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So go to her site and download one. She encourages it.

Her Touring Schedule looks pretty good... and the producers putting on her shows are putting up with her contract riders (no, I'm not complaining about them). All things considered, if she's happy, then she's doing good :-)

BTW, RIAA's reaction is covered in her second article.

Her Touring Schedule looks pretty good... and the producers putting on her shows are putting up with her contract riders (no, I'm not complaining about them). All things considered, if she's happy, then she's doing good :-)

BTW, RIAA's reaction is covered in her second article.

Her Touring Schedule looks pretty good... and the producers putting on her shows are putting up with her contract riders (no, I'm not complaining about them). All things considered, if she's happy, then she's doing good :-)

BTW, RIAA's reaction is covered in her second article.

What do you think about unitedmusicians.com? Will the idea work? What would you recommend as the best course of action for an independent musician who wants to maintain ownership of the publishing portion of their songs' mechanical and performance royalties? Should singer/songwriters start their own publishing companies in order to maintain control of their work?

Here's the original Janis Ian article and her follow-up. Both from http://www.janisian.com

Here's the original Janis Ian article and her follow-up. Both from http://www.janisian.com

Here's the original Janis Ian article and her follow-up. Both from http://www.janisian.com

"The Internet, and downloading, are here to stay... Anyone who thinks otherwise should prepare themselves to end up on the slagheap of history." (Janis Ian during a live European radio interview, 9-1-98)

FALLOUT - a follow up to The Internet Debacle

"Quite frankly, when I spent three months researching and writing The Internet Debacle, I wasn't planning to become part of a "cause". I assumed that the 35,000 subscribers of Performing Songwriter Magazine might read it, and a few might email me about it. I had no idea that a scant month later, the article would be posted on over 1,000 sites, translated into nine languages, and have been featured on the BBC." (Janis Ian)

http://www.janisian.com

"The Internet, and downloading, are here to stay... Anyone who thinks otherwise should prepare themselves to end up on the slagheap of history." (Janis Ian during a live European radio interview, 9-1-98)

FALLOUT - a follow up to The Internet Debacle

"Quite frankly, when I spent three months researching and writing The Internet Debacle, I wasn't planning to become part of a "cause". I assumed that the 35,000 subscribers of Performing Songwriter Magazine might read it, and a few might email me about it. I had no idea that a scant month later, the article would be posted on over 1,000 sites, translated into nine languages, and have been featured on the BBC." (Janis Ian)

http://www.janisian.com

"The Internet, and downloading, are here to stay... Anyone who thinks otherwise should prepare themselves to end up on the slagheap of history." (Janis Ian during a live European radio interview, 9-1-98)

FALLOUT - a follow up to The Internet Debacle

"Quite frankly, when I spent three months researching and writing The Internet Debacle, I wasn't planning to become part of a "cause". I assumed that the 35,000 subscribers of Performing Songwriter Magazine might read it, and a few might email me about it. I had no idea that a scant month later, the article would be posted on over 1,000 sites, translated into nine languages, and have been featured on the BBC." (Janis Ian)

http://www.janisian.com

Janis Ian wrote a very good article on this subject.
Interesting to see an artist's perspective on the matter.
Russ

For those who haven't read them, on the Janis Ian site she has posted two great articles on internet piracy;
the original article and one on the reactions on it.
Basically, she concludes that her record sales went up when she decided to put some of her music for free on her website.
Her explanation is that as long as buying the original provides extra quality it will be bought. Just like everyone has free access to water, "yet people buy bottled water because it tastes better".

For those who haven't read them, on the Janis Ian site she has posted two great articles on internet piracy;
the original article and one on the reactions on it.
Basically, she concludes that her record sales went up when she decided to put some of her music for free on her website.
Her explanation is that as long as buying the original provides extra quality it will be bought. Just like everyone has free access to water, "yet people buy bottled water because it tastes better".

Hmmm... I'm not the best person to give you the list you're asking for... but here are 3 sites I know that have both downloadable MP3s and non-RIAA CDs for sale:

• Courtney Love. She was the first "name" artist to denounce record industry business practices publically and effectively. Bookmark and wait a couple of weeks, the site's down for upgrading.
• Janis Ian is the one who recently wrote some remarkable articles on piracy and the record industry which have been slashdotted, she also sees MP3s as promotional tool, not product.
• Elian Gedeon. She's an independent artist who's just beginning to get the word out about herself. I know who's going the e-commerce route to market her CDs and merchandise. "New music" by definition.
• Here is what should be a complete RIAA membership list. If the label isn't listed, it's safe to assume that it is NOT RIAA.

However, the great majority of artists you've never heard of who are selling their own CDs and making downloads available are non-RIAA. If in doubt, ask.

Yes, you are being unfair to Lessig. How changes in technology (plus the DMCA) affects the copyright was one of his main points! Go see it again! :-)

CD quality, burns them to the CD-R, downloads the cover art and lyrics and sends them to the color laser printer. It could possibly even schedule a micropayment to the artist's account and put a shortcut on John Q. Public's desktop in case he decides the album was worth it.

Who in their right mind would bother to buy a CD then?!

uh, in what you described you just did, actually! You paid the artist, did you not? :-)

And before you play that argument, you should read what Janis Ian has to say. (Selling cd's and performing music is what pays her bills).

Who is stealing now?

- ask

So tell me why the cybercafe should be the only party involved in this "litigation". There are many legitimate uses for cd writers. At least here in the U.S fair use allows copying one's own music albums.
Personal family images may be on the web e.g. your nephew's summer camp pictures. (not copyrighted commercial images)that you wish to print up for old auntie Esther.
Many people use cybercafes because they lack access or fast access at home. So a lot of use could be totally legitimate.
But back to my main point: Accepting that illicitly grabbing music was a primary use how is that the burner's manufacturer is not also equally culpable? They know what's going on. Shouldn't they be in the fray here. Defending the many legitimate uses of those wonderful burners. And pointing out that (at least here in the U.S.) a royalty "tax" is collected on blank media. [is that not correct?]

do read janis ian's thoughts about the music biz at her web site. Change is in the wind!

Free ride? Make that a free promotional tool for independent artists. I'm working on promoting one right now, and my biggest headache is that most of the places I had planned on uploading our promo MP3s to no longer exist thanks to the suits at the major record labels whose rights you are trying to protect. If you really believe DRM is about protecting artists, you belong in an AOL chatroom with the other tards, not here.

If the only MP3s you download are N'Sync and Britney Spears, I really don't give a shit about your "free ride". MY rights are worth protecting. Yours aren't. DRM is about control of your computer by content industry suits and Micro$hit. If you want your computer 0wn3d by those scumbags, maybe if you sit on Jack Valenti's lap and beg him, one of his tame "black hats" will write you a Trojan. Of course, there's no guarantee your computer will work any better than your brain does afterwards.

Personally, I don't download MP3s much, particularly from the brain-dead crop of what passes for entertainment your buddies at the RIAA spew forth for the public.

I'm not going to argue with you about how DRM directly conflicts with the traditional concepts of "fair usage" and the intentional tradeoff built into copyright law between the rights of end users and creators of material, those arguments have been made over and over here and in other places and often, by artists you think want DRM protection. The only reasons why anyone would argue pro-DRM/pro-RIAA at this point are:
1. You work for RIAA/MPAA/PR firm
2. You're too fucking stupid to understand the fair usage arguments you've seen so far. Perhaps you'll get what Janis Ian has to say about it. Presumably, you can point and click, can't you?

I believe you to be in the second category.

I don't know if this was said tongue in cheek or not but that is exactly what needs to be done. An organized protest where people take the cd's they have and have them destroyed in a public ceremony. Thousands upon thousands of cds being crushed or melted or whatever as thousands more gather round with anti-RIAA banners. Get speakers to give fiery speeches about a consumer driven economy and get a variety of musicians and artists to give speeches on how they've earned more money because of file sharing (janisian.com). Get lots of news coverage and one or two articulate spokespeople.

Rally Against The RIAA [RATRIAA}.

I think the US pressuring Peru, saying that Peru will make more money (boost their economy) by not passing this bill, I can't help but be reminded about Janis Ian's comment:

If a music industry executive claims I should agree with their agenda because it will make me more money, I put my hand on my wallet...and check it after they leave, just to make sure nothing's missing.

I read a lot about, prices that are to high, broken business models. But the article itselfs state's that there might be an exaturation of the download problem. Sales haven't dropped dramaticly, they went down for the first time in a long time. And of course the worldwide economic downfall, hasn't got anything to do with that, right?

Some qoute's from the articel

• 90% 12-17-year-olds did purchase CDs even though they actively download music from the Internet.
• A majority of downloaders have gone on to buy an artist's CD after downloading a track for free from the Internet.

So IMHO the problem isn't that big (yet?). If there is a problem the solution is simple (again IMHO). Work with the internet instead of against it. As Janis Ian says here, giving away free music gave her more cd sells and more sold concert tickets. If you combine this with, lowering prices a bit, a campaign to make people aware of the 'problem', things should work out just fine.

Posted by Enby in Waltham, Mass. (not MA; this is not the US postal service. :)

Yes, famous.

Her column on the "Monumental Mistakes" she has made in her career is amazing. She talks about taking drugs with Jimi Hendrix, turning down the opportunity to play Woodstock, was offered Rhea Perlman's part on "Cheers"...

Is she curently famous? Nope. But she was very famous at several different points in her career and will make one hell of a "Behind The Music".

By the way, read her article about her stolen guitar for a deeply moving story that will reassure you that there are decent humans on the planet.

Yes, famous.

Her column on the "Monumental Mistakes" she has made in her career is amazing. She talks about taking drugs with Jimi Hendrix, turning down the opportunity to play Woodstock, was offered Rhea Perlman's part on "Cheers"...

Is she curently famous? Nope. But she was very famous at several different points in her career and will make one hell of a "Behind The Music".

By the way, read her article about her stolen guitar for a deeply moving story that will reassure you that there are decent humans on the planet.

[T]he music industry had exactly the same response to the advent of reel-to-reel home tape recorders, cassettes, DATs, minidiscs, VHS, BETA, music videos ("Why buy the record when you can tape it?"), MTV, and a host of other technological advances designed to make the consumer's life easier and better. I know because I was there.

The only reason they didn't react that way publicly to the advent of CDs was because they believed CD's were uncopyable. I was told this personally by a former head of Sony marketing, when they asked me to license Between the Lines in CD format at a reduced royalty rate. ("Because it's a brand new technology.")

[...]

You can't hear new music on radio these days; I live in Nashville, "Music City USA", and we have exactly one station willing to play a non-top-40 format. On a clear day, I can even tune it in. The situation's not much better in Los Angeles or New York. College stations are sometimes bolder, but their wattage is so low that most of us can't get them.

[...]

If the music industry had a shred of sense, they'd have addressed this problem 15 years ago, when people with websites were trying to obtain legitimate licenses for music online. Instead, the industry-wide attitude was It'll go away. That's the same attitude CBS Records had about rock 'n' roll when Mitch Miller was head of A&R. (And you wondered why they passed on The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.)

[...]

The industry has been complaining for years about the stranglehold the middle-man has on their dollars, yet they wish to do nothing to offend those middle-men. (BMG has a strict policy for artists buying their own CDs to sell at concerts - $11 per CD. They know very well that most of us lose money if we have to pay that much; the point is to keep the big record stores happy by ensuring sales go to them. What actually happens is no sales to us or the stores.) NARAS and RIAA are moaning about the little mom & pop stores being shoved out of business; no one worked harder to shove them out than our own industry, which greeted every new Tower or mega-music store with glee, and offered steep discounts to Target and WalMart et al for stocking CDs. The Internet has zero to do with stores closing and lowered sales.

And for those of us with major label contracts who want some of our music available for free downloading? well, the record companies own our masters, our outtakes, even our demos, and they won't allow it. Furthermore, they own our voices for the duration of the contract, so we can't even post a live track for downloading!

It's interesting to note that this is not someone who could be dismissed by an RIAA flack as a no-name musician whining because the Internet might get her recognition that she's not gotten from "The Industry" -- she's had nine Grammy nominations, and her music has been recorded by just about everybody at one time or another.

Ole