Have you ever seen that Monty Python skit where two mafia guys try to extort some protection money from an army base general?
Strangely (sadly?), this story (and a few others that I’ve heard of) makes me think of that skit. You open a nice little coffee shop and things are good. Shortly after, an ASCAP rep comes to your door ramming this ‘copyright infringement insurance’ contract down your throat.
It seems that even though the owners tried to reason with them arguing that they were local bands, they all played original music, and had no cover charge, there is only this ‘one size fits all’ kind of contract.
Check this part out:
The first letter from ASCAP, which Hopper received Nov. 13, included a general license agreement for Hopper to sign verifying that he was playing ASCAP-licensed music and agreeing to pay the fees to continue to play the music.
To sign that contract would be pretty damning. It basically implies that you admit you have been playing copyrighted music! I better get a law degree before I open up a coffee shop because, frankly, this is pretty ridiculous.
Would you sign this contract?
[video]
Music score notation in the browser -
This has got to be one of those “why didn’t I think of that” moments!
With the magic of <canvas> and some Javascript (thank you HTML5!!), Mohit Muthanna has managed to make pretty sheet music for the browser. The code seems to be inspired directly from Lilypond. I’ll be eagerly checking in on its progress often, I’m sure.
Kudos Mr. Muthanna, a stroke of genius!
[video]
German Unemployed Get a Boost Through Music -
Music brings the unemployed together in a city in Germany.
Shirky: Napster tapped into our primate instincts -
FTA:
“Back in the old days we used to have something called a CD collection,” Shirky said facetiously. “It was something like keeping the box that the Amazon books came in, but you kept the container the music was in all the time…If somebody else came over to my house and said, ‘That Vanilla Ice track is slammin’! Can I have that?’ No! This is my copy of ‘To The Extreme.’ If I give it to you, I will no longer be ale to enjoy Vanilla Ice’s music. That’s sharing of goods.”
Copyright law must be simplified -
FTA:
The digital economy bill is driven by incompetence, not malice. Ably assisted by a three-line whip. And what justified incompetence! The copyright situation in this country is utterly confusing. Parts of the bill that have solid commercial sense behind them, such as clause 43, interact with so many other laws and precedents that it will be impossible to find a solution to the orphan works problem without annoying some group of creators.
NYT ethicist: OK to pirate ebooks once you've bought the hardcover -
From the article:
“Buying a book or a piece of music should be regarded as a license to enjoy it on any platform. Sadly, the anachronistic conventions of bookselling and copyright law lag the technology.”
I think that’s what a lot of people have been trying to say for a while now. I guess it’ll never ‘make sense’ to the RIAA.