Just been reading about the new Mega service from Kim Dotcom, in which anyone can upload files of any nature into the cloud...but because they're encrypted before reaching Mega, and only you have the key (which of course you can share with others), it apparently absolves Mega of any legal responsibility should people use the service for, oh I don't know, illegally distributing copyrighted material. 

The trendy tech blogs are hailing it as an "end to copyright" and think it's watertight. At last, all of those greedy capitalist artists who apparently don't deserve a return on their hard work, will be forced to give their recordings away for free. 

Are they nuts or do they have a point? Personally I think it will get shut down. People will be sharing those links and keys to distribute music and movies on websites and forums, and the copyright holders will be working 24/7 to compile lists of links which contain evidence of wrongdoing....and of course once the pedophiles start using it to distribute filth, the Feds will be on it like a shot. Can't see it lasting more than a year, given that the Feds are already on KD's back. 

I had never even heard of it.  sounds like nothing more than the next level of napster.  I agree with you, they won't get away with that for too long.  enabling others to violate copyright is still going to be prosecutable.

He got away with Megaupload for YEARS and when they finally did shut it down it wasn't because of any copyright stuff (apparently). It was because of some fraud charges for something he did years ago and they seized his assets including Megaupload. At least that's what I read when it happened.

The charges against him included conspiring to commit copyright infringement and two counts of criminal copyright infringement, related I presume to Megaupload. At the time there were loads of similar sites that were providing links to illegally uploaded TV shows and movies, and most of them closed down because of what was happening to Megaupload. 

I didn't follow the case closely but the powers that be had really been trying to nail him for a long time on the copyright stuff but it wasn't sticking. I think it had something to do with him setting up shop in New Zealand and because of that he was outside of some jurisdiction boundaries. It ended up being like when Capone got nailed for tax evasion. Maybe they figured out how to toss on the copyright stuff after the fact or maybe the NZ gov got pressured enough to change their laws to deal with that angle. The dude's kind of a slippery scumbag. He'll get away with this for longer than one might think. He wouldn't bother otherwise.

And yeah it scared the pee out of some of the smaller outfits. It's all about a solid DMCA policy. Youtube has far more copyrighted material kicking around than those other sites but they get away with it because a) Google and b) a good avenue for copyright infringement complaints.

I think the copyright advocates need to try some new ideas. I'd like to see some kind of royalty based system for streaming like radio. View = cash to the copyright holder. The hosts make their money from ad views. Proper downloads should still be treated as they are though... paid for by the downloader. Like purchasing a hard copy.

Meh... it's another contentious debate where the fringe on both sides acting like lunatics overlook the obvious and rational solutions while everyone in the middle get jerked around.

Beepster

 I'd like to see some kind of royalty based system for streaming like radio. View = cash to the copyright holder.

You mean like Spotify? I pay around $10/month for my subscription, which enables me to stream what seems like any song in existence (not Zappa though :P) at 320kbps, including on my phone. I haven't even touched my MP3 collection for months. 

A friend of mine recommended spotify when it first came out. I checked it out briefly and it's definitely cool. I listen to so little music these days (weird I know) though I usually just use youtube if I'm feeling like rocking out. Lots of great stuff on there and due to my affection of live performances vs studio stuff I can always find nice little treats to satiate my needs that aren't necessarily available elsewhere. Not sure the legality of that but I leave that up to google. Not like I have any cash to blow on records these days anyway... which sucks. :-/

Never download though. That's my personal moral line... but there are so many shades of gray when it comes to this type of thing.

Did you hear about Lars Ulrich and the dude from Napster starting a bromance recently? lol 

Apparently Lars now realizes he didn't understand what was going on and has admitted the error of his ways... which to me translates into he knows he can cash in on the technology.

One thing I've noticed about YouTube is that very often when a video contains a copyrighted song, there will be a link under the video inviting you to purchase it. I wonder if that has managed to appease some of the record companies? I know there are some artists who manage to keep most of their stuff off of YouTube...Gail Zappa is notorious for having her husband's catalog kept off there for instance (although stuff still gets through) and I've also noticed that Little Feat and Joe Jackson seem to take stuff down - although again, there is much that falls through the cracks. 

One of the best things about Spotify is the phone app that comes with the paid subscription. I have almost an infinite jukebox to enjoy when I'm in the gym....and you can also download your favorites onto your phone so that you can listen to them when you have no phone reception. It also has a great "radio" feature where you can "start a radio station" from any track, and it will play you random tracks that have been deemed "similar" by whatever algorithm they use. It works pretty well and I've found a ton of new music like this. Anytime I'm out and I hear a new track that I like, I just add it to my "liked from radio" playlist, and it's there on my desktop when I get home. Modern technology is beautiful. 

There are also dudes who adjust the pitch of tunes slightly to get around copyright issues. I have no idea how that's supposed make things alright but I've seen a lot of it. Makes me laugh. 

Has the Coffee House Band material been uploaded yet?