Michael Geist – Canadian Recording Industry Faces $60 Billion Copyright Infringement Lawsuit. It’s a good thing the Recording Industry shut down Napster to protect the artists, right? Otherwise people would have been listening to the songs and no money would have been paid to those who made the music.
Posts Tagged music
EDIT: Doesn’t work. Oxelon says that it converts the files to AAC, but the files cannot be read by the DSI. Looks as though I’ll have to fight with iTunes after all.
We bought Nintendo DSis for the kids for our recent trip to Alberta. One of the things the kids are using them for is for listening to mp3s. Of course simply being able to play an mp3 is way too much to ask, so the audio needs to be converted to aac/mp4 format to play on the DS.
We used iTunes to convert the music the kids wanted and as with most things involving iTunes it was a nightmare. The conversion was surprisingly easy, but then we ended up with tons of duplicate files and of course playlists can’t be easily exported.
I’m hoping that this: Convert audio and video files in 2 clicks with Oxelon Media Converter will work much better for the next time we need audio files on the DSi.
Music for 10K Training
Aug 27
After finishing the Couch to 5k program, I decided that I wanted to keep going. After looking around a bit I decided on Podrunner: Intervals – Free Workout Music for 10K Training. I’m currently about halfway through and I like it a lot. The big thing I miss from the Couch to 5K podcasts is the encouragement halfway through each podcast.
One thing I really enjoy about both the Intervals and the Couch to 5K podcasts is that the music is non-lyrical. The beat keeps me going at a steady pace and there are no lyrics to distract me from thinking my own thoughts. Kevin has a post on The Mental Effects of Physical Work that highlights this nicely. Sometimes it’s refreshing to have the body work while the mind rests, especially since most of myworking day consists of the opposite.
I’ve been thinking about applying a program such as this one to my cycling. What might work is cycling without using the seat for the faster intervals and sitting for the rest intervals. I doubt I’ll pursue this this summer, but it’s something to think about for next year.
Browncoat Hero
Aug 3
I ran across this video of Firefly scenes set to “Holding out for a hero” and really enjoyed it. The music fits the theme of the show. Watching this makes me want to go buy the Firefly DVDs.
I have submitted my answers to the five questions posed in the Copyright Consultations.
1. How do Canada’s copyright laws affect you? How should existing laws be modernized?
Canada’s copyright laws affect me because I enjoy many forms of media that are protected by copyright. I enjoy reading, playing computer games, listening to music, and learning from podcasts. These are more readily available to me in because of the copyright agreement between creators and consumers. My work builds upon the work of others to produce personalized maps and reports for clients. There are very few aspects of my day-to-day life that are not affected by copyright.
Existing laws should be modernized to allow people to build upon the works of others to add greater value to derivatives of those works. For example, a lot of the music I listen to is a reinterpretation of other pieces which were themselves derived from earlier works. Copyright laws need to recognize that we are all standing upon the shoulders of giants. Creators do not develop their works in a vacuum but build upon everything that has gone before them.
2. Based on Canadian values and interests, how should copyright changes be made in order to withstand the test of time?
As a Canadian, one of the things that I am proudest of is my heritage. Canada is not a melting pot, but a tapestry of many cultures drawn together into a greater whole. Copyright should be limited in time and scope so as to prevent the loss of that heritage and to encourage creators to draw up on that heritage and bring it to life for each new generation of Canadian. Locking away pieces of our heritage for life does not encourage Canadian values but individualistic dog-in-the-manger-like behaviour.
3. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster innovation and creativity in Canada?
Copyright should have a strict time limit, one that is much shorter than an individual’s expected lifespan. This would allow creators to draw upon their earlier experiences to bring new life to half-forgotten ideas. There should be broad fair-use rights to encourage creators to develop ideas to their full potential without fear of costly litigation. Creators can innovate much more freely if they’re not constantly looking over their shoulders in fear of lawsuits.
4. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster competition and investment in Canada?
Copyright should be narrowly focused on specific expressions of an idea. This would allow competitors to develop their own possibly superior versions. With reasonable copyright laws Canada can be a center for creativity and investment.
5. What kinds of changes would best position Canada as a leader in the global, digital economy?
Outlaw Digital Rights Management (DRM). It is ineffective in stopping or even slowing piracy. The ones who are most affected by it are honest consumers – those who seek to violate copyright are not even slowed down by DRM and have not been for as long as digital media has existed. Due to DRM I have lost access to numerous programs and books which I purchased legitimately. DRM is anti-consumer.
Copyright law should not refer to specific technologies but instead look at broader principles.
Copyright law should not refer to specific technologies but instead look at broader principles.
As always, Thomas Babington Macaulay’s 1841 speech to the British House of Commons covers most of the issues that keep being brought up in these discussions of copyright. The arguments for copyright have not changed much in over 168 years. We have let those who push for stronger, broader, longer copyright have the upper hand for too long and their results have been dismal. It is time to return to a fair copyright.
The Perfect Thing
Jul 18
I read Steven Levy’s The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness. It’s a fanboy’s paen to a favorite gadget.
This book gives a good history of the iPod and a description of its cultural significance. What really annoyed me about the book is that it seems to take the perspective that Apple and more specifically Steve Jobs can do no wrong. Any mistakes that must be admitted are at most minor, charming quirks. The fanboy tone really got on my nerves.
As always, Steven Levy does a wonderful job of describing what it was like to actually be one of those who developed the iPod. He provides snippets from a wide variety of insiders and you feel the emotional impact of their struggles and successes. The iPod doesn’t seem like such an amazing invention now, but the challenges that were overcome in developing it were impressive. The discussion of the effects of everyone carrying around entire collections of music in their pockets and living with their own personal soundtrack to life was fascinating, if a little shallow. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how the iPod came to be what it is.
I came out of this book wanting to buy any other music player but an iPod. When the author praises iTunes, I really have to wonder if he’s using the same iTunes that I’ve struggled with. The Apple attitude seems to be "We’re way cooler than you so shut up and do it our way" and I resent that. I want a music player that works the way I want it to.
iPod shuffle
May 22
I’m awfully tempted to see if I can squeeze next month’s budget to get myself an iPod shuffle. The big factors in my decision making are that iPods are the least crappy MP3 player I know of and the shuffle is fairly cheap. If I go for the second generation model it’s only a little more than the cheap plastic non-functional MP3 players I’ve seen. The shuffle aspect shouldn’t be that big of a deal as that’s how I generally listen to music. It may get annoying when I want to listen to a particular song or podcast. We’ll see what happens.
This was a fun video to watch. I wonder if any of the participants at the end were passers-by who decided to join in? I don’t think I would have been able to get up the courage to join in if I had been there, but it sure looked like fun. I especially liked the wide variety of people that were included. (via The Happiness Project)
If you enjoy Celtic music, Marc Gunn’s Irish and Celtic Music Podcast is a good one to listen to. The only problem for me is that I can’t stand his speaking voice. His singing is fine but something about the way he talks grates across my ears.
Performing activities in synch seems to build group solidarity: How to control a herd of humans. I wonder how activities such as raiding play into that? The examples they give seem to involve music or at least rhythm. Would raiding provide more group unity if encounters required some kind of rhythmic activity?
I’ve found TagScanner really useful for tagging and renaming my mp3s. It seems that everyone and every application has different standards for naming mp3s. This way I can have them all conform to one standard which makes them much easier to find.
Dancing with Heigan
Jan 14
We ran Naxx last night and I had a blast. My favorite bit was the Heigan fight. We didn’t come anywhere close to downing Heigan (our best attempt was around 69%) but I enjoyed myself immensely.
Part of my enjoyment came simply from not screwing up. I tend to screw up on movement and positioning so it was great to do it right. Another fun bit was having the raid discuss whether I sounded more like an optometrist (“Which looks better to you, one or two? two or three?”), and aerobics instructor (“One, two, three, four. Move!”) or a music teacher (“One and two and three and four”). We had a newish healer and a different off-tank and things still went fairly smoothly. One of the main reasons I’m enjoying running Naxx so much is that it’s a challenge, but not an unbeatable one.
I expect Saturday’s run to involve a lot of wipes – we’re doing Heigan at least a couple times. If that doesn’t work, we’ll move to Instructor Razuvious or Patchwerk for a change of pace. I deliberately saved Sartharion for Saturday’s run so that those who can only show up then are still going to get some loot.
Musical Karazhan
Sep 3
Crutch’s So You Think You Can Blog? week 2 entry is Songs for a Musical Karazhan. I know my raid group always appreciates it when I sing to them and now there will be more musicality! Mwhahahahaha!!!!!
"What sort of person," said Salzella patiently, "sits down and writes a maniacal laugh? And all those exclamation marks, you notice? Five? A sure sign of someone who wears his underpants on his head. Opera can do that to a man." — (Terry Pratchett, Maskerade)
Many years ago, mp3.com was a fine place to fine free legal music. Bouncing around at random, I picked up a track called Kingsword by Heather Dale. I played it a couple of times and liked it. Jaimie liked it a lot and she played it over and over again. After a fair stretch, we still weren’t sick of it so we ordered one of Heather Dale’s CDs. Over the course of the next few years we bought the rest of her CDs and saw her live at a local show. We pre-ordered one of her CDs and have bought each one as it came out. We’ve purchased a couple of her CDs as gifts for friends and family. All because of one free song.
If you enjoy beautiful vocals and Celtic music, check out Heather Dale.
I received a response to my email about bill C-61. I am posting the response and my response to it.
July 3, 2008
Joel Tone
Box 673
St. Pierre, MB R0A 1V0
Dear Joel Tone:
The Government recently introduced a bill to amend the Copyright Act to bring it in line with advances in technology and current international standards.
This reform is much needed and long overdue. It has been ten years since the last major reform of this important legislation. In that time, we have seen nothing short of an Internet revolution and major advancements in technology.
This is a balanced, made-in-Canada approach to copyright reform that will help ensure fair access by Canadian consumers to copyright material and protection of the rights of Canadians who create material that is copyrighted.
Our Government is the first to specifically allow Canadians to record their TV and radio shows to enjoy at different times—without infringing copyright. Our reform will also permit consumers to copy music onto devices such as MP3 players, and copy books, newspapers, videos and photos into different formats. Last but certainly not least, our bill limits at $500 the amount of statutory damages that individuals may be liable to pay if they infringed copyright for private use, provided the material is not protected by a digital lock. (Currently, statutory damages could be as high as $20,000 for a single infringement).
With this bill, we have introduced important measures to support industries whose success depends on copyright such as software companies, musicians, photographers, and film makers. We are providing stronger protection of digital locks online so that companies that choose to use them in their business models will have the support of the law. We have also introduced stronger provisions to address Internet piracy.
We believe this copyright reform promotes innovation and competition in a digital, knowledge-based economy.
Our role as Government is to set the stage for business to succeed and the economy to flourish. In short, to create the right environment for Canada to prosper by setting the right policies and this copyright bill accomplishes this.
The proposed amendments would implement:
* New exceptions for Canadian consumers, so they can record TV shows for later viewing; copy legally acquired music onto other devices, such as MP3 players or cellphones; and make backup copies of legally acquired books, newspapers, videocassettes and photographs onto devices they own;
* New rights and protections for copyright owners, tailored to the Internet, to encourage participation in the online economy, as well as stronger legal means to address Internet piracy;
* Exceptions for some educational and research purposes to promote innovation and enrich the educational experience;
* Clarity for Internet service providers on their roles and responsibilities in relation to copyright, in order to support the growth of Internet services in Canada; and
* Rights for photographers equal to those of other creators.
For more information, please visit the Copyright Reform Process website at www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/home.
Please note, the House of Commons is now adjourned and will resume September 15, 2008. You may read the bill in it’s entirety at: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HouseBills/BillsGovernment.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2
Once the House of Commons resumes, you can follow the bill’s status through this link as well.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Davis
Constituency Assistant
Office of Vic Toews, M.P.
Riding of Provencher
204-326-9889
ToewsV1B@parl.gc.ca
——————————————————————————–
Dear Minister Toews:
I appreciate your response. However there are several statements in
your assistant’s reply that are incomplete or incorrect.
Bill C-61 as it stands does not bring the Copyright Act into line with
advances in technology and current international standards. Instead
it seeks to prevent advances in technology. Canada already has more
onerous copyright laws than most of the G-8 countries (including the
United States), let alone the rest of the world.
Reform to the Copyright Act may be much needed and long overdue. If
you seek to invoke the Internet revolution and major advancements in
technology as a reason for Copyright reform, then the public, creators
of copyrighted materials, and industry should be consulted. From what
I can find, the last public consultation on copyright was in 2001.
Why not speak to the people who are to be affected by these new laws?
This is not a balanced, made-in-Canada approach to copyright reform.
Canadians artists, broadcasters, reporters, musicians, and the general
public are speaking out against this bill. Where are the Canadians
who stand behind it? This bill was drafted behind closed doors -
where is the open government we were promised? Why were creators,
public, and industry not consulted?
It’s true that some time and format shifting provisions are in the
Bill. However this has been done in a way that makes these provisions
meaningless. Format shifting is limited to such things as
videocassettes and other analog media. Under the bill as it stands if
I break the copy protection on a DVD I own to copy it to my computer,
I am a criminal. If I record an episode of a TV show and watch it
several times over the next year, I could be subject to fines. What
use are provisions that do not cover the digital media that Canadians
are using today?
The fine print that you listed in limiting damages to $500 is
disturbing. “..our bill limits at $500 the amount of statutory
damages that individuals may be liable to pay if they infringed
copyright for private use, provided the material is not protected by a
digital lock.” There is a lot of material protected by a digital lock.
Circumventing these locks is trivial and can be done by accident. If
I record a video of my 5 year old dancing to a a track I bought off of
iTunes, I have broken the digital lock on the iTunes track. Under
Bill C-61 the least I can expect is a $20,000 fine for making this
home movie. If I then upload that video to Youtube for his
grandparents and relatives to watch, I have added public distribution
to my list of offenses. Why are these actions to be criminalized?
You say you are supporting industries whose success depends on
copyright. However, the Canadian Newspaper Association, Canadian
Library Association, Canadian Music Creators Coalition, Documentary
Organization of Canada, Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest
Clinic, and other organizations whose success depends on copyright are
speaking out against the bill. Who are you supporting?
This copyright reform discourages innovation and competition. Instead
it supports established (American) business models that are based on
an analog, scarcity-based economy.
Your role is not to prop up failing business models but to encourage
business to succeed and the economy to flourish. This copyright bill
is bad policy and acts against Canadian interests.
I’d ignore him too
Apr 14
Seth’s Blog: I’d ignore him too links to a story about a world class violinist playing in the Washington subway. Pretty much everyone just walked past and ignored him – the biggest crowd he could draw was two-three people who paused to listen. When I lived in Ottawa, there would sometimes be people playing music along paths I would bike or walk along. Sometimes I would stop and listen, sometimes I wouldn’t. I suspect that if I were headed off to work I would have just passed on by.
I posted a question on the duration of copyright on S.L. Veihl’s site. She seems to believe that copyright should be perpetual. I have a real problem with that. It may be because I’m not a writer, but I believe that a perpetual copyright would impovrish us all.
Take the Musical My Fair Lady. It was based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, which references the Greek legend of Pygmalion. In the Greek legend, a sculptor creates a statue so beautiful that he falls in love with it, a goddess gives the statue life so that the sculptor and the statue can live and love together. In sum, a creator falls in love with his creation.
Suppose copyright were perpetual. I’m not sure if Pygmalion was out of copyright when My Fair Lady was written. However, if copyright were perpetual, Shaw would never have been allowed to tell a story so clearly derivative of the Greek legend. For that matter, Shelly’s Frankenstein could be said to derive from the same legend (without the romantic elements of course). When does copyright quit quashing other stories?
Ethics and links
May 6
I ran across this old post of mine from a previous blog.
Tim O’Reilly has some lessons he’s learned from book publishing and how they might apply to the current furor over music and movie piracy.
- Lesson 1: Obscurity is a far greater threat to authors and creative artists than piracy.
- Lesson 2: Piracy is progressive taxation.
- Lesson 3: Customers want to do the right thing, if they can.
- Lesson 4: Shoplifting is a bigger threat than piracy.
- Lesson 5: File sharing networks don’t threaten book, music, or film publishing. They threaten existing publishers.
- Lesson 6: “Free” is eventually replaced by a higher-quality paid service.
- Lesson 7: There’s more than one way to do it.
Also see The Free Expression Project for more on copyright and free expression.
Jaimie and I like to discuss various ethical questions. Fortunately we agree, or at least don’t violently disagree, on most of them. Anyhow, this site looks to have some interesting resources on contemporary ethics problems.
Open Source Software and Libraries Bibliography
EDIT: typos corrected