Music piracy research - news archive

iPod jubelt in kerstsfeer

,,In België lag de verkoop van muziek op iTunes zeker tot veertig, vijftig procent hoger dan normaal'', zegt Steven Van den Eynde van Apple. Precieze cijfers worden nooit gegeven, al lijken die wel degelijk te bestaan. Van den Eynde: ,,Neem van mij aan dat iTunes in België deze dagen héél goed draait in vergelijking met andere Europese landen.''

De Standaard, 2005, December 30th | Language: NL | 358 words

Sony to settle anti-piracy CD row

Free music downloads and cash refunds could soon be offered to owners of Sony BMG CDs loaded with controversial anti-piracy software. (...) n all, millions of CDs are thought to have been sold that use the controversial programs. Sony BMG has released a list of the 52 discs that use XCP and the 34 that used MediaMax. All the affected CDs were only sold in North America. (...) Owners of a CD with the XCP program are being offered a replacement disc free of anti-piracy software, $7.50 in cash and a free download of a Sony BMG album from an online music service.

Bbc, 2005, December 30th | Language: EN | 567 words

Nederlandse muziekomzet fors omhoog

Het gaat weer beter met de Nederlandse muziekverkopen. Rond Sinterklaas lag de verkoop van muziek-cd's 40 procent hoger dan een jaar eerder.

Webwereld, 2005, December 30th | Language: NL | 150 words

US CD album sales show 7% slide

Albums sales in the US dipped by 7% in 2005 but the music download market doubled over the past year, according to early figures. Sales stood at 602.2 million during the year, down from 650.8 million in 2004, report analysts Nielsen Soundscan. Downloaded music reached 332.7 million for 2005, an increase of 148% on the previous year.

Bbc, 2005, December 29th | Language: EN | 210 words

Peer-to-peer coming to Firefox?

A new website is boldly proclaiming that they are close to providing "The best thing to happen to Firefox... since Firefox." Allpeers is a peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing application that is apparently integrated directly into the popular web browser as a downloadable plugin.

Ars Technica, 2005, December 27th | Language: EN | 383 words

Music downloads up 50% as iTunes dominates

Visits to music downloading websites saw a 50 per cent rise on Christmas Day as hundreds of thousands of people began loading songs on to the iPods they received as presents. According to figures from Hitwise, the online intelligence company, visits to music download sites, such as Apple’s iTunes Music Store, saw a 50 per cent increase between December 24 and 25. Hitwise also found that visits to download sites were 15 per cent higher than last Christmas.

Financial Times, 2005, December 27th | Language: EN | 407 words

RIAA Turns Up Heat on IP Piracy in Russia

The RIAA issued a statement on Tuesday lauding the passage of a resolution last week by the U.S. Senate that asked Russia to work harder to fight piracy of music, software and other works of intellectual property protected by international copyright laws.

E Week, 2005, December 27th | Language: EN | 425 words

Spirit is traag van begrip

(...) in Frankrijk zou het mogelijk worden om muziek en films legaal te downloaden, op voorwaarde dat het voor privé-gebruik is en dat de auteur vergoed wordt via een forfait van enkele euro's. (...) Marcel Heymans: ,,Dit voorstel gaat in tegen alle internationale verdragen.'' Niettemin schaart ook Spirit zich achter het Franse voorstel. In 2003 lanceerde de partij al eens een voorstel om downloaden te legaliseren, maar toen kwam ze van een kale reis terug. Nu grijpt ze deze kans opnieuw aan om te pleiten voor ,,een culturele revolutie''.

De Standaard, 2005, December 27th | Language: NL | 586 words

'Internet Illiterate' Mom Sued Over Music Downloads

It was Easter Sunday and Patricia Santangelo was in church with her kids when she says the music recording industry peeked into her computer and decided to take her to court. Santangelo said she has never downloaded a single song on her computer, but the industry didn't see it that way. The woman from Wappingers Falls is among the more than 16,000 people who have been sued for allegedly pirating music through file-sharing computer networks.

Washington Post, 2005, December 26th | Language: EN | 428 words

Bart Tommelein: 'Ik ga niet iedereen zijn Sabamfactuur betalen'

VLD-Kamerlid Bart Tommelein riep begin deze week op om de Sabamfactuur niet meer te betalen. (...) Tommelein riep vooral de organisatoren van fuiven en festivals op om hun Sabamrekeningen niet onmiddellijk te betalen en de auteursrechtenmaatschappij om meer uitleg te vragen. (...) Het VLD-kamerlid benadrukt dat hij niks heeft tegen de bescherming en vergoeding van de intellectuele arbeid van artiesten. "Maar ook bij hen is er nood aan meer transparantie. Vaak weten zij niet waarom ze grote of kleine sommen op hun rekening gestort krijgen."

De Morgen, 2005, December 26th | Language: NL | 291 words

Pricing of Downloaded Songs Prompts Antitrust Subpoenas

The New York attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, is investigating whether the four record companies that dominate the industry have violated antitrust laws in the pricing of songs that are sold by Internet music services, according to people involved in the inquiry.

The New York Times, 2005, December 24th | Language: EN | 540 words

Verizon plans to offer mobile music downloads

Verizon Wireless is expected to introduce a music download service next month that will let subscribers purchase music wirelessly over their mobile phones and transfer songs between their phones and Windows PCs (...) The new service, called V Cast Music, is scheduled to become available on Jan. 16 at Circuit City, Verizon Wireless stores and Verizon's Web site (...). It would allow customers to browse, preview, download and play music from a mobile handset and a computer.

Cnet, 2005, December 22nd | Language: EN | 833 words

France: schizophrenic on intellectual property laws?

Two stories are making waves right now, and neither one is particularly clear. First, we have claims that the French are turning draconian by trying to slap DRM on anything and everything. At the same time we have reports that France has gone libertine, and now approves of all manner of piracy. How can both be true?

Ars Technica, 2005, December 22nd | Language: EN | 583 words

Finnish filesharers to be pilloried in public

France and Finland are preparing to crack down on illegal firesharing with tougher punishments for hardcore miscreants. Finnish authorities recently developed new anti piracy laws which would allow record companies to place names of convicted file sharers in major newspapers, and then charge them for the ad.

The Register, 2005, December 22nd | Language: EN | 222 words

France votes to legalize flat-fee P2P downloads

The French legislature has voted to amend the nation's copyright law to legalize internet file sharing with a pot of money being raised, and divided up, to compensate artists and other right holders. (...) Professor Terry Fisher of the Harvard Law School's Berkman Center think tank calculated that a fee of $5 per month on a broadband connection would compensate the recording and movie industries for 20 per cent of their current revenue.

The Register, 2005, December 22nd | Language: EN | 497 words

Werkstraf en hoge boete voor cd-vervalsers/kopieerders

De correctionele rechtbank van Namen heeft Serge L. (39) en Pascal D. (36) veroordeeld tot een werkstraf van negentig en zestig uur voor het namaken en verkopen van ongeveer duizend dvd's, tienduizend cd's en drieduizend Playstation-spelletjes tussen 15 september 2001 en 15 september 2003. Ook moeten beide beklaagden een boete betalen aan Sabam van 461.378 euro.

De Standaard, 2005, December 22nd | Language: NL | 156 words

Het meest gehoord in België

De Standaard, 2005, December 21st | Language: NL | 70 words

De langste, de meeste

De Standaard, 2005, December 21st | Language: NL | 59 words

Céline Dion is onze hitkoningin

Céline Dion is de onbetwiste popkoningin van het voorbije decennium in België. Haar voornaamste concurrenten waren geen Britten, maar Belgen. De cijfers staan in Ultratop 1995-2005 , een lijvig naslagwerk van de stichting Ultratop, die zowat de hele Belgische platenindustrie vertegenwoordigt.

De Standaard, 2005, December 21st | Language: NL | 616 words

Softwareontwikkelaar jan Rooijakkers: 'wij boycotten Sabam'

Wie alvast start met een boycot tegen Sabam, is softwareontwikkelaar Jan Rooijakkers uit Turnhout. (...) Het gaat om een softwarepakket met een muziekbestand dat via de computer wordt afgespeeld. (...) "Ons systeem is honderd procent sluitend. We kunnen precies registreren welk nummer is afgespeeld en hoe lang. Om in orde te zijn met de wetgeving op de auteursrechten hebben wij Sabam en Simim (die rechten innen voor respectievelijk de componisten en de uitvoerders van muziek, SD) er van meet af aan bij betrokken. En toch moeten wij een maandelijks forfait betalen per klant. Dat is schandalig, want naar schatting 15 procent van de nummers die door onze klanten gebruikt worden, zitten niet in beheer bij Sabam", zegt Rooijakkers.

De Morgen, 2005, December 19th | Language: NL | 242 words

Chiroleider Hans (23): 'Sabam is corrupte Gestapo'

"We waren domweg vergeten Sabam te betalen bij ons laatste groepsfeest", vertelt Hans, een 23-jarige hoofdleider van een Chirogroep. "Normaal doen we dat wel, hoor. Of toch meestal. We sjoemelen wel een beetje met de oppervlakte en het aantal gasten om de prijs zo laag mogelijk te houden, maar dat doet iedereen. Dat weten ze bij Sabam ook wel.

De Morgen, 2005, December 19th | Language: NL | 377 words

Swapping on the ropes

Recent court activity suggests that illegal song swapping may be facing its swan song.

Cnet, 2005, December 19th | Language: EN | 1249 words

Warner Chappell backtracks over PearLyrics legal threat

Music publisher Warner Chappell has let song lyric search tool PearLyrics off the hook. (...) Warner Chappell said it had merely wanted "to provide consumers a convenient, legal way to find accurate song lyrics", in a statement issued on Friday by the company's chairman and CEO, Richard Blackstone.

The Register, 2005, December 19th | Language: EN | 258 words

Action on song lyric websites is misguided

Comment The Music Publishers' Association of America (MPA) has announced a legal campaign targeted at unlicensed sheet music, lyrics and 'tab' sites, threatening to throw site owners into jail. But these unfortunate actions could do more damage than good.

The Register, 2005, December 19th | Language: EN | 418 words

Downloads 'decide' festive No 1

Download sales look set to play a vital role in who will scoop the coveted Christmas number one in the UK charts. The race for number one and demand for digital music players will push sales to an all-time high, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) predicted. (...) Weekly digital sales now regularly top 650,000, but may reach the one million mark for the first time, says the BPI.

Bbc, 2005, December 19th | Language: EN | 513 words

Apple axes 'iRingTones' project

Exclusive Apple has canned a software project that was guaranteed to prove controversial (...) The project would have seen Apple move into the ringtone retail business in direct confrontation with cellular carriers, with whom Apple already has a stormy relationship.

The Register, 2005, December 16th | Language: EN | 357 words

Silent Night for Music Sales

The holiday season has traditionally been a time for the music industry to relax and watch the money roll in as big-name releases all but sell themselves. The stocking-stuffer effect is generally strong enough that the season generates 40% of the industry's annual revenue. This year, though, there's little Christmas cheer to go around. During the crucial Thanksgiving week, for instance, the top 10 albums sold 40% fewer copies than the top 10 albums the same week in 2004. (...) The long decline has been fed by a combination of factors -- including online piracy, CD burning, high prices and competition for consumer dollars from videogames and DVDs.

Wall Street Journal, 2005, December 16th | Language: EN | 1462 words

Kazaa owners risk jail

Record companies allege that Sharman Networks, the owner of Kazaa, didn't comply with a Federal Court order (described by the court as order number four) to modify the software to ensure 3,000 keywords would be filtered by 5 December. (...) Counsel for the record industry, Tony Bannon, said his side "didn't want" an imprisonment outcome, but argued that Sharman had failed to comply with the order.

Zdnet, 2005, December 15th | Language: EN | 491 words

Google adds music search and purchase features

Google Inc. (...) is introducing a music search feature that details the work of certain featured artists, the company said late on Wednesday. "In analyzing our traffic, we found that a huge number of users conduct music-related searches," Google said in a statement. (...) Google is late to the game with music search results, the analysts noted. IAC/InterActiveCorp's (...) Ask Jeeves, Microsoft Corp.'s (...) MSN and Yahoo Inc. (...) all have offered music search for some time.

Reuters, 2005, December 15th | Language: EN | 486 words

RIAA Brings New Round Of Lawsuits Against 751 Online Music Thieves

(...) the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) (...) announced a new round of copyright infringement lawsuits today against 751 new individuals, including students at the college campuses of Drexel University, Harvard University, and the University of Southern California.

Riaa, 2005, December 15th | Language: EN | 319 words

Twee weken werkstraf voor minderjarige cd/dvd piraat

De Hoge Raad bevestigde deze week een uitspraak van het Hof in Den Bosch tegen een minderjarige cd-r piraat. De scholier werd veroordeeld voor het herhaaldelijk en opzettelijk plegen van auteursrechtinbreuken door cd's en dvd's met muziek, films en interactieve software te kopiëren en verspreiden.

IFPI Belgium (Belgian Entertainment Association), 2005, December 15th | Language: NL | 116 words

Microsoft en MTV met verenigde krachten tegen iTunes

Softwaregigant Microsoft en muziekzender MTV brengen volgend jaar een gezamenlijke internetdownloadwinkel op de markt. (...) De nieuwe service zal 'Urge' heten en standaard in Windows Vista (de opvolger van Windows XP) worden verwerkt. Microsoft zal op die manier audio en video van MTV Networks aan de man brengen. Urge verschijnt pas als Windows Vista op de markt komt, naar verwachting in 2006.

De Standaard, 2005, December 14th | Language: NL | 193 words

Muziekindustrie viseert websites met liedjesteksten

Op het internet zijn er talloze websites te vinden waar je de teksten van liedjes kan lezen. Andere sites zijn dan weer gespecialiseerd in de partituren van muziekwerken of gitaarakkoorden van popsongs. Die websites zijn een doorn in het oog van de Music Publishers' Association (MPA), de Amerikaanse vereniging van muziekuitgevers.

De Standaard, 2005, December 14th | Language: NL | 276 words

Woman loses RIAA Internet theft appeal

A mother of five has lost her appeal against a conviction for illegally downloading music from the Internet. In one of the first such cases brought by the RIAA, Cecilia Gonzales had been found guilty of illegally downloading material from the KaZaA p2p network. After rejecting a settlement with the RIAA of $3,500, she was taken to court. Upon conviction, Gonzales was fined a total of $750 per song found on her computer with a total fine of $22,500.

Pc Pro, 2005, December 13th | Language: EN | 227 words

UK 'tops European download fans'

People in the UK download more music than other Europeans, spending 75p per month on average, a survey suggests. The study for Motorola said it was three times more than those surveyed in Germany, Italy or France.

Bbc, 2005, December 13th | Language: EN | 171 words

Microsoft, MTV Share Urge to Upend iTunes

Urge is slated to launch early in 2006 and will be integrated into upcoming versions of Microsoft's Media Player. The service is aimed at leveraging MTV's brands -- including VH1 and Country Music Television -- and its relationships with record labels and the music industry to give Microsoft an instant leg up in the digital music world.

Technology News, 2005, December 12th | Language: EN | 747 words

Song sites face legal crackdown

Unauthorised guitar tabs and other musical scores are widely available The music industry is to extend its copyright war by taking legal action against websites offering unlicensed song scores and lyrics. The US Music Publishers' Association (MPA), which represents sheet music companies, will launch its first campaign against such sites in 2006. MPA president Lauren Keiser said he wanted site owners to be jailed.

Bbc, 2005, December 12th | Language: EN | 549 words

Downloads in music overload

With more than 15,000 songs available at the touch of a button, the iPod generation has more access to music than ever before. But now experts believe consumers are suffering from musical overload. (...) The study examined the listening habits of 350 students, school pupils, workers and unemployed adults during everyday life.

Scotsman, 2005, December 11th | Language: EN | 429 words

Clogger of P2P networks to shut down

A leading service that attempted to dissuade people from using file-trading networks like Kazaa, by planting millions of fake files online, is being shut down. Seattle-based Loudeye said Friday that it is shuttering its Overpeer division, effective immediately (...)

Cnet, 2005, December 9th | Language: EN | 238 words

Students raise funds for roommate sued by RIAA

Delwin Olivan '08 might be luckier than the other 23 University students charged with music piracy by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) last spring -- his friends created a website and t-shirt line to defray the cost of his settlement. (...) An RIAA representative phoned Olivan on November 5, and told him to settle the case for $5,000 within 60 days or face far greater claims in court.

Daily Princetonian, 2005, December 9th | Language: EN | 536 words

Creative restokes MP3 player patent threat

Creative has once again touted its ownership of a key digital music player user-interface patent, though the comapny's CEO, Sim Wong Hoo, didn't go as far as to threaten any rival companies - guess who - specifically. Speaking in London yesterday at the launch of the video iPod-like Zen Vision:M player, Hoo said the company will leverage its ownership of US patent 6,928,433, looking to implementations of side-scrolling hierarchical menus in MP3 players from other companies as a source of future royalty revenues.

The Register, 2005, December 9th | Language: EN | 280 words

MPAA/RIAA Offer Tips To Help Holiday Shoppers Steer Clear Of Counterfeit CDs, DVDs

(...) a coast-to-coast effort dubbed "Holiday Blitz," designed to halt counterfeit sales of movies and music in retail shops, flea markets and on the streets during the holiday shopping season. Because the year-end holidays are one of the peak times for counterfeit sale of copyrighted products, industry officials caution that consumers and retailers alike must remain extra vigilant at this time of year.

Riaa, 2005, December 8th | Language: EN | 1212 words

Music giant stamps on song lyric search app

The developer of a song-lyric search utility has been forced to kill the application after being threatened with legal action by UK music publishing giant Warner/Chappell. Walter Ritter, creator of the Mac OS X-based pearLyrics, was this week sent a cease and desist letter by the publisher.

The Register, 2005, December 8th | Language: EN | 331 words

Napster Launches Digital Music Service in Germany

German music fans can also purchase songs and albums a la carte for 99 cents and euro 9.95, respectively, from the Napster Light download store, where they can also listen to free 30-second samples of all the songs in the Napster catalogue. (...) "Napster is very pleased to bring the biggest brand in on-line music to the number one music market in Continental Europe," said Chris Gorog, chairman and CEO of Napster.

Yahoo, 2005, December 8th | Language: EN | 823 words

224.000 euro boete voor cd-vervalser

De correctionele rechtbank van Namen heeft een 43-jarige man uit Andenne veroordeeld tot het betalen van in totaal 227.289,04 euro boete en schadeloosstelling voor het namaken van cd's, dvd's en Playstation-spelletjes.

De Standaard, 2005, December 7th | Language: NL | 94 words

Apple sells 100m songs in Europe

Apple has sold over 100 million downloads through iTunes in Europe - and a Belgian music lover scooped the prize.

Macworld, 2005, December 7th | Language: EN | 117 words

DiMA and RIAA Beckon Holiday Shoppers to Give the Gift of Legal Online Music This Holiday Season!

The Digital Media Association (DiMA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today called on consumers to give digital music gifts this holiday season, and offered examples of easy gift-giving opportunities available through DiMA members.

Riaa, 2005, December 6th | Language: EN | 399 words

Nieuwe, 'positieve' website voor Stichting de Thuiskopie

Via deze site [www.onbezorgdkopieren.nl] wil Stichting de Thuiskopie vooral duidelijk maken dat dank zij haar activiteiten de consument rustig een kopie voor privé-gebruik kan maken. Wie naar de pagina surft, komt al dadelijk de kop tegen 'Thuiskopiëren mag'. De positieve insteek is duidelijk.

Webwereld, 2005, December 6th | Language: NL | 305 words

Sharman cuts off Kazaa downloads in Australia

Sharman Networks has cutoff Australian users' access to the Web site from which the file-swapping software Kazaa can be downloaded. The shutdown--undertaken to comply with orders from Australia's Federal Court--took effect late Monday in Australia. While users with an Australian IP address who have already downloaded Kazaa can continue to use it, but Sharman is warning them not to do so.

Cnet, 2005, December 5th | Language: EN | 817 words

Kris Wauters over legaal downloaden via sites als Nieuwsblad

Nieuwsblad, 2005, December 5th | Language: NL | 412 words

Jongeren verkiezen nog steeds illegale downloads

Volgens de onderzoekers betaalt slechts vijf procent van alle internetconsumenten voor het downloaden van muziek. Vijftien procent deelt muziekbestanden zonder te betalen. Van de 15- tot 24-jarigen gaf 34 procent van de ondervraagden toe online muziekbestanden te delen zonder ervoor te betalen.

Het Laatste Nieuws, 2005, December 5th | Language: NL | 148 words

Kazaa on final countdown to filter deadline - recording industry calls for action

The operators of the law-breaking music distributor Kazaa have until midnight tonight (5th December Australian EST) to begin implementing the first court-ordered filters to their music piracy system.

IFPI, 2005, December 5th | Language: EN | 643 words

RealNetworks moves Rhapsody to the Web

RealNetworks executives hope the new version, in conjunction with a previous offer allowing people to listen to 25 songs for free, will make it easier for Web surfers to understand what a subscription music service is all about. (...) Listeners will be able to search the database of 1.4 million songs and make a playlist of up to 25 songs for free.

Cnet, 2005, December 4th | Language: EN | 544 words

RIAA Praises Department of Justice, FBI and Nashville Police Department for Efforts Resulting in Recent Indictment of Music Pirate

Nashville police and special agents from the FBI found hundreds of bootleg recordings and videos in the suspect's car. Some of the DVDs were of movies still playing in theaters, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Riaa, 2005, December 2nd | Language: EN | 331 words

Uiteenlopende reacties op uitkomst heffingendebat

In de nasleep van het op 30 november gevoerde debat over nieuwe heffingen op mp3-spelers en dvd-recorders met harde schijf zijn de reacties sterk verschillend.

Webwereld, 2005, December 2nd | Language: NL | 467 words

Plan for 'iPod tax' in Japan unravels

Japan's recording industry has been pushing for the tax since the explosive success of Apple's iPod began about two years ago. The tax would add from 2 percent to 5 percent to the price of portable players. (...) On Thursday, after a year of debate, the committee concluded that it could not reach a consensus on supporting the proposal, said Hiroyuki Suzuki, a spokesman for the agency's copyright division. Without a consensus, the committee had to reject the proposal, he said.

Cnet, 2005, December 2nd | Language: EN | 195 words

IFPI welcomes Mandelson's

The recording industry welcomes the statement of the EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, who declared that the EU will work together with the US in a "zero tolerance" approach to piracy and counterfeiting.

IFPI, 2005, December 2nd | Language: EN | 233 words

Prijzen cd's en dvd's lopen sterk uiteen

De Standaard, 2005, December 1st | Language: NL | 532 words