[Rhodes22-list] File Sharing

[Steve Alm]

What do you think of the lawsuits that the ARA, American Recording
Association (or something like that) has filed against those of us who use
the file-sharing software to get free Mp3's.  They're even suing a 12 year
old girl!  

Somehow, they twist the arms of the servers to turn over the names of people
who are downloading.  This is an outrage!  It's a violation of my privacy!

Here's how I see it:  First, the copyright laws.  As I understand it, you
surely cannot copy something for resale.  Selling bootleg copies of anything
is clearly illegal.  But you are allowed to copy something if you plan to
use it for "study."  An example of this is copying text from a book to be
used in a classroom, and pass out copies to the students to read, evaluate,
use in research, quote from, etc.  It has been explained to me that this is
perfectly acceptable and I've done it many times with my students.  Well,
I'm a professional musician and I use these Mp3's for "study."  I quote Mick
Jagger, for example.  I'm not SELLING his stuff--I'm covering him with my
own version, and not SELLING recordings of my version.  Granted, Mick is due
some royalties, but that's all supposedly taken care of by BMI and ASCAP
when they go around to the night clubs that feature live music covers and
collect an annual fee.  These fees are usually around $350-$500 or so per
year, depending on the situation.  This procedure has been in place for
years.  The big shots are getting their money.

The next issue is the privacy one.  Imagine this:  Let's say I call you on
the phone and ask you to burn me a copy of such-and-such.  The ARA taps my
phone, finds out and busts me.  WRONG!  The only ones who can legally tap a
phone line are the Feds.  The ARA is not government.  But they're making the
servers give up the names and therein lies the rub.  It's just like an
illegal wiretap.  These files go through the phone lines and the ARA simply
should NOT have access to me through my server any more than they should
have access to my conversation with you over the phone!!!!  This is person
to person file sharing, and it's no different than when we all used to take
our records and make cassette copies.  This has been going on for years!

They're pissed because now, it's much more wide-spread, and sales at
retailers are down.  Is that my fault?  The packages that they're cramming
down my throat are unacceptable to me.  I don't want all 15 songs on the CD
for $25, I just want the ONE that I like.  I see this as a call for a change
in the marketing of music by the label companies.  It's their problem, not
mine.

If I were Mick Jagger, I suppose I'd be pissed that a lot of my stuff was
being file-shared instead of being purchased.  Sorry, but I just can't find
it in my heart to feel sorry for Mick at this stage.  What about all the
"little guys" that WANT their stuff to be blasted all over for the exposure?

It's a new world out there in musicpublishingland and I don't claim to have
the answers for them, but I will NOT sit still while the ARA tries to stomp
on my civil rights!!!

I'm not on a crusade here or anything, but feel free to pass this message on
to anyone in the music industry that might be feeling nervous about these
lawsuits.  By the way, none of the suits have gone to trial.  They've all
been settled out of court.  The ARA sues for, like $50,000 and settles for
$3500 and everyone so far has bit because they're so intimidated.

Slim  (but, ahem, don't use my name)