Google + mp3

To paraphrase Kembrew McLeod, file under "Overzealous Copyright Bozos:"

Via Pitchfork:

Over the past few days, the Google-owned blogging service Blogger has been deleting a number of popular mp3 blogs. After news of the removals circulated, Google's Blogger Buzz blog issued a statement. (Via the Daily Swarm.)

It said, "When we receive multiple DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act] complaints about the same blog, and have no indication that the offending content is being used in an authorized manner, we will remove the blog".

The post points out that the company's usual policy when receiving a DMCA complaint is to notify the offending blogger and to reset the offending post to "draft" status to allow the blogger to delete it. The post also acknowledged that the company sometimes gets DMCA complaints about material that a blogger is actually legally allowed to use, like the authorized mp3s that publicists and record label marketing departments send out for promotional purposes. "If this happens to you, it is imperative that you file a DMCA counter-claim so we know you have the right to the music in question. Otherwise, if we receive multiple DMCA complaints for your blog, this could very well constitute repeat offenses, compelling us to take action."

The statement doesn't explain why so many blogs were removed in such a short period of time.

DEATH OF MUSIC

I've been on a bit of a Blondie kick this week, which is always a good time. The other evening, I was listening to their first LP (self-titled). When putting the disc back away, I pulled out the sleeve to find this:



The album was released in 1976 on Private Stock Records, although the copy I have turns out to be a reissue from 1982 on Pickwick (with the blessing of Chrysalis, Blondie's label at the time).

I was quickly reminded of the PRMRC hearings from 1985. The focal issue there of course was lyrics and album artwork deemed "offensive" by a bunch of Senators' wives, but another issue raised was a proposed "cassette tax,' meant to curb piracy. On both issues, Frank Zappa's eloquent testimony is always worth revisiting (it's worth your 16 minutes if you haven't seen/read it before):




I once wrote a paper on Zappa and the PMRC for a rhetoric class as an undergrad, which would probably horrify me to read now.

But I digress.

Upon seeing the Home Taping graphic, first I chuckled. Then I pondered the ridiculousness of it. I mean really, I still have a few tapes, and occasionally even make tapes (for occasions/mixes that I want to draw on my vinyl collection). Tape quality degrades so quickly, I just can't get over that this was viewed as piracy, a kind of threat to the vitality of the music industry.

But as a friend of mine commented upon me sending him the photo, "a strange statement of both how things have changed and how they've stayed the same."

Of course, the difference between these two contexts is that there is now the possibility to copy CDs as lossless files, wherein all of the quality of the original disc is retained. Even so, let's be honest, piracy isn't going to/in the process of killing music, despite what you may have seen on television. [Here is where I would insert the commercial that aired during the Grammys in 2004 - you know, of a club scene losing its power because a girl is downloading music at home?] Ideally, it will be the end of the music industry, or at least as we know it. In a sense, artists don't *need* the industry anymore. The buzz created by blogs, MySpace etc. is incredibly powerful. Of course, there's also less of a filter, which one could argue is good or bad. Good because you have access to a seemingly infinite number of artists. Bad for the same reason - you may have to wade through a lot of crap to find good music.

But in a sense, hasn't that always been the way? The difference now is that you don't need to rely on the culture industries (hello, Adorno!) to tell you what you should be listening to. Sure, not being tied to a major label denies you access to other important things - radioplay, large concert venues, TV exposure, major press (the current TicketMaster debacle illustrates this well). But you know what? Those industries are all in a similarly dismal state. We've been saying it for years, but I really feel that we are on the verge of the music industry's collapse. And really, the only people that's going to hurt is the music industry itself.

Copyright Criminals trailer

Kembrew McLeod and Ben Franzen have been working on a documentary about sampling in an era of ever more restrictive copyright laws. The film will start making rounds on the campus and fesitval circuit this spring, hopefully with a dvd release to follow. Check out the film's website for upcoming events etc.(to be updated shortly, I'm told).

Here's the trailer:

Good Copy Bad Copy

Here's a trailer for a new documentary on copyright law that I thought I'd share, given that it appears to center on music. The film hails from Denmark, and in the spirit of Creative Commons, the producers are distributing the film for free via BitTorrent. Check it out, get the doc, and donate if you like it. I plan on checking it out soon myself.



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While we're at it, here's a link to an extended trailer/highlight reel for a related documentary produced by UI's own Kembrew McLeod and his partner in crime Ben Franzen. The film isn't out just yet, but it should be this year (I think?).

Link: Copyright Criminals trailer