Re: [ARSCLIST] 21st Century Discographies

[Steven Smolian <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>]

So suppose the master site was offshore, just like some porn, not to mention
a considerble number of jobs?

Steve Smolian



----- Original Message -----
From: <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 6:12 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] 21st Century Discographies


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steven Smolian" <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>
> > As I understand it, everything recorded in the U.S. is protected to
> > non-institution users who do not have permissions.  The more I see
posted
> on
> > the Music Library Association web site, the more I believe this to be
the
> > attitude of those nominally holding the copyrights.  I'm sure I don't
want
> > to take on those behemoths financially and/or in court.  Being right,
our
> > standpoint of course, is not worth the cost.  And they seem to be
looking
> > for targets.
> Technically, yes and no...practically, it is. In fact, I'm not even sure
if
> institutional users have any rights that haven't been specially arranged
> with
> RIAA or its members.
>
> From a strict-interpretation standpoint, anything recorded before 1972 is
> not
> copyrighted *as a sound recording*, since the original framers of
copyright
> law neglected to provide for a copyright on sound recordings. However, a
> maze
> of state laws, often without exemptions or expiry dates, make it illegal
to
> publish (in the technical sense of that term) sound recordings unless the
> publisher actually arranged the recording session and thus owns the
> recording.
> Some of these laws were enacted to prevent Frank Seaman from reissuing
Emile
> Berliner's recordings...and because they have no terms or expiry dates,
> we STILL can't! Whether or not, and to what extent, these anti-piracy
> statuates
> would apply to the free (in both senses) distribution of archived sound
> files
> via the internet has probably not been established; however, some of the
> nation's
> finest legal minds would be glad to help establish them (at several
hundred
> dollars an hour plus expenses!).
>
> Now, the RIAA, being firmly convinced that only the invention of personal
> computers and the development of the internet is stopping them from
selling
> 237 billion copies of their latest attempts at sound recording, are in
> fighting
> trim and loaded for bear (well, for music-nappers), and are not in a mood
to
> grant any allowances in reference to any and all of the obscure statuates
> that might be applicable to the hapless soul who merely wants to hear Burt
> Sheppard doing "How I Got To Morrow" or, worse yet, arrange for someone
else
> to hear it. Allowing this chap to get away with that might create a
loophole
> which would someday allow his offspring to be flogging the latest efforts
> of Britney Spears all around the schoolyard (and, worse yet, here in
Canada
> the first recordings of Elvis become p.d. in just over a year!). As a
> result,
> the RIAA are reenacting one of Aesop's fables...they have no intention of
> ever reissuing many of their vast holdings, but they also have no
intention
> of allowing anyone else to do so!
>
> It is possible that enough lawyers searching for enough precedents could
> establish legally that some or all of these recorded archives could be
made
> available to an anxiously-waiting (HA!) public...but whoever is financing
> this battle will need a rather large pile of money (and a lot of
patience!).
> In the meantime, there is always Canada...and it's not that bad up here
> (then again it's not winter yet!)
> Steven C. Barr
> (who can play you "How I Got To Morrow" if you can stand the cats...)