Tuesday, February 24, 2009 5:30PM - By Morelli
After U2’s latest album, No Line On the Horizon, was leaked online, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reportedly became interested in users listening to the album on Last.fm. Then on February 20, online magazine TechCrunch posted an unsourced rumor that said Last.fm was revealing users’ listening data to the RIAA, an accusation that Last.fm’s employees are vehemently denying.
If the popular music streaming site were to hand over listener data, the RIAA would be able to identify people that have unreleased tracks on their computers. Richard Jones, one of the remaining three co-founders in London, wrote on TechCrunch comments: “I’m rather pissed off this article was published, except to say that this is utter nonsense and totally untrue. As far as I can tell, the author of this article got a ‘tip’ from one person and decided to make a story out of it. TechCrunch is full of shit, film at 11.”
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Wednesday, February 11, 2009 1:00PM - By Morelli
It is a fact that the music industry is in recession. In the aftermath of 2008, when miserable record sales and widespread file-sharing destroyed profits for major labels, the music industry is now scrambling for new ways to get their hands on your hard-earned cash. Competing with “free” isn’t easy, and the industry has shown it’s ready to adopt creative attitudes toward music consumers and free distribution, while simultaneously trying to implement new business models that force money into their pockets via taxes or subscriptions. It’s time to take a closer look at these schemes.
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Friday, February 6, 2009 2:20PM - By Morelli
President Obama is filling the senior ranks of the U.S. Department of Justice with the Recording Industry Association of America’s top lawyers. Donald Verrilli, the man who shut down Grokster and sued Google on the behalf of Viacom, announced Wednesday that he had been named Associate Deputy Attorney General.
CNET reports that this isn’t the fist decision to make RIAA and BSA-linked lawyers occupy important posts at the Department of Justice. US Vice-President Joe Biden is known to push the RIAA’s copyrighting agenda in Washington, so this newest appointment is no cause for surprise.
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Monday, February 2, 2009 7:00PM - By Morelli
As previously reported by Beatcrave, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is easing up on file-sharing lawsuits, promising to not pursue more cases in the future. However, the good will has been retracted, with the RIAA failing to withdraw existing lawsuits that have already been filed and opposing court decisions to allow online access to a court hearing.
The lawsuit in question is against Joel Tenenbaum, a Boston University graduate student, in federal district court in Boston. With 14 news organizations wanting federal courts to allow online streaming of a hearing in a music downloading lawsuit, Judge Nancy Gertner approved webcasts of hearings in the case, a decision the RIAA has appealed.
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Monday, January 19, 2009 5:10PM - By Morelli
The Recording Industry Association of America drops a “John Doe” case, Internet Service Providers are also the top music providers, and the International Federation of Phonographic Industry report reveals more about Internet piracy. All in today’s Tech Round Up!
- The Recording Industry Association of America may have finally come to their senses. Slashdot reports that the RIAA has walked away from yet another big case. Sony BMG against Rhode Island Students was dropped without the RIAA getting discovery, meaning 12 of the 14 defendants identities weren’t revealed and didn’t pay any ‘settlement’. [Slashdot]
- A survey published at the annual MidemNet says that a majority of music fans get their music from Internet Service Providers. The survey said that 46% of those polled identified ISPs as their top source of tracks, with 10% preferring cable/satellite TV providers, 5% using mobile operators and just 3% depended on handset manufacturers. The digital age is on the rise! [Hollywood Reporter]
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008 6:00PM - By Morelli
A federal judge is denying the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) request to appeal his decision granting a retrial in the RIAA’s only file sharing case to go to trial.
The U.S. District Judge, Michael Davis, of Minnesota, declared a mistrial in the Jammie Thomas case, months ago, and nullified the jury’s $222,000 award against the Minnesota woman for sharing 24 songs on the Kazaa network. The RIAA tried to appeal; a motion the judge rejected for the same reason he declared a mistrial.
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