Chris Castle on WMG's Jim Griffin's ISP Tax

From Music Technology Policy:

Capitulating to the wisdom of mobs:

I view the ACS (alternative compensation scheme), voluntary or involuntary, as capitulation. Supporting these systems means that you have lost confidence that the legal system can enforce laws and that you are going to simply define the problem out of existence by making something that is illegal into something that is legal, the alchemy of mere analytics, the chorus of consultants, the wailing of the amicii, the proselytizing of the professoriate. Boy, I’m glad that they solved that problem.

Agreeing to ACS is like agreeing that the mob is right. And that’s a very, very dangerous step in a democracy.

Sampling mechanism could just as well facilitate filtering:

First, how do you answer the question that artists and songwriters will ask, namely “how much do I get paid?”

One way to divide up that money that advocates often raise is based on some kind of sampling of usage. (Jim’s EFF seems to think this is how ASCAP divides up their revenues.)

This sampling idea is, of course, dangerous ground for the defenders of Grokster at EFF. If you are going to sample peer-to-peer or BitTorrent files in order to divide up that disaggregated chunk of money, you need to identify tracks. That can be done with fingerprint technology, and there are several companies out there with fingerprinting tools. I personally don’t think fingerprinting works very well at the network level, but can work very well at the client level. There would have to be some discussion of how to get at the client.

If you can identify the tracks on P2P systems enough to sample—and this is where you would probably lose the EFF and apologists for piracy--you can identify the tracks enough to block and filter—meaning you could stop illegal tracks from ever getting onto the network in the first place.

Beating a dead horse:

This idea has been vetted, argued, legislated and rejected for a good five years, and actually goes back even further than that in the Internet world. Discussing ACS is like going to Thanksgiving dinner with your crazy uncle who always wants to argue who lost Poland. You get really tired of it after awhile.

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Unlimited Music Comes to UK Mobiles

From Jonathan Richards, Times Online:

Omnifone, the UK-based digital music company, has announced a service which will allow mobile users to download an unlimited number of songs to their phone as part of their monthly plan - and keep them even if they change their contract.

The service, called Music Station Max, will be rolled out in the UK in the first half of the year, and will initially be available on LG phones, though deals with other manufacturers would follow, the company said.

As part of the service, subscribers will be able to download an unlimited number of songs directly to their phone via the 3G network, and then 'sideload' them onto their computer, where they can create playlists and share proferences with friends using Omnifone's software.

If the user chooses to change his or her contract, they can either continue subscribing to an 'unlimited download' service for a monthly fee - similar to the Napster model, or leave the service, in which case a number of the downloaded songs will remain on their phone. The company has not said how many.

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Music Pirates Face UK Internet Access Ban

From BBC:

People in the UK who go online and illegally download music and films may have their internet access cut under plans the government is considering. A draft consultation Green Paper suggests internet service providers would be required to take action over users who access pirated material.

Under a "three strikes" rule they would receive an e-mail warning, suspension, and then termination of their contract.

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RIAA Talks About Network Filters

Verizon Rejects Hollywood’s Call to Aid Piracy Fight

From NYT:

More often than not companies in similar positions have similar views. But when Hollywood asked the two big phone companies to help with its fight against piracy, they responded in opposite ways. AT&T is talking about developing a system that would identify and block illicitly copied material being sent over its broadband network.

Verizon, however, opposes the concept.

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U2 Manager: ISPs Should Cutoff Pirates, Artists Mistreated

From BBC:

The manager of rock band U2 has urged internet service providers (ISPs) to help end illegal music downloads, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Paul McGuinness called for policies on disconnecting those who acquired tracks illegally, using a speech in France to urge governments to take action.

McGuinness told the Midem conference in Cannes that it was time for artists to stand up against what he called the "shoddy, careless and downright dishonest way they have been treated in the digital age".

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Sony BMG to Drop DRM

From Catherine Holahan, BusinessWeek:

In a move that would mark the end of a digital music era, Sony BMG Music Entertainment is finalizing plans to sell songs without the copyright protection software that has long restricted the use of music downloaded from the Internet, BusinessWeek.com has learned. Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony and Bertelsmann, will make at least part of its collection available without so-called digital rights management, or DRM, software some time in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Canada: New Levies Proposed for iPods and Memory Cards

Canada follows Spain with potential digital tax on various music players and storage devices

From CTV:

Consumers could potentially be hit by a new tax on electronic storage devices such as iPods and blank memory cards in 2008.

The federal Copyright Board has given its approval for a special levy on iPods and other digital players because they can be used to copy movies and music.

The proposed levies range in price including:

85 cents for rewritable CDs and MiniDisc
$2 for 1 GB removable electronic memory cards
$25 for a digital audio recorder between 1 and 10 GBs
$75 for digital audio recorder of more than 30 GBs

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XM Settles With Warner Over Inno

From Peter Kafka, Silicon Valley Insider:

XM has settled a lawsuit with Warner Music over a portable XM device that lets users record music directly from the satellite radio service. Execs there won't talk about the settlement, but we can tell you that deal requires XM to pay WMG a fee for each "Inno" player it sells. Last week Universal Music Group inked a similar pact, which means that the satellite company still has to come to terms with Sony-BMG and EMI Group before it can extract itself from court proceedings.

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Spanish Parliament Approves Digital Tax

From Howell Llewellyn, Billboard:

The Spanish music industry received a belated $46 million Christmas present on Thursday when Parliament approved a new digital tax in its last full session before the general elections on March 9.

The so-called "digital canon" will apply to MP3 and MP4 players, mobile phones with MP3 recording capacity, and USB memory cards, and is expected to come into effect Jan. 15. It will apply a small charge to digital gadgets capable of recording music, film, photocopies, or any other form of intellectual property.

The Spanish government estimates that of the €100-115 million ($144-166 million) of "canon" that will be collected per year, some €32 million ($46 million) will go to the music industry. The figure is 100% greater than the current music industry "canon" charged on blank CDs, DVDs, CD and DVD recorders, printers and Xerox machines.

Labels' body Promusicae president Antonio Guisasola says, "this is a victory for the music industry, it is justice in the making. The [intellectual property] law forces us to live with private copying [of music by consumers], but without being compensated for loss of income [through non-purchase of music]. Now this will change."

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Rhapsody Streams Full-Songs (with Limitations) To Facebook

Seems a bit silly to limit full streams to Rhapsody subscribers, as registered imeem users can already do so for free - as well as embed tracks and playlists anywhere.

By Antony Bruno, Billboard:

Rhapsody has beta-launched a Facebook widget designed to extend full-song music streaming into the popular social network.

Existing Rhapsody subscribers will be able to play an unlimited number of full songs, while non-subscribers will be limited to the 25 free songs a month that are offered under the company’s ad-supported model.

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Universal Music Group (UMG) and XM Satellite Radio Reach Agreement on Pioneer Inno

From CNN Money:

Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, and XM Satellite Radio, the nation's leading satellite radio company, today announced that they have resolved the lawsuit brought by UMG against XM over its Pioneer Inno, a portable satellite receiver with advanced recording functionality. The companies did not disclose terms of the deal.

As part of the agreement, UMG becomes the first music company to reach a multi-year deal covering all XM radios with advanced recording functionality, including both those currently available as well as future product releases. In addition, UMG will withdraw as a party to the complaint filed by the major record companies against XM in May, 2006.

"We are pleased to have resolved this situation in an amicable manner," stated Doug Morris, Chairman & CEO, Universal Music Group. "We pride ourselves on empowering new technology and expanding consumer choice. And XM is providing a new and exciting opportunity for music lovers around the world to discover and enjoy our content, while at the same time recognizing the intrinsic value of music to their business and the need to respect the rights of content owners."

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New Slacker Radio Due Next Month

Hey, here's an idea: the FCC should license "broadcasters" across the country to transmit music via wireless "radio waves" to cheap "receivers." The service could be free to the listener subsidized via corporate advertising, and programming might include local news and information - multiple "stations" could even deliver tailored content to specific audiences. Automobiles might even be fitted with "radios" and inexpensive portable versions could be engineered to run for days on a single 9-volt battery...

From Charlotte Observer:

So a new kind of portable player, one for more passive and budget-minded users, is slated to arrive late next month. It's called the Slacker Personal Radio, and its name is meant to refer to people of any age who just want to sit back and listen instead of actively managing their music.

The new Slacker players will come in three models, ranging from $200 to $300, depending on capacity. But the music they play will be absolutely free, contained in preprogrammed Internet radio stations instead of individually selected songs and albums. The stations will be automatically refreshed with new tunes via a wireless connection built right into the device. You'll have to be near a hot spot for these updates. But you won't need a hot spot just to hear your music, because the songs are cached on the device. And you'll never have to plug it into a computer.

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New Model for Lossless Downloads

From Kevin Hunt, Chicago Tribune:

An agreement in October between Olive Media and MusicGiants envisions a vastly different consumption of digital music, where owners of media servers (like Olive's) download CD-quality music files (like MusicGiants') that are also freed from the restraints of Digital Rights Management.

Olive, a San Francisco company, started selling German-made music servers a couple of years ago but its partnership with MusicGiants arrives as a dramatic counterpoint to the iTunes formula. It's a niche now, maybe forever, because what's good for Apple is also good for the major music companies, who would rather sell low-quality, encrypted music files. It's called protecting their investment.

Unless, that is, people demand something better. For now, MusicGiants attracts fans of unencrypted, hi-res jazz (Concord Music Group), classical (Naxos), blues (Alligator) and indies (Razor & Tie). Pop, as in the most popular music in the United States, is a no-show other than the Paul McCartney-led downloads from the EMI catalog.

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Canadian Man Receives $59,000 Cell Phone Bill for Downloads

From Jason Kobely, News 10:

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- Even a talkative teenager wielding an iPhone probably couldn't do this much damage. One Canadian man said his cell phone bill catapulted from around $147 a month to $59,000 in November.

But even he managed to top himself with a mind-boggling $83,000 bill for December.

The 22-year-old said he uses the phone to download movies and music onto a computer.

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iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store at Starbucks Suffers Glitches

From Glenn Fleishman, Macworld:

Starbucks and Apple launched their iTunes partnership Tuesday in Seattle and New York, but in at least one of its 600 debut locations, the program started with an off note. Some early glitches combined with a regrettable technology decision caused a few hiccups for what could be a promising service.

The Apple-Starbucks iTunes offering will work for anyone with an iPhone running the recent 1.1.1 software update, iPod touch, or computer running a recent version of iTunes. When those users are in a Starbucks, they’re able to see what song is currently playing in the store, see recently played songs, and access the entire iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store—a subset of the iTunes Store.

It’s an intriguing notion in theory—who hasn’t wandered into a Starbucks, heard a catchy tune, and wondered who the artist is and how you could get your hands on a copy? In practice, however, things didn’t go smoothly on this first day. Here’s an account of my Starbucks-based iTunes Wi-Fi Store experience.

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PlayBOX to Acquire Leading UK Music & Entertainment Distributor, Delta Leisure Group

From CNN Money:

PlayBOX (US) Inc. (OTCBB: PYBX) is pleased to announce the signing of a letter of intent dated December 14, 2007 for the proposed acquisition of 100% of the issued capital of U.K based Delta Leisure Group Plc ("Delta") an established distributor of an extensive catalogue of major music CD's, DVD's and video's throughout the UK and Europe. Playbox is also pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Harry Maloney to its Board of Directors from December 14, 2007.

Delta, whose registered office is in Orpington, UK, holds 75% of the shares in Delta Music Limited. Delta Music Limited, has two subsidiaries: Delta Home Entertainment Ltd., and Delta Music Merchandising Ltd. Since its inception in 1993, the Delta group of companies (the "Group") has become one of the most recognized manufacturers and distributors of entertainment products in the UK with client distribution outlets including Universal, Asda, Tesco, Aldi, Sit-Up TV, TK Maxx, Toys-R-Us and Sainsbury's. In addition, Delta Music Limited was an early mover in the growing on-line digital download industry.

PlayBOX is a UK based technology company with over three years experience at offering online shop facilities to the music industry. We specifically target emerging artists and small-to-medium sized record labels who have not got the present knowledge or resource to set-up and manage their own online shop/distribution channel PlayBOX offers this to them pool services like hosting, streaming, e-commerce and digital rights management (DRM) together with the online experience and know-how to offer a cost-effective and professional platform on which to sell and promote their music products from.

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DRM-Free Won't Save The Music Business

From Peter Kafka, Silicon Valley Insider:

• We don't think most consumers are aware of any DRM restrictions, because almost everything they buy or own works on iTunes and iPods.


• We have yet to see any concrete numbers from either EMI or Universal Music Group about their DRM-free tracks sold at iTunes and Amazon's new mp3 store. We've been told, unofficially, that sales are "encouraging," but we think if they were truly impressive, we'd have seen the results already.


• The conventional wisdom is that if only consumers had legal opportunities to buy music online, they would do so instead of using P2P filesharing systems, or borrowing and ripping their friends' CDs etc. But there's no shortage of legal places to buy music online these days, and consumers are indeed buying songs: They bought 1 billion tracks at iTunes in the first half of this year, and we assume that rate increased this fall. But the industry's main problem remains unchanged: It used to sell discs at a wholesale price of $10; now it sells individual songs at a wholesale of about 70 cents. If the business is going to survive, it's going to have to figure out a way to do that profitably -- and dropping DRM isn't going to solve that problem.

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Related:

No Good Download Goes Unpunished

Nielson: DRM-Free Tracks Do Not Increase Overall Sales

Tech Companies and Public Interest Groups Form Coalition to Expand Broadband Access

From Kevin Bogardus, The Hill:

Tech giants and public interest watchdogs joined forces Wednesday in a new coalition to support new portable wireless devices that will utilize underused parts of the spectrum for Internet service.

The Wireless Innovation Alliance (WIA) is a new group comprised of IT companies like Google and Hewlett-Packard as well as watchdog groups such as Free Press and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. They have teamed up as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers rules for devices designed to provide broadband access using “white spaces” — unused parts of the spectrum that typically would be occupied by television frequencies.

“All government is doing is setting the road signs,” said Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), speaking at the press conference announcing the alliance. “But the private sector can’t move ahead until the road signs are established.”

IT companies such as Microsoft — a WIA member whose headquarters reach into Inslee’s district — are developing the devices with the promise they will provide superior broadband access. The white spaces occupy prime real estate on the spectrum, and the enhanced access could spur more innovation and broaden Internet availability to more Americans.

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P2P User Base: Near Maxed Out?

Over one-third of PCs have LimeWire installed, however data show year-over-year growth increased by only a paltry 2.3%, indicating a potential cresting of the number of P2P users may be near.

From Digital Music News:

More than one-third of all PCs worldwide now have LimeWire installed, according to data jointly released by Digital Music News and media tracking specialist BigChampagne. The discovery is part of a steady ascent for LimeWire, easily the front-running P2P application and the target of a multi-year RIAA lawsuit. For the third quarter of this year, LimeWire was found on 36.4% of all PCs, a figure gleaned from a global canvass of roughly 1.66 million desktops.

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