ContentSphere - Music & Media in an Online Culture

[UPDATE: This article is linked and commented by Michael Masnick on TechDirt].

Sorry if I’m a bit late on this one, but I’ve taken some days off. However, this one is by far too barefaced to be believed. I’m afraid it’s no April fools’ joke.

You will remember my article on music distribution platform Jamendo going with Creative Commons. Today, I just read news from a week ago that they are about to integrate a new search tool. It supports promoters, agencies, movie makers and game manufacturers by providing search categories like mood, occasion, genre and language.

Artists participating in Jamendo’s distribution model can opt-in for Jamendo PRO. Business customers of Jamendo who would like to make commercial use of tracks offered can purchase licenses within Jamendo PRO. This differs from private customers who may download everything for free. Most importantly, it’s an additional source of revenue for artists (and Jamendo) that adds to income from ads.

The new tool helps business people interested in searching for the right music - instead of thoroughly relying on communication and recommendation via Jamendo. Any process like this is destined to be too time consuming.

… and then there’s GEMA, Germany’s collecting institution.

Continue reading "GEMA vs. Jamendo et al. - Get Money for Nothing" »

On another note, Michael Masnick had me checking out Richard Smith’s article on the issue of extending copyright. Richard Smith from London’s Guardian features the book “Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind” (free download under CreativeCommons license) by James Boyle, professor of law at Duke Law School, North Carolina. The books’ core statement is that “the world has made a colossal cultural mistake that shames our generation”. No question you wonder which mistake Boyle is talking about. It is the USA’s recent decision to extend copyright “to life plus 70 years”. Many artists may be puzzled about this… why moan? Hey, that’s great! Our property finally gets protected. Cost is: Our culture gets locked. By backdating the law to 1923 “virtually all 20th century cultural objects are locked up”.

Culture needs to develop upon the culture before. It is the same point Lawrence Lessig made when writing “Free Culture” (free download under CreativeCommons license). Now, Europe is about to decide the same way.