Tag Archives: RIAA

RIAA now counts online streams in Gold and Platinum Digital Single Awards

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After years of fighting against the digital tide, the RIAA announced it'll now factor online audio and video streams when considering tracks for its Digital Single Award. The certification has heretofore been given to digital tracks that have gone Gold or Platinum, but only for downloads: 500,000 for Gold, 1,000,000 for Platinum and 2 million-plus for multi-Platinum. But under its new policy, 100 streams count as one download, meaning that it could reach those thresholds with a mix of streams and downloads, not just the latter. The new approach is "an approximate barometer of comparative consumer activity; the financial value of streams and downloads were not factored into the equation."

All told, these include streams from services like MOG, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify and Rdio along with video sites like VEVO, YouTube and MTV.com. Under the new system, 56 titles have already gone Gold and beyond, with 11 receiving their first ever digital song cert. A couple of first-timers include Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" which went Platinum and Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" that went multi-Platinum. While we can't say if music services will make everyone happy, it's clear streaming's here to stay. Hear that, iTunes?

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Via: The Verge

Source: RIAA

RIAA claims Google’s anti-piracy downranking doesn’t work

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RIAA claims Google's antipiracy downranking doesn't work

Google offered an olive branch to content producers when it promised to downrank pirate sites in its search results last summer. Really, the RIAA was looking for the whole tree; it just published a report claiming that Google's technique hasn't had any tangible impact. The agency argues that the millions of takedown requests didn't lead to "significant" drops in rank for habitual violators. It further contends that many legitimate music sites only showed up in the top ten for about half of the searches, and were often kicked down the ladder by their bootleg counterparts. We're reaching out to Google to get its side of the story, but the RIAA isn't quite as patient: it's demanding that Google "immediately" change the results and volunteers its help. While that's a step forward from the music group's previous accusatory stance, it doesn't quite represent a two-way conversation on anti-piracy measures.

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Via: The Verge

Source: RIAA

Editorial: RIAA takedown requests and ad complaints are missing an opportunity

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RIAA takedown requests and ad complaints are missing an opportunity

As noted here, the RIAA has issued 10 million takedown requests to Google in an attempt to close off paths to sites that facilitate music downloading. At the same time, a related phenomenon is fueling the fire of rightsholder outrage: Brand advertising that appears on download sites and generates revenue for those businesses.

These two aspects of the internet's ecosystem -- finding free music downloads through search engines, and ad-supported sites expediting illicit music acquisition -- represent deeply rooted challenges to media owners. At the same time, as with most challenges, there is a flip side of opportunity. The difference between capitalizing on an opportunity and being defeated by its challenge is the difference between getting in front of reality and falling behind it. The RIAA is regarded by many as the poster organization for denial of reality. A reversal of strategy and tactics might get big media owners in front of 21st century realities.

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RIAA copyright takedown requests to Google reach 10 million

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RIAA takedown requests to Google reach 10 million

Something tells us they won't be handing out gold watches for this milestone. Just eight months after Google added copyright takedown requests to its Transparency Report, the search firm can claim to have almost exactly 10 million such requests from the RIAA. A dive into the numbers very quickly explains just how they built up so quickly. The RIAA and the music labels attached to it have topped at least the most recent monthly requests, and they're collectively issuing hundreds of thousands of notices every week. We certainly don't expect the industry group to hang up its hat just because it's at a nice, round figure: when pirate sites rarely stay down for long, and the RIAA all but accuses Google of being an accomplice to piracy despite censorship concerns, the current game of infringement whack-a-mole is only likely to continue.

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Via: Digital Music News

Source: Google Transparency Report

Editorial: Vanishing ‘copywrong’ document blasts RIAA, suggests radical reform, and should be taken seriously

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Editorial Change copyright now

Something startling happened over the weekend. It came and went in a flash, but the repercussions could, and should, be lasting. An unexpected and most unusual policy brief from the Republican Study Committee was released. (The RSC is a 165-member congressional policy review group.) Entitled Three Myths About Copyright Law and Where to Start to Fix It, the eight-page document is an astonishing declaration of revisionism, bristling with policy arguments that align with the most excitable rants of P2P advocates over the last 10 years. It is a devastating indictment of American copyright law.

Then, in less than 24 hours, the paper was rescinded. The committee's Executive Director, Paul S. Teller, offered an obscure apology with no explanation. Of course the thing is easily available, and its message remains a permanent part of the conversational record, deletion be damned.

By arguing that the current iteration of American copyright law is broken in several respects, and by proposing extreme solutions, the rogue document debilitates the talking points of institutional copyright holders and their agencies such as the RIAA. Anyone who has been following the hardened rhetoric over what copyright should be in a copy-share digital world will be startled by the accusatory language and sharply reformist intent of this document.

Continue reading Editorial: Vanishing 'copywrong' document blasts RIAA, suggests radical reform, and should be taken seriously

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Time Warner Cable and Verizon plan to redirect, throttle internet users accused of piracy (video)

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Time Warner Cable and Verizon plan to temporarily redirect, throttle internet users accused of piracy video

We've been wondering what major American internet providers would do to thwart supposed pirates beyond nag them senseless; other than leaks surrounding AT&T's reeducation process, we've mostly been left in the dark. There's a better picture of the consequences now that Time Warner Cable and Verizon have unveiled their strategies at an Internet Society conference. Verizon's approach is an attempt to straddle the line between angry media studios and the basic need to communicate: if copyright complaints reach the fifth or sixth notice, Verizon will throttle the connection for two to three days without instituting outright blocks. TWC's method may be tougher to ignore -- the cable provider will redirect claimed infringers to a custom page and restrict what they can visit. While it's not clear just how limited access will be, it's doubtful anyone will want to find out.

Not surprisingly, critics like the Electronic Frontier Foundation aren't happy with the restrictions as a whole, and point to the Center for Copyright Information allegedly going back on its vows of impartiality -- it notes that the anti-piracy initiative's reviewer is a previous RIAA lobbying firm, and that many of the real technical details are partially censored despite promises of transparency. The Center hasn't responded to those challenges, but we're somewhat comforted when it claims there won't be draconian attempts to catch everyone, at least not in the foreseeable future. We'd still be sure to lock down any WiFi hotspots to avoid false accusations; ignoring any ISP warnings could soon lead to more than just a sternly-worded message.

Continue reading Time Warner Cable and Verizon plan to redirect, throttle internet users accused of piracy (video)

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Time Warner Cable and Verizon plan to redirect, throttle internet users accused of piracy (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T training document suggests ISPs are gearing up to beat piracy with internet restrictions

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AT&T training document suggests ISPs are gearing up to beat piracy with internet restrictions

The fact that ISPs are working with the RIAA in a bid to squash piracy is far from new. A leaked document claiming to be AT&T training materials, however, suggests that the operator is about to stop talking, and start doing. According to TorrentFreak notifications will be sent out to customers on November 28th about the change in policy, with those suspected of illicit downloads receiving an email alerting them of the possible copyright infringement. We'd previously heard of a six-stage notification system, and this, too, is mentioned here with repeat offenders facing access to "many of the most frequently visited websites" restricted. Even stranger, is the talk of having to complete an online tutorial about copyright to get the restrictions lifted. As AT&T is part of the MPAA and RIAA-backed Center for Copyright Information, it's likely that the other members (Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision), will be prepping similar plans. We've asked AT&T for confirmation directly, but for now keep an eye on the mail.

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AT&T training document suggests ISPs are gearing up to beat piracy with internet restrictions originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Royalties From Digital Radio Total $1 Billion since 2000

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The music industry has vilified itself more than a little for consumers of digital media thanks to the widespread and overreaching piracy suits headed by the RIAA. It gets the point where you might...