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Home Search Engine Back Volver Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads || kuro5hin.org Title Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads || kuro5hin.org Referer Text Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads || kuro5hin.org Google Page Rank Page Content in text format Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads || kuro5hin.org create account | help/FAQ | contact | links | search | IRC | site news Everything Diaries Technology Science Culture Politics Media News Internet Op-Ed Fiction Met a MLP We need your support: buy an ad | premium membership | k5 store Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads By MichaelCrawford in Op-EdFri Sep 05, 2003 at 02:36:31 PM EST Tags: Culture (all tags) You don't need to worry about getting sued by the Recording Industry Assocation of America or arrested by the FBI if you download legal music. Many independent and unsigned musicians offer downloads of their music in hopes of attracting more fans. Here's some music from my friends The Divine Maggees, Oliver Brown and Rick Walker's Loop.pooL. If everyone started downloading legal music instead of violating copyright with the file sharing programs, we would make short work of the RIAA, because people would start buying CDs directly from the artists and seeing their shows instead of enriching the major labels by buying CDs from the bands the labels have chosen for us to listen to. The RIAA would also have no cause to complain - these music downloads do not infringe copyright because the artists give you permission to download them. Contents Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads Why You Should Download Legal Music Instead A Sampler of Artists How Will Artists Earn Money? The Problem of Finding the Best Music Web Sites for Legal Downloads Paid Subscription Services Change the Law Speak Out Vote Write to Your Elected Representatives Donate Money to Political Campaigns Support Campaign Finance Reform Join the Electronic Frontier Foundation Practice Civil Disobedience Should Copyright Even Exist? What You Can Do To Help Conclusion Legal Notice Why You Should Download Legal Music Instead [top] I decided to write this article after a friend told me in all sincerity that the money she paid to purchase Kazaa went to compensate the artists whose music she downloaded. She had no idea she was violating anyone's copyright. I figure that most peer-to-peer file traders, while probably aware they are violating copyrights, aren't much more clued in than my friend. While I have your attention I feel I should also explain some of the legal and historical issues around copyright, and suggest steps you can take to make file sharing legal. If you don't think that violating copyright by downloading music with filesharing programs like Kazaa, Grokster, Morpheus, Madster, eDonkey, Direct Connect, OpenNap, iMesh, or Gnutella could get you in serious trouble, then you need to read RIAA Obtains Subpoenas Against File Swappers and House Bill to Make File-Sharing an Automatic Felony. The RIAA is using the Digital Millenium Copyright Act to force internet service providers to turn over the names of file traders. They can determine your internet protocol address by connecting with your peer-to-peer client over the Internet. Using your IP address and the time you were connected, the ISP can determine your name. If the RIAA finds you this way, they will sue you. When you are the defendant in a civil lawsuit, you don't have the protection against self-incrimination that the U.S. Constitution grants criminal defendants. You will be required to give a deposition, in which the party suing you will be able to ask you anything they want, while you will be required to give truthful answers under oath. In addition, your friends may be subpoenaed and compelled to testify as witnesses against you. In civil lawsuits, there is a process called "discovery" that allows the party suing you to use the force of law to require you to turn over any evidence they ask for. In particular, they can seize your computer and forensically examine your hard drive (so that they might even recover files you've deleted), read any logs of email you've saved, obtain your telephone records from your phone company and obtain the log files from your ISP as well as the log files from any Web sites you've ever visited. The RIAA has had limited success at suing the publishers of file sharing software. Some systems, like Gnutella, are so decentralized that there is little hope of finding anyone to sue. So now they are coming after the individual file traders - meaning you. The article above says the RIAA has already obtained subpoenas against 871 file traders, and will likely have obtained many more by the time you read this. They are asking for $150,000 in damages from each file trader for each song whose copyright they have violated. What will they use the money for? Suing more file traders, of course. If you lose one of these lawsuits, the only recourse you will have will be to declare bankruptcy. If you're a juvenile, your parents will have to declare bankruptcy. While simple copyright infringement is a civil offense where the copyright holder's only recourse is to sue you, especially egregious offenses are already criminal violations for which the law enforcement authorities will arrest, prosecute and imprison you. Remember the FBI warning you always see at the beginning of movie videos? It is common for large-scale software pirates to be arrested. File traders are next in line. You can avoid all of these problems by enjoying music from the tens of thousands of talented musicians who offer legal downloads of their music. And you can tell the RIAA to kiss your ass. A Sampler of Artists [top] Here are links to a few more individual artists: Alt-folk songwriter Mark Beihoffer (a.k.a. dragonfly_blue): songs for the broken-hearted masses Downomight -- Hand-tooled beats and acoustic songs by Markie P My Life Is On The Line -- Pictures, show dates, and downloadables in MP3 and Ogg Vorbis formats. Michael David Crawford - Compositions for the piano Moto - electro terror noise pop. Full album and other songs available in Ogg Vorbis format. Dave Dean - Dance - House - Techno - Ambient - Electronic And So Forth milo fungus - One-man pop/rock/alternative band. the bittersweet way plays rock music. Swedish alternative rock act Machinae Supremacy Mister Orange - All-acoustic singer/songwriter with an alternative edge Danger Collie Music - Blues, reggae, rock and samba UnKindness Of Ravens - Musical scribble, grooved and exposed. Zoë Blade - Various styles of electronic music Shelby Jenkins The Syntax Error Project - a digital media and art project based in Toronto, Canada. How Will Artists Earn Money? [top] You may ask how musicians are able to earn money if they offer free music downloads. The simple answer is that they will make money as they always have, by selling recordings, playing live concerts, and selling such merchandise as T-shirts. While one might be satisfied by listening to downloaded music, many people report that they often purchase a band's CD after hearing their downloads. I can easily tell that compact disc recordings sound better than most MP3 files, and it's nice to have a labeled CD, package and liner notes. There are some who advocate that all music ought to be freely available and sharable, and suggest that musicians be supported through tips. Only a small fraction of those who download a given song need to contribute for most artists to make a comfortable living. The Street Performer Protocol is one method proposed for paying for many kinds of works, not just music. The non-profit organization musiclink collects tips from fans and distributes it to musicians with very little overhead. The Problem of Finding the Best Music [top] It's difficult to find music that's actually worth listening to. Although many bands offer music on their websites, there's no real way to tell if it's any good without actually downloading it. The labels do serve the (somewhat) legitimate purpose of picking out the good from the bad. But we can do that ourselves with legal downloads by using collaborative filtering, for example by downloading our music with iRATE radio, which you'll find at http://irate.sourceforge.net/: iRATE radio is a collaborative filtering client/server mp3 player/downloader. The iRATE server has a large database of music. You rate the tracks and it uses your ratings and other peoples to guess what you'll like. The tracks are downloaded from Web sites which allow free downloads of their music. As of July 2003, the iRATE server has 46,000 tracks registered. Here are some screenshots. The way iRATE works is that it downloads a few tracks at random at first. It downloads them directly from the artists' Web sites after finding them in its database. (The author of iRATE is careful to register only legal downloads.) After you listen to and rate the tracks, your ratings are sent back to the server where it uses statistical analysis to correllate your ratings with the ratings given by other users. If you like the same kind of music I do, then iRATE will send you all the same music I like. Conversely, if you hate my music, iRATE won't send you the music I like. One nice thing about iRATE is that you can set it to download continuously while playing, so you always have fresh music without having to go hunt for it. You just have to click a button from time to time to rate new songs. iRATE radio is a cross-platform program, with natively compiled clients presently available for Windows and Linux. There is a Java WebStart client that works on Mac OS X and likely on other platforms that support Java. The music iRATE downloads to your hard drive will sound better and better the longer you use it. iRATE's statistical analysis is more effective when more people use it, so be sure to tell all your friends. iRATE radio is a young project which welcomes contributions from java developers. Anyone at all can help out significantly by testing the development snapshots and reporting bugs. Graphically talented people may enjoy entering iRATE's icon competition. Web Sites for Legal Downloads [top] There are a number of music hosting services that allow one to find many free downloads all in one place. Be aware though that the fact that a website provides a file for download doesn't imply the file is licensed for sharing. Probably the best known site for downloading MP3s is MP3.com. See especially their genre index. Click the link. You will be quite astounded at how many genres there are. Unfortunately MP3.com's website usability is atrocious, and their streaming audio seems to be buggy - I can't get it to work in either Explorer or Mozilla. To get an MP3 file to download to your hard drive, you have to register, which I'm sure will result in unwanted email. May I suggest registering with a throwaway email address from spamgourmet? The Open Directory Project has Bands and Artists and Styles indices. Not all the artists offer downloads, but the site says they list 48,000 artists and I imagine many of them offer downloads. The Narcopop Independent Musicians Directory lists the websites for many artists and provides preview samples for many of them. There are better sites for hosting MP3s than MP3.com. Some of them allow you to buy the band's CD from the same page as the MP3 download. Among them are: Fair for Share MP3 4U - Where MP3 Lunatics Run the Asylum! MP3 Jackpot - One Winner A Day! DMusic.com - Your Digital Music Oasis The Internet Underground Music Archives - discover unsigned artists, independent bands, local talent CDBaby - a little CD store with the best new independent music Epitonic.com - your source for cutting edge music Lulu - Digital Recording, Collaboration, Hardware, Software, News SoundClick - Free MP3 music download and much, much more Matador Records insound - indie emo garage punk noise electronic + essentials monotonik - online mp3 electronica label The Live Music Archive Scene.org - also see the file browser 8 bit recording company Kikapu octagone.net - this is a label for chosen music we call deconstructed. The Free Music Archive If you prefer the higher quality, quicker to download and patent-free Ogg Vorbis files you can find several download sites here. From the Ogg Vorbis General FAQ: Ogg Vorbis is a new audio compression format. It is roughly comparable to other formats used to store and play digital music, such as MP3, VQF, AAC, and other digital audio formats. It is different from these other formats because it is completely free, open, and unpatented. (The Ogg Vorbis format was created because the owners of the MP3 patent forbid the free creation and distribution of Open Source MP3 encoders.) Ogg Vorbis players are available for many platforms - WinAmp will play them on Windows. VLC Media Player is a cross-platform player that works on Windows, Linux, BeOS, BSD, QNX, Solaris and Mac OS X. iTunes on Mac OS X supports Ogg now. There are open source Linux ogg players and encoders, even an open source fixed-point decoder called Tremor for embedded applications. Also for embedded applications, there is also an electronic design for a low power Ogg Vorbis decoder chip, so that we are sure to soon have inexpensive portable Ogg Vorbis players. There are also peer-to-peer applications for distributing legal music. In some cases they use digital signatures to ensure the legitimacy of the files. See Furthur Network and konspire[2b]. Monotonik provides BitTorrents: zip files containing 60 to 100 MP3s apiece, available here. You will need to install the BitTorrent client to download them. Unfortunately, musicians are often not very good Web site designers, so poor usability is a significant obstacle to getting music directly from artists' Web sites. If you're a musician, and you'd like to know how you can improve your site design so more people will download your music, please read my article If Indie Musicians Wanted Their Music Heard.... Paid Subscription Services [top] At first I was reluctant to even mention paid music subscription services, not so much because I object to paying for music, but because of the problem of digital rights management, or copy protection. I consider DRM a nuisance best to be avoided, and didn't want to contribute to the problem by urging anyone to take advantage of the services that use DRM. However, there are paid subscription services that don't use DRM, and there are those for which the DRM is not onerous. The advantage of these services is that one can obtain music from artists who don't offer it for free, so you're likely to find music from more well-known bands than by taking advantage of the completely free downloads. A reader named Hal C. F. Astell who reviewed my drafts urged me to mention EMusic. The files EMusic provides are standard MP3 files, free of any copy protection. You can copy them to any computer or MP3 player, burn them to any CD and back them up without fear of losing any kind of authorization key. EMusic also has a very active message board. I understand it is a nice community to be part of. If you use a subscription service that employs digital rights management, you should choose one that offers you these capabilities at a minimum: The ability to play your downloads on your home CD player and in your car The ability to back up your downloads and authorization key to secure secondary storage The ability to play your downloads on a portable player that takes compressed files The ability to play your music on a computer running any operating system you want Continued access to your music in the event the subscription service goes out of business or the vendor decides to stop supporting it One should have all of these capabilities simultanously; many digital rights management systems transfer the authorization key as one moves the music files from one device to another. For example, one could not play one's music on one's computer and portable player simultaneously. The only DRM-based subscription service I know of that satisfies a significant number of these criteria is Apple's iTunes Music Store. While it is presently available only for U.S. residents who use Macintosh computers, it is expected that eventually it will be offerred more widely, and may be available for Windows as well. The digital rights management that iTunes uses is sometimes referred to as "soft DRM" to indicate that most users don't find it objectionable. One can play the music on up to three computers as well as an Apple iPod portable player, and burn standard audio CDs. The iTunes Music Store has done well so far. Users praise it, and a large number of downloads have been purchased in the short time since it went online. The AAC audio file format used by iTunes is more compact and sounds better than MP3. The iTunes Music Store is likely to be a long term success. However, iTunes doesn't solve the problem that artists receive very little of the money from the sale of their music. Competing services that rely on much stricter copy protection have not been so successful. The launch of BuyMusic was a disaster largely due to the way the DRM prevented anyone from actually being able to listen to their music unimpeded. While the major record labels have been criticized for failing to take advantage of the potent marketing opportunity presented by the Internet and the MP3 audio format, it is now taking small steps towards selling the music downloads that fans want. The labels should be applauded for doing so. While the labels are rightly criticized for requiring copy protection of their content, we should take heart from the history of the early personal computer software industry. At one time the copy protection for many PC programs was quite severe, employing such strategies as floppy disks pierced with laser holes or applications that could only be run from boot disks provided by the publisher. But eventually software copy protection subsided in importance because software purchasers simply purchased competing, non-protected products rather than deal with copy protection. The compromise for many products has been to just require a simple serial number. The soft DRM employed by the iTunes Music Store is a similar compromise. We can expect the labels to experiment with subscription services that employ a variety of copy protection techniques until one is found that is profitable to the recording industry while being unobjectionable to the purchaser. Change the Law [top] Sixty million Americans use peer-to-peer applications to trade files. That's more people than voted for George Bush. If we work together, we can shake up the government so profoundly that sharing music - anyone's music - is no longer illegal. Many, many millions more people share music around the world - if your country is democratic, you can change your laws too. If your country is not democratic, I can certainly appreciate the difficulty you're in. But if you have courage, political change is still possible, although more costly, but worthwhile for reasons a lot more significant than making it legal to swap music. If you don't think this can happen, consider Slashdot user Quizo69's comment Illegal becomes legal if YOU change it, in which he points out that that although it was once illegal to be homosexual throughout the United States, the gay community worked together to fight sodomy laws. Through their efforts, state after state repealed their laws until the Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled the last sodomy laws unconstitutional. If the gay community can fight millenia of hatred until they can live without fear of criminal prosecution, you can overturn the copyright laws. If you don't think you have the political power, consider that there aren't as many homosexual people in the U.S. as there are file traders. In the United States, copyright is not a Constitutional right, like freedom of speech. The Constitution grants Congress the power to create copyright, but doesn't require it to do so. From Article I, Section 8 of The Constitution of the United States of America: The Congress shall have power to... promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries; No form of "intellectual property", also including patents, trade secrets and trademarks are a "natural right". The concept of intellectual property has not existed for very long in history at all. (While trade secrets have existed throughout history, it is only recently that they have enjoyed any sort of legal protection.) Our founding fathers didn't grant Congress permission to make copyright legal because they felt is was any sort of natural right. They did it because they thought it would be a useful thing to do to stimulate the economy of a young nation: "To promote the progress of science and useful arts". Copyright and patents encourage authors, artists or inventors to openly publish their works by giving them a temporary monopoly. In return for this grant of monopoly, the work is supposed to eventually go into the public domain, so all may benefit from copying it. Let me make it explicit: The purpose of both copyright and patents is to make it worthwhile for authors and inventors to release their writing, music and inventions to the public domain, rather than keeping them secret. But that's not the situation today. Because the copyright on Mickey Mouse was due to expire in 2004, Walt Disney lobbied Congress (with the aid of prodigous campaign "donations") to pass the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, extending the copyright term to ninety-five years, not just for new works, but for works that were copyrighted before the act was passed. The law applied even to work about to pass into the public domain, so Congress rode to Disney's rescue to keep Steamboat Willie safe. (If any of Mickey Mouse's cartoons ever entered the public domain, it would not have diluted Disney's trademark on the character, but it would have made it possible for others to use Mickey Mouse in ways that did not dilute the trademark.) With the current ninety-five year copyright term, you cannot expect that you will live to see a copyrighted work created today ever go into the public domain. The creators of copyrighted works are not keeping up their end of the bargain that the framers of the Constitution offerred them. Because the copyright term was extended even for works whose copyrights were about to expire, no reasonable person can consider that the requirement that copyright be granted for "limited times" has been obeyed by Congress. A brilliant young law professor named Lawrence Lessig, who has an understanding of technology issues quite unusual for an attorney, led a lawsuit to overturn the Sonny Bono Act. The closely watched Eldred v. Ashcroft case quickly reached the Supreme Court. Yet in an astonishing rejection of Constitutional principles, the Court ruled against Lessig. Read the Court's opinion. (Supreme Court opinions are often surprisingly readable for legal documents - it's worth your while to take a look.) Sucks, don't it? What can you do about it? Well, let me tell you: Speak Out [top] The pen is mightier than the sword. -- Edward Bulwer-Lytton If there's something going on that you don't think is right, you ought to say something about it. Say it to anyone who will listen, and wherever anyone will let you speak or write. Do your very best to say it as well and as convincingly as you can. It helps to speak your mind repeatedly, honing your message with each try. Practice, practice, practice: The ancient Greek statesman Demosthenes had a speech impediment so he was not able to speak convincingly. To overcome this, he went down to the beach, put stones in his mouth and shouted his speeches at the roaring waves until he could make himself understood. Do you think I wrote this article well? You don't think I just sat down and wrote it, do you? No, I put time and effort into it. At first my message evolved from a series of Slashdot and weblog comments, and after the idea began to gel in my mind, I sat down to write the first draft, posted it on my website, then asked for help. After revising it, I asked for help again. It took time, a lot of work, and many revisions to write this article as well as I have. That's what you need to do if you want to speak or write convincingly. You may find helpful discussion points among the winners of the WIPOUT intellectual property counter-essay contest, which was held in response to a World Intellectual Property Organization student essay contest which asked the question "What does intellectual Property mean to you in your daily life?" The WIPOUT winners page states: the competitive aspect of our contest was always secondary to the purpose of giving a platform to the voices who disagree with the constant expansion of Intellectual Property protection: these voices are very rarely given the opportunity to speak. Check out Robert Nagle's piece on why music can be shared. It comes with some tips on how to share music. There may be times you find that your speech is unwelcome, that you are ashamed of what you have to say, or you face unpleasant consequences for saying it. To give you courage, I ask you to read these words to live by: John J. Chapman's speech Make a Bonfire of Your Reputations. His words ring out as powerfully today as they did one hundred three years ago. Vote [top] If you are so convinced that your vote doesn't count that you don't even vote, then you have already lost. The only way your vote doesn't count is if you don't cast it. You should be aware that a strategy candidates frequently use it to convince their opponent's supporters that their votes are pointless, so that they don't bother to go to the polls at all. Keeping voters at home is one of the objectives of negative campaign ads. If I'm not able to convince you to vote, you might ask Al Gore why he thinks your vote counts. Of course you must be of legal age to vote. However, anyone can do the other things in this list. Write to Your Elected Representatives [top] Your legislators do pay attention to the letters they receive. I'm sure if all sixty million American file traders wrote a letter to each of their Senators, their House Representative and the President, and pointed out that their vote hinged on the action they took regarding file sharing and copyright, substantial action would be taken. Don't bother emailing them. They all get so much spam they have long since stopped paying attention to email. If you don't want to write them, you can call them on the telephone or send a fax, but because of the investment in time it takes a constituent to write a letter, politicians pay more attention to snail mail. U.S. residents can find the addresses of their representatives at Congress.org. During election seasons, also write to each of the candidates who are running to represent you to explain to them how they can win your vote. Donate Money to Political Campaigns [top] Politicians who are opposed to entrenched corporate interests have a hard time raising money to pay for the advertising and travel expenses required to tell voters their message. While you may not have the money to give that, say, Disney does, there are far more of you than there are big corporations. If all sixty million American file traders each donated the price of a compact disc to a politician, and included a cover letter explaining why you were donating the money, Congress might become considerably less responsive to the corporations. Support Campaign Finance Reform [top] After you're done writing your letters to your congresscritters about file sharing, write another letter urging them to support campaign finance reform. The reason Congress is in the pockets of those entrenched corporate interests I mentioned above is because the big corporations bribe the politicians. Let me be blunt - there is no other word for what they do but bribery, and don't let your representatives claim they're not on the take if they accept corporate campaign donations. As evidence of this, consider that many corporations donate comparable amounts of money to both the Republican and Democratic parties. Businesses don't do that to affect the outcome of elections. They do that to ensure that both parties, regardless of who wins any elections, represent the interests of the business. Personally, I find it unfathomable that corporations are allowed to make campaign donations at all. No one but an individual, natural person ought to be allowed to do that. The root of this problem lies in some established legal precedent which makes a corporation the legal equivalent of a person, so that corporations, and not just the people who work for or invest in them, are now granted the same Constitutional rights as living human beings. I think that the threat corporations pose to our fragile democracy could be eliminated by adding an amendment something like the following to our Constitution: A corporation is not a person. No one but a natural person may donate money to a political candidate, political party or elected official. The solutions to many of the difficult problems our country faces would be solved by eliminating the political influence of corporations. If the power of corporations is allowed to continue to grow unchecked, the threat to our nation will one day be as great as it was in the days of the Civil War. Join the Electronic Frontier Foundation [top] The EFF is the nation's premier technology law civil rights organization. They have been at the forefront of legal battles to declare the Digital Millenium Copyright Act unconstitutional, to have computer program source code declared constitutionally protected free speech, and to preserve the right to be anonymous. They were instrumental in the legalization of export of cryptographic software to other countries from the U.S.A. They are also working to defend both the publishers and users of peer-to-peer filesharing software from the RIAA lawsuits, as you can see from their Let the Music Play campaign. For example, they successfully defended Streamcast from the RIAA's lawsuit against them for publishing Morpheus. If you do nothing else, join the EFF. It costs a lot of money to fight a lawsuit. They need your support to do it. I assert that it's worth your while to join EFF even if you don't live in the United States, for the simple reason that it will help to stop the United States from pressuring other countries to adopt ill-advised laws like extensions of copyright terms, software patents or adoption of their own versions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Practice Civil Disobedience [top] In his Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King said: one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. King practiced civil disobedience to give such civil rights as the right to vote to black Americans. Mahatma Gandhi practiced civil disobedience to free his country from British colonial rule and found the modern nation of India. Civil disobedience means the nonviolent refusal to obey the law. While both King and Gandhi succeeded in fomenting revolution, they did it without firing a shot. King said, "Nonviolence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation." Civil disobedience serves several purposes: Because any protests are nonviolent, the ferocity of the backlash of the state and the corporations against the peaceful protesters will eventually shame the oppressors into giving in to the protesters demands. Thus it is important for protestors to have unquestionably upright moral standing. Civil disobedience is especially important in the United States (and countries with similar legal systems) because the Supreme Court does not give advisory opinions. That is, you cannot simply ask the Court to strike down an unjust law. Instead, you must actually violate the law, get arrested or sued for your crime, then defend yourself in court until your appeals reach the Supreme Court. If you can convince the Court that the law is unconstitutional, the law will be struck down. It's a risky strategy - you might lose, and spend years in jail. You will unquestionably spend years fighting expensive and exhausting legal battles. But the payoff is quite valuable - neither Congress nor the President can overrule the Supreme Court. The Court can reverse itself, but this is very rare. Another purpose civil disobedience serves is to make society so ungovernable that the authorities must give in to restore order. That was the case with the Vietnam War, where such acts of civil disobedience as burning draft cards and massive street protests so galvanized public opposition to the war that the United States Government was finally forced to withdraw. I'm not saying that if you think the law sucks, you should use p2p so you can get yourself some free tunes. I'm saying that if you feel the law is so unjust that you're willing to risk your freedom to change it, then share files and be prepared to carry on your fight by facing the consequences. Invite the RIAA to your door. Individual acts of civil disobedience don't have to be violations of the law that spend years winding their way through the courts. Simple street protests will do. For example, you could email ten thousand of your closest friends and ask them to meet you at the headquarters of a major record label. Or you could ask a million of your buddies to march on Washington with you, or the capital of another country. When the police arrest you for blocking traffic, or gathering without a permit, don't fight back - that would be violent. Instead, resist nonviolently, by letting your body go limp, so they have to drag you off like a sack of potatoes. Ten thousand limp protestors being dragged away by the police are sure to get attention to their cause, or at least make their city ungovernable for the day. Particularly helpful would be to install an unsecured 802.11 Wireless Access Point on your network so anyone in your neighborhood can share files with complete anonymity. Some have suggested that it's inappropriate of me to invoke Martin Luther King's memory in defense of peer to peer file sharing. They make the reasonable argument that one cannot compare a life-and-death struggle for basic human rights to an effort to get music without having to pay for it. My purpose is not simply to enable people to listen for free, but to enlist the aid of a group of people who have so far been inactive politically, yet who are potentially very powerful because of their considerable numbers. I feel that politically empowering the file traders will solve other, more significant problems as well. As I said previously, I feel that the awesome political power possessed by the large corporations is the greatest challenge my nation faces. I think it is fair to say the United States is no longer a democracy, at least not effectively so. The ability of the corporations and the fabulously wealthy to purchase the favors of the politicians, and the politicians' abilities to mold public opinion with advertisements paid for by those donations concentrates my nation's political power in the hands of a very few people - a very few unelected, mostly obscure people. In addition, the news media in the United States is owned primarily by a few large corporations who have so far demonstrated little pretense of unbiased reporting. Reports of any events are cast in a light that is favorable to the corporations, while news that doesn't support the corporate interest is not reported at all. Reforming or even eliminating copyright is an effective first step to take towards returning power to the hands of the average voter. How much political power would AOL Time Warner or Disney have if there were no longer any legal foundation for intellectual property? In Renegade Networks - The Grapevine Manifesto, Stephen Blackheath makes the case that the power of today's corporations stems not from their ability to manufacture useful products but from their intellectual property: When you boil it all down, what they basically own is a large pile of intellectual property, and stack of cash up to the ceiling to defend it with. Cash + ownership of brand name + ownership of technology = Power. The fact that people aren't already dying in the streets in the struggle against the corporations and their intellectual property is not because the struggle is not one worth dying for, but because most people have not yet awakened to the problem. To practice civil disobedience is not a choice to be made lightly. It carries tremendous risks. Tremendous rewards too: it's the sort of thing that gets you into history books. But while King and Gandhi will forever be revered as champions of peace and justice, they both met the same awful fate: assassination. Should Copyright Even Exist? [top] There are many people, notably the Free Software Foundation's Richard Stallman, who feel that the chief benefit of computers is that they enable digital information to be copied completely faithfully and without significant cost. They feel that such copying, which was not possible before computers were invented, is of such great potential benefit to society that it outweighs any benefit that might arise from our founding father's legalization of copyright to "promote the useful arts and sciences". Stallman (or RMS as he prefers to be called) is a masterful computer programmer, and began his effort to eliminate copyright by turning copyright on its head with the creation of "copyleft" - software licenses that not only allow copying, but require it. The most well-known such copyleft license is the GNU General Public License. The GPL is the license used for the Linux operating system kernel and many of the programs that run on it. Stallman calls copylefted computer software Free Software. "Free" is meant as in "freedom", not "without monetary charge". An unfortunate problem with the English language is that we use the word "free" to represent two distinctly different concepts. Spanish doesn't have this problem, where "Free Software" is translated as "Software Libre" rather than "software gratis". There are "Free Documentation" licenses for writing as well, for example, the GNU Free Documentation License. Stallman was a lone voice crying in the wilderness when he published The GNU Manifesto in 1985. The Free Software movement has grown to the point that there are now over fifteen thousand programs that are licensed with the GNU GPL listed at Freshmeat. Microsoft, the world's largest software company, and whose Windows operating system runs on 90% of the world's desktop computers, has named Linux as its number two risk (second only to the ailing economy). To understand why Stallman's philosophy is relevant to this discussion, apply his software ideas to digital music. It is easy to argue that the primary value of digital music is that it can be copied completely faithfully, and without cost, by computers. One could even say that the benefit to society of the computer's ability to copy music this way far outweighs any benefit to society of giving creators the temporary benefit of copyright. There are, in fact, "Free Music" licenses, such as the EFF Open Audio License. You can find music licensed under the OAL at the Open Music Registry. The Creative Commons licenses can also be used for music. You can find some at Creative Commons' Get Content page. Lest you think that musicians would stop creating without copyright, consider that making and hearing music is a basic human need. Many musicians could no more give up playing or singing than they could breathing. Music has existed in human culture for tens of thousands of years, as long as we've been able to sing or play primitive drums. Nearly all of the great classical composers devoted their lifetimes to their art without benefit of copyright. I see no reason to believe that any less music would be played if copyright were repealed entirely. I discuss this in more detail in my article Modern Technology and the Death of Copyright. While copyright in its current form has outlived its usefulness to society, I don't think it ought to be eliminated entirely. I think the copyright term of fourteen years provided by the United States' first Copyright Act is about right. That would allow artists and writers to profit from their work, while the shorter term would allow you to legally share music from your favorite bands of your younger days while you are still able to enjoy them. What You Can Do To Help [top] If you feel as I do that what I have to say here is important for others to understand, then I ask you to please help get the word out. You can do that by linking to this article from your weblog or website, posting the URL to online community message boards, and emailing the URL to anyone else who you feel might benefit from reading it. Even better would be to copy this entire article to your own website or weblog, or to a message board, under the terms of the legal notice below. The version of this article at http://www.goingware.com/tips/legal-download s.html is almost entirely self-contained and uses only simple markup to enable easier copying. It may be updated from time to time. If you are fluent in a language other than English, please consider translating this article. That would help out your countrymen who don't read English. I feel that my discussion of U.S. history and law are relevant even to people in other countries because of the global reach of the RIAA as well as the pressure that the United States puts on other countries to harmonize their laws with misguided U.S. ones. I have already received an offer to translate this article to Polish. The Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license I have chosen for this work doesn't permit derivative works. Unfortunately a translation is a derivative work. I chose the NoDerivs option because so much of this article is an expression of my deeply held personal opinions. However, if you contact me at legal-downloads@goingware.com I can grant you a separate license to do a translation. Conclusion [top] You are probably able to tell that, while I recommend against sharing copyrighted music, I have no love for the Recording Industry Association of America. I feel that way not just because of their legal harrassment of those who publish and use file sharing software, but because the major record labels who make up the RIAA rip off the musicians who are signed with them. They're ripping you off too, every time you buy a CD. When compact discs first appeared, they were much more expensive than vinyl LPs because there were only a couple of factories in the world that could manufacture them. The equipment to make CDs was very expensive, and the factories' production was very limited, so the cost was justified. But years later, although the cost of pressing a "glass master" compact disc has dropped to a few cents, the retail price of CDs has not dropped at all. The RIAA sheds crocodile tears over the way the file traders rip off the musicians, but you should pay no heed to this. The musicians don't get as much money from compact disc sales as the RIAA would have you believe. In no case does the musician make significant money this way - on the average, musicians make 41 cents per CD, but do not get to keep even that until they have paid back their advance, as well as the marketing and promotion of their album. Someone just starting out may make nothing at all. The record stores only earn a couple dollars per CD. Instead, the record labels reap enormous profits. The chief benefit of signing with a label is that the resulting publicity enables attracting more fans to live performances. Even big-name bands aren't able to just sit back and collect royalties from compact disc sales. They make their living the same way garage bands do, by living on the road - a hard, lonely life - and playing live concerts. That's why a number of top artists have announced their support for file sharing. Offerring music downloads is at least as effective at attracting fans to concerts as compact disc sales, quite possibly more so. Many top artists would love to make legal downloads of their music available on their Web sites. The reason they don't is that their record labels won't allow them to. Allowing musicians to sell their music directly to fans, via direct sales of compact discs that the bands pay to have manufactured themselves, as well as live performances advertised through file downloads, is the greatest threat to the record labels' continued existence. They don't fear the loss of revenue that results from people downloading MP3s instead of buying compact discs. They fear the loss of their control. They fear being cut out of the picture entirely. And personally, I think we would all be better off if the major record labels were eliminated. If we all downloaded legal music, we would no longer have to deal with the menace of the RIAA and the tedium of ClearChannel. There would be greater hope for the legions of unsigned musicians, many of whom are hardworking, talented people who live on the fringe economically, sometimes desperately so, so they can devote themselves to their music. Our lives would also be richer for it. Legal Notice [top] Yes, really. Copyright (C) 2003 Michael D. Crawford. All Rights Reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/1.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA. Sponsors Managed Hosting VoxCAST Content Delivery Raw Infrastructure Login Make a new account Username: Password: Note: You must accept a cookie to log in. Poll What do you think of current copyright laws? Copyright is fine as it is 5% Copyright should have a shorter term 32% Copyright should have a very short term 49% Copyright should be eliminated 13% Votes: 99 Results | Other Polls Related Links Slashdot Freshmeat Recording Industry Assocation of America The Divine Maggees Oliver Brown Rick Walker's Loop.pooL Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads Why You Should Download Legal Music Instead A Sampler of Artists How Will Artists Earn Money? The Problem of Finding the Best Music Web Sites for Legal Downloads Paid Subscription Services Change the Law Speak Out Vote Write to Your Elected Representatives Donate Money to Political Campaigns Support Campaign Finance Reform Join the Electronic Frontier Foundation Practice Civil Disobedience Should Copyright Even Exist? What You Can Do To Help Conclusion Legal Notice top Kazaa Grokster Morpheus Madster eDonkey Dire ct Connect OpenNap iMesh Gnutella RIAA Obtains Subpoenas Against File Swappers House Bill to Make File-Sharing an Automatic Felony Digital Millenium Copyright Act deposition "discovery " the law enforcement authorities will arrest, prosecute and imprison you. tell the RIAA to kiss your ass Mark Beihoffer Downomight My Life Is On The Line Michael David Crawford Moto Dave Dean And So Forth milo fungus the bittersweet way Machinae Supremacy Mister Orange Danger Collie Music UnKindness Of Ravens Zoë Blade Shelby Jenkins The Syntax Error Project The Street Performer Protocol musiclink http://irate.sourceforge.net/ screen shot s icon competition MP3.com genre index website usability spamgourme t Bands and Artists Styles Narcopop Independent Musicians Directory Fair for Share MP3 4U MP3 Jackpot DMusic.com The Internet Underground Music Archives CDBaby Epitonic.c om Lulu SoundClick Matador Records insound monotonik The Live Music Archive Scene.org the file browser 8 bit recording company Kikapu octagone.n et The Free Music Archive Ogg Vorbis here Ogg Vorbis General FAQ the owners of the MP3 patent VLC Media Player Tremor a low power Ogg Vorbis decoder chip Furthur Network konspire[2 b] BitTorrents here If Indie Musicians Wanted Their Music Heard... Hal C. F. Astell EMusic message board iTunes Music Store artists receive very little of the money from the sale of their music. BuyMusic a disaster if you have courage Quizo69's Illegal becomes legal if YOU change it Article I, Section 8 The Constitution of the United States of America (with the aid of prodigous campaign "donations") Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act Lawrence Lessig Eldred v. Ashcroft the Court ruled against Lessig. the Court's opinion Demosthene s series of Slashdot [2] weblog posted it on my website asked for help I asked for help again the winners of the WIPOUT intellectual property counter-essay contest World Intellectual Property Organization Robert Nagle's piece on why music can be shared Make a Bonfire of Your Reputations Congress.o rg Electronic Frontier Foundation Let the Music Play they successfully defended Streamcast software patents Civil Disobedience Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Mahatma Gandhi Invite the RIAA to your door. anyone in your neighborhood can share files with complete anonymity Renegade Networks - The Grapevine Manifesto Free Software Foundation's Richard Stallman GNU General Public License Free Software the GNU Free Documentation License The GNU Manifesto programs that are licensed with the GNU GPL Freshmeat [2] has named Linux as its number two risk EFF Open Audio License Open Music Registry Creative Commons Get Content Modern Technology and the Death of Copyright fourteen years legal notice http://www.goingware.com/tips/legal-downloads.ht ml legal-down loads@goingware.com musicians make 41 cents per CD ClearChann el http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/1.0/ Also by MichaelCrawford Display: Threaded Minimal Nested Flat F lat Unthreaded Sort: Unrated, then Highest Highest Rated First Lowest Rated First Ignore Ratings Newest First Oldest First Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads | 202 comments (183 topical, 19 editorial, 0 hidden) +1 FP (3.62 / 8) (#4) by A Proud American on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 01:11:22 AM EST But shouldn't you get a job or something? ____________________________The weak are killed and eaten... The problem with writing by MichaelCrawford, 09/05/2003 04:08:28 AM EST (4.33 / 3) Mr. Pot, by mcgrew, 09/05/2003 06:56:39 PM EST (4.00 / 2) I don't have time to weed through crappy bands (4.58 / 12) (#7) by BadDoggie on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 02:00:53 AM EST What I hated most about mp3.com -- and this applies to all the other warehouses out there, including iRate -- is having to listen to 199 crappy songs to find one half decent tune, and most of the time, it would be the only thing that person or group got right, with everything else of theirs sucking as well. From the lack of talent and poor quality of the home taping to the non-existent engineer and producer, it's crap. The record companies are there and make money because they provide a service: good music. Your definition and mine will certainly vary, and they do their best to homogonise it all and copycat each other, but they provide the service. You have to sort through a lot less chaff to get a few kernels of wheat. I'm not about to defend the RIAA and certainly not their tactics. They have become a juggernaut and what's coming from their members is a load of homogenous, overproduced, poppy crap, but they have good bands, too. Imagine sorting through this 7,600-word article to find the word "crocodile", except that you don't have a "find" command, it takes a few minutes to get each word on your computer and you have to listen to 10-30 seconds of each word. That's what it was like finding the Ataris or sum41 on mp3.com. Except they'd misspelled crocodile. I agree with the sentiment of the article, but for the same reasons I don't take the time to learn auto mechanics and instead pay someone to fix my car, I'll keep buying music from label artists. That doesn't I don't change my own oil and air filters or even replace the brake pads if I have some time... woof."Non videri sed esse." — Tycho Brahe "Not to be seen but to be." just like crappy music from the RIAA by adpowers, 09/05/2003 02:38:22 AM EST (3.50 / 2) colliding randomly into new mp3's brings pleasure by rjnagle, 09/05/2003 04:35:24 PM EST (none / 1) A Weblog. Why doidn't you say? by BadDoggie, 09/06/2003 05:11:32 AM EST (4.00 / 2) That's what iRate is for by dennis, 09/05/2003 05:19:15 PM EST (none / 1) nonsense by snitch, 09/05/2003 06:51:38 PM EST (none / 1) Down with the man! by BadDoggie, 09/06/2003 05:00:04 AM EST (none / 0) down with me? dude! ;D by snitch, 09/06/2003 06:52:30 PM EST (none / 0) 199 crappy songs by mcgrew, 09/05/2003 06:54:46 PM EST (none / 1) The difference by BadDoggie, 09/06/2003 04:44:58 AM EST (none / 0) cross reference by Rodeo Jones, 09/11/2003 09:56:40 AM EST (none / 1) Life by dawtrina, 09/13/2003 06:23:59 PM EST (none / 1) No such thing as a free meal. (1.21 / 14) (#12) by Nigga on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 03:51:13 AM EST I'd rather listen to one of my bitches on the rag yell at me over some stupid shit about how I'm selfish and never give her attention blah blah blah blah blah then listen to this legal "music."... look ok - simply put there's a REASON these artists aren't signed and making millions - THEY SUCK! Just look at how much Britney Spears sucks, and she got signed! I can only imagine what unsigned shit sounds like. Yuck. No thank you. -------- The fuck happened to Nigga? Yeah whatever by dragonfly_blue, 09/05/2003 03:40:00 PM EST (4.33 / 3) what about underground labels though? by Nigga, 09/05/2003 08:09:05 PM EST (none / 1) What by dragonfly_blue, 09/05/2003 11:45:17 PM EST (none / 0) Access to musicologists by pin0cchio, 09/06/2003 03:17:02 PM EST (none / 0) How would that be useful to me? by dragonfly_blue, 09/07/2003 01:52:54 PM EST (none / 0) Bright Tunes v. Harrisongs by pin0cchio, 09/08/2003 11:40:50 PM EST (none / 0) nasty r&b 'nigga' by snitch, 09/05/2003 06:58:01 PM EST (none / 1) Look, I'll admit I'm not within the top 90% of by Nigga, 09/05/2003 08:07:46 PM EST (none / 1) both, surely by snitch, 09/06/2003 06:35:25 PM EST (none / 1) irrate at iRate (4.00 / 1) (#14) by QuantumG on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 03:59:17 AM EST Where the hell does iRate store the login/pass/server information that it asks you for at startup? I need to change it. I uninstalled the damn thing and reinstalled it and it still wont give me that box back.. and of course there is no setting menu item that let's you change this stuff. Gun fire is the sound of freedom. ~/irate/trackdatabase.xml by MichaelCrawford, 09/05/2003 04:03:37 AM EST (none / 0) are you a developer? by QuantumG, 09/05/2003 04:06:19 AM EST (none / 0) I'm just a helper. New developers are welcome. by MichaelCrawford, 09/05/2003 04:14:46 AM EST (none / 0) If you sign up by wurp, 09/07/2003 04:57:43 PM EST (none / 0) how can I not vote this up (1.75 / 4) (#26) by auraslip on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 07:13:56 AM EST it has my name in it for christ sake ___-___ tip by Wah, 09/05/2003 03:14:14 PM EST (5.00 / 1) I've been wondering (4.00 / 3) (#28) by Verbophobe on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 07:57:58 AM EST Are people in foreign countries affected by this move in any reasonable way? By "foreign countries", I mean Canada. They are the Recording Industry Association of America, but you never know. Proud member of the Canadian Broadcorping Castration Consider the author of DeCSS by MichaelCrawford, 09/05/2003 08:11:24 AM EST (4.25 / 4) Yes, but by bhearsum, 09/05/2003 08:14:49 AM EST (4.25 / 4) No, not really. by Dr Caleb, 09/05/2003 03:31:38 PM EST (4.00 / 3) Tariff Allocation by freestylefiend, 09/07/2003 11:51:38 AM EST (none / 1) You nailed it. by partykidd, 03/25/2005 10:02:32 PM EST (none / 0) That's a very interesting definition... by Vesperto, 09/05/2003 10:39:29 PM EST (none / 1) im australian and this is my story by Liet, 09/08/2003 07:44:39 AM EST (none / 1) My god, is this complete. (3.37 / 8) (#32) by megid on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 11:43:31 AM EST Alone for the link list, this is worth keeping. -- "think first, write second, speak third." Damn Straight by camelys, 09/06/2003 02:01:55 AM EST (none / 1) It's an Overview by dawtrina, 09/13/2003 06:30:28 PM EST (none / 1) How could you (4.16 / 6) (#33) by Zara2 on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 11:55:08 AM EST You have a great article here and I really appreciate it but how could you wirte this entire thing and not mentions phish-phriendly bands. These are bands tat allow taping and fully support the trading of thier music. This all really got started with the dead doing music trading years before the internet was developed and has blossomed into a wild live music trading community. For those interested please go to etree.org or phishhook.org to get started. Sorry bout the abstaining but I had to since you left out this thriving community of free artist and band supported music. Not to mention the wide array of gray-legality bootlegs that are out there. My apologies. I did ask for links. by MichaelCrawford, 09/05/2003 07:38:59 PM EST (none / 1) My apologies by Zara2, 09/05/2003 09:32:59 PM EST (none / 1) spearhead by parsec, 09/06/2003 12:49:56 AM EST (none / 0) Thanx by Zara2, 09/06/2003 10:40:07 AM EST (none / 0) This could be the start of something big (3.00 / 3) (#34) by antichrist stormtrooper on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 11:59:07 AM EST Who knows? Perhaps Open Music licensing and free mp3/ogg downloading will do for music what Open Source and Free Software have done for computers and...Uh-oh... "I hate cats almost as much as I hate Italians" -Albert Einstein +1 FP (3.16 / 6) (#35) by Gornauth on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 12:02:56 PM EST Now i only want to see a MLP with this insane amount of links... as has been mentioned... (3.75 / 4) (#36) by boelder on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 12:08:34 PM EST etree.org is a great resource for finding full digital recordings of many, many taper-friendly bands (not just jambands like GD and Phish). Those artists recognize that getting their tunes out there is a lot more important than getting paid for every tune that is out there. They get paid back when those who download their music show up in their audience. Music is more than putting a CD in the player: it is an experience to be shared with others and should be appreciated live at every opportunity. This article, additionally, was excellent! Well done! -b Can't afford it... by BeNude, 09/05/2003 04:18:52 PM EST (none / 1) One Word: Ticketmaster by muppetspanker, 09/05/2003 05:51:51 PM EST (none / 1) Monopoly breaker? by BeNude, 09/09/2003 05:15:20 PM EST (none / 1) Because they CAN be. by mcgrew, 09/05/2003 06:50:48 PM EST (none / 1) May they both die of AIDS? by wurp, 09/07/2003 05:29:30 PM EST (none / 1) There's a mental image I didn't need... by rpresser, 09/07/2003 11:21:49 PM EST (none / 1) Sounds right to me... by wurp, 09/08/2003 11:46:43 AM EST (none / 1) but...... by /dev/trash, 10/17/2003 10:42:10 PM EST (none / 1) Why not? by mcgrew, 11/09/2003 02:53:38 PM EST (none / 1) Easy... by Vesperto, 09/05/2003 10:46:08 PM EST (none / 1) Maybe I just don't get it... (3.00 / 2) (#37) by misfit13b on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 12:57:30 PM EST but if a band wants to release some or all of their MP3s publicly as the ones you have mentioned do, they should be allowed to, just as those who don't should be able to do as well. If Disney wants to protect "Mickey Mouse", they should have the option of those protections. I don't believe that it's as much of an all or nothing thing, which was the feeling that I got from your article. If the major record labels want the RIAA to track down people that are violating their property (a term which I won't go in to), they should be allowed to. That doesn't mean that we need to repeal laws, we can vote with our wallets. While there are file sharers out there that are sharing legal files, I'm sure that the majority are high school/college aged kids getting albums (sometimes before) release just for the fact that they don't wanna pay for em. If they don't wanna buy a CD because "there are only 3 good songs an album" either listen to a better fucking band, or move on. MP3 file sharing has been abused so the harsh backlash was only to be expected. In time things will level out and legal methods to music distribution will get their time. This is just the beginning. +1 FP Disney's protections by QuantumG, 09/05/2003 04:08:42 PM EST (5.00 / 1) How do we do that? by misfit13b, 09/05/2003 04:43:36 PM EST (none / 0) Copyright answers by muppetspanker, 09/05/2003 05:57:01 PM EST (5.00 / 2) hmm by puppet10, 09/05/2003 10:38:27 PM EST (none / 0) Thank you, that helps. n/t by misfit13b, 09/06/2003 08:44:00 AM EST (none / 0) it's more than 75 years by pde, 09/07/2003 06:11:33 AM EST (none / 0) How can I by mcgrew, 09/05/2003 06:46:48 PM EST (1.00 / 1) We're protecting him.. by QuantumG, 09/07/2003 12:06:35 AM EST (5.00 / 1) This is Why! by dawtrina, 09/13/2003 06:52:06 PM EST (none / 0) €20 --> €5 by snitch, 09/05/2003 07:04:39 PM EST (none / 0) I have over 400 CDs too by misfit13b, 09/06/2003 08:46:18 AM EST (none / 0) Clueless. (4.50 / 2) (#40) by NoMoreNicksLeft on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 03:26:11 PM EST Bell Express Vu and Starchoice (Shaw) in Canada are busy lobbying to make DirecTV hacking illegal there. DirecTV has no license to operate there, and certainly it costs BEV nothing if a canadian hacks DTV. Then again, if they're partaking of the free (even legal) stuff, they aren't buying the for-money stuff. Even if you succeed in what I admit is a noble goal, it will only cause more pain. Wish I could figure out how to help. -- Do not look directly into laser with remaining good eye. Just like to add... by Dr Caleb, 09/05/2003 03:44:25 PM EST (5.00 / 1) As long as they compare radio waves to property by jjbelsky, 09/05/2003 05:29:09 PM EST (5.00 / 3) iRATE (3.50 / 2) (#47) by altair on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 04:37:13 PM EST I've been using/testing iRATE for about 2 months now. In the last week, I've gotten an amazing amount of good music--music that really stands out as quality. My "other" mp3s aren't getting any airtime. So this is just my vote for iRATE... the more people who use it, the better it is :) Not entirely true ... (3.33 / 3) (#49) by dougmc on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 04:56:07 PM EST You don't need to worry about getting sued by the Recording Industry Assocation of America or arrested by the FBI if you download legal music. In this case, the RIAA threatened a professor at Penn State because they found a .mp3 file with the name `Usher' in it. Just because what you've got is 100% legal, that doesn't mean that the RIAA won't try to push you around. They may not sue, but you'll still worry about it somewhat when you get that letter ... Yes, in that case the RIAA quickly backtracked and apologized, but I'll bet they wouldn't be so quick if they were to find a song called `Madonna' by a group called `Beautiful Dreamer' being shared by you -- even if this song had nothing to do with Britney's smoochin' buddy. I hope they do sue me. by mcgrew, 09/05/2003 06:42:45 PM EST (none / 1) I doubt it. by camelys, 09/06/2003 02:07:59 AM EST (none / 1) EMusic: I'll Second That Motion (4.50 / 4) (#51) by Lagged2Death on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 05:21:11 PM EST I have been an EMusic subscriber for about a month; I've downloaded about 25 albums worth of material, about 20 of which I've committed to CD, and about 5 of which I'd say I really like a lot, and would have been happy to pay full price for. These results from just one month of light browsing and downloading have made the $45/3 month subscription worth every penny. There are few big-name acts available on Emusic, but the message boards are a useful way to discover new music, and to find gentle introductions to whole new genres. I very much recommend it. Starfish automatically creates colorful abstract art for your PC desktop! I second that motion again! by latestringtones2003, 09/07/2003 06:06:44 AM EST (none / 1) Emusic: the best buy I ever did by Alexey, 09/09/2003 06:22:22 AM EST (none / 1) indie rock and blues too by Rodeo Jones, 09/11/2003 10:00:59 AM EST (none / 0) EMusic Message Boards by dawtrina, 09/13/2003 06:57:58 PM EST (none / 1) excellent! now the next step (3.66 / 3) (#55) by circletimessquare on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 06:24:05 PM EST now what we need is a gateway to find this stuff currently riaa has the power because everyone lusts after justin timberlake because the current gateways: radio, mtv, etc. are conduits for riaa-controlled music the next step is a gateway site, a web site that lists riaa-free music like this... whose obvious future popularity and then $ earned (advertising, kickbacks, etc.) from it becomes it's reason for existence... not my stupid approval, or any other riaa-hater's approval ;-) I'm making a Low Budget HDV Filipino Horror Movie in NYC +1 (more), FP (4.50 / 4) (#56) by mcgrew on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 06:38:49 PM EST I've been harping at people for quite some time- Kazaa is not for downloading Mad "WTF" Donna or Britney. If you want Madonna or Britney, turn on the damned radio! If you want a copy of the song, you can sample one from your FM radio for free and legal. Kazaa is for the indies! And the RIAA wants to kill it for just that reason. My share list is about 200 tunes long (not counting freeware, shareware, etc). Those tunes are from folks who have either asked me personally or publically to share them. The artists on my share list realize they are in much greater danger of obscurity than copyright infringement. If you don't think that violating copyright by downloading music with filesharing programs... then you are right. In the US, you can legally download up to $1000.00 in a six month period. If it were not for the "No Electronic Thieft Act" you would be completely within your rights to download as much as you want (as you are in most countries). Where you will get in trouble is uploading. They have deemed this "broadcasting," which does, in fact, break copyright law. As to "House Bill to Make File-Sharing an Automatic Felony," I must point out that they haven't passed that law yet, and you should write your congresscritter and senaturd, and do any other Don Quixote windmill tilting possible (as the RIAA can purchase a senaturd for as little as $4000, the price they paid my senaturd Dick Durbin), Here are MORE indie artists, favorites of mine. All of whom want you to share their stuff. Use Google, they're there: The Pietasters (ska) The Fuzz (funk rock) The Station (can't pidgeonhole) The Cramps (punk) Dance Hall Crashers (ska) Gunga Dins (punk) Jungle Dogs (ska) Mr. Opporknockety (pop, band members disagree if they want it shared, so don't) The Offspring (rock, unfortunately their label does NOT want their stuff shared even though the band does, and the label owns the copyright. Don't share it.) Pound for Pound (hardcore) The Queers (punk) Reel Big Fish (ska- they're now signed, so you can no longer share despite what the band wants) Rufus and the Flycats (jazz rock) The Station (friends of mine so I listed them twice =P) Transient Frank (country rock) The Oohs (also disagree among themselves about sharing) As I am (as are thousands of others) boycotting RIAA labels and bands, I can't agree with paid downloads. I also can't agree that downloaded music is worth any money at all! Of course, I am occasionallyguilty of feeding a bar's jukebox. Also, any file type that is DRM enabled is, by necessity, "active" content. It is not and cannot be pure data, and you are in danger of viruses and trojans and other malware. If you insist on using WMA or other active "data" files, be sure to NOT keep sensitive information on your computer and be damned sure your HD is backed up! Campaign Finance Reform- I would go even farther, and make it illegal for anyone or anything to donate to a candidate he, she, or it cannot vote for. I should not be able to send a bribe to Arnold in California, and Bill Gates' minor children should certainly not have a greater say in Illinois politics than I do! Again, great article, Michael. Kudos to you! "The entire neocon movement is dedicated to revoking mcgrew's posting priviliges. This is why we went to war with Iraq." -LilDebbie Bid on EBAY by data64, 09/05/2003 09:16:07 PM EST (none / 1) they're now signed, so you can no longer share des by scatbubba, 09/05/2003 09:22:47 PM EST (3.50 / 2) Yes, but given the music industry is a cartel... by squigly, 09/06/2003 04:32:29 AM EST (none / 1) silly by scatbubba, 09/07/2003 01:11:20 AM EST (none / 1) Monopolies are bad by squigly, 09/07/2003 02:45:40 PM EST (3.50 / 2) Nonsense.... by SPYvSPY, 09/08/2003 10:05:48 AM EST (4.00 / 2) Great piece! I couldn't agree more. (2.50 / 2) (#59) by tantlerur on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 06:48:02 PM EST I really enjoyed reading this article and I very much agree with the author's sentiments regarding the current corporate/political environment. Also, I hadn't fully considered how the body of "file traders" could indeed wield significant political clout, if focused on the principle of copyright. You and those who helped you are to be commended for producing such a thought provoking article. Machinae Supremacy is great. (none / 0) (#66) by eddy on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 07:22:40 PM EST (I'm the keeper of the unofficial Machinae Supremacy Advocacy FAQ) My problem with finding new music is that it really takes a lot of effort, and the quality is sooo diverse. Not to mention most bands only distribute mp3s, and poorly encoded ones at that. Seldom do the band say anything about the quality (what encoder, what bitrate(s)). I'm treating mp3s as I am GIFs; barely tolerable. It might sound petty, but I'm allergic to bad mp3 encodes -- the ringing and other artifacts drives me mad. Fortunately, Machinae Supremacy support Vorbis -- with mp3s available for those who haven't seen the light. If someone could recommend me a group who are distributing their music in a similar way to MaSu but are closer in music style to In Flames and/or Dark Tranquillity -- that is to say, melodic metal -- I'd appreciate it. PS. "The Offspring" an indie band? Surely you jest? "Kings of the Scene" is nice. by acceleriter, 09/05/2003 08:59:28 PM EST (none / 0) Spreading Karma by dawtrina, 09/13/2003 07:02:34 PM EST (none / 0) Ogg Vorbis for Windows (5.00 / 2) (#68) by ewhac on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 07:51:15 PM EST Go here to download an Ogg Vorbis codec that will work within Micros~1's DirectShow framework. That means you can play back Vorbis files in Windows Media Player, or any other media player leveraging DirectShow. Freeware, works great. Schwab --- Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions. Priest, Internet Oracle. sometimes we're all a little shameless. (3.66 / 3) (#69) by tuj on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 08:03:39 PM EST all tracks available as 192kbps mp3's. Just a quick one. (5.00 / 1) (#79) by Vesperto on Fri Sep 05, 2003 at 10:54:00 PM EST I generaly agree with the idea expressed in your text. commenting everything i saw worthy of comment would be a huge task and i'm both tired and not in the mood for writing (although i also like it). It surprised me how few comments (78) this text sprung, i guess the average K5er thinks a good tezt is a short one. This is bad. However i am curious about something: When the police arrest you for blocking traffic, or gathering without a permit - does this mean you need a permit to protest about something? You'll need a permit to demonstrate? Is this along the lines of those amusing "No loitering" signs under bridges? If you disagree post, don't moderate. yep by z84976, 09/05/2003 11:53:00 PM EST (4.00 / 3) nod to furthurnet by psxndc, 09/06/2003 01:02:10 AM EST (none / 1) The United States is NOT a democracy. (3.40 / 5) (#84) by nstenz on Sat Sep 06, 2003 at 01:13:36 AM EST We are a representative republic (or something to that effect). Perhaps you should correct that in the article. --------------- "Your stress level will decrease with each pussy little teacup that you demolish." - |<*:= Have to agree. by eddy, 09/06/2003 10:48:11 AM EST (4.00 / 1) Kind of like... by J T MacLeod, 09/06/2003 06:10:04 PM EST (none / 0) Combine the two by wurp, 09/07/2003 04:50:09 PM EST (none / 0) Here's what you do by PylonHead, 09/08/2003 06:36:00 PM EST (none / 0) Irate by thejeff, 09/08/2003 07:26:11 PM EST (4.00 / 1) Yet another problem by Belgand, 09/11/2003 01:06:19 AM EST (none / 0) On civil disobedience (3.50 / 2) (#104) by MickLinux on Sat Sep 06, 2003 at 11:12:11 AM EST The way civil disobedience was mentioned here, at least it is a consistent display of civil disobedience, and not a case of civil disorder. I would like to note that I disagree with the concept of civil disobedience (even though I like Thoreau's writings). Rather, what I'd encourage is obedience to the highest law. That is, if you are a Christian, then obey the law in everything except when the law tells you to disobey your religion. Your God's law is higher -- so then obey your religion. If feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience, and you're looking right at me. and what does "Your God" say about by semaphore, 09/06/2003 01:05:17 PM EST (none / 1) He says... by MickLinux, 09/06/2003 04:21:09 PM EST (none / 1) Who is one's neighbor? by pin0cchio, 09/06/2003 04:41:13 PM EST (none / 1) But what is loving your neighbor? by MickLinux, 09/06/2003 05:10:28 PM EST (none / 1) Excuse me.... by SPYvSPY, 09/08/2003 10:11:51 AM EST (2.00 / 2) Christianity and copyright by DGolden, 09/06/2003 04:25:25 PM EST (4.33 / 3) Yes... by SPYvSPY, 09/08/2003 10:08:29 AM EST (none / 1) Association of Black Users compensation (4.00 / 2) (#105) by chanio on Sat Sep 06, 2003 at 12:13:02 PM EST People could create an Association that would help others caught by RIAA with lawyers, assessment, technical info, etc. so that the 'punnishment' would never be as expected. Ask Dutch people about this, they have a lot of experience in these sort of organizations! It would become more powerful than RIAA if everyone accepts to pay some money for getting ensured that RIAA is going to dissapear in a short time. (not to be protected by the organization, just to make RIAA and similar ones, dissapear in a short time :) ________________ Farenheit Binman: This worlds culture is throwing away-burning thousands of useful concepts because they don't fit in their commercial frame. My chance of becoming intelligent! Instant Compensation by dawtrina, 09/13/2003 07:18:09 PM EST (3.00 / 2) Your forgot garageband.com (3.50 / 2) (#106) by sudog on Sat Sep 06, 2003 at 12:24:22 PM EST Good site, great ratings system, and some pretty good music. :-) Change the law to what? (none / 1) (#108) by daishan on Sat Sep 06, 2003 at 01:09:17 PM EST In Canada trading/recording/sharing is legal. We pay a surtax on media because it is assumed we will be copying copyrighted material. This deal works out pretty nicely for everyone except the artist; the consumer doesn't get sued, and the recording industry makes a tidy profit on selling blank CD's. I can't help see how any change in copyright law will end up rewarding the artist, and not the decreasingly significant recording industry. missed someone by dboyles, 09/06/2003 07:07:34 PM EST (2.66 / 3) What the hell... (none / 1) (#109) by guinsu on Sat Sep 06, 2003 at 01:39:24 PM EST My band's web site: red number 40 Free music downloads, of course. hey by jolt rush soon, 09/06/2003 08:20:23 PM EST (none / 1) You make little mention of the songwriting problem (4.00 / 2) (#110) by pin0cchio on Sat Sep 06, 2003 at 03:11:47 PM EST If a person writes a song, records it, and distributes the recording publicly across the Internet, how can he be sure that he didn't violate some other songwriter's copyright? The sky is falling. hmm by jonboy, 09/06/2003 09:51:02 PM EST (none / 1) Judges aren't musicians either by pin0cchio, 09/08/2003 11:43:18 PM EST (none / 1) OggVorbis (1.00 / 2) (#121) by Xiol on Sat Sep 06, 2003 at 07:43:15 PM EST Was gonna get pissy with you for not mentioning Ogg Vorbis, but you did, so +1 Respect. Ogg Vorbis is the future, switch now before it's too late. -- The Quote Machine for those who like (2.00 / 2) (#124) by minerboy on Sat Sep 06, 2003 at 10:28:54 PM EST Petitions about copyright laws, check this out What's wrong with music on the internet today.. (3.50 / 2) (#131) by mikael_j on Sun Sep 07, 2003 at 12:18:21 PM EST IMHO It's that in software like Kazaa I can't just sort by rating for most things since if I try finding some new reggae bands then a search general enough to find me some new bands will also find me hundreds of songs by Bob Marley and Eek-a-mouse and I can't just rate all of those results as "irrelevant" and have that matter.I suppose what I'd like to see is some sort of "intelligent" rating system that takes into consideration if a certain artist is extremely popular with many users and not just users that are sharing files in the same genre then its rating will be affected negatively by this since this is most likely a sign of this being another "mainstream" artist who isn't very popular within his/her genre but is immensly popular with the general public./Mikael We give a bad name to the internet in general. - Rusty iRATE Red Hat 9 RPMs available now (3.00 / 4) (#132) by MichaelCrawford on Sun Sep 07, 2003 at 12:45:32 PM EST If you use Red Hat 9, RPMs of iRATE radio just became available yesterday. Get them at iRATE's download page. One way to contribute to iRATE is if you run a system that uses packages iRATE doesn't already provide. You can help with packaging. You don't have to know much about programming to do that. For example, Mandrake uses RPM too, but it's really best to use packages built native for your system, and we don't have a Mandrake developer yet. -- I Am Damned - I Blew It Three Weeks In A Row: Next Live Performance: Bare Foot Coffee Roasters Open Mic Thursday, October 23, 7:30 PM Lawrence and Stevens Creek Santa Clara, California. file sharing done saved mah soul (none / 1) (#135) by Cermo on Sun Sep 07, 2003 at 04:17:11 PM EST With a single exception that I can think of, literally 100% of the music I've purchased in the past two years have been as a direct result of file sharing. Bands I would have never otherwise been exposed to...whole genres of music I would have never otherwise been exposed to...have come into my life via Kazaa, and Audiogalaxy and Napster before that. When I like what I hear, I drive to the local mom'n'pop used record store and have them order me the CD....and I've bought a LOT of CDs. Because, yeah, I want that nice shiny jewel case with the nice shiny cover art and shiny lyric booklet and shiny photos. When a group is worth my attention, I want the whole experience. I support the bands I like. I buy their music, and their bumper stickers, and their concert tickets. I know there are plenty of p2p users who would rather download and burn entire albums than pay even $5 for the experience, much less $15-20. Before Napster, know what these same people were doing? They were BORROWING THE CD FROM THEIR BUDDY AND COPYING IT TO A CASSETTE. And that's just the average tightwad everyman...the really ballsy ones just shoplift. I, for one, refuse to feel guilty about my "illegal copyrighted music downloads ...because if something I download is worth listening to, it's going to end up lining the pockets of the recording industry anyway. I won't feel guilty, and I really REALLY resent the suggestion that I'm some kind of criminal because of it. The real crime is all the poor bastards out there who think that the only music worth listening to is the same ten bands they play over and over on the local "alternative" station. ----------------------------------- ---------- ------------------------- My brain is built of paths and slides and ladders and lasers and I have invited all of you to enter it's pavilion. My brain, as you enter, will smell of tangerines and brand-new running shoes. and even though you resent it by QuantumG, 09/07/2003 07:20:59 PM EST (none / 1) no..not really... by Cermo, 09/07/2003 09:27:39 PM EST (none / 1) Why don't you run for congress? by QuantumG, 09/07/2003 09:48:15 PM EST (none / 1) I'll meet the min. age req. in about 4 months. by Cermo, 09/08/2003 10:58:05 AM EST (none / 1) seriously by QuantumG, 09/09/2003 12:56:06 AM EST (none / 1) Alice Cooper by dawtrina, 09/13/2003 07:21:06 PM EST (none / 1) #12 in the blogdex top 50 (2.00 / 4) (#141) by MichaelCrawford on Sun Sep 07, 2003 at 09:38:24 PM EST This article is tied with several other pages for twelfth place in the Blogdex top fifty. From About Blogdex: Blogdex is a research project of the MIT Media Laboratory tracking the diffusion of information through the weblog community. Ideas can have very similar properties to a disease, spreading through the population like wildfire. The goal of Blogdex is to explore what it is about information, people, and their relationships that allows for this contagious media. Blogdex uses the links made by webloggers as a proxy to the things they are talking about. Webloggers typically contextualize their writing with hypertext links which act as markers for the subjects they are discussing. These markers are like tags placed on wild animals, allowing Blogdex to track a piece of conversation as it moves from weblog to weblog. Blogdex crawls all of the weblogs in its database every time they are updated and collects the links that have been made since the last time it was updated. The system then looks across all weblogs and generates a list of fastest spreading ideas. This is the list shown on the front page. For each of these links, further detail is provided as to where the link was found, and at what time. Also, Anthony Jones, the creator of iRATE radio, tells me that a thousand new users have registered since this article appeared friday. I'm really very pleased with the response to my article. -- I Am Damned - I Blew It Three Weeks In A Row: Next Live Performance: Bare Foot Coffee Roasters Open Mic Thursday, October 23, 7:30 PM Lawrence and Stevens Creek Santa Clara, California. can you share this content? (3.50 / 2) (#143) by abe ferlman on Sun Sep 07, 2003 at 10:46:16 PM EST There's a problem here, you can't legally share most of the content you post to. You could give someone else the link,but you could be liable for copryight infringement if you posted this stuff on sharing services. The open music registry (openmusicregistry.org, linked from the copyright/RMS section in the original story) lists music that is free to share and use in whatever way you like so long as you preserve attribution; if there is another directory of such music I'll be pleased to learn of it. Sites I should have mentioned (none / 1) (#145) by MichaelCrawford on Sun Sep 07, 2003 at 11:52:20 PM EST There are two MP3 review sites I should have mentioned and just plain forgot, Gods of Music and The Houston Chronicle. I was unaware of Garageband until after this article posted here, nor was I aware of etree.org. I will add them to my copy of the article some time in the next couple days. -- I Am Damned - I Blew It Three Weeks In A Row: Next Live Performance: Bare Foot Coffee Roasters Open Mic Thursday, October 23, 7:30 PM Lawrence and Stevens Creek Santa Clara, California. Open Letter to Mr. Crawford (3.37 / 8) (#146) by Peahippo on Mon Sep 08, 2003 at 03:14:28 AM EST You really asked for it, Ace. I must say, your article is particularly well-thought out. It's a damned shame, therefore, that you couldn't avoid dressing up your case from the beginning with unwarranted fear tactics that only seem to live in the mind of the scared American yuppie. You'd have to be some sort of moron to let your ISP know who you are. A true-blue, dyed-in-the-wool idiot. I bet you generated quite a wind when you whipped out your fucking credit card to sign up for your ISP. So convenient! And so compromising! Credit Card = Identity Card. Pay your ISP in cash, or money order. Those are untraceable; hence, you are untraceable. Needless to say here, don't use AOL or any other such cretin-infested service. Only losers use AOL (more to the point: their billing system). Assuming you let slip who you were, perhaps linking to where you live, then a process server will come to your door. Hey, here's a fucking idea: don't open the door to people you don't know. Install a peephole; wise people do. The more work you create for the server, the greater chances you have to avoid the entire affair. Corporations try to whittle you down with the same stalling tactics; use the same stalling tactics against them. Let's say then that by some method you are successfully served for your so-called civil case. (Maybe for civil cases -- and depending on your state -- you may be considered "served" by a newspaper announcement, etc.) Gee, you show up aaaaand ... "Gee, judge, I don't know what the RIAA's attorney over there has been smoking, but the guy they want isn't me. Their records must be wrong; I don't download music." Let them chew on that for a while. Let's say they then try to "discover" your computer. Well, by now, you'd have to be a complete twit to deliver your P2P- and MP3-infested computer to them. You didn't tote your computer to court, did you? Of course not. So go to the library and read up on the laws governing discovery, and try to twist your way out of anything they ask for (just like the corporations do to us folk). Once suitably armored, you can then address the computer. I'd investigate either wiping the MP3s and associated software from the computer, or building it anew and claming it crashed on you and you had to wipe it. Hey, you can't be blamed for running the most virulent computer virus ever created (i.e. Microsoft Windows); it crashes, man ... everybody knows that. We all have plenty of friends who've had to reload their Windows. In fact ... with the RIAA going on a legal rampage, I'd now be reloading and using another computer ... better yet, a 2nd hard disk on my own computer with another copy of my OS to hold all those "incriminating files" (snort, snarfle, chuckle). When the computer is "discovered", I'd just remove the 2nd hard disk and normalize the BIOS and then the bootloader on the 1st hard disk. Problem solved; the computer looks absolutely normal (i.e. clean). And in case you are thinking that "but the judge'll hold me in contempt" for all your claims of ignorance, then it's time for you to grow up. Stop doing your opponent's work for him. Stop being so goddamn afraid. All you need to do is combine Bold+Smart+Sneaky. Step right up and calmly assert your innocence. Don't sweat or stammer. Look a bit confused, and concerned that you really aren't satisfying the judge. Judges are generally elitist assholes; they enjoy people grovelling before them, and apparently enjoy dressing up and sitting on a goddamn throne. It's up to you to be smarter than they are (which isn't hard since these fops compare quite well with the average potted plant). Here's an important clue for you: just meet the judge's expectations of "scared and confused Mr. Joe Average" and he'll concede that you probably are indeed a case of mistaken Internet/computer magic number conjuration. Plan your lies carefully, then lie your head off. After all ... the judge is just working together with the prosecutor, to make sure the corporation behind this all can squash you like a bug. You don't owe those motherfucking mercenaries any honesty at all. None whatsoever. Remember all along that they can't really prove anything ... it's not like they have your DNA all over the murder weapon. I swear, you American yuppies roll over on your backs to expose your bellies at the first sign of trouble. Your attitude is pathetic. Fight, you idiot ... fight! You'll find that there really isn't all that much space between the tip of your boot and the backsides of their asses. Your own "little guy" status is a strength in battles like this, and it's high time that you discovered how to fight from a position of strength. /signed/ Frank Edwards ... and if you think that's my real name, you really need some medication. I doubt they can by Pac, 09/09/2003 03:18:34 PM EST (none / 1) "Pay in cash" is no longer an answer by Tzaquiel, 09/12/2003 03:51:13 PM EST (none / 1) Or by Easyas123, 09/16/2003 10:54:16 AM EST (none / 1) What does the recording company charge for? (none / 1) (#154) by darthaya on Mon Sep 08, 2003 at 02:25:33 PM EST I know they spend money on marketting. What else do they charge that much money for? (The cost for CDs are negligible, they are so dirt cheap) Paying their executives! [NT] by craigd, 09/10/2003 06:33:07 PM EST (1.00 / 2) Everyone else by Easyas123, 09/16/2003 10:44:02 AM EST (5.00 / 1) Sometimes, gnutella is legal (none / 1) (#155) by statusbar on Mon Sep 08, 2003 at 03:53:58 PM EST My friend CB Shaw has a number of songs on his website, and in order to reduce bandwith, he specifically requests that people download them and Please share these mixes using Kazaa, WinMX, and P2P Gnutella programs like Bear Share, Lime Wire, and Acquisition. Problem is, when someone downloads cbshaw's music from GnuTella, your ISP who may be monitoring you at the request of the RIAA will be thinking that you are downloading the music illegal, even though the copyright owner gave the listeners explicit permission to share his music. --jeff++ This is not a problem by PylonHead, 09/08/2003 05:35:02 PM EST (none / 1) Check this site out (2.50 / 2) (#168) by gyan on Tue Sep 09, 2003 at 03:15:29 PM EST I came across allofmp3, a site operating in Russia, which is an online music download service. Their tariff is $1/100MB!!. Their legal info(link near top-right) claims that they're legal (atleast in Russia). They've been operational for 3 years! Among other features, one has the ability of online encoding. Which means, you select codec, bitrate..etc and the site encodes on the fly and sends you the endfile. There is a downloadcap of 33.3KB/s, but you can have 5 pipes at once. Does anyone know more about this site? I hope this is legal. ******************************** Wow (3.50 / 2) (#171) by Obiwan Kenobi on Tue Sep 09, 2003 at 05:30:58 PM EST I am so flattered to be mentioned on this list. My site, misterorange.com, has been my online home for years and my music has been online, in various places, for even longer. I've gotten some notice for my slash install guide, but it's very nice to have a link on a well-traveled site such as kuro5hin for my musical abilities. I saw right away that my one "polished" song was downloaded about 10x what it had been in the course of 8 hours, and this just encourages me to make more music and work harder at it. For those interested in hearing some of my stuff but don't want to pick and choose amongst the 19 "Rough Cuts", here's a quick playlist: Trixter (from the "Polished Music" section) The Angel's Cry Hangman Sweet Cheeks Daybreak Jessica Of course I dig all of it, but for those looking for some choice cuts, there ya go. Very cool, I'm geekin out over here :) Evan http://www.misterorange.com ----------- Obiwan misterorange.com - The 3 R's: Reading, Writing, and Rock & Roll... RIAA : How do you sleep at night ? (none / 1) (#177) by hebertrich on Wed Sep 10, 2003 at 12:03:14 PM EST News is out that the RIAA has sued a 12 year old girl which lives in subsidised New York housing.. http://www.theregister.com/content/6/32740.ht ml Really.. Tons of other links about this are on most news sites. Now i got nothing about busting people that make forged cd's and are reselling them for a profit. Nor do i have sympathy for software pirates but they have gone over the edge. This is enough to tip anyone's opinion about that grand institution that protects the "poor" artists.Unbeleivable.If it wasn't out there in all the papers i'd say this was a hoax. With dangerous criminals like a 12 year old girl out there.. the world is a scary place .. and such a threat to the noble RIAA .. Im getting sarcastic.. ill let the RIAA speak for itself.They know darn well how to look bad without me having to step in and add to it. Actually... (none / 1) (#195) by failrate on Fri Sep 19, 2003 at 03:14:17 AM EST Our founding fathers didn't grant copyright. The British did it, and the pops all thought it would hinder development of science and intellectual development. Our "rulers" put copyright in much later. Read this for some of the beef... In the mid 1800's, young Americans were some of the best educated and most free individuals on the planet -- and America had no formal education system (being largely derived from the guild -- apprentice -- system of learning that embraced "learning through doing"). Schools were locally organized and had no rigid structure such as state testing, national textbooks, or even a defined curriculum. Children learned to read young, and because the US had rejected European copyright law, academic books and literature were readily available and consumed by the lower classes. The end result was an exceptionally well educated population that truly embodied "the American dream". The problem was that the liberty that these people embraced -- and the spoils they demanded to earn (this was long before the concept of the welfare state) -- ran contrary to the growing corporate power in the West, as well as the political corruption that sought to conglomerate control in increasingly expansive and wealthy federal hands. In 1888, the Senate Committee on Education wrote: "We believe that education is one of the principal causes of discontent of late years manifesting itself among the laboring classes." -quoted from http://www.bme.freeq.com/news/pubring/20030730.html Voodoo Girl is da bomb! Romanian translation now available (none / 1) (#198) by MichaelCrawford on Sat Jan 10, 2004 at 02:15:29 PM EST A romanian translation of this article is now available, prepared by the incredibly helpful Ciprian Miheţ: Legãturi cãtre Zeci de Mii de Download-uri Legale de Muzicã If you're fluent in a language other than English, you can be a big help by translating my article. Contact me at crawford@goingware.com to discuss it. -- I Am Damned - I Blew It Three Weeks In A Row: Next Live Performance: Bare Foot Coffee Roasters Open Mic Thursday, October 23, 7:30 PM Lawrence and Stevens Creek Santa Clara, California. google (none / 0) (#199) by 18google on Thu Nov 11, 2004 at 02:12:37 AM EST google "r-¼ Well Spoken... (none / 1) (#200) by chazzbro on Wed Feb 02, 2005 at 12:02:25 AM EST I agree with the bulk of the content in the article. I am a believer in free. Not a believer in stealing. All the arguments supporting music piracy ring very hollow. My bottom line is "find music you like, and support it via whatever channel you found it. If you hate the RIAA too much to do that, then don't steal it...live without it!" Anyway, I decided some time back to put my money where my mouth is. I got a bunch of artists together and created quite a few generic-specific sites for the sole purpose of providing truly free and legal music downloads. All the artists are indie. I think you'll be impressed with their quality. In order to keep the quality high as the sites became more popular, I've had to turn some artists away. The music genres represented may or may not interest you...that's cool. There are plenty of us out here who do like them. And I'm sure you'll find other stuff out there if you're looking for it. My sites: Free Solo Piano, Free Solo Guitar, Feels Like Christmas, Christian MP Free, Free Kids Music, Free Childrens Music and Healing Piano. I've also recently put up a gateway page to all of them: Free Music Group And I've started a new directory offering a free listing to any artist who has at least one free full-length, standard-quality (128kbps, stereo) MP3 download available on their site. That site is The Free Music Directory. I hope you enjoy the sites. It's been a lot of work and a lot of fun putting them together. And if you like them and agree that they provide value, please tell a friend and link to them from your blog or web site. RE (none / 0) (#202) by lixiangcn on Tue Jun 07, 2005 at 09:39:58 AM EST I really enjoyed reading this article and I very much agree with the author's sentiments regarding the current corporate/political environment. Also, I hadn't fully considered how the body of "file traders" could indeed wield significant political clout, if focused on the principle of copyright. You and those who helped you are to be commended for producing such a thought provoking article. Flash geci mobile shouji info info caixin ling. Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads | 202 comments (183 topical, 19 editorial, 0 hidden) Display: Threaded Minimal Nested Flat Flat Unthreaded Sort: Unrated, then Highest Highest Rated First Lowest Rated First Ignore Ratings Newest First Oldest First All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. The Rest © 2000 - Present Kuro5hin.org Inc.See our legalese page for copyright policies. Please also read our Privacy Policy.Kuro5hin.org is powered by Free Software, including Apache, Perl, and Linux, The Scoop Engine that runs this site is freely available, under the terms of the GPL.Need some help? Email help@kuro5hin.org. The bridges burst and twist around. create account | help/FAQ | mission | links | search | IRC | YOU choose the stories! Url http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/9/5/05113/70314