Music Technology

Makes You Think, Doesn’t It ?

Today the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has approved a settlement of $50.2 million dollars in the “Pending List” class action quit against the four major labels in Canada.

Appearently several years back several recording artists, composers and their estates had noticed their recordings had been released by these labels, with no licencing agreement or royalty payment.

From June 2007 to December 31st, 2009 countless compilations were released that included recordings that the major labels assumed were available to them without prior negotiation because they had assigned a royalty rate to these recordings.

Unfortunately the rights agencies that collected royalties on behalf of the artists found it rather difficult to confirm what was on these lists and coult not truly determine how much was owed to specific artists.

This of course eventually resulted in a class action suit in 2008 that alledged the labels had performed hundreds of thousands of copyright violations, that resulted in the unauthorised sale of recordings.

I find it rather interesting that the labels hindered the collection of royalties associated to this scheme whilst opposing private copying on the grounds that it would hurt artists.

Private copying does not enable the consumer to sell copies of the recordings.

Stickam Live For Japan

Just thought i’d bump the Stickam Live For Japan charity event on Stickam, which is on from 5pm Eastern from The Roxy in Los Angeles.

This event, which is being held to raise funds for the relief efforts in Japan, will feature live music performances by Cypress Hill, Abused Romance, The Drills, Juke Kartel, Alex Lambert, Drew Seeley, Stu Stone and others.

It will also feature special appearences by Action Item, Against All Will, Allstar Weekend, Joe Brooks, Cash Cash, Chantal Claret & James Euringer, Cobra Starship, Crossfade, Drowning Pool, Myles Dyer, Fareast Movement, Flula, Jake Fogelnest, Forever The Sickest Kids, Four Year Strong, Hey Monday, The Hit, The Holding, Hyper Crush, The Janks, Stephen Jerzak, Randall Kleiser, Krash Karma, Live The Story, The Millionaires, Mod Sun, My Genuine Find, Natalise, The New No2, 9 Electric, Adam Paranoia, Revis, Nathan Ryan, SammiDoll, Set It Off, Linda Strawberry, The Summer Set, Brady Szuhaj, Jac Vanek, Andrew W.K. and others.

You can help them raise money to benefit the Red Cross, The Japanese Red Cross Society, and Global Giving, just by watching. For every viewer who tunes in, the sponsors have pledged additional money.

CLICK HERE TO TUNE IN
STICKAM LIVE FOR JAPAN

Retail Council Wants Levy Scrapped

According to The Wire, the Retail Council Of Canada has formally asked the Conservative government to scrap the blank audio media levy.

The group had previously stated in a March 12th, 2010 press release that they oppose any extention of the levy, stating that it would disadvantage Canadian retailers. And in this press release they stated they believed this “anti-competitive tax should be repealed altogether” :

Retailers contend the levy system is obsolete in an age of rapid technological change and does nothing to support and protect Canadian artists.”

I agree. And strangely enough the proponants of the levy also agree because they’re constantly trying to levy the next technology by stating the previous technology is no longer being used to copy music.

In less than five years the current levy was made obsolete, resulting in the following question on the savethelevy.ca web site : “It’s 2011 … who uses CD-Rs to copy music anymore?”

Well, cell phones and tablets are now being used to play back music files and cloud services will stream music to these devices shortly in Canada, making mp3 player obsolete soon. But of course like the Retail Council of Canada I believe the CPCC’s arguements are fundementally flawed :

Retail Council of Canada calls for changes to the Copyright Act to provide an explicit exception recognizing that private copying for archival or backup purposes and for format shifting purposes by individuals of legitimately acquired copies of works or sound recordings and movies is legal. This should include private copying for such purposes as platform shifting, backup purposes, or the avoidance of obsolescence.”

Remuneration is not required from consumers that have purchased music from online music retailers whose formats imply use on portable music devices in which electronic memory cards can be placed or embedded. And individuals that make personal copies for private use from recordings they’ve purchased fail to qualify as distributors because the recordings and resulting copies remain in their possession, regardless of the format shifting involved.

Private copying in no way infringes copyright, as defined by Part III, Section 27 of the Copyright Act. And a levy is not required because royalties have already been collected from the sale of legally purchased compact discs or music files, from which the private copies are made.

The alledged prominence of piracy on the internet in no way make devices like mp3 players conform to the term “blank audio media”, as defined by the Copyright Act. And the Copyright Board have already ruled that memory cards also did not qualify in a December 12th, 2003 decision.

Sony Offers Additional Security

American Playstation Network and Sony Online Entertainment users are now being offered additional security from Debix.

This service, which will protect users from identity theft, is offered free for twelve months. But no news in regards to a Canadian service has been issued yet.

No Postal Strike On May 25th

Canada Post as released an update in regards to the postal strike that was scheduled for May 25th, 2011.

There will be no strike action on that day and negotiations are still underway.

UPDATE : Please read the latest blog entries for updates on the postal strike and alternative shipping options.

Canada Post Strike Alternatives

It appears that a strike at Canada Post may be possible as of May 25th, 2011. But, there are alternatives. Some Canadian retailers ship to local stores while others use courier services.

The following Canadian retailers offer an option to ship to their local stores :

Bestbuy.ca
Futureshop.ca
www.sears.ca
thesource.ca

The following Canadian retailers offer courier shipping :

chapters.indigo.ca (Greater Toronto Area)
Sony Style Canada (Major Cities/By Appointment)
Tigerdirect.ca – FREE SHIPPING* on selected PC Deals at TigerDirect!

UPDATE : Please read the latest blog entries for updates on the postal strike and alternative shipping options.