Choruss Pitching Bait and Switch On P2P Music Tax 119
An anonymous reader writes "A few months back, Warner Music Group started pitching universities on the idea of a new program where they would pay a chunk of money to an organization named Choruss to provide 'covenants not to sue' those students for file sharing, leading many in the press to claim that the record labels are looking to license ISPs to let users file share. Even the EFF has called it a 'promising new approach.' However, the details are quite troubling and suggest that the plan is really a bait-and-switch idea." (More below.)
"The industry still plans to demand three strikes and try to shut down file sharing networks, and it's already giving up on lawsuits. So... it's basically going to keep doing everything the same as before, but force your ISP or your university (who in turn will raise your rates) to just hand over a bunch of money. Oh yeah, also, since the 'covenant not to sue' isn't a license and only covers the rights of the record labels, it means that you can still get sued by the publishers or songwriters whose rights aren't covered by the deal at all. Unfortunately, the press is just repeating the claim that this is a 'file sharing license' when the details show it's anything but that. It's just a way to get people and companies to hand over large chunks of money to the record labels."
Re:Protection money? (Score:5, Interesting)
Sounds to me like a classic mafia protection scheme.
Except the mafia has a lot more to offer you than RIAA. Sure they take your money, but they can also hook you up with gambling, girls, drugs, loan sharking and protection. RIAA doesn't hook you up with anything other than lawyers and shitty music, at least as far as I can tell.
And at least you always know where you stand with Tony Soprano. Can you say that about RIAA? ;)
Re:Protection money? (Score:5, Interesting)
I agree, money up front for nothing. If student A does no file sharing at all, they are still licensed. Each student/user will be licensed to share files? WTF is that? I don't need a license to share Linux ISO files over P2P networks. How in blue blazes will they determine what connections should be licensed and which should not? This is too cracked of an idea to fathom. Protection money for doing legal activities?
It's time that the RIAA et al simply died.
Re:Protection money? (Score:5, Interesting)
That's because Jimmy the Snake and Frankie the Weasel are the senior liaison officers for Choruss.
Actually, the name of the group reminded me of a typical show chorus: It's always there making the same annoying background noise, distracting you from what you're trying to listen to.
Obligatory obscure quote...
Oh, we're the boys in the chorus,
We hope you like our show,
We know you're rooting for us,
But now we have to go!
Re:I don't trust this... (Score:2, Interesting)
Maybe they're trying to shore it up because once it's in place, the RIAA will get slammed for extortion?
Re:Protection money? (Score:1, Interesting)
Furthermore (as if we need more reasons), this allows charging for music that has gone out of copyright - a body of work that is, logically, ever increasing.
You mean never increasing. Works don't fall into the public domain in the United States. You can bet that there will be a copyright term extension in front of Congress long before a single copyright term will be even close to expiring. Given that only a very small minority of US citizens actually care about this issue, don't bet on the bill failing.
Re:When Will It Stop? (Score:1, Interesting)
Am I naive in thinking that this insanity has to stop at some point? I don't think the **AA can stem the tide of people discovering and using file sharing, so when will they decide to give up, or better yet, focus its efforts on promoting a new business model? It seems like the spend an awful amount of effort trying to subvert the subversives with little or no net gain. I'm not sure that anything they have done thus far as been remotely effective in combating piracy, so assuming we live in a logical world, wouldn't it behoove them to stop pestering people and try something different???
Why don't they try something different like product bundling. Why not pair it with something everyone enjoys like water. Make some deals to include iTunes codes for a 49 cent download of choice when you buy a bottle of Dasani? Or get an album for free when you buy a 24 pack of Pepsi. The subsidy you get from these other product bundlings would surely generate more revenue than some kid downloading it off the net. There are many ways you can give your stuff away for 'free' and still make some hard cash...
"so when will they decide to give up"
3 years from now...
the economy's been in the shitter, cd sales worldwide are down 50% and the labels are for sale for 25 cents on the dollar. whoever has the money will then...
"focus its efforts on promoting a new business model"
well, probably not so much as promoting but rather catching up with the rest of the world.