Recording industry sues 'next Napster' companies (article edited, for full article click link) SAN FRANCISCO -- Major music labels and movie studios are suing the makers and distributors of a Napster stepchild that lets users freely trade music, movies and software on the Internet. Plaintiffs -- including MGM Studios, Columbia Pictures, and the Sony and Warner music groups -- filed the copyright-infringement suit late Tuesday in federal court. The file-sharing software was developed by Amsterdam-based Consumer Empowerment BV, also known as FastTrack, and is licensed to MusicCity and Grokster. None of the companies being sued responded to phone calls and e-mails from The Associated Press seeking comment. MusicCity is based in Franklin, Tenn., and Grokster operates from the island of Nevis in the West Indies. Grokster and MusicCity license and distribute nearly identical software that allows users to look for, trade and copy computer files. MusicCity calls its software "Morpheus," while Grokster has named its version after the company. The software's popularity has burgeoned since Napster went offline earlier this year in an effort to comply with a court order that it cease maintaining a network of users trading copyright music. Figures released Wednesday by Webnoize showed an average of 1 million simultaneous users of the FastTrack network during September, up from 580,000 in August. During September, users downloaded 1.51 billion files. A quick look at the Morpheus network Wednesday morning revealed 539,211 users sharing everything from Shania Twain songs to unauthorized digital copies of the hit movie "Hannibal." Also available on the network were full versions of Adobe Photoshop, the professional-quality image editing software that normally retails for more than $600. The suit seeks to stop the defendants from violating copyrights, and asks for the maximum damages allowable by law, $150,000 for each infringed work. The recording industry hopes to further combat unauthorized file-sharing by launching its own subscription online music services later this year. MusicNet will offer content from the BMG, EMI and Warner labels, while pressplay will offer EMI, Sony and Universal content. "We cannot sit idly by while these services continue to operate illegally, especially at a time when new legitimate services are being launched," said Hilary Rosen, president of the Recording Industry Association of America.
How do I get on Morpheus again? Forreal the Tech is out you cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube Rocket River
Old Metallica Rules. New metallica sucks. Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, that kind of sh*t. The new sh*t isn't even music.
The record industry needs to recognize the reality that this is a medium that isn't going away. Rather than trying to plug every hole in the damn, they should just push for regulation of how songs are distributed digitally. I would have absolutely NO problem paying a small fee to subscribe to a service where I could download songs. The real problem is that, as the number of computer users (and broadband users in particular) grow, the greater the risk to the entire music industry. If, at some point, free downloads represent a significant loss in sales (more than 10% would be significant) we could see a HUGE change in the industry. In much the same way that major corporations layoff large numbers of employees when their profits suffer, we could see massive dropping of artists to protect the profit margin of labels. For years now, labels have diverted money from A&R (the part of the company that discovers and develops talent) to promotion. They have taken money from the development of young talent to further promote those artists who are already a draw. The REAL question here is whether or not listeners are ready to change how they not only acquire music (they obviously are) but how they DISCOVER music. If the industry begins to limit its own expansion to focus on development of only a limited number of artists, will everyone be willing to search internet sites for good music? Does anyone do that already? There are plenty of places to find unsigned artists allowing downloads of their music. Anybody listening?
I would gladly pay a couple bucks a month if I could legally grab both my beloved Metallica and music by artists after 1990... I'd pay to download music. I won't pay for p*rn, but I'll pay for music...
www.audiogalaxy.com it's better than Napster ever was, and it kicks the hell out of those gnutella clients like Kazaa. I don't know why it isn't getting sued, I think they found a loophole, but it is the best. It shows you all the tracks that are ever avalable and then gets them for you the next time they're on line, so popular stuff comes immediately, while obscure tracks, bootlegs...etc, are listed even when they aren't online. You wake up in the morning and it has ususally gotten one or two really hard to find trakcs for you whil you slept. I download by the album at this place. It does all the work. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
Well said, Jeff. I wonder...how much would everyone be willing to pay for such a subscription service?
Hey fro, What is wrong with Gnutella? I'm relatively new to file/music swapping... I used Napster to find alot of old Motown (all my albums are pretty scratched up... ) until they were shut down. I've been using Limewire with some success (not as much as before)... What are the benefits of some of the other systems out there? Actually anyone can respond to this question. Thanks.
I'll second that, fro. AudioGalaxy rocks! I tried gnutella and Aimster after Napster went down, but nothing has worked as well as AG.
Better question, how many would be willing to pay for a subscription service? Even if the major companies went to a subscription service, there would always be a way to get free MP3's. Not many, or very few people, are going to pay for something that they can get for free. I know CD prices are very high compared to the cost of making them, but would you guys be in favor of a digital tax on CD's?
<B>The record industry needs to recognize the reality that this is a medium that isn't going away. Rather than trying to plug every hole in the damn, they should just push for regulation of how songs are distributed digitally.</B> Why not do both? While they cannot stop it completely, far less people use all these other services combined than did use Napster. It has helped to some extent, and if they keep taking out the biggest ones and its progress until you can get the regulations passed.
Now personally I would love to use AudioGalaxy and in fact I had it on my computer before I reformatted but the problem I always had with it was I kept getting songs that I didn't want. I would gladly use AG again if anybody knows how to fix that problem.
Wouldn't it be impossible to shut down Morpheus now. I mean, once I have the software I'm communicating with someone else's computer, so it's impossible to shut down. How could you stop it? Even if they stop people from downloading morpheus from the home web site, 500,000 people still have it in full use, and another software would be formed so that people could then download morpheus from the 500,000. It seems impossible to stop, unless I'm misunderstanding how the technology works.
The way to end all the bull**** of Napster-clones is simple... The RIAA joins forces and provides an inexpensive subscription service that allows downloads of ENTIRE RECORDS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO BUYING CD's. Frank Zappa, over 10 years ago, suggested a similar course of action but using cable television as the download medium. Obvioulsy, he had no idea about the internet but it sounds eerily prophetic. If I could get all the downloads I wanted of entire records, single songs plus liner notes and cover art from the CD's, I'd definitely pay for it and I venture many others would as well. Yes, there will be freebies out there, but making it available and easy to use will always beat out a free service that is difficult to obtain. You can tape CD's and burn them today but still CD sales are high because people are lazy. They'd rather pay for the convenience than not pay and go through the hassle of doing the work themselves.
