by certifiedbug on March 14, 2008
in News
The industry’s anti piracy efforts appear to be futile, failure to stop piracy by suing Internet users, digital rights management all but abandoned.
But wait, now the music industry is considering a file sharing surcharge, per user per month, that Internet Service Providers collect from users.
This would be used to compensate songwriters, performers, publishers and music labels. Rightly so, but… will Internet Service Providers be able to implement such a practice. There is sure to be a backlash especially from smaller providers on a tight budget. Think rural, ISP options are often sparse in the boonies, something city users may not be aware of with their countless Internet options and budget packages.
Like I have said before, piracy is not free, it costs us all. 
Discussion today at South by Southwest
Mobility, Ubiquity and Monetizing Music
Room 18ABC
Friday, March 14th
3:30 pm - 4:45 pm
Ars Technica
Ken Fisher writes:
Apple embeds your account information in all songs sold on the store, not just DRM-free songs. Previously it wasn’t much of a big deal, since no one could imagine users sharing encrypted, DRMed content. But now that DRM-free music from Apple is on the loose, the hidden data is more significant since it could theoretically be used to trace shared tunes back to the original owner. It must also be kept in mind that this kind of information could be spoofed.
Article
by certifiedbug on January 30, 2007
in News
Attorney General Lawrence Wasden entered into a settlement agreement with SONY BMG Music Entertainment that will allow Idaho consumers to obtain refunds of up to $175 for harm caused to their computers by SONY BMG music CDs. SONY BMG distributed more than 12 million CDs without adequately informing consumers that the CDs contained anti-copying software.
Article and links to submit a claim for reimbursement of repair expenses associated with XCP here
November 14 2006 (USA) will see the release of Zune MP3 Player and MSN will cease to offer music downloads through the MSN Music store.
At the Zune Marketplace, customers will be able to buy songs individually or subscribe to a monthly music download service called Zune™ Pass.
The songs you download on your Zune Pass are yours for as long as you hold your Zune Pass subscription. You can still purchase songs or albums individually, too.
Will Santa bring an iPOD or a Zune.
by certifiedbug on October 14, 2006
in Security
Thousands of emails have been sent out by fraudsters spoofing MySpace.
The message in the email states, “You’ve got a new song from (name) on MySpace!”, inviting recipients to click on an url that directs to a site claiming to sell MP3 music.
This is a scam to collect credit card information for fraudulent use.
Advisory at Fortinet
by certifiedbug on May 24, 2006
in News
Germany nabs 3,500 in file-sharer sweep
Investigators charge eDonkey network users with illegal music sharing
Info World
By Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service
May 23, 2006
German investigators charged 3,500 people with illegal music sharing, in the biggest single sweep of its kind, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said Tuesday.
German authorities helped identify the file sharers, who were using the eDonkey network to share thousands of music files. EDonkey software allows users to find and share files with other eDonkey users.
by certifiedbug on May 21, 2006
in News
Info World
Three sentenced for ‘warez’ activities
By Grant Gross, IDG News Service
May 19, 2006
Three U.S. men have been sentenced to jail or home confinement for their participation in so-called warez online piracy groups, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.
These are the first federal criminal sentences for members of pre-release music groups resulting from Operation FastLink, an ongoing U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation crackdown against organized piracy groups allegedly responsible for most of the initial illegal distribution of copyrighted movies, software, games and music on the Internet.
