Digital Music News (DMN), a popular website for the music industry, was recently served with a subpoena in relation to an ongoing lawsuit against Grooveshark dealing with copyright infringement (they also face a claim of failure to pay royalties). You can read more about the Grooveshark lawsuit via the New York Times HERE. DMN’s response is the linked article at the top of the page, in which they refuse to comply with the subpoena.
This all stems from an anonymous comment that accused Grooveshark employees of uploading music they did not have a license for, to the Grooveshark service. The problem here is two fold… I haven’t read the lawsuit against Grooveshark, but if the main evidence of impropriety is an anonymous comment on a website, then I think anyone that leaves comments on articles they read online needs to be a little concerned. The other side is obviously that if Grooveshark is actually partaking in this practice, using their executives/staff to uploading music they don’t hold a license too, it’s a prime example of why there is a tension between the major record labels and technology — it can be abused far too easily.
It will be interesting to see Grooveshark’s next move and how this gets resolved, as Grooveshark’s livelihood is likely at stake with their infringement and royalty lawsuits. Just recently Grooveshark had to close their German operations due to the high licensing cost GEMA, Germany’s performing rights organization, requested.
More updates as they come. A .pdf of Grooveshark’s subpoena of DMN can be found below in the source article.
Recently on one of my go to sites for music news (absolutepunk.net) a discussion was started regarding people’s favorite EPs (extended play). I thought this was an interesting topic to ponder, as well as a great way to listen to some of my music catalog that I hadn’t in some time. I have decided to post my list of favorite EPs below, in no particular order, for those who would like to try some new bands out. And yes, I did get a little carried away… There are just so many good EPs it turns out. Most of these EPs were released before a full length (LP) and really got me interested in the particular band, others were just a supplement to an already impressive catalog of releases. I’m sure I have left out numerous EPs that I also enjoyed, these are just some of the first that came to mind. (There are links to the EPs on Spotify where available, just click on the album name)
Go Radio - Do Overs and Second Chances
Cartel - The Ransom EP
JamisonParker - Notes & Photographs
Something Corporate - Audioboxer EP
Punchline - The Rewind EP
The Starting Line - Make Yourself At Home EP
Acceptance - Black Lines to Battlefields
Mayday Parade - Tales Told By Dead Friends
Woodale - Finish What You Start
The Morning Light - The Sounds of Love
Yellowcard - Underdog EP
The Early November - For All of This
The Dangerous Summer - If You Could Only Keep Me Alive
The Format - EP
Late Night Habit - The Single Life
Parade The Day - To Keep Us Moving
E For Explosion - Hold Grudges Not Hands
Hit The Lights - Until We Get Caught
Dear You - Journals
Mercy Mercedes - 1.21 Giggawatts
And a special bonus… The Sophomore Attempt - Hallways
A big decision in the field of intellectual property law came down from the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday in Golan v. Holder.
From the first paragraph of the source article: “Congress may take books, musical compositions and other works out of the public domain, where they can be freely used and adapted, and grant them copyright status again, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.”
The works at issue in this case were foreign works that had entered the public domain under U.S. copyright law, but were not in the public domain overseas, and the majority felt conforming with the Berne Convention was the necessary route to take.
This was a 6-2 decision, with Justices Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito dissenting.
The entire decision (.pdf format) is linked in the title, while a more in depth analysis of the decision is linked in the source article below.
It will be interesting to see just how often Congress uses this power and the effect it will have on the arts in the U.S., especially the classical music community.
I’m not judging Megaupload’s innocence or guilt. I haven’t even read the indictment yet, but being familiar with the service it doesn’t come as a shock that there may be some DMCA violations. What I do question is the timing of this and the manner in which it was done. Also, does this not undermine the need for PIPA and SOPA?
Click the link in the title for more information on what has transpired via Techdirt, along with the indictment against Megaupload embedded to their story.
Here’s an example of just how out of touch the MPAA (at least the individual that handles the MPAA’s Twitter account) is.
I didn’t realize Google, Wikipedia, and Reddit weren’t big sites…
With popular websites like Wikipedia, Google, and Reddit “blacking out” today in opposition of SOPA/PIPA I highly recommend checking out the letter embedded below which was authored by three prominent professors in the fields of internet and intellectual property law. Numerous other professors have signed on to this letter and it has been distributed to members of Congress.
I also recommend checking out Demand Progress and their efforts against SOPA/PIPA, should you not support this legislation. And, if you’re looking for some humor about the “black out”, be sure to visit The Oatmeal today.
Article about my recent selection to serve as a staff editor on the Journal of Legal Studies in Business (JLSB) along with two other Elon Law students.
