Be warned : Company fined US$1 Million for MP3 usage

<a href="http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/entertainment/3029974.htm" target="_blank">Got mp3's on a work server? </a> I would suggest removing them.

This is getting serious now people, scary scary stuff.

While I will openly admit I have mp3's on my PC, I have the original CD's conviniently stacked in my spare room. How does this fare, legally?

I know I can (and do) have backups of my software, and keep the original CD's in my storage closet, but does a similar right exist with music? Am I entitled to have a digital backup of my collection, to save wear and tear on the originals?

I love my music collection, and utterly hate it when I get a scratch on my CD, destroying quality, and playability, but we've all got to be wary of being sued now-a-days.

[quote]Originally posted by EvilCabbage:
<strong><a href="http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/entertainment/3029974.htm" target="_blank">Got mp3's on a work server? </a> I would suggest removing them.

This is getting serious now people, scary scary stuff.

While I will openly admit I have mp3's on my PC, I have the original CD's conviniently stacked in my spare room. How does this fare, legally?

I know I can (and do) have backups of my software, and keep the original CD's in my storage closet, but does a similar right exist with music? Am I entitled to have a digital backup of my collection, to save wear and tear on the originals?

I love my music collection, and utterly hate it when I get a scratch on my CD, destroying quality, and playability, but we've all got to be wary of being sued now-a-days.</strong><hr></blockquote>


I think the problem was with sharing the songs. I'm sure the issue would have been moot if IIS would refuse to allow employees to take music home and stored all the original CD's onsite.

[quote]Originally posted by Matridom:
<strong>I think the problem was with sharing the songs. I'm sure the issue would have been moot if IIS would refuse to allow employees to take music home and stored all the original CD's onsite.</strong><hr></blockquote>

I dont know if they would have got away with that, either. When a music CD is purchased, you are not supposed to play it in public / otherwise distribute it.

Hell, pubs & music stores (even gaming stores) play music in their establishments, but this is a technicality. I think condoning the use of MP3's to your employees shouldnt be compared.. its another ballgame altogether really..

Let me just clarify: Its not about condoning the use of MP3's its condoning the use of Piracy being the problem.

Here are a few thoughts on MP3.

MP3 will eventually go away. Everything eventually goes away. The question is when.
MP3 will go away when a better, FREE, format takes it's place OR when a digital standard exists that will prevent unauthorized reproduction while permitting consumers unlimitted personal use of the music they pay for.

For example, I have four PCs connected to 4 stereos in my house and garage and an MP3 player in the car. I should be able to play my music on any and all of these at the same time regardless of the media.

Artists and anyone involved in bringing the music to me should get paid for their part. The question of how much will shake out in the market.

Given the quality of music that can be recorded and mixed in a garage (see Dave Grohl's comments on Dennis Miller), that price is going to drop. What you'll see is that the money to be made will be in selling digital protection and live performances for established bands while new bands freely distribute their music just to get noticed.

Considering this, MP3 could hold on for a long time... at least until HDCD, SACD, DTS, and the wave of formats to come take over.

Here's the thing that gets my feathers in a ruffle about this story. The Record Industry collects 1 million from this company. They have a list of all the artists whose worked was placed on the company server. How much of that 1 million do you think is actually going to make it into the hands of the artists whose work was pirated. My guess would be 0

The RIAA acts all high and mighty and pretends like they are trying to protect the artists and their work, but when it comes down to it, the RIAA is just looking out for number one and they violate artists with terrible contracts and miserable royalty agreements as much if not more so then someone who has illegal MP3s

[quote]Originally posted by iateyourcat:
<strong>Here are a few thoughts on MP3.

MP3 will eventually go away. Everything eventually goes away. The question is when.
MP3 will go away when a better, FREE, format takes it's place OR when a digital standard exists that will prevent unauthorized reproduction while permitting consumers unlimitted personal use of the music they pay for.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

You mean something like vorbis?:
<a href="http://www.vorbis.com" target="_blank">http://www.vorbis.com</a>
Ogg-vorbis is the best audio format currently available:
<a href="http://www.ogg-vorbis.com" target="_blank">http://www.ogg-vorbis.com</a>

The compression is better than MP3 and the sound quality is ACTUALLY BETTER. Check it out...

[quote]Originally posted by korpse:
<strong>

You mean something like vorbis?:
<a href="http://www.vorbis.com" target="_blank">http://www.vorbis.com</a>
Ogg-vorbis is the best audio format currently available:
<a href="http://www.ogg-vorbis.com" target="_blank">http://www.ogg-vorbis.com</a>

The compression is better than MP3 and the sound quality is ACTUALLY BETTER. Check it out...</strong><hr></blockquote>

Cool. I'm ripping 3 CDs now. If they sound good I'll switch. Long term though I'm thinking that a 5 or 6.1 channel audio codec is going to phase out stereo codecs.

I'm listening right now... sounds good. It sound dynamic like there might be a little reverb in it. I'll put it to the test later with the Marantz monoblocks and KLF-30s.

[quote]Originally posted by EvilCabbage:
<strong>How does this fare, legally?

Am I entitled to have a digital backup of my collection, to save wear and tear on the originals?

</strong><hr></blockquote>

With the little light reading here, you might be able to figure it out: :)

<a href="http://www.anu.edu.au/ITA/AusArts/www/library/copyright.html" target="_blank">http://www.anu.edu.au/ITA/AusArts/www/library/copyright.html</a>

But don't make any money from "Happy Birthday to You"...

<a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/team/fun/birthday/" target="_blank">http://www.ibiblio.org/team/fun/birthday/</a>

[quote]Originally posted by iateyourcat:
<strong>I'm listening right now... sounds good. It sound dynamic like there might be a little reverb in it. I'll put it to the test later with the Marantz monoblocks and KLF-30s.</strong><hr></blockquote>

If you look at the waveform produced by an uncompressed WAV and the ogg-vorbis file they are almost identical. Its pretty amazing. When you compare the waveform of an uncompressed WAV and an MP3 file (compressed with various encoders) there are very noticable differences.

Let me know how your test goes. I have a feeling you'll be really happy. :D

this is old, companies get sued all the time for mp3 usage. There not free. Just convert all your mp3's to OGG files.

OGG is the free open standard music files.

Winamp pluging for ogg files [windows]
<a href="http://www.ogg-vorbis.com/downloads.asp" target="_blank">http://www.ogg-vorbis.com/downloads.asp</a>

Mp3 to OGG converter (shareware $18) [windows]
<a href="http://www.8to32.com/" target="_blank">http://www.8to32.com/</a>

Being involved with a band and theatre in high school, you get a crash course on copyright laws.

Copyright laws do allow you to copy copytighted materials for:

Educational and non profit use, but the copies must be destroyed when you are done.

For personal, non-profit use, again, you have to destroy the copies when you are done with them.

For personal backup purposes.

Copyrighted material cannot be distributed or copied for commercial, for-profit use without the written consent of the owner of the rights.

If any money is made from copies or the distribution of copyrighted materials (in a for-profit scenareo), the owner of the rigts are entitled to royalties from the profits.

Basicly, if you buy a CD, and rip the songs onto your computer as a backup, that is legal, but you cannot distribute these files.
You can make a copy of that CD to use as a personal backup, as long as you own the original CD and intend on keeping it.
You can take those songs, and songs form other albums that you rightfuly own, and make your own "mix" CDs, again, solely for personal and non-profit use.

You cannot copy CDs to sell/give to your friends, unless it is for educational purposes, and then they must be destroyed afterwards.

It seems that this company had it on a drive where any employee could access it. Yes, nice to be able to listen to, but that is a breach of copyright laws.

Now, there are many loopholes. Like,

I own a CD, and I want a personal backup. I do not have the ability to do so, so I go to a friend of mine to do it for me. He may, given that he creats only one copy for me, and gives me back both discs. He must also destroy any other copies of the recording he might have acuired during that. Its the same with mixes.
It would also be legal for me to acuire these recordings though other means (ie Napster) if I did own the album that song came on (I cannot download a remixof a song on the album (the remix isn't on the alum), just the song version that is on my CD). But, you MUST own the rights to an album to do this. Wether its CD, 8-track, Record or cassette.

(If any of this is wrong, pleae let me know!)

[quote]Originally posted by Daemon:
<strong>this is old, companies get sued all the time for mp3 usage. There not free. Just convert all your mp3's to OGG files.

OGG is the free open standard music files.

Winamp pluging for ogg files [windows]
<a href="http://www.ogg-vorbis.com/downloads.asp" target="_blank">http://www.ogg-vorbis.com/downloads.asp</a>

Mp3 to OGG converter (shareware $18) [windows]
<a href="http://www.8to32.com/" target="_blank">http://www.8to32.com/</a></strong><hr></blockquote>

<a href="http://www.dbpoweramp.com" target="_blank">www.dbpoweramp.com</a> convert any format (nearly) to any other format

[quote]Originally posted by Radical Dreamer:
<strong>

<a href="http://www.dbpoweramp.com" target="_blank">www.dbpoweramp.com</a> convert any format (nearly) to any other format</strong><hr></blockquote>

I'm not big on converting from format to format (unless the original format is RAW/uncompressed). Its kind of like resaving a jpeg over and over (the picture will degrade quickly). You lose quality the more you convert. Its better to recompress the original, otherwise the quality will really suffer...

[quote]Originally posted by EvilCabbage:
<strong>

I dont know if they would have got away with that, either. When a music CD is purchased, you are not supposed to play it in public / otherwise distribute it.

Hell, pubs & music stores (even gaming stores) play music in their establishments, but this is a technicality. I think condoning the use of MP3's to your employees shouldnt be compared.. its another ballgame altogether really..</strong><hr></blockquote>


I think you can play it in public, you just can't charge them to listen...(?)

Anyway, I am basing that on an incident a few years ago..I was at a comic convention which charged about 4 bucks to get in, once inside they had several big screens showing Anime and SCI-FI, etc...some where someone from the government(?) found out and told the organizer that he was commiting a crime by charging people to enter then view the movies. All he had to do was move the TVs out side of where the line for admission and everything was cool...

[quote]Originally posted by EvilCabbage:
<strong>

I dont know if they would have got away with that, either. When a music CD is purchased, you are not supposed to play it in public / otherwise distribute it.

Hell, pubs & music stores (even gaming stores) play music in their establishments, but this is a technicality. I think condoning the use of MP3's to your employees shouldnt be compared.. its another ballgame altogether really..</strong><hr></blockquote>

Pubs in the states can legally play music through a Jukebox. Any inhouse music, you must pay a fee to ASCAP and/or BMI for public performance of pre-recorded music.

To have an MP3 on a public domain server is the same as having them on Morpheus.

[quote]Originally posted by Daemon:
<strong>this is old, companies get sued all the time for mp3 usage. There not free. Just convert all your mp3's to OGG files.

OGG is the free open standard music files.

Winamp pluging for ogg files [windows]
<a href="http://www.ogg-vorbis.com/downloads.asp" target="_blank">http://www.ogg-vorbis.com/downloads.asp</a>

Mp3 to OGG converter (shareware $18) [windows]
<a href="http://www.8to32.com/" target="_blank">http://www.8to32.com/</a></strong><hr></blockquote>


MP3 or OGG does not matter. If you did not pay for the music you do not have the right to take it or distribute it.