RIAA

End of an Era? SCOTUS Declines to Hear Tenenbaum Filesharing Case

(This post was authored by FMC communications intern Caroline Fox)

On Monday, May 21, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear an appeal on one of the longest-running file-sharing cases in the recorded music industry. While their refusal to hear the case is not shocking, it does present an opportunity to examine the record industry’s historic response to unauthorized distribution, and the effectiveness of certain punitive responses. read more

RIAA Insists That, Really, The Music Industry IS Collapsing; Reality Shows It's Just The RIAA That's Collapsing

By Mike Masnick

techdirt

February 20, 2012

I’m honored to see that the folks at the RIAA have taken the time to read our Sky is Rising report. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to like hearing the news that the wider music industry is actually thriving — because it doesn’t work well with their legislative strategy (and, remember, the RIAA’s main focus is on passing new legislation to help legacy gatekeeper record labels — not in helping artists). And, this is understandable. As we detailed in the report, as well as in my talk at Midem, a popular music industry conference, the real story of the report is that the market is thriving for artists and consumers, but is much more challenging for big, lumbering legacy players. That would basically be the RIAA’s membership. read more

Music Industry Metrics: Gazing Backwards While Looking Ahead

[This post was co-authored by FMC Communications Intern Scott Oranburg]

Digital Music News recently published a series of automated pie charts that document the recording industry’s revenue streams over the past decade (2000-2011). The data paint an interesting — and, for some, troubling — picture about changes in the recorded music biz. We at FMC love geeking out over stats, but we’re more concerned with how musicians are making a living than the declining popularity of ringtones. To that end, FMC recently kicked off our Artist Revenue Streams (ARS) project, which aims to assess how musicians’ revenue streams are changing in this new music landscape. (If you’re planning on attending SF MusicTech Summit in San Francisco in May 9, be sure to catch project co-director Jean Cook’s ARS presentation and panel.)

Sorry for the radio silence, everyone â€” we’ve been getting ready to announce a whole bunch of info about our upcoming events, including the date and venue for "Creative License: A Conversation about Music, Law and Fair Use." Stay tuned for more info! Oh, and here’s that news ya ordered: read more

Senate leader backs off anti-piracy initiative tied to education bill

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, has quietly backed off a controversial proposal that would have required the Secretary of Education to monitor college’s anti-piracy efforts.

Reid’s proposal, which was folded into the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, included a provision mandating the 25 schools with the most piracy violations begin filtering P2P filesharing networks on their campus. Critics, including the Digital Freedom Campaign and some educators, charged such filtering would inevitably catch perfectly legal filesharing as well as unauthorized downloads.

Jennifer Stoltz, a spokesperson for the Digital Freedom Campaign, said in a public statement: read more

The RIAA and Net Neutrality

Today, Recording Industry Association of America CEO Mitch Bainwol testified at a House Commerce and Energy Committee hearing on the subject of net neutrality. That he didn’t outright dismiss measures meant to protect the open internet shows just how much this debate has evolved.

The RIAA still says combating piracy remains a top priority , as do other content creators and producers who support net neutrality. Bainwol’s testimony also included language praising aspects of the pro-net neutrality bill introduced by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) last February. read more

Is Grokster Contributory and Vicarious?

How the courts wrestle with copyright and creativity in internet age

Wendy Harman

Monday, October 11, 2004

The Grokster case is just one of the many lawsuits that the major record labels, usually represented by the RIAA, have brought against new technologies that have the ability to infringe on their copyrights. In this case, MGM and others filed suit against P2P file sharing networks Grokster and Streamcast under the legal theory of “contributory and vicarious liability”. Since the P2P companies themselves are not directly infringing copyrights – they’re merely providing the means for the filesharing to occur – this theory is currently the only legal recourse copyright owners have to stop the networks from allowing music files to be freely traded on the internet. read more

The Need to Strike a Balance

INDUCE Act Attempts to Protect the Content and Attack the Technology

Michael Colangelo

Monday, August 2, 2004

The Inducing Infringement of Copyright Act of 2004, introduced on June 22, 2004, has stirred a lot of debate. The proposed bill, known more as the INDUCE Act, was introduced by Senator and Judiciary Committee Chair Orrin Hatch (R-UT). The dispute over the INDUCE Act is largely taking place between the content creators, which support the protection of their copyrights, and the technology industries, which fear that the bill attacks their current and future innovations. read more

Artist Groups Deliver "Joint Statement On Current Issues In Radio" to FCC and Congress

May 24, 2002

A “Joint Statement on Current Issues in Radio” was delivered to the Federal Communications Commission and Congressional leaders by four organizations instrumental in the development of the statement: the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA); American Federation of Musicians (AFM); the Future of Music Coalition (FMC); and Recording Academy (NARAS). The “Joint Statement on Current Issues in Radio” was also signed by six other groups: Association for Independent Music (AFIM); Just Plain Folks; Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI); National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM); National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB); and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). read more

FMC Calls For Organizational Reform of SoundExchange

August 22, 2001

In a filing to the United States Copyright Office, the Future of Music Coalition today proposed dramatic reforms to the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) SoundExchange proposal. These comments represent a proactive effort to help artists and labels maximize income and minimize litigation and administrative expenses. read more

RIAA

End of an Era? SCOTUS Declines to Hear Tenenbaum Filesharing Case

RIAA Insists That, Really, The Music Industry IS Collapsing; Reality Shows It's Just The RIAA That's Collapsing

Music Industry Metrics: Gazing Backwards While Looking Ahead

This Week in News

Senate leader backs off anti-piracy initiative tied to education bill

The RIAA and Net Neutrality

Is Grokster Contributory and Vicarious?

The Need to Strike a Balance

Artist Groups Deliver "Joint Statement On Current Issues In Radio" to FCC and Congress

FMC Calls For Organizational Reform of SoundExchange

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