RIAA, please stay away from celeb iPod auction

(Credit: Tonic)

Good: You're in an up-and-coming band. Bad: Hurricane Katrina comes along and destroys all your gear. Good: A charity, Music Rising, is set up to try to raise money. They're doing this by auctioning off iPods that music celebs like Gwen Stefani, Faith Hill, and The Britney have loaded with their favorite playlists. Sounds like a win for everyone involved, but it might be too good to be true.

Don't get me wrong, as a former musician and survivor of my own environmental catastrophes (no, not my messy bachelor pad), I understand the need for relief. I fully support what Music Rising is trying to do and I wish them the best of luck. You should definitely check out the current auctions--Mariah Carey's iPod was in the lead at the time of this writing.

But I can't stop thinking of the RIAA. It has long maintained that distributing playlists--on burned CDs, iPods, smoke signals, whatever--is a massive and egregious type of copyright infringement. Will Tonic, the group putting on the auction, have to pay royalties to the very artists who are donating the playlists and iPods?

We hope the RIAA lets this one slide, though that's not normally in its nature. This is a way to help those that it claims to represent, musicians.

[Penguinisto]

I don't think you have to worry about the RIAA crashing a celeb party... they're too busy settling into their new dig at the frickin' White House right now. :/

[hermantf]

When music is sold, the artists and the owners of that intellectual property have a RIGHT to be paid. Therefore, if the artists and owners of that intellectual property are not being paid by these auctions, the RIAA should get involved and make it right.

[evanschimpf]

uhhhh the aritists put THEIR favorite playlists on the iPods so i think its safe to assume that theyre cool with it...

[mrcjacobs]

@ hermantf That is the dumbest comment I've sen in ages. The artists were paid when the music was originally sold. I'm guessing you're either an idiot or a troll. Either way you should remain silent.

[HlLLARY CLITON]

The RIAA should be asking the host ISP to shut that site down

[Pete Bardo]

The music was bought and paid for. Selling or transferring ownership of the original copy is not copyright infringement. If the owner of the iPod being auctioned did not purchase the songs on the play list, that would be copyright violation, but not by the auctioneer--unless, of course, the auctioneer owned the iPods at the time the music was loaded.

Artists and owners have a right to be paid for the original purchase of the music, but not for the transfer or sale of 2nd hand items. As the owner of a vinyl disc or cd I have the right to sell, give or otherwise transfer ownership of that item. Why should an iPod be any different?

[lordmorgul]

What is especially true of this situation... is that the artists and music industry has no right to be paid MORE than the original cost of the original copies of songs on the iPod. In an auction like this the industry would often try to exhort higher prices on those songs because they are being auctioned at higher than original value of the song. The movie industry has had their hands in auctioneers pockets for a long time on items like movie set art and props and costumes.

[TheReaperD]

*** Official sounding voice *** We at the RIAA are immune to your logic. That will be $222,000.00 for the blessing of hearing our voice.

[themainbreeze]

duck the RIAA.

There's nothing they can do about someone giving their paid music to someone. I have over 6000 albums that I bought and paid for - I'll f=give copies to anyone as I have my entire life and I dare anyone to try and stop me. I am a professional producer and musician too.

[htcstech]

The article isn't very clear on that. It doesn't read that each celeb is donating their very own iPods, it reads like if it a new iPod loaded with their stuff on it which is in fact, the case.
There's only 9 or 10 tracks on each iPod and not a thousand or so.
I bet each track was paid for legally so that RIAA should have no complaints.
BTW a 'playlist' is a list of tracknames, not necessarily the tracks themselves which are stored in the library.

[htcstech]

The article isn't very clear on that. It doesn't read that each celeb is donating their very own iPods, it reads like if it a new iPod loaded with their stuff on it which is in fact, the case.
There's only 9 or 10 tracks on each iPod and not a thousand or so.
I bet each track was paid for legally so that RIAA should have no complaints.
BTW a 'playlist' is a list of tracknames, not necessarily the tracks themselves which are stored in the library.

[roark1]

MR.C Jacobs.... it's you that should remain silent. Music loaded on to an iPod doesn't mean the material loaded on to the iPod is "Purchased". I am guessing that you thought you recognized a like minded idiot when you misread Hermantf's comment. Because the "If" in front of his statement...

Therefore, "if" the artists and owners of that intellectual property are not being paid by these auctions, the RIAA should get involved and make it right."

I am not seeing the "dumbness" of his statement. It's your 'assumption" that is the stupidest comment that I have seen in quite some time. Learn some "Music Business" and how musicians are able to survive by creating and arranging sound and in turn selling it to you for your pleasure. Music auctioned off for unfortunate musician of New Orleans, great cause!!! And I am sure that the 100 or so musicians who donated their wares for the iPod auction really aren't going to get all that upset. Because I like to think that Musicians are all "Brothers in Arms". That we are happy to help our extended family out in extreme hard times.

But bottom line is Herman is correct in pointing out that its the Musician who have apparently "donated" their craft to this cause without their consent. It's like auctioning off a Picasso to help out the poor Hurricane survivor Painters. So we just walk into the Guggenheim museum grab a Picasso and put it on ebay for the Hurricane victims. I am sure Picasso doesn't care, but I am sure the Guggenheim might have something to say about it. Even if its given to ebay by Britney Spears because its her favorite painting.