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A group of us Pho'sters also started a non-profit political action organization called Click The Vote to try and convince Congress to implement a system such as the one Fred describes. We also oppose the INDUCE and PIRATE Acts as counterproductive distractions from the real need which is to Make Share Fair for both creators and the public in general.

Click The Vote has free tools to fax Congress as well as a Pro-P2P "Make Share Fair" petition for people to sign. Action is needed now on The INDUCE Act, The Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act and the PIRATE Act (which still needs House approval).

We The People can stop this bill and get Congress to focus on solutions that will make P2P sharing legal. The EFF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit so unfortunately they cannot lobby Congress. Click The Vote on the other hand is organized as a (c)(4) specifically for the purpose of lobbying Congress on issues like this.

Everyone should sign Click The Vote's "Make Share Fair" petition that supports legal file sharing. Click The Vote also supports open computing and open standards. Joining Click The Vote is a free and easy way to get involved in a group that will challenge the positions of candidates and elected representatives on issues like P2P file sharing and open computing.

We can make a difference if we band together and make our voice heard in the U.S. Congress and European Parliament. Don't just complain, get involved with Click The Vote !

We The People can stop this bill and get Congress to focus on solutions that will make P2P sharing legal. The EFF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit so unfortunately they cannot lobby Congress. Click The Vote on the other hand is organized as a (c)(4) specifically for the purpose of lobbying Congress on issues like this.

Everyone should sign Click The Vote's "Make Share Fair" petition that supports legal file sharing. Click The Vote also supports open computing and open standards. Joining Click The Vote is a free and easy way to get involved in a group that will challenge the positions of candidates and elected representatives on issues like P2P file sharing and open computing.

We can make a difference if we band together and make our voice heard in the U.S. Congress and European Parliament. Don't just complain, get involved with Click The Vote !

For a CD sale the label pays the artist about 13% of wholesale, minus various charges like packaging deductions, to recoup against all advances. In a licensing scenario where, for example, a recording is synchronized in a movie or TV show, the labels pays 50% of revenue without any deductions.

The labels licensed some of their catalogs to Apple but want to treat that revenue like a CD sale at 13% and not as licensing revenue at 50%. That is why in large part some of the more popular artists with more leverage have been holding back on granting permission. It is also probably the major obstacle to record labels licensing for P2P sharing.

The whole thing will come to a head later this year when the record labels must issue royalty statements to the artists showing how they treated the iTunes revenue. Gabriel and Eno are organizing artists for that battle.

Music fans should be organzing too .

This is a real opportunity. When Congress opens the books to address P2P we need to be vocal and active. Organizations like Click The Vote are ready to lead the charge.

The DMCA didn't contemplate P2P architectures as the judges' ruling notes below. This means the RIAA needs to go back to Congress to implement laws that address P2P. The question then becomes will people get busy and organize to push back? Click The Vote is ready when you are ;)

source "...P2P software was not even a glimmer in anyone's eye when the DMCA was enacted," Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg wrote in the decision. "Furthermore, such testimony as was available to the Congress prior to passage of the DMCA concerned 'hackers' who established unauthorized FTP or BBS sites on the servers of ISPs. ... The Congress had no reason to foresee the application of [the DMCA] to P2P file-sharing, nor did they draft the DMCA broadly enough to reach the new technology when it came along..."

First starting point: join Click The Vote. Flash mobs is a great idea. 2004 is an election year in the USA. This is going to be fun. :)

When a business is reduced to suing customers you know you've hit a dead end. The music industry needs to issue licenses to file sharers and if they won't then we need to change the law. There is power in numbers and Click the Vote is organizing a grassroots movement to achieve just that.

Someone would be a fool to give a nickle to Click The Vote until they actually state what they are advocating!

Legalize music sharing that rewards creators

What sort of system?!? The current Slashdot story is about a Trusted Computing system to enforce DRM over ordinary P2P networks. Is this what they are advocating? If not then what ARE they advocating?

Defend open computing and open standards

Trusted Computing advocates describe it as an "open system" and "open standard". I sure hope this is not what Click The Vote is suggesting.

Democratize the electromagnetic commons

What sorts of changes in spectrum public licensing are they advocating?

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Click The Vote supports legalizing open file sharing. They also support open computing. DRM and "trusted" computing schemes like this one are a threat to our basic freedoms. We should support Click The Vote and their efforts to defend our rights!

ITunes is a disaster for artists who see little to nothing for downloads. What we need is legalized file sharing as championed by Click The Vote.

We should all thank Mr. George W Bush for starting the internet political revolution. We should also thank the RIAA, MPAA, and websites such as slashdot. If any of you would like to see an interesting new political site following the Dean method to success, theres a new pro open source anti RIAA site called http://www.clickthevote.org/ With enough money from donations they plan to actually hire lobbyists. They also keep a list of politicians who support P2P and Open source vs those who dont so the voter can decide who to vote for.

Better yet, support organizations like Click The Vote so they can hire lobbyists to fight fire with fire on our behalf!