Saturday, 2 April 2011
Smiley Culture's family demand answers from police over singer's death
A meeting between top Metropolitan police officers and members of the public descended into chaos and tears, as family and friends of the dead pop star Smiley Culture accused senior police chiefs of being "murderers".
A former senior adviser to the former London mayor Ken Livingstone also warned that the black community in Brixton was at "boiling point" after the 48-year-old pop star's "bizarre" death in police custody two weeks ago.
The musician, who had success in the 1980s with the singles Police Officer and Cockney Translation, died after officers came to search his house. According to a pathologist's report, Culture, whose real name was David Emmanuel, died from a single stab wound to the heart.
At the time of his death, reports suggested that Emmanuel had stabbed himself while going to make a cup of tea in the kitchen of his Surrey home.
The regularly scheduled meeting of the Metropolitan police authority, at city hall, became passionate and raucous after Tim Godwin, acting commissioner for the Met, tried to move proceedings on from Emmanuel's death.
Godwin told the MPA, the independent body that oversees policing in London, that it should not make a judgment about how Emmanuel died until the Independent Police Complaints Commission had finished its own investigation.
"It is wrong to jump to judgment either way until we see the evidence that is produced. And my sympathies are extended to the family and friends. I hope the investigation will be thorough and speedy and open to scrutiny at the end," he said.
Lee Jasper, senior policy adviser on equalities under Ken Livingstone's mayoralty, shouted from the public gallery: "Is there a letter of condolence? It would be nice, if you died in custody, would it not?"
Emmanuel's close friend, Asher Senator, cried "murderers" and "you're killing us". He was pulled away from the gallery by associates after becoming distraught. The meeting was adjourned as other members of the crowd began chanting "no justice, no peace" and more than a dozen people walked out in protest.
MPA member Cindy Butts was reduced to tears. "It has been 30 years since the Brixton riots and so much has changed but we have so much [still] to do," she said.
Speaking in the lobby of city hall after the meeting, Jasper said: "Smiley Culture was a friend of mine. We've had a suspicious death in custody and we want answers and we want them quick. So whatever process or investigation that they have, they better fast-track.
"Because I tell you what, you've got a black community here that are on boiling point and everybody needs to know that we're not simply going to lay back and wait for the long road of justice to deliver 15 years later. We want answers and we want them now."
Last week, more than 1,000 people attended a meeting at Lambeth assembly hall to discuss Emmanuel's death.
Also speaking in the lobby of city hall afterwards was Smiley Culture's nephew, Merlin Emmanuel, who said that they were calling for an independent inquiry. "We come here today because we want to get to the bottom of what happened to David Emmanuel," he said.
The music technology teacher from south-west London added: "We are not making any undue accusations but what I'd say is that he died in the most peculiar of circumstances and what's irrefutable is that the police have a duty of care to a suspect when in their custody. The police failed to enforce simple procedures and as a consequence my uncle, Smiley Culture, is dead."
Emmanuel's family said that they had commissioned an independent postmortem. The findings of this report are expected to be returned in the next few days. The family have also called a march on 16 April, which will head from south London towards New Scotland Yard.
Shiv Malik @'The Guardian'
Pink Floyd - The Wall (Demos)
Based On 'The Wall' (1979) Compiled From Two Unofficial Titles: 'Under Construction' And 'Building The Wall' Recorded In 1978
01 [0:00:00] "In the Flesh" (3:22)
02 [0:03:22] "The Thin Ice" (2:37)
03 [0:05:59] "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)" (3:28)
04 [0:09:27] "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" (1:29)
05 [0:10:56] "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" (2:03)
06 [0:12:59] "Mother" (4:36)
07 [0:17:35] "Goodbye Blue Sky" (2:11)
08 [0:19:46] "Empty Spaces, part 1" (1:51)
09 [0:21:37] "Young Lust (Instrumental)" (3:32)
10 [0:25:09] "One of My Turns" (2:26)
11 [0:27:35] "Don't Leave Me Now" (3:54)
12 [0:31:29] "Empty Spaces (Part 2)" (2:22)
13 [0:33:59] "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3)" (1:25)
14 [0:34:24] "Goodbye Cruel World" (1:02)
15 [0:35:36] "Is There Anybody Out There? (Part 1)" (053)
16 [0:36:29] "Vera" (1:17)
17 [0:37:36] "Bring the Boys Back Home" (0:42)
18 [0:38:18] "Is There Anybody Out There? (Part 2)" (1:19)
19 [0:39:37] "Is There Anybody Out There? (Part 3)" (2:01)
20 [0:41:38] "Comfortably Numb" (4:46)
21 [0:46:24] "Hey You" (3:56)
22 [0:50:20] "The Show Must Go On" (2:07)
23 [0:52:27] "In the Flesh" (4:31)
24 [0:56:58] "Run Like Hell (Instrumental)" (4:58)
25 [1:01:56] "Waiting for the Worms" (3:47)
26 [1:05:43] "Stop" (0:35)
27 [1:06:18] "The Trial" (4:57)
28 [1:11:15] "Outside the Wall" (1:25)
The Kills - Dawn Penn & Peter Tosh Covers Medley
Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince stopped by London’s famed Maida Vale Studios yesterday for an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe and performance, in which the duo wore the reggae influences of their new single “Satellite” even more on their sleeve by debuting a medley of Dawn Penn’s “You Don’t Love Me (No No No)” and Joe Higgs’ “Steppin’ Razor” (made famous by Peter Tosh).
via
blakehounshell Blake Hounshell
The British really scored an own goal with their loud "no immunity for Libyan officials" statements. Best to leave it ambiguous
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'
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
