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Should the music industry tax you to use the Web?

There are times when I read the news in the morning and I can't help but wonder what some people are thinking when they announce something new. Usually, that amazement revolves around weird products or dumb deals. But today, it's something entirely different: a tax on Internet use.

According to The Independent, Internet users could face an annual tax of 30 British pounds (about $60) to download music over the Web in an attempt by the music industry to use Internet service providers to stop illegal downloading.

"U.K. Culture Secretary Andy Burnham is supporting calls from sections of the music industry for a yearly levy of 20 pounds ($40) to 30 pounds ($60) to be imposed by ISPs on customers who want to share music," The Independent reports.

Obviously blind to the implications of this arrangement, the music industry believes it could actually help a larger portion of the public, who would have otherwise been criminalized at the hands of illegal downloading. Not to mention, it could recoup the industry's estimated $2.4 billion in annual losses at the hands of illegal downloading.

"If you get enough people paying a small enough amount of money you can turn around the wheels of the music industry," music industry veteran Peter Jenner told the publication.

"Both ISPs and the music industry need to take responsibility for this issue. But we need action as the industry is suffering," another industry insider told The Independent.

Yikes. Is this really where the music industry is going next? Sure, it's just in the U.K. right now and there's no indication that it'll go elsewhere, but don't you think that if it works there, it'll come here?

Once again, the low-hanging fruit is the victim.… Read more

Record labels ask judge for ruling against Lime Wire

Updated at 3:00 p.m. PDT with comment from Lime Wire.

Thirteen record labels have asked a judge to issue a decision in a 2-year-old case against peer-to-peer software company Lime Wire for allegedly inducing copyright violations of music files.

The motion for summary judgment was filed Friday with the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. The record labels, including Warner Bros. Records, Sony Records, and Virgin Records, are asking the judge for a decision because they claim Lime Wire has "promoted infringement," and has taken no steps to prevent illegal file … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 753: RIAA killed the radio star

OK, now this is weird: the music industry is trying to undermine the way the music industry distributes and promotes music and has always distributed and promoted music. They're calling radio piracy. What has the world come to? Also, RIM totally biffs it with the BlackBerry Bold; hackers crack the London Tube and ride around for free; and Microsoft sets a date for Windows 7. Somebody reserve the church. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 753

Internet provider halts plan to track, sell users’ surfing data http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062401033.html… Read more

Jammie Thomas likely to get another day in court

A move's afoot to get a new trial for Jammie Thomas. She's the Minnesota woman a court ordered to pay the recording industry $222,000 for copyright violations related to sharing songs.

You may recall that the jury never found that Thomas had downloaded any music but had infringed by making the music available for others to download. So Friday the Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with a coalition of consumer and industry groups, said the court's judgment should be overturned because of erroneous instructions to the jury.

The headline here should be: EFF to court: Jammie Thomas … Read more

Gene Simmons shows his age (and ignorance)

What's with all these old fools trying to make a name for themselves in the music business again by speaking out against piracy? First it was Metallica, who hated on bloggers, but came off its high horse only after we took the band to task. And now, it's Gene Simmons of the once-important KISS, who is blaming fans and peer-to-peer networks for the destruction of the poor music industry.

"The record industry is dead. It's six feet underground and unfortunately the fans have done this," Simmons said. "They've decided to download and file share. There is no record industry around so we're going to wait until everybody settles down and becomes civilized. As soon as the record industry pops its head up we'll record new material."

But it gets better. Not too long ago, the 58-year old, cool dude wannabe said that "Every little college kid, every freshly-scrubbed little kid's face, should have been sued off the face of the earth."

Oh, Gene. I know old age gets to you and sometimes it's easier to be cranky than apply logic to things you don't understand, but can't you try just this one time? You've not only made yourself look like a fool, but your gross misrepresentation of the facts shows us how little you know.

Here's a refresher:… Read more

The music industry abuses us and we're to blame

Many people have celebrated Apple's announcement that it has sold 5 billion songs on iTunes and it's the world's largest music retailer. Almost everyone in the world is calling this a major victory for Apple and one that we should all recognize as a milestone that deserves our praise.

But I don't.

To me, Apple's success with iTunes and its ability to sell 5 billion songs since its launch is an awful event. In fact, it's probably one of the worst stories I've read all year.

As just one of the millions across the globe who's being treated poorly by the music industry, why should I embrace this news and try so desperately to put a smile on my face?

Try as it might to do things the right way, iTunes is the result of countless negotiations with the record labels that continue to dislike everything we stand for and do everything they can to ensure that we're paying too much for a track that's locked down worse than anything we have ever witnessed in this business.

Why hasn't anyone realized that Apple's success with iTunes is the very reason we're being abused by the music industry in the first place?… Read more

The Digital Home 20: You should own your music

In the first segment of this week's show, Don Reisinger and Wil Harris tackle EA, Google, and much more. After that, Don chats with Sharp Electronics about the HDTV market and why it thinks the future is LCD. Finally, Don talks it up about owning your own music -- why you should and why you don't. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 20 … Read more

We will pay for music if you leave us alone

Ever since I interviewed the RIAA and wrote a column detailing the true nature of that horrible organization, I've kept myself abreast of all the news that shapes our understanding of piracy and anything that surrounds it.

And after reading an article in ArsTechnica earlier today where it cites a survey, which suggests that "people aged 14 to 24 still love their music and are willing to pay for it--but only on their own terms," I was excited to see what would happen next.

According to the survey by British Music Rights -- an organization that represents the music industry -- 80 percent of P2P users said they would gladly pay for a file-sharing service that allows them to download DRM-free songs as often as they'd like for a flat rate per month.

And although you may have expected British Music Rights to condemn the results of this study as more proof that we're living in a world of foolhardy pirates, the organization was actually quite happy with the outcome.

"The music industry should draw great optimism from this groundbreaking survey," said Feargal Sharkey, head of BMR. "First and foremost, it is quite clear that this young and tech-savvy demographic is as crazy about and engaged with music as any previous generation. Contrary to popular belief, they are also prepared to pay for it, too. But only if offered the services they want."… Read more

Video game addicts can be party animals too

When I was a kid, I usually found myself doing one of two things: playing video games at home or trying as best as I could to attract every girl I saw. Was I a video game addict? Probably. Was a socialite? Yep. And you know what? I wasn't alone.

According to a report from Reuters, Daniel Loton, an Australian graduate student found that "15 percent of 621 adult respondents to an online survey were identified as "problem gamers" who spend more than 50 hours a week playing games."

But only 1 percent of those respondents had poor social skills and shyness, suggesting the cheerleaders in school were wrong: video game addicts are cool too.

Sweet, sweet justice.

The beauty of this new study isn't that it tells us something we didn't already know--I was known as the cool dude on campus for a reason, you know--but it helps us combat the fools who insist that video games are bad for children and hinder their ability to interact in the real world.… Read more