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Rockers Sue Sony Over Download Royalties
Ohreally_factor writes "According to an AP article, groups Cheap Trick and The Allman Brothers allege that Sony is paying them less than what they deserve for music downloaded from popular download sites such as iTunes. Because Sony counts such sales as the equivalent of a physical phonorecording sale, they deduct costs for packaging (20%) and breakage (15%) from the artists' royalties, just as they would if they were selling CDs through more traditional means. Seeing as how there is no physical packaging, nor physical inventory that might suffer breakage, one wonders how Sony will defend against these charges."
Such it Blue!... errr Suck it Sony!
Granted we shouldn't be taking pleasure in the legal issues of such a large company... it is nice to see their business model faltering even more.
First the rootkit now this, the question in my mind is now: "What will be next?"
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
"One wonders how Sony will defend against these charges"
With a well placed root-kit!
They're trying to cover for the cost of DRM packaging, and the possible breakage of the product when a listener tries to play it, forcing them to ship a fixed version? ;-)
Typical Sony Bull$hit. Me and my band, $sysR00TK1T, tried to get a recording contract with Sony, we sent them a demo tape, but they didn't even notice.
it's a blue bright blue Saturday hey hey
Blame it on piracy?
one wonders how Sony will defend against these charges.
The Chewbacca(tm) defense?
...what a cheap trick by Sony!
"I don't think it's selfish, to eat defenseless shellfish." -NOFX
Shocked, Shocked I tell you Shocked, a large corporation not knowing how to properly do it's accounting.
Fantasy remains a human right; we make in our measure and in our derivative mode... -- JRR Tolkien
My guess: they'll use lawyers.
My second guess is clowns, but we'll see which way it goes.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
LOL, and that'd still be pure unadulterated BS, as Apple pays for the storage and Bandwidth (at least with iTunes Music Store) lol.
Some people just deserve to be shot. Others deserve tar and feathers... And some just deserve... The Aristocrats!
That's internet highway robbery.
Must resist urge... will to resist fading... NNOOOOO!!!!!
More like information superhighway robbery!
That's ok, just re-allocate that 20% to fending off lawsuits from artists that wised up to being ripped off.
I wouldn't be suprised, as much booze and drugs that group did, they really aren't aware of it yet, their attorneys are(read benefactors, illegitimate children etc). I'd figure them 5-7 years behind the times and all still thinking they are touring, it's been a long crazy ride.
You forgot about the "Lost packet fee". It replaces the breakage fee.
"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
So how is it any different that the copies are bits now?
It's not. They just charge for corrupted files now. You know. The ones that the RIAA puts up to poison the P2P networks.
What?
that Cheap Trick and The Allmans get their fair due because they really need the money. Their attempt at hip-hop rap albums failed miserably and crystal meth ain't free.
The only people who will see any serious monrey froma settlment like this will be (like always) the class-action attorneys.
While the affected musicians will each receive eletronic coupons good for 100 free downloads from iTunes...
What costs does Sony have at that point?
Lawyers to sue copyright infringing teenagers! Duh.
Like, my ponies are gonna cry! OMG!!!!
Hehehe. They won't cry as much as the *artists* when they realize they're bending over for a long hard ride on the Sony baloney pony.
3 things about computers: they're alive, they're self-aware, and they hate your guts.
They can always ship them to hong kong and sell them on the pirate black market for $2/copy.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.