Saturday, 2 April 2011
Friday, 1 April 2011
No Fools: 300 Feds Wipe Out 50% Of US Music Piracy Overnight
According to a report in the New York Times, more than 300 FBI agents have carried out raids which have “wiped out 50 percent” of the illicit recording industry in the United States. The move follows scathing criticism of music piracy from one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, who in support of calls for new legislation compared it to counterfeiting $100 bills or rustling cattle.
In common with many in his line of work, Jack Francis, a New York-based investigator with the RIAA, says that music from pirate sources is causing a huge problem for the industry. Unofficial sources are cutting up the market with cheap prices, says Francis, “..and there’s no way a legitimate business can compete with that.”
Francis and his colleagues at the RIAA are deeply critical of the continuing rise of music piracy, something which has been getting progressively easier with new technology.
“Ten years ago piracy wasn’t a big problem,” explains Stephen Neary of IFPI. But now that people are starting to get equipment capable of recording music at home, he worries, the difficulties are escalating.
“We call it the rape of our tape,” says Neary.
A spokesman for Capitol Records supports the RIAA and agrees that with the advent of cheaper and better equipment, things are getting worse in the United States. The evidence can be seen in the grim picture below.
Cash’s paymasters in the country music industry agree that the solution definitely lies in the toughing up of legislation. Following a period of lax legislation, recently Tennessee became the first state where the piracy of music became a felony and now there are nearly eight others.
Penalties are getting harsher too and now range from $100 to $5,000 but according to the industry, that’s not enough. Indeed, Cash has been publicly supporting a bill by two congressmen that would impose fines of $50,000 and jail terms of up to 3 years for music piracy. But not everyone is happy with the approach.
“These proposed fines are absolutely crippling and a totally over the top reaction,” said a spokesman for TapeFreak, a small newspaper that reports on music piracy issues.
“In 30 to 40 years people will look back on these fines and wonder why there wasn’t more public outrage. If people don’t speak out now who knows where we will end up.”
But it seems that harsher fines in one area simply causes a relocation of the problem. According to Joe Smith, President of Warner Bros, when certain states adopt tougher penalties, pirates simply move to another.
“State laws would be OK if all 50 states had laws, but they don’t,” says Smith. “I remember one case about two years ago when Tennessee passed a strict law and a big pirate there just moved to Selma, Al., where he was welcomed by the Chamber of Commerce for bringing a new industry into town.”
TapeFreak’s spokesman says that legislation isn’t the answer and that pirates will always find a way to continue – particularly if they get access to new technology.
“I know it sounds unlikely but what if in the future pirates find a way to duplicate music at negligible costs, maybe by making tapes spin round more quickly? The problem could escalate overnight and who knows what might come along next,” he said.
But the problem isn’t only making the copies. TapeFreak says there’s a real possibility that the postal service will get their act together in the next few years and become really efficient with their deliveries. Once tapes can be shipped around in double quick time – perhaps even further afield outside the US – the problem might not remain localized. It could even become a worldwide issue.
“What is the music industry going to do then – open every package and envelope and look inside? I don’t think so. It would take too much time and besides, people would go crazy,” he added.
Stephen Neary of IFPI maintains that the solution to these possible but unlikely future events lies in legislation. To this end his organization is waging a worldwide campaign to persuade governments to introduce and enforce tougher copyright laws. He held up Hong Kong as a shining example of what could be done and told the Sarasota Herald Tribune that “you’d be very lucky” to find pirated music there.
While tackling large scale pirates is one thing, going after individuals is something else altogether. A spokesman from Capitol Records is pessimistic.
“You’re never likely to stop the little guy,” he explained. “Just like they never stopped people making bootleg liquor in their bathtubs.”
However, if teenagers in bedrooms were the only threat, executives at Capitol, Columbia, RCA and other record companies would breathe a sigh of relief. They have bigger fish to catch and are making significant progress in doing so.
As this article was going to press, it became apparent that the United States government had incredible news for the music industry following their intense lobbying efforts. According to yesterday’s article in the New York Times – dated 7th December 1978 – more than 300 FBI agents have seized $100 million worth of modern sound-recording equipment.
Officials said the raids “wiped out 50 percent” of the illicit recording industry in the United States, which is obviously very encouraging news. Considering the industry’s moves to have harsh legislation put in place in all 50 states, it must follow that getting rid of the remaining 50% is just a raid or two away.
Couple this with a replication of IFPI’s Hong Kong successes in other countries around the world and music piracy will almost certainly become a thing of the past, probably in a matter of a few years.
Of course, there’s always the possibility that some new newfangled device will come along to stir things up, but rest assured, the music industry are no fools. They won’t be fighting this war in another 30 years.
The law will see to that.
Comments from TapeFreak aside (forgive us a little artistic license), every person, every event and every quote referred to in this article is entirely genuine. The story was compiled from real news reports from real newspapers during the 1970′s, as indexed by Google’s wonderful archive service. Just a few of this article’s sources can be found here, here, here, here and here.
enigmax @'Torrent Freak'
In common with many in his line of work, Jack Francis, a New York-based investigator with the RIAA, says that music from pirate sources is causing a huge problem for the industry. Unofficial sources are cutting up the market with cheap prices, says Francis, “..and there’s no way a legitimate business can compete with that.”
Francis and his colleagues at the RIAA are deeply critical of the continuing rise of music piracy, something which has been getting progressively easier with new technology.
“Ten years ago piracy wasn’t a big problem,” explains Stephen Neary of IFPI. But now that people are starting to get equipment capable of recording music at home, he worries, the difficulties are escalating.
“We call it the rape of our tape,” says Neary.
A spokesman for Capitol Records supports the RIAA and agrees that with the advent of cheaper and better equipment, things are getting worse in the United States. The evidence can be seen in the grim picture below.
Cash’s paymasters in the country music industry agree that the solution definitely lies in the toughing up of legislation. Following a period of lax legislation, recently Tennessee became the first state where the piracy of music became a felony and now there are nearly eight others.
Penalties are getting harsher too and now range from $100 to $5,000 but according to the industry, that’s not enough. Indeed, Cash has been publicly supporting a bill by two congressmen that would impose fines of $50,000 and jail terms of up to 3 years for music piracy. But not everyone is happy with the approach.
“These proposed fines are absolutely crippling and a totally over the top reaction,” said a spokesman for TapeFreak, a small newspaper that reports on music piracy issues.
“In 30 to 40 years people will look back on these fines and wonder why there wasn’t more public outrage. If people don’t speak out now who knows where we will end up.”
But it seems that harsher fines in one area simply causes a relocation of the problem. According to Joe Smith, President of Warner Bros, when certain states adopt tougher penalties, pirates simply move to another.“State laws would be OK if all 50 states had laws, but they don’t,” says Smith. “I remember one case about two years ago when Tennessee passed a strict law and a big pirate there just moved to Selma, Al., where he was welcomed by the Chamber of Commerce for bringing a new industry into town.”
TapeFreak’s spokesman says that legislation isn’t the answer and that pirates will always find a way to continue – particularly if they get access to new technology.
“I know it sounds unlikely but what if in the future pirates find a way to duplicate music at negligible costs, maybe by making tapes spin round more quickly? The problem could escalate overnight and who knows what might come along next,” he said.
But the problem isn’t only making the copies. TapeFreak says there’s a real possibility that the postal service will get their act together in the next few years and become really efficient with their deliveries. Once tapes can be shipped around in double quick time – perhaps even further afield outside the US – the problem might not remain localized. It could even become a worldwide issue.
“What is the music industry going to do then – open every package and envelope and look inside? I don’t think so. It would take too much time and besides, people would go crazy,” he added.
Stephen Neary of IFPI maintains that the solution to these possible but unlikely future events lies in legislation. To this end his organization is waging a worldwide campaign to persuade governments to introduce and enforce tougher copyright laws. He held up Hong Kong as a shining example of what could be done and told the Sarasota Herald Tribune that “you’d be very lucky” to find pirated music there.
While tackling large scale pirates is one thing, going after individuals is something else altogether. A spokesman from Capitol Records is pessimistic.“You’re never likely to stop the little guy,” he explained. “Just like they never stopped people making bootleg liquor in their bathtubs.”
However, if teenagers in bedrooms were the only threat, executives at Capitol, Columbia, RCA and other record companies would breathe a sigh of relief. They have bigger fish to catch and are making significant progress in doing so.
As this article was going to press, it became apparent that the United States government had incredible news for the music industry following their intense lobbying efforts. According to yesterday’s article in the New York Times – dated 7th December 1978 – more than 300 FBI agents have seized $100 million worth of modern sound-recording equipment.
Officials said the raids “wiped out 50 percent” of the illicit recording industry in the United States, which is obviously very encouraging news. Considering the industry’s moves to have harsh legislation put in place in all 50 states, it must follow that getting rid of the remaining 50% is just a raid or two away.
Couple this with a replication of IFPI’s Hong Kong successes in other countries around the world and music piracy will almost certainly become a thing of the past, probably in a matter of a few years.
Of course, there’s always the possibility that some new newfangled device will come along to stir things up, but rest assured, the music industry are no fools. They won’t be fighting this war in another 30 years.
The law will see to that.
Comments from TapeFreak aside (forgive us a little artistic license), every person, every event and every quote referred to in this article is entirely genuine. The story was compiled from real news reports from real newspapers during the 1970′s, as indexed by Google’s wonderful archive service. Just a few of this article’s sources can be found here, here, here, here and here.
enigmax @'Torrent Freak'
telecomix Telecomix
Breaking: Telecomix Agent Cameron cracks AES256 crypto and Wikileaks insurance file http://ur1.ca/3q1nf
Book Review: Hüsker Dü: The Story Of The Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock
By Andrew Earles
(Voyageur Press, 2010) In the spring of 1987, NBC’s squeaky clean morning program, The Today Show, traveled across the country for a week. The focus was on Middle America, as the network wanted to highlight what was going on in the humdrum middle of the country—where the air is clean, the people are simple, and nothing of great importance happens except maybe some heartwarming human interest stories. No culture, no pushed boundaries, nothing but fields of wheat and corn. Or at least that was the impression.
The show pitched tent midweek in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area for stories on affordable housing prices, comic Louie Anderson (who toyed with co-host Jane Pauley with a mischievous glint in his eye), the Minnesota Twins, the plight of the American Farmer, and a vital music scene which had bubbled up to national attention. To illustrate this final point, the show’s producers came up with the most surprising aspect of their not-very-adventurous-week: A performance by local rock band Hüsker Dü. Known for their musical aggression, volume, and—in the early days at least—breakneck speed, the group was not a combo one would normally see on such a mainstream program as The Today Show. Or that early in the morning. But there they were, bleary-eyed, annoyed with Bryant Gumbel’s inane questions, and running through a tepid version of “Could You Be The One”, all in front of an audience quite outside their normal realms. (Though there were some hoodlum types in the back of the audience—skipping school, no doubt—shouting for the song “Folklore” as Mould winced at Gumbel’s bumbling inquires.) The Today Show appearance is a good example of what makes the Hüsker Dü story so captivating: From the cramped, sweaty stage of the 7th Street Entry to national television. Nowadays, that kind of career trajectory can take only a few years, maybe even one, but back then the seven years it took Hüsker Dü to wind up under the glare of national television was something of a coup.
Similar to their music, Hüsker Dü’s story is a brilliant but tough one: Band forms, digs into hardcore punk before pushing the boundaries of an otherwise confining genre, band conducts business on their own terms, releases their own records, suffers almost immediately from internal struggles for control, signs to an infamous independent label, gets critical accolades early on, makes groundbreaking records, remains critical darlings, ditches an independent for major label, and finally expires to strife.
A band this important needs a biography to match its greatness, and author Andrew Earles has taken on the task and gets off on the right foot by interviewing the right people: Bassist Greg Norton and drummer Grant Hart, as well as insiders and people from SST, their longtime independent label. The glaring omission, of course, is guitarist Bob Mould, who is apparently working on his memoirs. One cannot fault Earles for continuing with the biography without Mould’s input, but it does make the project a greater challenge to execute well.
Like the band, Hüsker Dü: The Story Of The Noise Pop Pioneers is full of flaws. Unlike the band, however, it does not compensate for its weaknesses. From the onset, Earles claims his book to be rumor and drama free; in the introduction he writes, “There are more people carrying around salacious untruths about Hüsker Dü than there are people who have actually HEARD Hüsker Dü.” I’m not sure what he means there, and having grown up and lived in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, I don’t think that statement is accurate. All bands are essentially marriages and, really, what is a marriage without drama?
Noble as it may appear, skipping the rumor/drama part of this particular story is a mistake. Two of the members are gay, and while one’s sexual preference has no bearing whatsoever on their talent, any homosexual will tell you being gay in this country is a singular act of bravery in itself, one worthy of celebrating. After all, the “Rock World” (even the oftentimes smug punk/hardcore scene) is dominated by heterosexual white men, so any band going against the grain should get some credit, even if it wasn’t an issue at the time. Sure, Earles can imply it doesn’t matter they were gay and, obviously, that’s true. Yet had he taken the time and explored this issue, he would’ve identified a subplot unusual for most rock biographies—he could’ve given hope to any young gay musician feeling he or she doesn’t have a place playing hard, fast rock music; he could’ve stuck a finger in the eye of homophobia. Hindsight can be a biographer’s best reference point and it should be utilized, but here it is not.
Earles does a great job of deconstructing the band’s early recorded work, including their landmark Zen Arcade album, highlighting the fact that it might not have been originally conceived as a concept record, but unfortunately he fails to actually ask the two band members themselves, leaving the issue unnecessarily up for grabs. Instead, he spends too much time dissecting what exactly is “hardcore.” Too much time is also spent discussing Hüsker Dü’s influence on other groups washing up in their wake; too much time is spent thinking up the perfect Hüsker Dü mix tape; too much time spent trying to convince the reader of this band’s greatness. Too much time is spent.
This brings me to the final and most ridiculous flaw of the book: The mere glancing look at the all-important final (and painful) year-and-a-half of the band’s career, which includes the tragedy of their manager’s suicide on the eve of a national tour. Until this point, all of the band’s records are given a pretty good track-by-track analysis except for their final (double) album, Warehouse: Songs and Stories, leaving the reader with the impression that the author has no vested interest in this later era of the band, and they shouldn’t either. A terrible oversight.
Not all of the problems are Earles’ fault, however. Amazingly slipshod editing cripples the narrative and timeline, as entire sections of the text end up being repeated elsewhere. It’s these kinds of mistakes that make me want to call this book a complete failure of a biography, but it isn’t quite that bad; despite its flaws I did find myself struggling to put the book down. To his credit, Earles has actually written a book and has spent time interviewing the right people. He untangles the band’s messy history, generously quotes from long forgotten magazine interviews, and deftly uses the band’s tension to boost his narrative. Until Mould’s autobiography comes out, this is pretty much all we have (besides the Hüsker Dü chapter in Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life). It may be an interesting read, but in the end, this one is disappointing and is nowhere near the biography that Hüsker Dü certainly deserves.
Purchase: The Story Of The Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock [at amazon.com]
Watch Hüsker Dü play “Could You Be the One” on The Today Show:
Andrew Lau @'Crawdaddy'
One of the bands I always wanted to see live...then I (re)discovered a tape I had recorded of them live at the Paradiso when I lived in Am*dam back in 85/86 and my memory was a blank. Oh well - the droogz obvs worked that night!!!
One of the bands I always wanted to see live...then I (re)discovered a tape I had recorded of them live at the Paradiso when I lived in Am*dam back in 85/86 and my memory was a blank. Oh well - the droogz obvs worked that night!!!
Mentioned this to Grant Hart when he played my local pub last year and after he stopped laughing he did ask if I cld send him a copy of it when I dig it out of storage...
Hey I guess it's nice to see that we have all straightened up somewhat since those heady days LOL!
ioerror Jacob Appelbaum
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