CRIA Falling Apart?

An anonymous reader writes "Apparently, the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) has been falling apart recently. The biggest blow occurred when 6 major Canadian independent labels quit which was followed by some problems with the Copyright Board. Of course, this is all happening after the whole Sam Bulte incident. The article explains what happened with plenty of links for specific information."

Comments

Same shit different pile

[themusicgod1]

both are merely fronts for the interests of their umbrella group

Progress against any of them is progress against all of them. With any luck, a sufficient defeat in Canada will allow Canada to get a foothold in the world music industry for the near future as the old guard is defeated in a long series of battles.

Re:Same shit different pile

[ozmanjusri]

Hmm... you think that if the IFPI wanted us to take them seriously at all, they'd have what the hell that stands for *somewhere* on their website.

Will you take them seriously now that you know IFPI stands for "International Federation of the Phonograph Industry"? It's an appropriately anachronistic name for an organisation determined to block progress in music distribution.

Re:Some artists just want to be heard...

[TheRaven64]

not from me, maybe, but from the next Mozart or whatever

Thank you for bringing up this example. For those unaware of his life, Mozart spend most of it trying to make enough money to cover his debts. He composed enormous amounts of music, much of which survives and is regularly performed today, in order to make money. If he had not been able to sell music (sheet music, rather than recordings, in his case) then he would not have made it - his father wanted him to do something more profitable with his life, and without the ability to become financially independent selling music he would have done so.

Re:On behalf of Canadian Musicians...

[hswerdfe]

from what I can gather from the "InterWeb"

http://www.lpco.ca/sambulte/about.aspx
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/index.php?option=com_co ntent&task=view&id=1058&Itemid=89&nsub
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/23/hollywoods_mp _loses_.html

she is a former MP for the liberals who got lots of funding from the hollywood, and was in favour of stronger copy right.

she lost her bid for re-election.

Re:Not to worry, true believers! They'll be back

[Otter Escaping North]

Probably not, actually. The labels that left, although they do have a few well-known acts, generally have small, relativly unknown artists in their stables ... and those artists tend to be in *favour* of downloads as it increases their exposure.

Trust me, there really is some good in this world. Nettwerk has been one of the most critical labels of heavy-handed legal tactics. They're funding some RIAA defences, they were one of the first to leave the CIRA, and they aren't just a stable of artists that no one has heard of; Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, Avril Lavigne.

And they sell mp3s on their site. Not WMAs, not ACCs -- *mp3s*, no DRM.

I'm a cynical bastard, too, but there's actually a few labels out there that get it. Don't sell them short.

Re:Some artists just want to be heard...

[vertinox]

Because what you said it isn't true, at least not for all musicians. See, you have to separate the love of the art we have from our desirve to live a decent quality of life. Us musicians don't just want to make music for everyone's enjoyment, you see. Some of us want to eat as well!

Take if from me (I own an Indie label).

If you want to make a living from just CD sales and not bothering to make T-shirts and go on tours like most musicians... Well... You are horribly mistaken.

We make more money on T-shirts and without going to shows we'd never sell any CDs.

Parent is mistaken

[raddan]

You leave out the most important part about Mozart's composing for money: he lived beyond his means. From Wikipedia:

Because he was buried in a pauper's grave, it has been popularly assumed that Mozart was penniless and forgotten when he died. In fact, though he was no longer as fashionable in Vienna as before, he continued to have a well-paid job at court and receive substantial commissions from more distant parts of Europe, Prague in particular (citation needed). He earned about 10,000 florins per year, equivalent to at least 42,000 US dollars in 2006, which places him within the top 5 percent of late 18th century wage earners, but he could not manage his own wealth. His mother wrote, "When Wolfgang makes new acquaintances, he immediately wants to give his life and property to them." His impulsive largesse and spending often put him in the position of having to ask others for loans. Many of his begging letters survive but they are evidence not so much of poverty as of his habit of spending more than he earned. He was not buried in a "mass grave" but in a regular communal grave according to the 1784 laws.

Copyright, as the money-making machine it is today, did not exist in Mozart's time (at least not in Europe-- the modern conception of copyright stems from UK law). Copyright may have existed informally, but unless I'm mistaken, it was not a part of law. Despite that Mozart make quite a good living from his music. Additionally, it was quite common-- and acceptable-- to compose "variations" on another composer's work. This practice is briefly mentioned in the quasi-fictional movie, Amadeus. But derivative works, though still technically permissible, are not often undertaken due to a threat of lawsuit and, from what I gather, not smiled upon by courts.

But using Mozart's case to support an argument about modern times is pointless anyhow-- in the 18th century, you're talking about sheet music and a vast underclass that has little interest in copying it. Today, we have a huge population with disposible incomes and high-quality recordings that can be distributed at virtually no cost. The dynamics are quite different.