Digital History

At a time when cultural homogenisation is on the rise, where generative AI is increasingly putting innovative creativity in competition with mass derivation, we risk a future where music diversity is also being actively commercially suppressed. The introduction of thresholds, especially where they de-monetise repertoire , but also where they apply... See more

That is, of course, more or less the rub: if the Xerox machine is somewhat of a troubling invention, everything about our modern-day computer-rich ecosystem is a thousand times worse. My phone syncs to my tablet syncs to my laptop; the value proposition of every device on my person is that it instantaneously and unquestioningly shares copies — of... See more

And in the court’s strenuous efforts to walk that fine line between the iPod and the RIAA, it shamelessly made up an entire copyright law doctrine without batting an eye, a theory of liability that hadn’t existed up until that point in time.

The most prominent recent victory for organized musicians was 2018’s Music Modernization Act, which, among other things, established mechanical royalties for streaming, based on a “grand bargain” offering streaming services indemnity from infringement lawsuits in exchange for royalties. The MMA was sponsored by conservative Republicans Bob... See more

“Built on a foundation of artist-centric principles, Streaming 2.0 will represent a new age of innovation, consumer segmentation, geographic expansion, greater consumer value and ARPU growth,” writes Grainge in today’s letter.

And they didn’t mince around what was happening across the country. “I know perfectly well I could go out and buy a CD and put it on my iPod,” said Justice David Souter. “But I also know perfectly well that if I can get the music on the iPod without buying the CD, that’s what I’m going to do.” If that was the case, and the RIAA got its way,... See more

Grokster and StreamCast are dead. Even the iPod is no longer in production. They are buried and gone, like the Betamax and the Betamax “substantial non-infringing uses” standard — all relics of a bygone era, the ephemera of 2004. Copyright law barely made sense then. As you might suspect, 20 years later, it makes even less sense now.

And then, in one of those mischievous asides that he was known for, Breyer added, “For all I know, the monks had a fit when Gutenberg made his press.”

We already know that by ownership independents account for nearly half of the recorded music market. The reality is that the feeding frenzy in the independent sector is a sign of the majors’ weakness rather than their strength.

Streaming has shattered the barriers to market entry the majors created in the CD age. That trend will only continue.

The... See more