] "First came the fuss over double compensation for the
] radio-commercial actors. Then the flap over royalties for
] recording artists. Now the slap-happy Internet radio
] business is reeling from another hit, this time from the
] nation's most popular network of online stations."

DMCA royalties kill Clear Channel. Never thought you'd hear that one, did you?

Wired News: Radio Ditches Webcasts En Masse

...by taxing all computer equipment... its not the best idea I've heard, but it is significant to hear this kind of thinking coming from someone like this.

] The problem is that we can’t give consumers
] what they want. The symptom is that they can
] get it without our help. We can either engage
] in futile attempts to eliminate their supply,
] or we can monetize their demand.

] The 2002 SOFA report found that 49% of Americans
] now think the first amendment goes too far in the
] protections it provides. This compared to 37%
] a year ago and 22% the year before that. Fred
] and I believe this is in no small part an
] unintended consequence of the various wars we have
] declared on various symptoms of various problems.
] The entertainment industry, largely a beneficiary
] of the protections afforded by the First Amendment,
] should buck this trend, and embrace freedom.

Will Smith's lawyer wants to allow p2p music swapping...

] "If that assumption is correct, then only 2,480 out of
] 36,386 titles from 1927-1946 are available, or 6.8%.
] 93.2% are commercially dormant."

While this result is hardly surprising, its important, because the Copyright club has argued that copyright protection for old works is the best way to ensure their distribution. Obviously, its not working very well.

Proof that Valenti is wrong...

In what may be a first for the recording industry, Maverick Records and Vivendi Universal's online division are asking listeners to pay just under a dollar for an unprotected MP3 version of a new single.

When I worked for MongoMusic, VivendiU always proved the most resistant of the major labels to online music distribution. They didn't want to play ball with anyone.

Vivendi Universal playing with MP3 singles