Forrester Research on Tuesday predicted a steep fall in CD sales, as audio and video file sharing over the Internet continues to emerge as a preferred option among consumers. The firm said 20 percent of Americans engage in music downloading, and half of the downloaders said they are buying fewer CDs. By 2008, 33 percent …
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September, 2003
August, 2003
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28 August
Kazaa retuning promises faster downloads
Developers of Kazaa, the popular peer-to-peer file-sharing software, on Thursday launched its updated, paid version, Kazaa Plus. The new version of Kazaa Media Desktop is being published by Avalon Online Distribution, a Luxembourg-based subsidiary of software publishing company Titus Interactive Group. The advertising-free version is available globally for $29.95. Sharman Networks, which developed Kazaa, launched a free version of the …
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28 August
Small Webcasters sue RIAA
A group of small Webcasters on Wednesday filed an antitrust suit against the Recording Industry Association of America, alleging that the trade association tried to push independent music stations offline. The Webcaster Alliance has been threatening to sue the RIAA for months, after Congress ratified royalty rates for Internet radio stations that many small operators said will drive them out …
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27 August
RIAA turns up heat on subpoena fighter
The Recording Industry Association of America leveled a full legal barrage at the sole Kazaa user fighting its attempts to identify file swappers, saying she was indisputably a major copyright infringer. In papers filed Tuesday with a federal court in Washington, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said it did not oppose the anonymous Kazaa user’s request to fight …
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26 August
RIAA, studios gain P2P legal aid
Hollywood studios and record labels are getting allies in their quest to overturn a court ruling that said file-swapping software companies aren’t responsible for the copyright infringement of their users. Several groups, including a list of legal scholars, international copyright organizations, legal music services and other copyright holder groups filed “friend of the court” briefs Tuesday, asking that an April …
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25 August
Indie labels lure Net music stores
A new set of services aimed at giving independent music labels online distribution is springing up, hoping to reach companies like Apple’s iTunes and the new Napster. San Francisco-based Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA) is the latest to hit the scene. It launched Monday with deals in place to negotiate digital rights on behalf of 50 labels whose music it …
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21 August
Net music pirate faces years in prison
The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday that it accepted a guilty plea in a criminal copyright case involving the former leader of a Net music piracy group called the Apocalypse Crew. The defendant in the case, 21-year-old Mark Shumaker, faces a maximum prison sentence of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000. Shumaker helped coordinate the supply and …
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21 August
Are swappers scared of the RIAA?
The recording industry’s legal efforts may be putting a dent in file swapping, according to a new report from The NPD Group. The report, released Thursday, said online file swapping started dropping in May, shortly after the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) publicly hinted that it may go after individual file swappers. The number of households acquiring music fell …
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19 August
BuyMusic tweaks service
BuyMusic, the online music download store Buy.com founder Scott Blum started, released on Tuesday a second update to its service. In its first three weeks of operation, the company has experienced more rough patches than did Apple’s rival iTunes service, which is available only for Macintosh computers. Early BuyMusic customers have complained that they were unable to transfer songs even …
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19 August
Elvis lives
Digital music service MusicNow and music label BMG on Tuesday announced a digital music channel showcasing more than 2,000 Elvis Presley songs. Dubbed “Elvis 2nd to None,” the channel features such songs as “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” “My Way” and “Suspicious Minds,” as well as albums ranging from “Elvis is Back!” to the gospel collection “How Great Thou Art.” …
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