and in his answers lie a critical challenge facing the publishing industry: how to quash the emerging piracy threat without alienating their most enthusiastic customers. As is typical of anonymous online communities, he has a peculiar handle: “The Real Caterpillar.”

if you are a pirate this is what you get..

Wish my DVDs were as easy to launch as pirated works....

pirate vs legit dvd chart

Phone calls, movies, music, TV – Stockholm has emerged as the epicentre of an online revolution, giving us all what we want, instantly, for free. Tim Walker reports from the world's new digital capital

Ek acknowledges that, without the far-reaching effects of The Pirate Bay and its ilk, Spotify could never have come to fruition. "There is a big file-sharing community here in Sweden," he says. "It's how people want to consume content. They don't want to be illegal, but they want to have everything at their fingertips instantly, which is what The Pirate Bay facilitated. The best way to compete with that is to come up with a better product. Spotify exists because of piracy."

Phone calls, movies, music, TV – Stockholm has emerged as the epicentre of an online revolution, giving us all what we want, instantly, for free

Jeg har altid gerne villet være pirat.

The US copyright lobby has long argued against open source software - now Indonesia's in the firing line for encouraging the idea in government departments

"Those who download illegal copies of music over P2P networks are the biggest consumers of legal music options, according to a new study by the BI Norwegian School of Management".

between 15 and 20 are more likely to buy music via paid download than on a physical CD, though most still purchased at least one CD in the last six months. However, when it comes to P2P, it seems that those who wave the pirate flag are the most click-happy on services like the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3. BI said that those who said they download illegal music for "free" bought ten times as much legal music as those who never download music illegally.

Those who download "free" music from P2P networks are more likely to spend money on legit downloads than those who are squeaky clean, according to a new report out of Norway. The music labels, however, aren't quite buying that data.

Like it says in the title.

Monty Python started a YouTube channel with tons of their sketches streaming for free. They included links to their DVDs at Amazon. The result was a whopping 23,000% increase in sales.