If The RIAA Was Innovative: An Alternate Universe Timeline
from the an-alternate-history dept
1999: Realizing the inevitable, the RIAA convinces member labels to set up all-you-can eat buffets. All music available as DRM-free downloads, $5/mo. 100M of storage, additionally available for increased monthly fee. The RIAA uses superior marketing muscle to "drown out" competing "free" alternatives, insists people should only download from "legitimate" sources to ensure data integrity and security. It recommends the gradual reduction in the production, marketing, storage and sales of CDs, vinyl and tape, keeping only a small reserve capacity*.
2000: RIAA negotiates a small increase in financial support from labels' substantial savings from physical media reductions to create the Online Strategy Group (OSG), hiring engineers, programmers, technologists, musicologists and a futurist or two. The OSG's first suggestion is FoM, Future of Music, which the RIAA incorporates, initially to handle the growing subscription business.
2001: On OSG's advice, the RIAA convinces member labels to cross-offer artists by genre in sites with fun names like, "soultology.com", "hitsnmisses.com", "netrockstar.com", "eargasm.com", etc. A marginally increased monthly fee ($1 more for each sub-site) gets download access and membership in forums, discounts on t-shirts, tickets, posters, etc. FoM takes over all revenue-generating ventures and negotiates equitable profit-sharing deals with the labels and reaches out to independent artists. FoM buys Creative and, with help from the OSG brain-trust, designs and sells a fantastically popular line of MP3 players.
2002: Capitalizing on the psychology of "sharers", OSG introduces memberships that encourage people to find and upload obscure and out-of-print audio. Uploaders compete for discounted memberships, back-stage passes, artist access and the most important prizes: minor fame, street-cred and a custom avatar. The RIAA creates work-arounds for copyright issues removing limits on fan's abilities to upload, modify and share work.
2003 - 2005: Recognizing the growth of social media, the OSG introduces groups and messaging. Higher-access users get expanded pages on OSG sites and are encouraged to rate and critique music. OSG makes available interaction with music journalists, holds contests for album & t-shirt art, gives prizes for mashups with highest votes by the communities. The OSG makes "Locker" space available, 1G free, $1/mo for each additional gigabyte. OSG introduces "Rip Me" - user puts a factory CD in the computer drive tray, and is given the option to rip/upload tracks or have recording company copies put in his/her locker. (Subsequent attempts to upload the same CD from another computer is allowed with a minimum new subscription)
2006 - 2010: FoM buys Pandora, iTunes, YouTube, RIM, Turntable.fm, Facebook and a controlling interest in Sirius. OSG helps FoM branch the Blackberry, creating the "Rockberry", a consumer-oriented "mobile media sharing device". OSG solicits auditions from all musicians everywhere, showcasing the best on YouTube. FoM makes record profits from tours, downloads, streams, hardware, music licensing and merchandise. Cary Sherman becomes fifth richest man in the US.
2011: *FoM introduces choice "retro" vinyl, CD and tape catalogue for hipsters worldwide. OSG and RIAA move into "palatial" FoM office campus in Los Angeles, work begins on 30-story FoM tower in Manhattan.
Cross-posted from botaday.com
Bouzaglo/Toeppen Deathmatch
I'd almost pay to see this guy send a plate back at Amy's Baking Company.
No Reason to get Excited
This is just about the DOJ trying to stay ahead of the USTR for the "Rogue Department of the Year" award.
USTR came close in 2012, so this is grudge.
Tricky Tim
This is not some conspiratorial plan to siphon money away from bands.
Haha. I see what you did there.
What About Digital Artwork
Anyone have any idea how this would apply to artwork created with a graphics program like Inkscape or Illustrator?
Workaround
Each prior art document gives the Patent Office tools to reject patent claims for obviousness.
Looks like it's time for me to finally apply for that patent on my covert patent application process.
Master Control Program
Meanwhile, some third-party spy service like a social network or search engine will invariably create persistent wealth from the information that is copied, the recordings. [...] The wealth goes to the central server.
I want to get my hands on one of these "Central Servers" so I can start making mad cash giving away copies of valueless recordings.
Great Coincidence
Zachary Adam Green has this post up at Falkvinge:
Let’s Reform Copyright. With A Sledgehammer. Into Smithereens.
Interesting
Because when I hear the recording,
"This call may be recorded for quality assurance",
I usually say,
"Thank you, I will"
Funny
"Internet Lawyer" sounds like the name of a skit on Saturday Night Live.
Feeding
Makes you wonder, if Jesus were alive today, how much would he be fined for sharing copies of loaves and fish?
(untitled comment)
Only once we've turned the nation's creative output into a bland pastiche that allows us to emulate society's teens and "experience neither highs nor lows," will we truly be able to save the future of America.
"I'm on the sidewalk to heck!"
Glass Full
Well, look on the bright side... Looks like he learned how to spell "deposition".
Deja Vu
Matherne's use of the english language reminds me of the Evan Mecham impeachment hearings in Arizona, years ago.
Mecham's frequent inability to construct coherent sentences was so fascinating, that I set my VCR to record when he was on the stand while I was at work.
I still have all of that audio somehwere...
What is the Japanese Word for Irony?
The first big wave of consumer electronics that could be used for infringement came from Japan - cassette recorders, VCRs, scanners - and Japan became a financial powerhouse based partially on sales of these devices.
Then their economy crashed and now, apparently in an attempt to make sure that it stays crashed, the police are arresting people for using all of the awesome electronics they build.
Brilliant!
Could Be
I think he means greater transparency for the police department.
Zazzle
DeviantArt may look the other way when people post Fan Art, but Zazzle will grill you if you try to offer anything remotely resembling something that may have appeared somewhere before.
I tried to post this image for sale there and was told that the title was copyrighted.
In case you can't see the image, the title is "Return of the Jet Eye"
I gave up on using Zazzle.
Timeline
A lawsuit against a political party may serve to highlight just how crazy this witch hunt has become.
1998:"Surely, once they see how inexpensive it is to deliver MP3's over the internet they'll get a clue"
2005:"Once they realize suing their fans will not make them any more money, they'll give up"
2012:"Now that they've seen how expensive it is to implement 3-strikes, they'll come around"
2015:"You would think that threatening to vaporize the earth would make them realize how out-of-touch they are"
2018:"After being hunted like cockroaches for years by laser-firing cyborgs, you'd think they'd figure it out"
To be continued...
In Related News
Millions of People Each Day Refusing to Hand-Crank Gramaphones:
Spring Manufacturers Association of America (SMAA) Blames Electric Motor Companies
Feeding the Beast
I am more concerned with violent video games keeping Microsoft solvent.
The Sooner the Better
Also, isn't it comforting that DtecNet / MarkMonitor are going to be the ones responsible for going after people under the new six strikes program? Stories like this really add confidence to the idea that they're going to make a complete mess of the whole thing.
God, let's hope so.
The sooner this kind of stuff (six degrees of striking) fails and is abandoned, the better off everyone will be.
Foward to the days when the legacy web-enabled entertainment industry is trying to prevent people from getting neural implants loaded with all the world's entertainment and knowledge.