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RIAA raiding small music stores for selling DJ mix CDs
by Decius at 8:56 am EDT, Oct 16, 2003 |
] RIAA agents, backed up by police, have started to raid
] Midwestern record stores that carry DJ mixes. On
] September 23, Berry's Music in Indianapolis, Indiana, was
] raided; according to proprietor Alan Berry, police
] confiscated $10,000 worth of mix discs by the likes of DJ
] World and DJ Paul Bunyan. "The record labels want the
] independent record stores out of the business," Berry
] says.
] City%u2014it's consolidation, just like any other
] industry. The RIAA knows that mixes are an integral part
] of urban stores' culture and profit margin. By
] eliminating them, they can eliminate a lot of indie
] stores." |
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RE: RIAA raiding small music stores for selling DJ mix CDs
by Hijexx at 10:49 am EDT, Oct 16, 2003 |
Decius wrote:
] ] RIAA agents, backed up by police, have started to raid
] ] Midwestern record stores that carry DJ mixes. On
] ] September 23, Berry's Music in Indianapolis, Indiana, was
] ] raided; according to proprietor Alan Berry, police
] ] confiscated $10,000 worth of mix discs by the likes of DJ
] ] World and DJ Paul Bunyan. "The record labels want the
] ] independent record stores out of the business," Berry
] ] says. This is why you should buy your music from labels not affiliated with the RIAA cartel. There are plenty of great labels out there. Sorry, but if a mix CD is sold and has unlicensed usage of an RIAA cartel copyrighted song, it's fair game for them to bust the store. There are rules related to sample clearance, licensing, etc. Selling mix CDs is not covered by fair use. Even if you get the mix CD from the artist, if the artist has inked the deal with the RIAA, they are almost always forfeiting their hold on the copyright. This article is not very clear on whether the $10000 worth of mix discs were actually licensed or not. If they weren't, that $10000 was probably inflated out of nowhere for dramatic effect, sort of like the bogus figures you hear from the RIAA about lost sales. I'm imagining they just tallied up what the asking price was for them, rather than the cost of physical media and packaging. This article also seems to be missing another big point. Downloading copyrighted songs without permission from the copyright holder is illegal. It really is THAT simple. Want to avoid getting sued by the RIAA? Don't illegally download music, forget the first two bullet points. I don't understand the whole derision towards actually purchasing recorded music. Check out this quote from the article: "Alternately, you can be a good little consumer and pay for everything you listen to." When did buying music become a bad thing? Personally, I believe music can still be a commodity in this day and age. There is plenty of free music out there as well though. But if you want RIAA music but you don't want to pay for it? Boo hoo. Yes, the RIAA sucks and they are fighting change rather than adapting. Yes, the DMCA sucks and should be repealed. It will take time to undo these bad things. But getting into a pissing match with them is only making their case stronger. With regard to the economics of "independent" record stores not being able to get the bulk discounts like the big chains do, sorry, them's the breaks. If the RIAA people are satan incarnate, don't deal with them. If your store can't keep the lights on by selling independent music, it's the symptom of a changing world. I've seen really great indie stores come and go in Nashville. With the internet, I can order direct with so many labels now that I don't need to visit a physical store. And when you are in direct contact with the label or it's authorized distributor, they are usually MUCH cooler about giving you bigger samples of the music to hear before you buy. The writing is on the wall for independent music stores. Time to evolve or die. [Updated] Oh, and if you want to check out what exactly is in question: http://www.djregency.freeservers.com/photo4.html These do not look like legitimately licensed compilations to me. And they are charging $14.00 for them. They must have inflated that $10000 claim. I don't feel sorry for these people at all. |
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RE: RIAA raiding small music stores for selling DJ mix CDs
by Decius at 10:36 pm EDT, Oct 16, 2003 |
I must say I'm surprised to hear this position from you. It doesn't seem your usual take on things. I don't think your position is unreasonable, incidentally, just uncharacteristic.... Hijexx wrote:
] Sorry, but if a mix CD is sold and has unlicensed usage of an
] RIAA cartel copyrighted song, it's fair game for them to bust
] the store. Well, it seems like there is a grey area here. Somebody trying to sell "mix" CDs that are the equivalent of a playlist ought to get popped, but their is no black and white line between this and a hip hop record. Its all shades of grey. I did see those images you posted, and the front and center track lists certainly feel like piracy more then art. This case may have been on that side of the line. On the other hand, while fair use does not cover derivative works, small hip hop, rave DJ, and other found sound acts don't have the resources, financial and otherwise, to track and clear all the material they are using. Squash them, and you squash part of the culture that makes music happen. Similar things can be said about small record stores. This is where fads start. This is where the people who are out looking for new music to listen to find it and start telling their friends. These things make up the primordial soup in which new music trends are created. The more the RIAA believes that real music comes from a committee, and cracks down on this community, the more damage they do to the real vitality of our culture, further reducing the public's interest in the things that the music industry is producing, and ultimately further reducing their revenues. It is the self destructiveness of greed in motion. Its Pop eating itself. ] With regard to the economics of "independent" record stores
] not being able to get the bulk discounts like the big chains
] do, sorry, them's the breaks. The writing is on the wall for
] independent music stores. Time to evolve or die. I think that indy music stores struggle in Nashville because most of the people there are into country. Its hard to run a small music store there. No one cares. Atlanta, on the other hand, had a number of small music store institutions. They have been around for a long long time and still seem to be doing well. When I was in college I used to go to L5 just because it was fun. Its a little out of the way now that I live up north, but I still enjoy going down there every once in a while. I will admit, however, that internet music stores have made those shops a lot less important. It used to be worth the trek to go down there to get something rare. Now I can just order it online. That does change the dynamics. But it also means I'm missing something. I'm missing the clue that the guy behind the counter had about the music. Where can I find that online... I think I'm going to find it on recommender networks like Memestreams.... So I guess I do think that you are right. These stores are going to be replaced by something a lot more interconnected and a lot more effective. But right now we are in the lull... The record stores have diminished in influence. The net is here but has not yet met its potential. The net still feels more like CNN Center then L5. This reminds me of another conversation going on in MemeStreams about Clear Channel... |
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RE: RIAA raiding small music stores for selling DJ mix CDs
by k at 12:05 pm EDT, Oct 16, 2003 |
Decius wrote:
] ] RIAA agents, backed up by police, have started to raid
] ] Midwestern record stores that carry DJ mixes. On
] ] September 23, Berry's Music in Indianapolis, Indiana, was
] ] raided; according to proprietor Alan Berry, police
] ] confiscated $10,000 worth of mix discs by the likes of DJ
] ] World and DJ Paul Bunyan. "The record labels want the
] ] independent record stores out of the business," Berry
] ] says. This is why you should buy your music from labels not affiliated with the RIAA cartel. There are plenty of great labels out there. Sorry, but if a mix CD is sold and has unlicensed usage of an RIAA cartel copyrighted song, it's fair game for them to bust the store. There are rules related to sample clearance, licensing, etc. Selling mix CDs is not covered by fair use. Even if you get the mix CD from the artist, if the artist has inked the deal with the RIAA, they are almost always forfeiting their hold on the copyright. This article is not very clear on whether the $10000 worth of mix discs were actually licensed or not. If they weren't, that $10000 was probably inflated out of nowhere for dramatic effect, sort of like the bogus figures you hear from the RIAA about lost sales. I'm imagining they just tallied up what the asking price was for them, rather than the cost of physical media and packaging. This article also seems to be missing another big point. Downloading copyrighted songs without permission from the copyright holder is illegal. It really is THAT simple. Want to avoid getting sued by the RIAA? Don't illegally download music, forget the first two bullet points. I don't understand the whole derision towards actually purchasing recorded music. Check out this quote from the article: "Alternately, you can be a good little consumer and pay for everything you listen to." When did buying music become a bad thing? Personally, I believe music can still be a commodity in this day and age. There is plenty of free music out there as well though. But if you want RIAA music but you don't want to pay for it? Boo hoo. Yes, the RIAA sucks and they are fighting change rather than adapting. Yes, the DMCA sucks and should be repealed. It will take time to undo these bad things. But getting into a pissing match with them is only making their case stronger. With regard to the economics of "independent" record stores not being able to get the bulk discounts like the big chains do, sorry, them's the breaks. If the RIAA people are satan incarnate, don't deal with them. If your store can't keep the lights on by selling independent music, it's the symptom of a changing world. I've seen really great indie stores come and go in Nashville. With the internet, I can order direct with so many labels now that I don't need to visit a physical store. And when you are in direct contact with the label or it's authorized distributor, they are usually MUCH cooler about giving you bigger samples of the music to hear before you buy. The writing is on the wall for independent music stores. Time to evolve or die. [Updated] Oh, and if you want to check out what exactly is in question: http://www.djregency.freeservers.com/photo4.html These do not look like legitimately licensed compilations to me. And they are charging $14.00 for them. They must have inflated that $10000 claim. I don't feel sorry for these people at all. |
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RIAA raiding small music stores for selling DJ mix CDs
by Rattle at 9:24 am EDT, Oct 16, 2003 |
] City Music, also in Indianapolis, was raided the
] following week. "They came in and took anything that was
] on a recordable CD," manager Jerome Avery says. "The only
] DJ mixes I had were behind the counter for personal
] listening, and they confiscated them. How can it be
] illegal if the artist is making them for the street? They
] came without a notice - no warrant, no nothing.
] They're making up their own laws, if you ask me."
]
] The City Music raid happened on October 1, the day the
] enormous Universal Music Group's new prices went into
] effect - more bad news for small, independent record
] stores. Universal's widely publicized $9.09 wholesale
] prices only apply to the largest retail chains, and only
] to stores that are willing to buy 30 copies of a disc at
] one time. Most smaller stores, though, deal with
] "one-stop" sub-distributors that can fill orders for a
] disc or two quickly, and take a markup of their own. And
] many retailers are frustrated that customers have been
] coming in for weeks, asking where their $9 CDs are.
]
] Eric Haight of Record World in Petoskey, Michigan, notes
] that a new Sting album before the price drop cost the
] store $12.69, with a suggested retail price of $18.98.
] Now it costs them $10.79, with a retail price of
] $12.98 - the profit margin has been slashed by almost
] two-thirds, and Universal will no longer help them out
] with advertising costs. "I think their motives are
] suspect," Haight says. "This won't affect the Best Buys
] of the world, but I can't see our store making it through
] 2004." |
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