Another example of the music industry being batshit crazy

  Quote

A federal judge has dismissed the music industry contention that when a cellphone’s ringtone begins playing, copyright infringement starts happening since others can hear the song, essentially arguing that a mobile phone is a portable concert hall.

 

That argument meant that millions of mobile phone users were copyright scofflaws anytime anyone called them.

 

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, known as ASCAP, was attempting to wring even more royalties from music lovers, who already pay ringtone royalties when they buy ringtones. Additionally, ASCAP collects royalty payments for public performances of songs from venues as divergent as a summer camp and a stadium.

 

While ASCAP’s much-ridiculed argument in the case was a legal long shot, copyright chaos might have ensued had the royalty-collecting group actually prevailed.

 

“The ruling is an important victory for consumers, making it clear that playing music in public, when done without any commercial purpose, does not infringe copyright,” wrote Fred von Lohmann, a copyright attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

 

ASCAP was suing AT&T and Verizon in a New York federal court, seeking more revenue for its members.

 

But U.S. District Judge Denise Cote wrote Wednesday that “ASCAP has not shown any infringement of its members’ rights by the playing of ringtones in the public from Verizon’s customer’s telephones.”

 

The decision (.pdf) also set aside ASCAP’s arguments that it was entitled to double its royalties, from 24 cents to 48 cents, for the reproduction of a ringtone. The group, which represents artists and songwriters, claimed that the mobile phone carriers were publicly performing the song when it enabled the ringtone to be downloaded by a music fan.

 

“ASCAP has failed to raise a question of fact that the downloading of a ringtone from Verizon to a customer’s cellular telephone is a public performance of a musical work,” Cote ruled.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/10/judge-mobile-phone-ringtones-are-not-concerts/

That's so wack it's not even worth discussing. Ringtones are the last big market for major label singles, I think Soulja Boy went platinum via ringtones.

Even though the argument here is retarded, I think what is worth noting is that this type of behavior on the part of the music industry continues to feed into the idea that downloading music illegally is acceptable because the ones at the top are a bunch of twats.

fuck the music industry.

PIRACY FTW FUCKING YES

yeesh, that's dumb

  On 10/17/2009 at 2:38 AM, ezkerraldean said:

fuck the music industry.

 

PIRACY FTW FUCKING YES

  On 10/17/2009 at 11:32 AM, Mesh Gear Fox said:

do groups like this have any integrity anymore?

how about seeking royalties from guitar tabs? that was the final straw in my book, fuckers closed down mxtabs.

I did not know this!

ASS-CAP

apparently acap still does a good job of collecting royalties for pretty small time musicians, for example if they get played on Mary anne hobbs show. those royalties can be collected from the BBC.

i dont know how true this is, it seems like kind of bullshit to me personally (facts that run counter to this would be greatly appreciated, Reid/thanks robert moses are you on ascap?. your myspace page - http://www.myspace.com/reiddunn makes me think you possibly are)

bust an ass-cap

  On 10/22/2009 at 8:00 AM, Awepittance said:

Reid/thanks robert moses are you on ascap?. your myspace page - http://www.myspace.com/reiddunn makes me think you possibly are)

Lol now read that back with auto-tune.