New ruling would make parody and recreation photos and album covers illegal
The copyright battle continues on another front as a UK Patents County Court judge found that copyright infringement could occur even if the photo has been recreated from scratch. According to the ruling, "copying a photograph does not require a facsimile reproduction, it is enough to recreate the scene or a substantial part of it." This could make famous…
2012-01-27 17:00:02

Anonymous takes down Department of Justice, Universal Music sites over MegaUpload shutdown
Some breaking news coming in from, well, everywhere, as notorious protest group Anonymous have taken down the websites of the Department of Justice and Universal Music. They commented on this saying: It was in retaliation for Megaupload, as was the concurrent attack on Justice.org." Both sites are still down, and more attacks are being mounted; Anonymous members have…
2012-01-19 20:00:01

The SOPA aftermath
Just a follow up on the events that took place yesterday where many of your favorite sites (like Wikipedia.org and Reddit) went offline to express their concerns over the SOPA and PIPA copyright bills floating through the house of representatives. Punknews.org was among the many sites who broke from a…
2012-01-19 18:30:01

Where we stand on SOPA/PIPA
As you might have noticed, many of your favorite sites have opted to black out or restrict content today. The root of this protest is new legislation that will have a transformative and dangerous effect on the free Internet as we know it. There has been so much chatter about the bills that you could be forgiven for being unsure about what is being proposed and the consequences. Before we explain the bill, it's also significant to note that this…
2012-01-18 12:30:01

Sony, Warner, Universal sue Grooveshark
The big three major labels - Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group have joined together to sue yet-another music service. The latest company to be sued is Napster MP3.com Grokster Limewire Kazaa Gainesville, FL-based…
2011-12-15 18:00:01

Classic Tony Hawk games being reissued but without iconic soundtracks
The beloved first two Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games are headed for HD reissues next year, but unfortunately will likely not include the series' iconic punk and hardcore soundtracks. As Activision community blogger Dan Amrich explains: [The new game] is not a straight reissue; but a new game based on the levels and gameplay from both of…
2011-12-15 12:00:01

Comedian Louis CK experiments with direct distribution
While many musicians have been experimenting with directly distributing content to people, one of our favorite comedians, New York-based Louis CK decided to try the same thing with his latest stand up special. He paid for the recording of the performance at the Beacon Theatre at a cost of $170,000 which was the proceeds from the ticket sales; he then sold the show online for $5 in a easily downloadable (and easily shared) format directly from his own website instead of via DVD or through HBO or Comedy Central. He said this: As of Today, we've…
2011-12-14 13:00:01

Streaming services defend model, blame labels
With labels like Century Media, Sumerian Media, Prosthetic Records and distributor STHoldings leaving streaming services, a new Fast Company article talks to the CEOs of MOG, Spotify and Rdio about the controversy. MOG's David Hyman explained how the site pays royalties/revenue to artists: Out of every $10, we pay a (for example) $6 to the label. The [labels] split that $6 amongst themselves based on frequency of plays. So let's say we have…
2011-11-22 18:00:01

Google launches "open" music store for artists
Yesterday, Google announced the launch of the Google Artist Hub; significantly, it allows musicians to upload, share and sell music all directly through Google's own platform. While iTunes has workarounds available - like Tunecore - the deal is noticeable in that it is completely manageable by the artists and elminiates the need for a "publisher" like a label or Tunecore to act as gatekeeper to the store. The product acts as a sort of…
2011-11-17 18:00:01

Lou Reed launches signature headphones
Looks like celebrity-endorsed headphones aren't just the realm of hip hop musicians anymore; the influential (and frequently weird) Lou Reed has launched a new set of Klipsch headphones based on their popular $350 X10i line of iPhone headphones. The Lou Reed models retail for an extra $50 but include a purple remote, Reed's autograph on the remote and a 360-degree mic.…
2011-11-15 17:30:01