File-sharing decision quashed by U.S. Supreme Court
Internet file-sharing services can be held accountable for billions in lost revenue if they intend their software to be used to swap songs and movies illegally, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The ruling could open the door for lawsuits from the entertainment industry against file-sharing services for copyright infringement.
The Supreme Court decision sends the case back to the lower court, which had favoured Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks Inc., companies that operate file-sharing services, by saying they could not be sued by entertainment conglomerate MGM.
The lower courts based their judgments on a 1984 Supreme Court decision that Sony could not be sued because consumers used its VCRs to make illegal copies of movies. As well, they said the file-sharing services were not legally responsible because they don't have central servers pointing users to copyrighted material.
Monday's ruling directs the lower courts to re-examine the Grokster/StreamCast case. The high court says there is enough evidence of "unlawful intent" for the case to go to trial. It means the services may have to pay out billions to music and movie artists if they are found to have promoted illegal downloading. It will become a test case for the issue of file-sharing.
"We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright ... is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties," Justice David Souter wrote for the court.
Souter directed the lower courts to examine certain factors such as how companies marketed the product or whether they took steps to reduce the use of their software for illegal purposes.
Monday's judgment gives the entertainment industry an alternative to going after individual online file-swappers. Recording companies have already sued thousands of users, settling about 600 cases for roughly $3,000 each.
However, the problem of piracy is unlikely to go away as software programs created abroad aren't subject to U.S. copyright laws.
Music and production companies claim as much as 90 per cent of songs and movies copied on the file-sharing networks are downloaded illegally.
Grokster and other similar services contend they do not have direct control over what online users are doing with the software they provide for free.
Live 8 Adds Philly Acts, Inks DVD Deal
Alicia Keys, Toby Keith, Josh Groban and the Black Eyed Peas have been added to the lineup for the Philadelphia edition of Live 8. They join previously confirmed acts such as Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews Band, Destiny's Child, Jay-Z, Lincoln Park, Rob Thomas and Maroon 5 for the July 2 event at the city's Museum of Art.
In addition, such film stars as Chris Tucker, Natalie Portman, Jimmy Smits, Salma Hayek and Jennifer Connolly have signed on as presenters.
AOL Music will carry all six of the worldwide Live 8 concerts live and EMI has inked a deal to release the event on DVD in November. The company will tailor the content of the releases to each worldwide market.
"I hope this will be the biggest selling DVD of all time. It deserves to be," says Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof. "More importantly perhaps, it should be, for it will help us achieve our goal of changing the lives of the extreme poor for the better and making our generation the one that helped end the disgrace of poverty."
NEW CD RELEASES FOR June 28, 2005
1 Cause 1 Effect Dropped the Axe (Bungalo)
3 Doors Down Seventeen Days (DualDisc) (Universal Motown)
Amerie Touch (DualDisc) (Columbia)
Arcana Le Serpent Rouge (Projekt)
Astral Doors Evil Is Forever (Locomotive)
Atreyu The Curse (re-release of 2004 album; includes all of the band's videos) (Victory)
B Angie B B Angie B (CD/DVD combo) (Bungalo)
A Band of Bees Free the Bees (Astralwerks)
Bantam Suicide Tourist (Heavy Nose)
BBQ Tie Your Noose (BOMP!)
Bering Strait Pages (Universal South)
Bizarre (of D-12) Hannicapp Circus (w/Eminem, Outkast's Big Boi, Devin the Dude, dead prez and more) (Sanctuary)
Caldwell Accidental Renovation (Indianola)
Cassidy I'm a Hustla (DualDisc same day) (J Records)
Bill Charlap Plays George Gershwin: The American Soul (w/Phil Woods, Nicholas Payton and more) (Blue Note)
Cky An Answer Can Be Found (enhanced CD) (Island)
The Clayton Brothers Back in the Swing of Things (Hyena)
George Clinton/Parliament/Funkadelic Live at Montreux 2004 (two CDs) (Eagle Rock)
Communic Conspiracy in Mind (Nuclear Blast)
Rita Coolidge And So Is Love (Concord)
Crossover Cryptic and Dire Sallow Faced Hoods Blast Off Into Oblivion (International DeeJay Gigolos)
Darkest Hour Undoing Ruin (Victory)
Debbie Davies All I Found (Telarc)
Donna De Lory The Love & the Beloved - Radio/DJ (Ajna)
Raheem DeVaughn The Love Experience (Jive)
DevilDriver The Fury of Our Maker's Hand (Roadrunner)
The Early November Ten Acoustic EP (Sanctuary)
Richard Elliot Metro Blue (ARTizen)
Esthero Wikked Lil' Grrrls (Reprise)
Jane Francis Skeletons for Tea (Eskimo Kiss)
Sean Gemini Inner Me (Parthinie/Lightyear)
Terry Gibbs Feelin' Good (Mack Avenue)
Goat All of My Friends (w/Bob Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell and Chris Whitley) (Judgement/Lightyear)
Gorerotted A New Dawn of the Dead (Metal Blade)
The Graves Brothers Deluxe Light (Good Forks)
The Great Jazz Trio S'Wonderful (Columbia)
Vivian Green Vivian (Columbia)
The Greencards Weather and Water (guest Patty Griffin) (DualTone)
Hot Apple Pie Hot Apple Pie (Dreamworks Nashville)
Ben Human The Out of Towner (Unique)
Isle of View Gentle Firefly Radio (Undecided)
Ray J Raydiation (Sanctuary)
Clay Jones (of bluegrass band Mountain Heart) Mountain Tradition (Rural Rhythm)
Sean Jones Gemini (Mack Avenue)
Femi Kuti Live at the Shrine (CD/DVD combo; live concert and documentary) (Palm Pictures)
Ladybug Mecca (of Digable Planets) Trip the Light Fantastic (Nu-Paradigm)
Lanky Odd Hour Work Week (Imposter)
Laurel Laurel (Ajna)
The Lee Boys Say Yes! (Arhoolie)
Kevin Lettau Bye Bye Blackbird (MCG Jazz)
Jamie Liddel Multiply (Warp)
A Life Once Lost Hunter (Ferret)
Lina Inner Beauty (Hidden Beach/RUMM)
Little Barrie We Are (Artemis)
Longwave There's a Fire (RCA)
Lauren Lucas The Carolina Kind (Warner Bros.)
Manic Hispanic Grupo Sexo (BYO)
Pat McGee Band Save Me (enhanced CD w/five bonus tracks, video and new packaging) (Kirtland)
Erin McKeown We Will Become Like Birds (Nettwerk)
Shannon McNally Geronimo (Back Porch/EMI)
David Mead Wherever You Are (Eleven Thirty)
Monolake polygon_cities (Monolake/Imbalance Computer Music)
N2Deep 24, 7, 365 (Bungalo)
Noiseshaper Rough Out There (Sounds from the Roof)
Open Road Lucky Drive (Rounder)
Joan Osbourne One of Us (Artemis)
P$C (aka Pimp Squad Click) 25 to Life (Atlantic)
Papa Reu Life and Music (Sanctuary)
Pilotdrift Iter Facere (Good)
The Posies Every Kind of Light
Flora Purim Flora's Song (Narada)
Ernest Ranglin Surfin' (Telarc)
Shindig When Words Aren't Enough EP (Undecided)
Skeletons and the Girl-Faced Boys Git (Ghostly International)
Skopic Skopic (Lunaticworks)
The Soviettes LP III (Fat Wreck Chords)
John Stevens (American Idol contestant) Red (Maverick)
George Strait Somewhere Down in Texas (MCA Nashville)
The String Cheese Incident One Step Closer (SCI Fidelity)
Ten 33 Nightmare on Grace St. (Blood & Ink)
Throw Rag 13 Ft. & Rising (BYO)
Throwdown Vendetta (Trustkill)
Thunderstone Tools of Destruction (Nuclear Blast)
Tsar Band-Girls-Money (TVT)
Two Tons of Steel Vegas (w/cover of the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated") (Palo Duro)
Vio-Lence Eternal Nightmare (two CDs; includes "Live in San Francisco" performance) (Megaforce)
Patricia Vonne Guitars & Castanets (CoraZong)
Steve Walsh (Kansas frontman) Shadowman (w/Joel Kosche of Collective Soul) (MuseWrapped)
World Leader Pretend Punches (Warner Bros.)
Ying Yang Twins U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta) (guests Lil Jon, Floetry, Timbaland and more) (TVT)
VA Club Rai (Fuel)
VA Murs 3:16 Presents: Walk Like a Man (DVD same day; film w/songs by Murs, Atmosphere, E-40 and more) (Legendary)
VA Slow Motion (Razor & Tie)
VA Spectral Sound Vol. 1 (two CDs; fifth anniversary of label; includes mix CD) (Spectral Sound)
VA Wendy Williams Brings the Heat, Vol. 1 (compilation curated by DJ/radio host Williams; w/songs by M.O.P., Brooke Valentine, Mario Winans and more) (Virgin)
OST Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (children's 3-D film) (Varèse Sarabande)
OST Devil's Rejects (DualDisc; includes classic tunes from the Allman Brothers, Joe Walsh, Three Dog Night and more, plus making-of documentary on the horror film) (Hip-O)
OST The Boy Friend (Decca)
OST War of the Worlds (Steven Spielberg film w/Tom Cruise; score by John Williams) (Decca)
DVD Letter to the President (documentary on political history of hip-hop; narrated by Snoop Dogg) (Image)
DVD Chicago/Earth, Wind & Fire Live at the Greek Theatre (two DVDs; 2004 concert; separate and combined sets from both bands) (Image)
DVD Low In Europe (tour documentary) (Plexifilm)
DVD Bette Midler The Divine (documentary w/exclusive interview, early TV appearances, scenes from her movies and 17 song performances) (Shout! Factory)
DVD Niacin Live in Tokyo (Eagle Rock)
DVD Peter and the Test Tube Babies Paraliticio (Locomotive)
DVD Lee Ritenour and Friends Overtime (two DVDs) (Eagle Rock)
DVD Tom Russell Hearts on the Line (HighTone)
DVD Twisted Sister Live at Wacken - The Reunion (CD/DVD combo) (Eagle Rock)
DVD Keller Williams Sight (live performance) (SCI Fidelity)
DVD VA Eminem Presents the Anger Management Tour (performance and behind the scenes footage from 2002) (Aftermath/Interscope)
Bob Dylan in exclusive CD deal with Starbucks
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Counterculture legend Bob Dylan on Monday became the latest musician to sign up with Starbucks Corp. in an exclusive CD deal that follows the runaway success of a Ray Charles album sold by the coffee maker.
"Dylan: Live at the Gaslight 1962," co-released with Sony BMG Custom Marketing Group, will hit Starbucks coffee shops Aug. 30. It features 10 previously unreleased tracks from performances at New York's Gaslight Cafe over four decades ago, including "A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall" and "Don't Think Twice It's Alright."
Starbucks is moving aggressively into the music scene by selling CDs consumers can't buy elsewhere.
The company does not disclose how much CD sales add to profits. One analyst said the music business has been more helpful in driving customer traffic than contributing meaningfully to sales.
"I wouldn't say music has been a big driver," JMP Securities analyst Kristine Koerber said. "They are still a coffee retailer, that's their primary focus."
Starbucks will carry "Gaslight" exclusively for 18 months, its longest such agreement yet. The CD will cost $13.95 at Starbucks' 4,600 U.S. stores.
Dissatisfaction with Top 40-oriented traditional music retailers, particularly among older consumers who are more likely to be Dylan fans, has allowed Starbucks' music business to flourish, company executives said.
"That disenfranchised customer is very much a part of the Starbucks customer base," Ken Lombard, president of the chain's entertainment division, said in an interview.
He added that the chain is uniquely placed to catch customer interest, as buying coffee at Starbucks has become a part of many consumers' daily routine.
Starbucks' biggest music success has been the Grammy-winning Ray Charles CD "Genius Loves Company." Since its release last fall, Starbucks has sold more than 775,000 copies, accounting for 26 percent of its overall U.S. sales, the company said.
That success has helped the chain win over other big name artists, such as Alanis Morissette and Joni Mitchell.
"That success continues to position us for great projects like the Dylan project and others," Lombard said.
It is not the first time Dylan, known for his politically and socially charged lyrics, has partnered with a major corporation to promote his music.
Last year, an exclusive compilation CD of his work was sold at lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret, a unit of Limited Brands Inc. Dylan even appeared in one of the chain's television ads, prompting some critics to say he had sold out.
The release of "Gaslight" coincides with the premiere of a documentary film about Dylan's life by director Martin Scorsese called "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan." The chain will also be selling the soundtrack to that film, though not exclusively.
The Couch Potato Report - June 27th, 2005
This week The Couch Potato Report features a 1981 movie with 18 more minutes, a useless sequel, and we'll go beyond the sea.
An unfortunate trend in the video and DVD industry right now is reissues.
Movies that are already available on DVD are constantly be re-released in new "Deluxe", "Special", "Super Platinum" "Director's Cut" and "Extended" editions.
That is unfortunate because you and I are forced to buy the movies we love over and over again, if we want to know more about our favourite films.
Personally, I have decided that I won't buy any films again that I already own, no matter what the extra features or bonus materials are.
My decision was put to the test recently when an "Extended Cut" of the classic Bill Murray film STRIPES was released.
I failed the test.
But I have to admit that I have no problem with failing in this case because unlike most "Special Editions" that are priced around $25, the EXTENDED CUT of STRIPES is priced around $14, in fact I have seen it for $10 at some stores.
So my new rule is if I love a movie, if it is a classic to me, and it is cheap, I will buy the reissues.
And so I bought STRIPES.
When STRIPES came out in 1981 it was Bill Murray's follow up to CADDYSHACK, and he followed the film with a small role in TOOTSIE and the large success of GHOSTBUSTERS.
Classics one and all.
In STRIPES Murray plays a chronic loser who decides to join the army. All great comedians eventually do an Army picture, and this was Murray's.
The film has many moments that are both full of absolute insanity and are wonderfully original. Yes, it falters a bit during the last third of the film, but when it isn't faltering, it is very, very funny.
In addition to Bill Murray the cast features Harold Ramis, John Larroquette, Sean Young, Judge Reinhold and the late, great John Candy.
This EXTENDED CUT of STRIPES has 18 minutes of extra footage - including 6 never-before-seen deleted scenes, an hour long documentary with interviews with the cast, and a tribute to John Candy.
If you already own STRIPES on DVD the extra scenes don't make the movie better, but since this disc is low priced, and it contains both the theatrical version of the film AND the Extended Cut, it is worth it for you to buy it again.
And here's hoping the studio doesn't ever release the movie again! Twice is enough.
Actually, when it comes to the film BE COOL, once is enough. Once might even be too much.
BE COOL is the utterly useless sequel to the well written, well acted, and well made 1995 film GET SHORTY.
In that film John Travolta was Chili Palmer, a mob collector who was also a movie fan.
When his business took him to Los Angeles, he decided to leave his old life behind and become a movie producer.
Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina, Renee Russo, James Gandolfini and Delroy Lindo also starred in the film and everything they did was pure cinematic magic.
GET SHORTY remains one of the best comedies of the 1990s.
BE COOL is a useless sequel and one of the most disappointing films of 2004.
After getting bored with the movie business, Travolta's Chili Palmer decides to go into the music business.
His decision makes sense, but his decisions after that seem coincidental and not plausible in any way.
When he needs an insider to help him out, enter widowed music executive Uma Thurman. He needs Steven Tyler from Aerosmith to help him out, well there he is too!
In GET SHORTY the things that happened, coincidence or not, all seemed possible.
In BE COOL, even with a great cast that also includes Vince Vaughn, Harvey Keitel and Cedric The Entertainer, the film fails on every level.
Only wrestler turned actor The Rock and André Benjamin from the band Outkast will benefit from their participation in the film.
BE COOL is so utterly boring, useless and pointless, that you should avoid it at all costs.
Instead, look down the shelf from BE COOL at the store and you'll find BEYOND THE SEA.
BEYOND THE SEA is Kevin Spacey's labour of love biography/tribute to 1950s pop singer Bobby Darin and his wife Sandra Dee.
Spacey stars, co-wrote and directed the film, and he also sings all of Darin's songs on the soundtrack.
I admire and respect Spacey because of his performances in SEVEN, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL and AMERICAN BEAUTY, so I was prepared to give BEYOND THE SEA a lot of leeway, even though I had heard that it wasn't very good.
And that statement is true, BEYOND THE SEA isn't very good.
It is a film full of Kevin Spacey's passion for Bobby Darin, and because of that it does take more than a few cinematic risks, but in the end the whole movie just isn't very satisfying.
No, I didn't like BEYOND THE SEA as a biography, but I do admire the movie and Kevin Spacey's passion about Bobby Darin.
There is no reason to think I will ever see it again, but I am pleased I saw it this first time.
BEYOND THE SEA, BE COOL and THE EXTENDED VERSION OF STRIPES are all available now at a store near you.
COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT
You will hear all about the 30th Anniversary edition of Steven Speilberg's classic summer film JAWS and the 10th Anniversary Edition of Martin Scorsese's CASINO.
Plus, in THE PACIFIER action hero Vin Diesel from XXX and PITCH BLACK stars as a Navy SEAL who is called upon to baby sit a group of kids. Good, bad or horrible? Tune in and find out!
For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!
'Three Tenors' could sing again for 2006 World Cup
ROME (Reuters) - "The Three Tenors" could join up again to mark the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany, 16 years after they brought opera to the masses with their first concert at the Terme di Caracalla in Rome.
Placido Domingo, at a news conference on Friday to mark his return to the famous Roman venue, said he, Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras could sing together again.
"We have difficulty finding a time when we can all be together ... But it's always been linked to football -- 2006 has been mentioned, so let's see," the maestro told a room packed with journalists close to Rome's Piazza Campidoglio.
Opera and football first teamed up in the "Three Tenors" concert on the eve of the 1990 World Cup final at the Terme di Caracalla, the ruins of the public baths of ancient Rome.
The event was broadcast around the world and the tenors' performance of "O, Sole Mio" and "Nessun Dorma" brought opera to a new audience of millions. Sales of recordings broke classical music records.
Domingo at the time said opera and football were a winning combination because they were the most universal things in the world.
The three tenors have since sung around the world, but it was thought they may never perform together again because Pavarotti has said he wants to retire.
Domingo's return to Rome marks the reopening of the Terme di Caracalla for operatic performances. The Spanish maestro will direct Giuseppe Verdi's Aida at the 7,000-seat venue in a run beginning on July 23.
The Terme di Caracalla was shut more than a decade ago due to fears that large concerts could damage the site, but Rome's head of archeological ruins has given the go-ahead to reopening the venue for music.
TV commercials create the latest hip playlists
CANNES, France (Reuters) - You've seen the ads, now get the soundtrack.
Advertising firms are relying increasingly on the vast libraries of pop, rock and roll and dance tracks to accompany TV spots and commissioning less original music that can turn into an unforgettable jingle. The phenomenon has helped launch new bands like never before as artists have overcome a previous reluctance to have their music associated with corporate brands.
An iPod commercial featuring the song "Jerk It Out" catapulted Swedish band Caesars into wider recognition and British sensation Coldplay only got discovered in the United States after TV network NBC used "Yellow" in a promotion. Companies targeting younger consumers use independent music from around the world to make their products seem hipper.
"A major marketing move for bands has been getting on a commercial," Chris Milk, a TV commercial and music video director, said this week at the advertising industry's annual get-together in the south of France.
"In the past, a song on a commercial made you a sell-out, but now because the cool indie rock bands are doing it, it's opened it up for everyone," Milk said.
Indeed, everyone from James Brown and Led Zeppelin to Jimi Hendrix and Elvis have had their music used to flog cars, computers, beverages and soap. Important turning points for music in ads were Nike's use of the Beatles' "Revolution" in 1987 and Microsoft's Windows 95 launch to the tune of the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up."
Techno star Moby licensed every song off his 1999 album "Play" for commercial use.
Apple's iTunes online music store now has a section devoted to popular songs used in advertising, making it easier for fans to buy something they have heard on television.
U2 recently changed its tune by agreeing to an iPod campaign to help launch its latest album, but rocker Bruce Springsteen and rapper Eminem are among the remaining few holding out.
GET RICH ON DOWNLOADS?
The increasing use of music libraries has made it even cheaper for ad firms and their clients to license a song, as has the perception that record companies and bands will get rich selling CDs and downloads after the commercial airs.
But that could just be a successful negotiating ploy.
"I think there can be a tremendous benefit to a new band, and when it works, it's fantastic, but it happens rarely," said Barbara Zamoyska, head of film, TV and advertising for Universal Music Publishing in Britain.
"A lot of new artists are used in commercials but it doesn't sell lots of records for most of them," she said.
Some in the ad industry are railing against the use of existing music and trying to persuade companies to get more creative and commission their own original songs.
The highly regarded Honda "grrr" ad for a cleaner diesel engine, which is widely favored to take the top prize this weekend at the International Advertising Festival, uses an original song by radio host Garrison Keillor with an infectious whistling refrain.
"Don't think because music doesn't come off a CD that it's less beneficial," said Michelle Curran, founder of Amber Music, which helps advertisers with sound design and who worked on the "grrr" commercial.
She said she is frustrated that advertisers are reluctant to pay the usually higher price to commission original music, even though it can make their ad stand out, and that they're willing to spend more on expensive locations and other facets of an ad.
"It also becomes something the client owns without it being seen as nasty and tacky," Curran said.
Another common problem that holds back the writing of an original jingle is that music is often left as an afterthought when creating a commercial, or at least relegated to the very end of the process when pressure is higher to finish it.
"Most advertising doesn't realize music's full potential," said Craig Davis, the chief creative officer for JWT Worldwide, a unit of WPP Group. "When done right, music packs emotional power and has a profound effect on the end product."
'King Kong' goes digital
Meet Kong. King Kong. You've seen him before, but never like this. He might look older than the 1933 original, but he's still a hairy brute with a nasty temper and a weakness for blondes.
Director Peter Jackson's King Kong could prove to be a box-office slump buster, though it isn't due until Dec. 14. But its teaser trailer will be unveiled on TV Monday and in theaters Wednesday as War of the Worlds opens. The preview of the action thriller starring Adrien Brody, Naomi Watts and Jack Black will be seen on 10 NBC-owned networks just before 9 ET.
Jackson has reached into the same Oscar-winning bag of tricks he used on the Lord of the Rings trilogy to turn the tragic monster from a Depression-era puppet to a 21st-century digital terror.
Andy Serkis, the human behind the computerized creature Gollum in Rings, provides Kong's movements and acted opposite the actors on the set. "There's a connection between him and Ann Darrow that's really important," Serkis says. Watts takes over Fay Wray's scream duties as the struggling actress who ends up in Kong's clutches.
As impressive as he is in the trailer, Kong is still a work in progress, says Jackson, calling from his native New Zealand. "We are deciding on the length of his fur, how tangled it should be, how much gray to work around the eyes."
Photos of silverback gorillas were superimposed on Kong's image, and tweaks were made. "He's not the Hulk of gorillas. That's the charm of Kong," the director says. "He is past his prime and isn't the super-virile ape of 30 years ago."
Serkis, who studied gorilla behavior in Rwanda, also does grunt work on Kong's behalf. "We developed a Kong-alyzer that allows him to make a lot of gorilla noises through a machine," Jackson says.
The primate stands 25 feet (real gorillas top out at 6 feet) and is 120 to 150 years old (30 is normal in the wild, 50 in captivity). The most notable feature on the battered beast is his snaggletooth. "We had the notion that Kong's jawbone was smashed in an ancient fight and mended itself at a crooked angle," he says.
Watts says her relationship with Kong is more evolved than in the original or the derided 1976 remake with Jessica Lange. "He's not picking off my clothes or blowing me dry with his breath," she says. "It's much more tender. There is something incredibly attractive about his power and masculinity. And isn't that what we all want in a man?"