The Costanza

Imogen Heap’s new album Ellipse was released yesterday, meanwhile, an article in the Dominion Post on the 10th of August by Neil McCormick says that this woman is ‘Queen of the Internet’.

The general gist of this article is that Imogen Heap is very well known for her music on the internet and not on the radio or in the general public, unless of course you love indie music. This is new aged music, huge change in the music industry.

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http://gizmodo.com/5344159/second-degree-murder-and-six-other-crimes-cheaper-than-pirating-music

This post is interesting. In the US, you are fined less for committing second degree murder and 6 other crimes than if you downloaded music illegally.

A single mother of four was charged $1.92 million for downloading 1700 songs.

Not very fair when you can murder someone and get charged less for doing it.

Tory.

I have discovered the website Ars Technica which has enlightened me about a lot of different aspects of music piracy and how it can be combatted, if it can be combatted.

In a recent post by the above United Kingdom site states the obvious by saying young people download music knowing it’s illegal but enjoy doing it anyway because of it’s benefits which are many and varied. Mostly the fact they get music for free which is forever theirs.

And fair enough. Having recently aquired Itunes, I see why kids would want free music, at almost and over $2 a song, that’s a LOT of money going into Steve Jobs’ pocket that I see barely anything in return for.

Another interesting point here is that people still listen to the humble CD! They won’t go away even with the digital age fast approaching.

LimeWire is popular amongst youngsters surveyed. Again, a fair point.

Basically if you want people to download music legally, make it REALLY cheap or free. Sorry guys, but that’s the only solution.

Tory.

This blog talks about what happens when a person decides illegally downloading music is okay… They get fined.
Although this is an American story, I’m pretty sure in NZ, there is also some sort of punishment for the copying or downloading of illegal music, I just cannot find it right now.
Anyway, this guy had to pay $22,500 per song, or a total of $675,000 in a case brought by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2007 but heard in court yesterday.

A woman back in September 2008 was charged $222,000, or $9,250 per song for downloading and distributing 24 songs and these two are not the only ones.

It appears America is very strict about these anti-piracy laws and will come down very heavy on anyone who does intend on breaking them.

Tory.