Several days ago. I got an email from my friend, Ray Beckerman, a well-known attorney fighting against the music industry, representing people being chased by RIAA..
The email said:
“Ha ha ha ha ha. RIAA paid its lawyers more than $16,000,000 in 2008 to recover only $391,000!!!” (Further Details: Recording Industry vs. The People – http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/)
What is wrong with this picture? What has happened to the music industry?
I remember several years ago an attorney told me that recording companies seriously consider suing its customers as a viable business model for the music industry (let’s say, several thousand dollars for each case settled). What a joke. But it was not a joke.
Why do I hear more news about RIAA suing people or organizations, rather than about some recording companies coming up with innovative products or services that are gonna amuse music lovers and change the future. Instead, they are suing John does, Jane does, dead people, computer-illiterate grandmas, Napster, Grokster, now Limewire, etc..
My friend Nicolas, who once got actively involved in the 90’s music scenes in the city, said “Napster was the best thing that ever happened to the music industry!” What?! Somebody from RIAA might try to kill him for saying that because Napster literally killed their once steady business model. Steady but probably was not that sustainable. Frankly, in some ways Napster was one of the very innovative music services we hadn’t seen quite in a while. It’s unfortunate that the music industry didn’t try hard (or didn’t know how) to turn that into new business opportunities.
So making a 9-year-old-free-downloader boy a criminal would be the only aid to resuscitate the music industry? Do you think it’s that simple? Think again.
How about the music video I accidentally posted below? Ok. Let’s talk about that. Let’s say I want to post music on my blog or want to use some music for my video to post online, how much I should pay for it? If I use the music I downloaded legally (so I paid for it and I own it), is it okay? Otherwise, Is it gonna be insanely expensive? Who should I contact to license? Is it even possible to license the music even if I find somebody to license it? A lot of people nowadays may not be that interested in downloading or physically owning the music. So it may not be about downloading any more. Then, do you know what kind of license is it required? Do you know that there are several different types of licensing: Mechanical Licensing, Performance Licensing, Synch Licensing, Blanket Licensing… Do you know what to get for what you wanna do? Do you know who to contact for each different kind of licensing? Do you know the difference among ASCAP, BMI, Harry Fox Agency, Publishers, Recording Companies, Sound Exchange? Do you know the difference in their licensing roles? Hmmmm… If you have no clue, then the music industry has no clue that you have no clue.
I once had a brunch with a well-known music licensing attorney. He whispered that if anybody tries, they are gonna demand a large sum to scare people away. Also, when I visited an office of a big music publisher before, they had a very complex licensing map that was divided into certain percentages depending on the regions. But how can you deal with that? Nowadays, when you put it up online, that’s instantly global. How come you have very meticulous, complex, incomprehensible division in the licensing rights and then expect people to geniusly figure out how to comply? How are you gonna solve that? How and when are you gonna return the pleasure of enjoying music back to people? I wanna know the answer.
Oh, how about this?: the music industry can give me a portion of the money spent on or to be wasted on the law suits. Let’s say, $3 million. Then, I’m gonna turn that into a very interesting business that could change the future. How about that? Are you interested?
I generated a secret code (QR code) for “New York Dreamer (NYDreamer.com).”
I’m gonna produce stickers with this code on and post it around the city… ^^
It’s gonna be fun to see who’s gonna find my site through that secret code. And how many… Haha~
Where am I gonna post it? That’s secret!! Shhhhh….
It’s been already several days. It’s not new news that Google knocked down Viacom in the first round of a three-year long legal match. As you all know, over three years ago, Viacom filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Google, a new owner of Youtube, for copyright infringement.
What is Viacom’s beef with Youtube, then?
Well…
(On the Youtube side of the ring: Youtube’s voice) “Yeah. We have this cool online platform called Youtube where anybody can post videos and share them with anybody online. We are just providing a neutral public place for everybody to post, share, search, and enjoy videos online. It’s a cool stuff. That’s where the future goes. Billion thanks to the Internet and the technology. Not sure if it was worth paying $1.65 billion for our price tag, but considering the Google’s value increase and our continued success with ever increasing digital ads after Google bought us, $1.65 billion now seems to be a cheap price for super rich Google. Anyway, we are hugely popular among people and we are changing the future and people’s lives. Oh, I forgot to mention one more thing. We do not encourage nor induce copyright infringement, so please do not post something that is not yours or is unauthorized. Even if you do, we would not know which video is violating the copyright law. There are too many videos to figure out which is what. It’s impossible. The burden to detect should not be on us. We are just providing this online place for people to come and enjoy. We are an innocent service provider. When any legitimate copyright owners tell us which video is copyright infringement, though, we are pretty quick to take them down. We are not encouraging copyright infringement. If we lose this fight, then we seriously think that it’s going to effectively kill the internet. Oooooh. I can see millions of other content owners waiting for the first bite and the first blood drop to signal them to jump in to devour us and the internet like the Piranha in the water.”
(On the Viacom’s side of the ring: Viacom’s voice) “It cannot be happening! We are the copyright owner of the awesome contents out there. We have the monopoly right to say yes or nay for any use, sharing, distributing, copying, selling our stuff… We invested tons of money in creating the awesome contents and making business out of it. It’s a lot of hard work, employing a lot of people, spending a lot of time and money. But over the recent years, I see some significant shift in the business and I see less dollars flowing into my pocket. I was appalled when I first saw my stuff on Youtube somebody posted without my permission, without giving me any money or any notice for the use. Gosh. People are watching it for free. What’s wrong with these people? Nobody can see my stuff without my permission. That was our initial agreement and consensus. It really pisses me off. People are not paying for our contents nor watching stuff on TV anymore which has been the main source of my income. Who is making money, then? Oh, I see, that evil Youtube has been stealing my eyeballs, my audience, my ad dollars, and my media business. I hate the technology. I hate the buzz around them. It’s simply wrong. I need to get my damage to be recovered. I should sue them. I heard that Google hired hundreds of lawyers to defend themselves from copyright infringement. Great! I don’t mind pursuing that deep pocket. Somebody should pay for my loss. No choice.”
(Users’ Voice) “Last night, I found a cool video. I really think people should see that, too. So I’m gonna post the stuff on Youtube. Oh, my friend posted his favorite actor’s interviews on Youtube two weeks ago because he’s a huge fan of the actor. The stuff he posted already got tons of clicks. Awesome. Sharing great things in life is making me happy, making others happy, making the society healthy. This social interaction is the backbone of our society. Without the fans who get excited about, talk about, share with friends, promote the STUFF, the stuff would be meaningless. There would not be business without us, right? Besides, this doesn’t go against the law defining the promotion of “the Progress of Science and useful Arts.” In fact, the more we talk about their stuff online, the more free promotions and marketing about their stuff they enjoy, right? The more people know about it, the better. Copyright? What is that? Oh, I’m not supposed to do that? Even if what I do is really helping their business or the society? Have u heard of fan labor, viral marketing, education purpose, fair use, information sharing stuff? Ok, then, How can I do that legally? Who is the rep for permitting the content licensing? How much should I pay for a 0.8 second video clip? Is it even possible to get a permission before sharing? Ahhh… They should be more creative and innovative about the future media business, rather than blocking the future from happening. Otherwise, soon they are gonna be dead fish in the sea.
Oh, How about ‘fair use’? I don’t know much about the law, but I heard about it somewhere. I have my right to fair use and freedom of expression. I’m not sure if I’m correct, but I’m sure I can talk about things and make references to the content if I see fit. Honestly, I think I’m not harming the content owners. I’m just exercising my right to fair use. When I asked my lawyer friend if my stuff would be violating the law or if it could be protected as ‘fair use,’ he said something like ‘oh, you are gonna know when you get sued for infringement and have a hell of a fight in court. Then, the judge will tell you whether it’s fair use or not.’ What?! You must be kidding. Oh, whatever. It seems complicated. I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing now.”
Besides, there is nothing good on TV. Not just Wednesday. It’s just non-stop very bad reality shows. Too many of them. I cannot even tell the difference between them. Still should I stick with them? Oh, wait. If my stuff posted on Youtube somebody else reposted without my permission gets more hits than those bad contents owned by Viacom, can I claim my right to get paid as well if Viacom gets paid from the lawsuit?
(Referee’s voice: Judge Louis L. Stanton on June 23rd): Well, Google wins. Google’s compliance with take-down notices was within the language of the Safe Harbor provision of DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). -> Huh?! (Which means that ‘in short, internet companies, even if they know they are hosting infringing material, are immune from copyright liability if they promptly remove works at a rights-holder’s request — under what is known as a takedown notice’-quoted from David Kravets’ article on Wired: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/dmca-protects-youtube/) If you are curious about the details, check out what the Judge really said. The entire text of the Judge’s decision is found here.
(Media Executives’ voices: June 24th, 2010 in NY): “Sigh… Good old days are gone. We used to have a finite number of channels, mostly in the form of TV/Cable channels. The business model was simple. We simply gather interesting contents and delivered it to the audience, thus creating the value as a medium. Who paid? Usually advertisers or subscribers. There are only three business models in the world: ‘I pay, you pay, or somebody else pays.’ Nowadays, a billion mobile devices in this country only. Consequences? There are millions of channels now!! We now have to compete with those million channels out there for the audience’s eye balls and time, which is finite resources we should fight for. The other day, my two-year-old grand-daughter was playing with an iPad, having fun with some apps on the iPad, while giggling. She cannot even speak. OMG. What Steve Jobs has done? My 16-year-old son does not watch TV anymore. He claims TV is boring and the internet is more fun. In this digital age, Kids don’t care whether it’s a big TV screen, or small mobile screen, as long as they can get the content they want whenever wherever. What should we do to save our business? … The entertainment/media business is all about hits. Creating hits or killer contents would be able to save our ass. Usually, however, traditional media companies’ attempt to take over the technology/internet world went through a plethora of failures, killing entrepreneurship or reading the trend all wrong… Maybe, they didn’t even realized that something like Facebook itself is a hit. Maybe, we might have to redefine the meaning of ‘Contents.’ Facebook or iPhone Apps may be the new form of contents…. We need hits. (Participating media executives: Shelly Palmer, a host of “Digital Life with Shelly Palmer; Rob Barnett, Founder and CEO, My Damn Channel; Albie Hecht, CEO, Worldwide Biggies; Lisa Hsia, SVP, Digital Media, Bravo; Kenny Miller, Co-Founder, Starling TV)
(Me)
The fear of the traditional media and content businesses is real and well alive. I can feel that they really feel the chest pain and feel like having a heart attack. No joke. This may sounds like out of the blue, but the conversations among the media executives reminded me of a 90’s book called “Who Moved My Cheese?” The world is changing really fast. Technology is changing fast. People’s behavior is changing fast. You don’t have to go far. Just think about your jobs or career or relationships. Do you really know what’s coming? You dare to say. Can you really move fast before somebody else moves your cheese? Anybody can really see what’s coming??? And act accordingly? Can you really see or feel Viacom’s outcry or media executives’ chest pain? Hmmmm…. Difficult ones.
Viacom is determined to pursue the next round of the legal fight (so-called appeal). This legal fight would carry significance in the future of the media or in the future of the internet/mobile world. It’s gonna be interesting to watch who’s gonna win the fight and its implications. Who’s gonna be the ultimate winner? Or there is gonna be another fight over something like ‘Net Neutrality’ in another ring? Who knows? The Empire might strike back, waging a different war with different parties… Ahhh… “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”, as repeatedly confirmed by Lenny Kravitz.
( For your entertainment… Try listening to this while reading my long text: ‘It ain’t over ’til it’s over’ by Lenny Kravitz)
…Oops… I didn’t intend to post this. I only copied the url to the song. But somehow, strangely, it appeared on my blog… keeping my fingers crossed that it’s considered to be fair…
Thank you so much for your awesome comments. Your comments give me the energy, the courage, the strength, the reason, the motivation, the aspiration to keep writing about my crazy adventures in the city. I may not be able to reply to every comment, but your comments really mean something to me.
Still feeling the edge: strength, independence, disinterested femininity, no compromise, no fear to take her own stance.
Trevor Goodchild: The dream to awaken our world…
Æon Flux: You’re out of control.
Trevor Goodchild: I take control! Whose side are you on?
Æon Flux: I take no side…
Trevor Goodchild: You’re skating the edge.
Æon Flux: I am the edge!
Trevor Goodchild: What you *truly* want, only I can give.
Æon Flux: You can’t give it, can’t even buy it, and you just don’t *get* it.
I was walking down the street in LES, feeling really hungry. Hadn’t eaten all day long.
All of sudden, a sign on the side of a restaurant captured my eyes and instantly made my appetite run high through the sky.
The sign was saying loud to me (at least to me): “FREE WAFFLESS”
At that instant, another word dangling at the bottom didn’t even come up to my conscious level. It all faded in the white background in my head.
Upon seeing that sign, I almost ran into the restaurant and tried to claim my right to taste that delicious “Waffles(s).”
Standing in front of the restaurant sign and hesitating on my imaginary bold movement, within that 1.5 seconds, I realized that the sign was actually saying: “FREE WIRELESS INTERNET.” Ooooopsie. What an impact on my brain of not having enough food in my stomach…
Have you ever had this kind of moments of subjective interpretation? Just seeing or experiencing something, arbitrarily interpreting it the way only relevant to my mind’s status? I’m pretty sure I’m not alone and some psychologists would have gotten excited about the phenomena probably a while ago.
Ahhhh… I still want to eat that waffles..s.
Evidence of my "Subjective Interpretation"
Flight of the Conchords – “We’re both in love with a sexy lady” lol
Over the past couple of days, I’m obsessed with this song for no apparent reason. Many repeats never bore me. I’ve loved Royksopp ever since their first album. They never disappointed me.
…Living through the history. I feel my existence… How will I remember my youth, my passion and my affection? I want to fly… fly through the sky. It will all be beautiful!!! – New York Dreamer in 2010
It’s is a difficult time for everybody. Crisis, Disaster, Events at one corner of the world punch out global impact within no time, like the butterfly effect. We are living in a very strange world, if it’s not wonderland, compared to many years ago.
During this turbulent time, it would be a good thing if there is anything to share, volunteer for and help with in any possible ways. Some people donate money. Some people donate time. Or anything they have, even text messages.
As far as I know, New Yorkers are not shy away from those activities. On Tuesday evening, I was invited to two charity events, one form of such activities New Yorkers love. One was “Four Seasons of Hope” and another was “Project Migration” The first one was a charity for children, hosted by Samsung at Cipriani in Wall Street. The second one was founded by Hilary Rowland, a savvy entrepreneur, to help single moms in East Africa through fashion business.
Of course, there was a big red-carpet moment, with many celebrity guests including, Bill Clinton, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Matthew McConaughey, Kathy Griffin, Wendy Williams, and many Sports Stars, and Super Models…
At Cipriani, I was sitting right next to an Olympic gold medalist, Sarah Hughes and had lots of fun conversations, completed by JLo and Marc Anthony’s performances. It was a glamorous and glitzy night of events, raising $1.2 million at the 9th annual Four Seasons of Hope and raising funds from auctioning for good-looking bachelors at the Project Migration. ^^
Going through the glamourous night, I felt a little disconnected from the events for some reason (maybe, because I didn’t do much to the causes and I was just present as an observer). Instead, I kept thinking about what motivates people to participate in these charities. Some might have pure-hearted passion to engage people for a certain cause. Some might have been motivated to do something meaningful in this world. Or some might feel simple gratification from participation. Some cynics might explain this psyche in terms of tax benefits, narcissistic interest or even publicity. Unfortunately, my floating mind couldn’t find an answer to my question that night.
While listening to what people were saying at the events, though, I found one expression popping up somewhat uncomfortable and annoying. The expression “for the less fortunate” came out and for some reason my mind was uncomfortably fixated on the words. These words came up to me in three different ways. I heard it as “less financial means (fortune)”; could also be “less lucky” (ouch); or could mean (at least sounds to me) that potential beneficiaries of the charities are in different social strata/classification/groups.
I don’t remember exactly who said these words, but I think we should wage a campaign against using this expression at any charity/social cause events. Ever. I think that we are all “Co-Benefitors,” if not “Co-Benefactors,” whether we give out or receives benefits through these charities. When it comes to charity, I think it’s not a one way street, but it’s mutually benefiting each other. Especially, one small act could spread out its global impact really fast. When I thought about what motivates people to come to these events and participate in any form of charity, I think those people also greatly benefit from doing something meaningful in their lives in any forms, whether it’s happiness or tax benefits.
Nothing is worse than taking somebody’s pride, self-confidence or dreams away from that person, by calling them and categorizing them as “the less fortunate,” based on their current ‘unfortunate’ circumstances. Nobody wants to be called to be less fortunate. We should not call people “the less fortunate” based on what they are CURRENTLY going through or what they CURRENTLY do not have.” We should see people in tough situations not with the eyes of sympathy, but the eyes of empathy. We should look to the future together through their eyes and should be able to say that “You, Co-Benefitors, Together Let’s Become the Fortunate. Let’s Be Strong! Let’s Create the Future and the Fortune.”
If you are interested in participating in these charities, please check out the following.
