From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V10 #47 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Tuesday, February 17 2004 Volume 10 : Number 047 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Music shareware (was: Re: MP3s) [dmw ] Re: Music shareware ["Michael Pearce" ] Re: Music shareware [Nadyne Mielke ] Re: Music shareware [andrew fries ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 11:41:50 -0500 (EST) From: dmw Subject: Re: Music shareware (was: Re: MP3s) On Mon, 16 Feb 2004, andrew fries wrote: > Michael Pearce wrote: > > > I would like to see a web site with the names and addresses of musicians > > where I could send a check for any CDs I pirate. The address would have > > to be independent of the record company so they could neither track nor > > steal the shareware fees. Each artist could declare what a fair fee > > would be for each copied track, or full album. It would either be what > > they get from the sales of their CDs, or what they _should_ be getting > > if they weren't getting ripped of by the record company. Fairtunes.com seems to be gone. I don't personally vouch for these folks, but they're at least still up and running: http://www.tipjar.com/ > But if an artist is signed, would that be even *legal* for them to > collect revenue independently of their label? ... considering that it is > the recording company and not themselves who own the rights to their CD? > I don't really know one way or another - just wondering. Absolutely. You're making a donation to the artist. It has nothing to do with legally satisfying the requirements of copyright. - -- It wouldn't make you any less potentially infringing in legal terms, it would just put you on higher moral ground. These are awfully complicated issues, and I'm not trying to get into opinions, just things that are as close to fact as I can get them. Personally, I'm no fan of many aspects of the label system (and even less of a fan of Clear Channel and the radio airplay system). But it might bear mentioning that artists who are in the label system may not be free to speak out against it in any official sense. They certainly aren't likely to be contractually free to set their own fees for music that (legally) they problably don't actually own -- no matter how unfair that might seem. ------------------------------ Date: 16 Feb 2004 12:13:22 -0800 From: "Michael Pearce" Subject: Re: Music shareware At 1:55 AM -0500 2/16/04, andrew fries wrote: > > I would like to see a web site with the names and addresses of musicians >> where I could send a check for any CDs I pirate. The address would have >> to be independent of the record company so they could neither track nor >> steal the shareware fees. Each artist could declare what a fair fee >> would be for each copied track, or full album. It would either be what >> they get from the sales of their CDs, or what they _should_ be getting >> if they weren't getting ripped of by the record company. > >But if an artist is signed, would that be even *legal* for them to >collect revenue independently of their label? ... considering that it is >the recording company and not themselves who own the rights to their CD? >I don't really know one way or another - just wondering. It would be hard to ban it. After all, we are just dealing with a check made out to the artist's name. It would be hard to prove that it was for an unsold CD, even if it said so on the check. The companies could not ban artists from listing a mailing address, although they COULD throw lawyers at the web site owner and the ISP hosting it, so it would take somebody both brave and judgment-proof to do it. Michael ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 12:23:40 -0800 From: Nadyne Mielke Subject: Re: Music shareware At 12:13 PM 2/16/2004, Michael Pearce wrote: >It would be hard to ban it. After all, we are just dealing with a check >made out to the artist's name. It would be hard to prove that it was for >an unsold CD, even if it said so on the check. The companies could not ban >artists from listing a mailing address, although they COULD throw lawyers >at the web site owner and the ISP hosting it, so it would take somebody >both brave and judgment-proof to do it. It would also require that the artist have an address at which they can be contacted that isn't associated with the record label or their management. I'm going to assume that most artists don't want to give out their home address. They may not want to obtain a post office box simply for the purpose of receiving such cheques. /nm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 09:17:56 +1100 From: andrew fries Subject: Re: Music shareware dmw wrote: > But it might bear mentioning that artists who are in the > label system may not be free to speak out against it in any > official sense. They certainly aren't likely to be contractually > free to set their own fees for music that (legally) they problably > don't actually own -- no matter how unfair that might seem. ... and don't tell me what they did to you as though you had no choice tell me, isn't that your picture? isn't that your voice? -- Ani Di Franco, million you never made ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V10 #47 **************************