Google
 

Aardvark Daily

The world's longest-running online daily news and commentary publication, now in its 30th year. The opinion pieces presented here are not purported to be fact but reasonable effort is made to ensure accuracy.

Content copyright © 1995 - 2025 to Bruce Simpson (aka Aardvark), the logo was kindly created for Aardvark Daily by the folks at aardvark.co.uk



Please visit the sponsor!
Please visit the sponsor!

Sticking it to the recording industry

5 February 2010

Like most people, I enjoy listening to music.

Not all music mind -- I have never developed a taste for "country and western" numbers and a lot of the less melodic genres of jazz leave me cold.

What's more, I knew I was getting old when I realised that I now enjoy less than half the music featuring on the top 20. Our parents probably said the same about our bubble-gum pop singles and Black Sabbath albums but it really does seem as if much of the latest stuff is just so "samey" and bland.

However, as I said at the start, I enjoy music. What I don't enjoy is the way that those who have been in control of that music's production and distribution have become so nasty.

Fortunately, it appears as if their long-standing reign as the unchallenged controllers of our music is nearly at an end.

Two events this week have signaled how close we are to seeing the demise of the movie and recording industries' empire.

The first was the victory of Australian ISP iiNet over the movie (and by implication, recording) industry.

The plaintiffs who took iiNet to court alleged that they were party to copyright infringement because the ISP refused to disconnect customers simply on the basis of an accusation.

Hey, that's exactly what Labour was suggesting with its ill-fated Section 92A amendment to the NZ Copyright Act.

Fortunately, the Australian courts saw this ridiculous assault on people's rights for what it was and ruled in favour of iiNet, even awarding them costs.

This has left the studios and the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) with a severely bruised ego and a small dent in their collective wallets. It has also significantly reduced the chances that these industries will be able to prevail in similar actions they may choose to bring in future -- having set a rather nice precedent in favour of ISPs and consumers.

Naturally AFACT and its funders intend to appeal the decision so it ain't over until the fat lady sings (warning: don't download MP3s of the fat lady singing from a torrent or you'll get sued).

Another headline caught my eye this morning that also adds momentum to the weakening of our recording industry's grip on content.

Kiwi band The Mint Chicks have opted not to renew their contract with Warner Music, preferring instead to hook up with a local online music distributor MusicHy.pe.

Bloody good job boys! Since Warner got all snotty about people "stealing" its music to use in YouTube videos (and refusing to even talk to YT posters about licensing their tracks for that use) I've refused to spend a single solitary cent on music published by Warner.

Now I *can* legally purchase new tracks by The Mint Chicks without compromising my principles - yay!

I sure hope that they do well from this new hook-up and that their success encourages other groups to ditch the big labels (especially Warner) as well.

If people refuse to buy their products and artists refuse to (re)sign then the recording industry (as we now know it) will have no option but to rethink its nasty ways and move into the 21st century.

Let's hope that all this progress isn't utterly derailed by a bunch of politicians, still drunk from schmoozing with movie/record industry moguls, when they release the ACTA legislation.

Please visit the sponsor!
Please visit the sponsor!

Have your say on this...

PERMALINK to this column

Oh, and don't forget today's sci/tech news headlines


Rank This Aardvark Page

 

Change Font

Sci-Tech headlines

 


Features:

The EZ Battery Reconditioning scam

Beware The Alternative Energy Scammers

The Great "Run Your Car On Water" Scam

 

Recent Columns

Won't someone think of the government?
We've seen a massive move, in many countries, to roll out age-gating of social media...

Time for more snake oil!
This happens every time something causes oil prices to spike...

What is happening to Bitcoin?
Something interesting is happening to the crypto-currency Bitcoin...

Smoke, mirrors and a leather jacket
Earlier this week I reported on NVIDIA's big announcement at Computex...

I have my own AI LLM now
There was a story on the newswires earlier this week which claimed that a US company had ended up with a half-billion dollar bill as the result of "enthusiastic" IA usage...

AI, the new attack vector
We are all told that AI is going to change the world and I don't doubt that for one minute...

Has NVIDIA just killed AMD and Intel?
Computex is underway in Taipei and although the rise of AI has meant that there have been very few "exciting" announcements...

The age of big iron
Modern computers are small, fast, cost-effective and energy efficient...

Space and bureaucrats
First-up today, another potential risk for SpaceX's Starlink service -- the only profitable part of the SpaceX empire right now...

The end of drones and desktop computing
What is going on in the world today? ...