A federal jury on Friday ordered a Boston University graduate student who admitted illegally downloading and sharing music online to pay $675,000 to four record labels.
Joel Tenenbaum, of Providence, R.I., admitted in court that he downloaded and distributed 30 songs. The only issue for the jury to decide was how much in damages to award the record labels.
Under federal law, the recording companies were entitled to $750 to $30,000 per infringement. But the law allows as much as $150,000 per track if the jury finds the infringements were willful. The maximum jurors could have awarded in Tenenbaum's case was $4.5 million.
Jurors ordered Tenenbaum to pay $22,500 for each incident of copyright infringement, effectively finding that his actions were willful. The attorney for the 25-year-old student had asked the jury earlier Friday to "send a message" to the music industry by awarding only minimal damages.
Tenenbaum said he was thankful that the case wasn't in the millions and contrasted the significance of his fine with the maximum.
"That to me sends a message of 'We considered your side with some legitimacy,'" he said. "$4.5 million would have been, 'We don't buy it at all.'"
He added he will file for bankruptcy if the verdict stands.
Tenenbaum's lawyer, Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson, said the jury's verdict was not fair. He said he plans to appeal the decision because he was not allowed to argue a case based on fair use.
The Recording Industry Association of America issued a statement thanking the jury for recognizing the impact illegal downloading has on the music community.
"We appreciate that Mr. Tenenbaum finally acknowledged that artists and music companies deserve to be paid for their work," the statement said. "From the beginning, that's what this case has been all about. We only wish he had done so sooner rather than lie about his illegal behavior."
Tenenbaum would not say if he regretted downloading music, saying it was a loaded question.
"I don't regret drinking underage in college, even though I got busted a few times," he said.
The case is only the nation's second music downloading case against an individual to go to trial.
Last month, a federal jury in Minneapolis ruled that Jammie Thomas-Rasset, 32, must pay $1.92 million, or $80,000 on each of 24 songs, after concluding she willfully violated the copyrights on those tunes.
The jury began deliberating the case Friday afternoon.
After Tenenbaum admitted Thursday he is liable for damages for 30 songs at issue in the case, U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner ruled that the jury must consider only whether his copyright infringement was willful and how much in damages to award four recording labels that sued him over the illegal file-sharing.
In his closing statement Friday, Nesson repeatedly referred to Tenenbaum as a "kid" and asked the jury to award only a small amount to the recording companies. At one point, Nesson suggested the damages should be as little as 99 cents per song, roughly the same amount Tenenbaum would have to pay if he legally purchased the music online.
But Tim Reynolds, a lawyer for the recording labels, recounted Tenenbaum's history of file-sharing from 1999 to 2007, describing him as "a hardcore, habitual, long-term infringer who knew what he was doing was wrong." Tenenbaum admitted on the witness stand that he had downloaded and shared more than 800 songs.
Tenenbaum said he downloaded and shared hundreds of songs by Nirvana, Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins and other artists. The recording industry focused on only 30 songs in the case.
The music industry has typically offered to settle such cases for about $5,000, though it has said that it stopped filing such lawsuits last August and is instead working with Internet service providers to fight the worst offenders. Cases already filed, however, are proceeding to trial.
Tenenbaum testified that he had lied in pretrial depositions when he said his two sisters, friends and others may have been responsible for downloading the songs to his computer.
Under questioning from his own lawyer, Tenenbaum said he now takes responsibility for the illegal swapping.
"I used the computer. I uploaded, I downloaded music ... I did it," Tenenbaum said.
Associated Press writer Jeannie Nuss contributed reporting from Boston.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Surprise! Study Shows Few Indies on Radio
Artist advocacy group The Future Of Music Coalition has released a new report “Same Old Song" confirming that indie music is not getting its fair share of airplay on broadcast radio.In April 2007, the FCC found widespread payola and ordered the four largest U.S. radio groups (Clear Channel, CBS, Citadel and Entercom) to pay $12.5 million in fines and work with the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) to draft 8 “Rules of Engagement" and an “indie set-aside" including 4,200 hours of unsigned and indie label music.
But FMC's new survey of Mediaguide airplay data shows little has changed in the 2 years since the FCC decree. Indie music did make slight gains at AAA Non-comm. and Country radio. But at all 5 other dominant radio formats (AC, Urban AC, Active Rock, CHR Pop, and Triple A Comm.) the share of indie music played remained stagnant at 78-82% despite ndies comprising 30-40% of the marketplace.
Not surprisingly, the FMC also found that there were very few slots for any new music .There too, new major label songs typically receive more spins than indies. Finally, FMC looked at the indie labels...
themselves and found that only a handful of indies have the resources and clout to garner airplay consistently. For the remaining indies, airplay is infrequent and modest, if it happens at all.
“As this report dramatically shows, we are still haunted by the ghost of payola, whether real or imagined." commented Peter Gordon of Thirsty Ear Records and indie music's lead negotiator with radio.
Rich Bengloff, President of A2IM adds, “Independent music accounts for approximately 38% of digital sales in the U.S. and over 40% of audience impressions at internet radio ,but consistently receives only slightly more than 10% of traditional commercial radio airplay. It's obvious that music fans want independent music, and commercial radio programmers continue to ignore that demand at their own peril."
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wax on the Come Back? Best Buy is Giving Vinyl a Spin?
The consumer-electronics giant, which happens also to be the third-largest music seller behind Apple's iTunes and Wal-Mart, is considering devoting eight square feet of merchandising space in all of its 1,020 stores solely to vinyl, which would equate to just under 200 albums, after a test in 100 of its stores around the country proved successful.
Though vinyl represents less than 5 percent of Best Buy's music sales, the format is growing while CD sales continue to shrink.
Vinyl sales grew 15 percent year-over-year in 2007 and 89 percent in 2008, making the 1.9 million vinyl albums purchased last year the most since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. This year is shaping up to be even better, with 670,000 vinyl albums sold through mid-April.
By contrast, CD sales have fallen at a roughly 20 percent clip for the past few years.
To be sure, the growth in vinyl, even when combined with digital sales, isn't enough to offset the decline in CD sales. But it does show that consumers haven't abandoned the physical format.
And the fact that a retailer of Best Buy's size is willing to expand vinyl offerings is an incremental positive for the beleaguered music industry. A typical Best Buy store features about 16 square feet to 20 square feet of music merchandise and displays about 8,000 CDs.
"Our goal is to occupy as much square footage as possible with music products," said Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman, whose personal vinyl collection numbers more than 300,000, making it one of the largest private collections in the world.
Hoping to capitalize on the renewed interest in vinyl, all of the major record labels have combed through their catalogs to remaster and re-release marquee titles with their original artwork and packaging -- both of which are essential elements for the vinyl consumer.
For instance, EMI in September 2008 launched its "From the Capitol Vaults" vinyl initiative with such titles as The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds," Jimi Hendrix's "Band of Gypsies," and Radiohead's "OK Computer."
Compared with a CD, vinyl costs more to make and retails for a higher price -- $22.95 vs. around $13.99 for a CD -- but has lower margins.
Both Kallman and Jason Boyd, EMI's senior director of catalog sales, said profits made from vinyl were acceptable enough to warrant producing the format.
The situation is the reverse for Best Buy. Chris Smith, the company's senior music merchant, said margins on vinyl sales are "healthy enough" to mitigate the risk that comes along with not being able to return unsold inventory like it can with CDs.
Though vinyl represents less than 5 percent of Best Buy's music sales, the format is growing while CD sales continue to shrink.
Vinyl sales grew 15 percent year-over-year in 2007 and 89 percent in 2008, making the 1.9 million vinyl albums purchased last year the most since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. This year is shaping up to be even better, with 670,000 vinyl albums sold through mid-April.
By contrast, CD sales have fallen at a roughly 20 percent clip for the past few years.
To be sure, the growth in vinyl, even when combined with digital sales, isn't enough to offset the decline in CD sales. But it does show that consumers haven't abandoned the physical format.
And the fact that a retailer of Best Buy's size is willing to expand vinyl offerings is an incremental positive for the beleaguered music industry. A typical Best Buy store features about 16 square feet to 20 square feet of music merchandise and displays about 8,000 CDs.
"Our goal is to occupy as much square footage as possible with music products," said Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman, whose personal vinyl collection numbers more than 300,000, making it one of the largest private collections in the world.
Hoping to capitalize on the renewed interest in vinyl, all of the major record labels have combed through their catalogs to remaster and re-release marquee titles with their original artwork and packaging -- both of which are essential elements for the vinyl consumer.
For instance, EMI in September 2008 launched its "From the Capitol Vaults" vinyl initiative with such titles as The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds," Jimi Hendrix's "Band of Gypsies," and Radiohead's "OK Computer."
Compared with a CD, vinyl costs more to make and retails for a higher price -- $22.95 vs. around $13.99 for a CD -- but has lower margins.
Both Kallman and Jason Boyd, EMI's senior director of catalog sales, said profits made from vinyl were acceptable enough to warrant producing the format.
The situation is the reverse for Best Buy. Chris Smith, the company's senior music merchant, said margins on vinyl sales are "healthy enough" to mitigate the risk that comes along with not being able to return unsold inventory like it can with CDs.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
French Lawmakers Reject Internet Piracy Bill
French legislators on Thursday rejected legislation to permit cutting off the Internet connections of people who illegally download music and films. But a stubborn government plans to resurrect the bill for another vote this month.
Backers of the bill -- record labels, film companies and law-and-order parliamentarians -- couldn't rally the needed support during in a near empty lower chamber ahead of the Easter holiday. Lawmakers voted 21 to 15 against it.
The measure would have created a government agency to track and punish those who pirate music and film on the Internet. Analysts said the law would have helped boost ever-shrinking profits in the entertainment industry, which has struggled with the advent of online file-sharing that lets people swap music files without paying.
The government, intent on gaining the upper hand in piracy, managed to slip the measure into an April 28 special session devoted to initiatives by President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative UMP party.
The president's office reaffirmed Sarkozy's wish to get the law passed "as quickly as possible."
He "does not plan to renounce this whatever the maneuvers" to try to stop the bill's passage, a statement said.
Music labels, film distributors and artists -- who have seen CD and DVD sales in France plummet 60 percent in the past six years -- almost universally supported the measure, hailing it as a decisive step toward eliminating online piracy and an example to other governments. Artists' groups in France have said the future of the country's music and film industries depends on cracking down on illegal downloads, and the legislation received industry support from around the world.
"It is disappointing that the law was not confirmed today," said London-based John Kennedy, Chairman and CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents the recording industry worldwide and supported the bill.
Legislators and activists who opposed the legislation said it would represent a Big Brother intrusion on civil liberties -- they called it "liberticide" -- while the European Parliament last month adopted a nonbinding resolution that defines Internet access as an untouchable "fundamental freedom."
Opponents also pointed out that users downloading from public WiFi hotspots or using masked IP addresses might be impossible to trace. Others called its proposed monitoring structures unrealistic.
"It is a bad response to a false problem," said Jeremie Zimmerman, coordinator of the Quadrature du Net, a Paris-based Internet activist group that opposed the bill, calling it "completely impossible to apply."
He said the bill's rejection is proof of a widespread sense that it was a draconian approach.
Under the legislation, users would receive e-mail warnings for their first two identified offenses, a certified letter for the next, and would have their Web connection severed, for as long as one year, for any subsequent illegal downloads.
French Culture Minister Christine Albanel had said the bill did not aim to "completely eradicate" illegal downloads but rather to "contribute to a raising of consciousness" among offenders.
"There needs to be an experiment," said Pierre-Yves Gautier, an Internet law expert at the University of Paris, noting the plummeting profits of the entertainment industry. "Frankly, it's worth it."
Backers of the bill -- record labels, film companies and law-and-order parliamentarians -- couldn't rally the needed support during in a near empty lower chamber ahead of the Easter holiday. Lawmakers voted 21 to 15 against it.
The measure would have created a government agency to track and punish those who pirate music and film on the Internet. Analysts said the law would have helped boost ever-shrinking profits in the entertainment industry, which has struggled with the advent of online file-sharing that lets people swap music files without paying.
The government, intent on gaining the upper hand in piracy, managed to slip the measure into an April 28 special session devoted to initiatives by President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative UMP party.
The president's office reaffirmed Sarkozy's wish to get the law passed "as quickly as possible."
He "does not plan to renounce this whatever the maneuvers" to try to stop the bill's passage, a statement said.
Music labels, film distributors and artists -- who have seen CD and DVD sales in France plummet 60 percent in the past six years -- almost universally supported the measure, hailing it as a decisive step toward eliminating online piracy and an example to other governments. Artists' groups in France have said the future of the country's music and film industries depends on cracking down on illegal downloads, and the legislation received industry support from around the world.
"It is disappointing that the law was not confirmed today," said London-based John Kennedy, Chairman and CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents the recording industry worldwide and supported the bill.
Legislators and activists who opposed the legislation said it would represent a Big Brother intrusion on civil liberties -- they called it "liberticide" -- while the European Parliament last month adopted a nonbinding resolution that defines Internet access as an untouchable "fundamental freedom."
Opponents also pointed out that users downloading from public WiFi hotspots or using masked IP addresses might be impossible to trace. Others called its proposed monitoring structures unrealistic.
"It is a bad response to a false problem," said Jeremie Zimmerman, coordinator of the Quadrature du Net, a Paris-based Internet activist group that opposed the bill, calling it "completely impossible to apply."
He said the bill's rejection is proof of a widespread sense that it was a draconian approach.
Under the legislation, users would receive e-mail warnings for their first two identified offenses, a certified letter for the next, and would have their Web connection severed, for as long as one year, for any subsequent illegal downloads.
French Culture Minister Christine Albanel had said the bill did not aim to "completely eradicate" illegal downloads but rather to "contribute to a raising of consciousness" among offenders.
"There needs to be an experiment," said Pierre-Yves Gautier, an Internet law expert at the University of Paris, noting the plummeting profits of the entertainment industry. "Frankly, it's worth it."
Monday, March 16, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sell It Yourself.....
The system is bullshit that you only make about 77,000 dollars from sales topping 2 million.....let's say each copy was sold for 15 bucks each. At 2 million copies, that is 30 million dollars. And she only sees 77 grand? She is right, someone is getting rich off those sales and it sure as hell aint the one who wrote the material.
Lily Allen Angry for Not Earning Enough Money From Album Sales
Lily Allen is unhappy when finding out that she has earned only 50,000 pounds from her debut album "Alright, Still" despite its impressive selling point, which reached almost two million copies worldwide. "I don't make any money out of record sales at all. I make money out of touring and syncs, publishing," she says during an interview in Q Radio.
"My songs being put on 'Grey's Anatomy' things like that," Lily reveals further. "I don't make any money at all from selling an album, which is probably why I feel so angry about doing all this promotion because I am not earning any money out of it, someone else (is) and they don't have to live with the lasting effects."
In related news, Lily Allen has hinted to make a live appearance at this year's Glastonbury Festival during an interview with Absolute Radio Hometime DJ Geoff Lloyd. "I will be playing lots of festival this year. I'm not allowed to say which. But yes, one begins with a G," she states.
Lily's second studio album "It's Not Me, It's You" meanwhile is due to hit the U.K. market on February 9. Its sounds will reportedly range from jazz, country to dance music.
Lily Allen Angry for Not Earning Enough Money From Album Sales
Lily Allen is unhappy when finding out that she has earned only 50,000 pounds from her debut album "Alright, Still" despite its impressive selling point, which reached almost two million copies worldwide. "I don't make any money out of record sales at all. I make money out of touring and syncs, publishing," she says during an interview in Q Radio.
"My songs being put on 'Grey's Anatomy' things like that," Lily reveals further. "I don't make any money at all from selling an album, which is probably why I feel so angry about doing all this promotion because I am not earning any money out of it, someone else (is) and they don't have to live with the lasting effects."
In related news, Lily Allen has hinted to make a live appearance at this year's Glastonbury Festival during an interview with Absolute Radio Hometime DJ Geoff Lloyd. "I will be playing lots of festival this year. I'm not allowed to say which. But yes, one begins with a G," she states.
Lily's second studio album "It's Not Me, It's You" meanwhile is due to hit the U.K. market on February 9. Its sounds will reportedly range from jazz, country to dance music.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Image Line Software Releases Sawer
The synth is available at a reduced price until the end of March 2009
Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium, March 3, 2009 -- Image Line Software, the developer of FL Studio, has released Sawer, its latest synthesizer plugin. Sawer is a powerful vintage modeling synthesizer that cuts through the mix with precise articulation and a punchy sound.
Sawer’s filters have been modeled on the rare 1980s ‘Soviet era’ analog synthesizer, Polivoks. Meticulous attention has been paid to Sawer's filter and envelope design, ensuring a unique sonic character, reminiscent of the Polivoks hardware.
Just as the random variability of electrical components makes analog hardware unique, Sawer’s oscillator design has also been touched by the magic of chance:
”While programming the SAW oscillator, I accidentally set some incorrect variables and immediately the sound gained bass, acquired some light but pleasing noise on the attack and an overall richer sonic spectra. Immediately I realized this was no mistake but a discovery and built on this sound, adding some frequency modulation to give it a touch of analog authenticity and so 'Sawer' was born“, explains Maxx Claster, Sawer's chief developer at Image Line Software.
As modulation is critical for achieving authentic analog sounds, Sawer has flexible modulation routing. An Envelope and LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) source can be used to control a large number of destination controls. Further, the MIDI Modulation Matrix provides the ability to route MIDI controllers to most targets in Sawer.
Finally, Sawer includes CHORUS, PHASER, DELAY and REVERB effects for an overall impressive and polished sound.
Key features of Sawer:
System Requirements:
With a 10% Off Discount, FREE Lifetime Updates and Access to Gigs of FREE Samples, You Get One of the Biggest Music BANGS for Your Buck!
Make Your Own Beats & Music in Your Own Studio
Add to this our 'Lifetime Free Downloadable Updates' Guarantee, and you have no reason not to add FL Studio to your standard gear!
There is plenty FL Studio Video Tutorials on their site for registered users...
Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium, March 3, 2009 -- Image Line Software, the developer of FL Studio, has released Sawer, its latest synthesizer plugin. Sawer is a powerful vintage modeling synthesizer that cuts through the mix with precise articulation and a punchy sound.
Sawer’s filters have been modeled on the rare 1980s ‘Soviet era’ analog synthesizer, Polivoks. Meticulous attention has been paid to Sawer's filter and envelope design, ensuring a unique sonic character, reminiscent of the Polivoks hardware.
Just as the random variability of electrical components makes analog hardware unique, Sawer’s oscillator design has also been touched by the magic of chance:
”While programming the SAW oscillator, I accidentally set some incorrect variables and immediately the sound gained bass, acquired some light but pleasing noise on the attack and an overall richer sonic spectra. Immediately I realized this was no mistake but a discovery and built on this sound, adding some frequency modulation to give it a touch of analog authenticity and so 'Sawer' was born“, explains Maxx Claster, Sawer's chief developer at Image Line Software.
As modulation is critical for achieving authentic analog sounds, Sawer has flexible modulation routing. An Envelope and LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) source can be used to control a large number of destination controls. Further, the MIDI Modulation Matrix provides the ability to route MIDI controllers to most targets in Sawer.
Finally, Sawer includes CHORUS, PHASER, DELAY and REVERB effects for an overall impressive and polished sound.
Key features of Sawer:
- Main oscillator for subtractive synthesis: SAW shape with Sync frequency.
- Sub oscillator (-2 to +2 octaves) with level, phase & detune controls.
- 1 NOISE Oscillator.
- Variable polyphony (1 to 24 voices).
- 8 voice UNISON with user-adjustable stereo panning, detune and ‘Octaver’.
- SYNC & RING frequency modulation.
- 2 ADSR envelope generators (one user-assignable to modulation parameters).
- 4 FILTER modes - low pass (24 & 12 dB/Oct), band pass and high pass.
- Chorus, Phaser, Delay & Reverb effects.
- Muti-mode Arpeggiator.
System Requirements:
- Operating System: Windows XP, Vista/ Mac
- Processor: Minimum 2GHz AMD or Intel Pentium III compatible with full SSE support or G4 PowerPC (Mac) with full Altivec support
- RAM: 512 MB
- Hard disk space: 130 MB
With a 10% Off Discount, FREE Lifetime Updates and Access to Gigs of FREE Samples, You Get One of the Biggest Music BANGS for Your Buck!
Add to this our 'Lifetime Free Downloadable Updates' Guarantee, and you have no reason not to add FL Studio to your standard gear!
There is plenty FL Studio Video Tutorials on their site for registered users...
Thursday, February 26, 2009
A Recession Is Great For Freelance Work
Now would be a good time to concentrate on making money with your talents, not skills. Get out and talk to people and offer your services. Advertise your services.
Always thought about freelance work but have not found the right time? Well, if we are faced with a recession, experience shows that a recession can be a good time to be a freelancer.
Many larger companies and organizations lay off full-time employees and contract the work out to freelance professionals. It's cheaper for the some companies because they don't have to pay related benefits or long-term employment issues.
How do you get started? You don't need to even quit your full-time job. Becoming a part-time freelance professional has never been easier. Then, if you decide you have enough work and want to switch to full-time later...you can. Some people just stay part-time and enjoy the extra income.
In order to get started, the first step is finding a good freelance community and search for work that may be of interest to you. There are many different freelance communities with thousands of different jobs available. You will just have to find the one that fits your interests and goals.
Once you have found work that you are interested in, you will either apply or bid on the available work. You may not be chosen for every assignment, but with so many available, you are certain to find just the right work for you.
Then you work with employers, complete your assignments, and receive payment.
As you complete more and more work, you will earn a reputation as a freelance professional...so if a recession hits, they will pick you as their worker of choice.
Always thought about freelance work but have not found the right time? Well, if we are faced with a recession, experience shows that a recession can be a good time to be a freelancer.
Many larger companies and organizations lay off full-time employees and contract the work out to freelance professionals. It's cheaper for the some companies because they don't have to pay related benefits or long-term employment issues.
How do you get started? You don't need to even quit your full-time job. Becoming a part-time freelance professional has never been easier. Then, if you decide you have enough work and want to switch to full-time later...you can. Some people just stay part-time and enjoy the extra income.
In order to get started, the first step is finding a good freelance community and search for work that may be of interest to you. There are many different freelance communities with thousands of different jobs available. You will just have to find the one that fits your interests and goals.
Once you have found work that you are interested in, you will either apply or bid on the available work. You may not be chosen for every assignment, but with so many available, you are certain to find just the right work for you.
Then you work with employers, complete your assignments, and receive payment.
As you complete more and more work, you will earn a reputation as a freelance professional...so if a recession hits, they will pick you as their worker of choice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)