Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 14, No. 129.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
<http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>
Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 07:44:04 +0100
From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE <david@ninch.org>
Subject: News: "MUSICIANS, EXECS TESTIFY TO CONGRESS ABOUT
INTERNET MUSIC TECHNOLOGIES"
NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT
News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources
from across the Community
July 18, 2000
MUSICIANS, EXECS TESTIFY TO CONGRESS ABOUT INTERNET MUSIC TECHNOLOGIES
<http://www.artswire.org/current.html#news2>http://www.arts
<http://www.artswire.org/current.html#news2>http://www.artswire.org/current.
html#news2
I thought this was a good account of the recent Congressional testimony on
the impact of new technologies on the delivery of music, with good
references at the foot.
David Green
===========
>Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 18:20:16 -0700
>To: current@artswire.org
>From: Arts Wire Current <awcurr@artswire.org>
>>
>From:
>_______________________________________________________
>Arts Wire CURRENT July 18, 2000
>Arts Wire CURRENT Volume 9, No. 29
>Arts Wire CURRENT
>Arts Wire CURRENT Judy Malloy, Editor
>Arts Wire CURRENT jmalloy@artswire.org
>_______________________________________________________
>
>Arts Wire CURRENT is a project of Arts Wire, a national
>computer-based network serving the arts community. Arts Wire
>CURRENT features news updates on social, economic, philosophical,
>and political issues affecting the arts and culture. Your
>contributions are invited. Contact Judy Malloy, editor, at
>jmalloy@artswire.org
>_______________________________________________________
> >>>>SNIP>>>
>_______________________________________________________
>MUSICIANS, EXECS TESTIFY TO CONGRESS ABOUT INTERNET MUSIC TECHNOLOGIES
>
>WASHINGTON, DC -- Last week a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
>hearing examined how music-swapping software -- as used by Napster
>and other MP3 companies -- impacts on musicians and record
>labels.
>
>Musicians and music industry executives -- including Metallica
>drummer Lars Ulrich; Roger McGuinn, co-founder of The Byrds;
>Napster's new Chief Executive Hank Barry; Michael Robertson, the
>founder of MP3.com; and Gene Hoffman, Jr., founder and
>chief executive officer of Emusic.com, Inc. -- testified to
>Senators Orrin Hatch, Diane Feinstein, Patrick Leahy, Charles
>Schumer, and others.
>
>"I love the innovation that is coming in the digital world," ZDNET
>INTER@CTIVE WEEK quotes Sen. Leahy (D-VT) as saying. "But we're
>not going to have photographers, artists and others contributing
>unless there is some gain to them. And so we're going to have to
>figure out how to do that."
>
>Online uses of MP3 (a file format for storing digital audio with
>audio quality rivaling that of CDs but requiring a tenth the size
>of normal audio files) have engendered several court cases
>recently -- notably a suit by the Recording Industry Association
>of America (RIAA) against Napster (which facilitates locating and
>downloading music in MP3 format) and a recent court decision in
>which a federal judge found in favor of a recording industry
>group, ruling that MP3.com's My.MP3.com service was violating
>their copyrights by allowing users to access about 80,000 CDs in
>its database.
>
>"I don't have a problem with any artist voluntarily distributing
>his or her songs through any means the artist elects-- at no cost
>to the consumer, if that's what the artist wants," Lars Ulrich
>told the Committee. "But just like a carpenter who crafts a table
>gets to decide whether to keep it, sell it or give it away ,
>shouldn't we have the same options? My band authored the music
>which is Napster's lifeblood. We should decide what happens to
>it, not Napster -- a company with no rights in our recordings,
>which never invested a penny in Metallica's music or had anything
>to do with its creation. The choice has been taken away from us."
>
>Ulrich, who was born in Denmark, came to America with his parents
>in 1980 when he was a teenager. In 1981, he started the band
>named Metallica with his best friend James Hetfield. Metallica was
>the first band to sue Napster.
>
>"Remember too, that my band, Metallica, is fortunate enough to
>make a great living from what it does," Ulrich said. "Most artists
>are barely earning a decent wage and need every source of revenue
>available to scrape by. Also keep in mind that the primary source
>of income for most songwriters is from the sale of records. Every
>time a Napster enthusiast downloads a song, it takes money from
>the pockets of all these members of the creative community."
>
>In response, Napster CEO Hank Barry stated, according to
>Inter@ctive Week, that the estimated 20 million Netizens who use
>the Napster service are simply "sharing" their music collections
>with one another, and that what Napster promotes isn't wholesale
>theft of works of art as much as "sampling" of the music by
>devotees and music fans in general. People listen to songs on
>Napster," Inter@ctive Week quotes him as saying, "and then they
>are going out and buying the CD's. We are generating interest
>in music."
>
>But in his testimony, Ulrich likened the use of Napster to walking
>into a record store, grabbing what you want and walking out. "The
>difference is that the familiar phrase a computer user hears,
>'File's done,' is replaced by another familiar phrase:'You're
>under arrest,'" he stated.
>
>The argument he hears a lot, Ulrich continued -- "music should be
>free" -- means that musicians should work for free. "Nobody else
>works for free. Why should musicians?"
>
>A solution which could work for both artists and consumers was
>offered by Gene Hoffman, whose Emusic.com, makes downloadable MP3
>music files available for purchase, at $.99 for single songs and
>$8.99 for albums. Inter@ctive Week reports that Hoffman told the
>Committee that his company has direct relationships with artists
>and exclusive licensing agreements with over 650 independent
>record labels. We play by the rules, and are "on the forefront of
>how new music will be discovered, delivered and enjoyed in the
>next decade," Inter@ctive week quotes him as saying.
>
>Metallica's Lars Ulrich also affirmed the technological advances
>and cost savings which the Internet can engender. "Mr. Chairman,
>Senator Leahy and Members of the Committee, the title of today's
>hearing asks the question, 'The Future of the Internet: Is there
>an Upside to Downloading?' My answer is yes. However, as I hope
>my remarks have made clear, this can only occur when artists'
>choices are respected and their creative efforts protected."
>
>Byrd's Co-founder Roger McGuinn, who testified after the Ulrich,
>strongly supported music distribution technology as an alternative
>for artists -- saying, according to MSNBC, that he turned to
>MP3.com because the 50-50 royalties from record companies had not
>been enough to support his family.
>
>Fred Ehrlich, President of New Technology and Business Development
>for Sony Music Entertainment Inc., also stressed the positive
>aspects of new technologies. Among the promising new models listed
>in his testimony are streaming transmissions in which the sound
>recording is transmitted to the consumer but not in a downloadable
>format; webcasting, in which consumers enjoy a new form of on-line
>radio with music more directly targeted to their preferences; and
>live streams, such as the live Internet broadcasts of our artists'
>concerts.
>
>Additionally, Ehrlich described new subscription models, which
>allow record labels to offer tiered services (for instance a
>choice of albums or singles) to more closely match consumer
>preferences, in both the streaming and downloadable format;
>(delivered through a variety of playback media, including digital
>TVs and wireless and other portable devices) and kiosks, in places
>ranging from records stores to fast-food restaurants, which will
>allow consumers to access a large reserve of available works,
>including artists' back catalogues.
>
>"The music industry is ready, willing and able to use digital
>technology to bring music to consumers in ever more creative
>ways," Ehlich stated. "...All we ask -- and it seems fairly basic
>-- is the continued application of copyright laws to ensure a
>system that respects and protects music rights in cyberspace. We
>believe -- in fact, this belief is at the core of our business --
>that a legitimate system of the protection of rights sets off a
>domino effect for true e-commerce, where creators of technology,
>creators of music, and the consumer all benefit. ...."
>
>Committee Chairman Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said the purpose of
>the hearing was not to interfere with technological standards
>setting or with pending litigation, according MSNBC, But MSNBC
>also quotes him as saying at the close of the inquiry: "What we're
>hearing is that fair and reasonable licensing needs to take
>place."
>
>The RIAA vs Napster trial is scheduled to begin at the end of this
>month. "Many watching the case believe it is possible that that
>will be the day Napster could be forced to shut down, unleashing
>what will invariably be a flurry of dissent," MSNBC states.
>
>Sources/resources:
>
>Doug Brown
>"Music Hearings Rock Senate"
>ZDNET INTER@CTIVE WEEK --
><<http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2601839,00.html>http://w
>ww.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2601839,00.html>
>July 11, 2000
>
>Lisa Napoli
>"Congress debates Napster, MP3;
>Metallica drummer and Napster CEO testify on digital music"
>MSNBC --
><http://www.msnbc.com/news/431202.asp>http://www.msnbc.com/news/431202.asp
>July 11, 2000
>
>THE RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (RIAA)
>WEBSITE -- <http://www.riaa.com>http://www.riaa.com
>contains key testimony from the hearing as well as
>a series of articles on "The Upside of Music on the Web"
>by Thomas Dolby Robertson
>
>METALLICA WEBSITE -- <http://www.metallica.com>http://www.metallica.com
>
>NAPSTER WEB SITE -- <http://www.napster.com>http://www.napster.com
>
>MP3 WEB SITE -- <http://www.mp3.com>http://www.mp3.com
>
>ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION (EFF) CAMPAIGN FOR AUDIOVISUAL FREE
>EXPRESSION (CAFE) -- <http://www.eff.org/cafe/>http://www.eff.org/cafe/
>
>"House to Look at Effect of MP3 Companies on Small Music
>Businesses"
>Arts Wire CURRENT --
><http://www.artswire.org/current/2000/cur051600.html>http://www.artswire.or
>g/current/2000/cur051600.html
>May 16, 2000
>_______________________________________________________
>_____________________________________________________
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