On The Record »

  • Why legal actions and blocking access won’t stymie piracy

    January 27, 2012 @ 9:39 am | by Jim Carroll

    It hasn’t gone away, you know. Most of us thought that the debate around music piracy would have been done and dusted by 2012. Yet years after the record industry ran the original Napster out of town but never got around to properly plugging the gap, piracy remains something to fume about.

    Already this month, we’ve seen the Megaupload takedown, huge online protests against controversial copyright enforcement bills in the United States, lots of musing here about the introduction of secondary legislation in relation to copyright law and Irish record labels lining up to sue the government.

    We’ve also had Sweden’s decision to recognise the Missionary Church of Kopimism, whose most sacred tenet is a belief in peer to peer file-sharing, as a legal religion. Yes, it’s been a busy few weeks for those in the piracywatch business.

    Piracy and copyright protection have become huge, contentious, multi-faceted issues. Legislative moves tend to be heavyhanded and vague, open to a wide range of interpretations depending on the legal eagles you engage and the counsel they tender. It’s not just about record labels ensuring that they get paid for U2, Coldplay and Jay-Z albums.

    Writing in media and technology newsletter the Monday Note, Frédéric Filloux makes the case for piracy to be considered part of the digital ecosystem. Instead of “endless legal actions” and “legally blocking access”, it’s only the creation of “legitimate commercial alternatives” which will stymie piracy. Filloux admits this is not new, but he makes the point that such a service without a country zoning system has yet to be tried.

    “Today we have entertainment products, carefully designed to fit a global audience, waiting months before becoming available on the global market. As long as this absurdity remains, piracy will flourish.”

    And there’s the rub: piracy doesn’t recognise borders or boundaries or statutory instruments. Something tells me this will still be on the agenda a decade from now.

  • Pre-digital era record contracts come back to bite labels

    April 1, 2011 @ 9:34 am | by Jim Carroll

    Chalk it down as another victory for the old-timers. A court case winding its way through the US legal system may result in a big pay-day for thousands of acts who haven’t released a new album in years.

    The case was taken by F.B.T. Productions, the company who first signed Eminem and continue to make money from his work. They sued Em’s record label Universal Music Group over the issue of whether an online song was viewed as a sale or a license.

    While this may seem like semantics at first glance, there’s a sizable difference between the two in the small-print of an old-school record contract.

    In Eminem’s case, the difference is between 50 per cent of royalities for a license and 12 per cent for a sale. According to F.B.T.’s Joel Martin, “five or 10 years from now, it could easily be a $40 million to $50 million issue.”

    Last week’s decision by the US Supreme Court not to allow an Universal Music appeal to proceed means an earlier decision, that digital music should be treated as a license, now stands, which is good news for F.B.T. and indeed Eminem.

    But while Universal say this decision only applies to the rapper, lawyers claim otherwise and believe acts who signed pre-digital era recording contracts may be quids in.

    As with so many aspects of the record business, older contracts failed to recognise just how much technology would shake things up.

    But there’s not going to be any crumbs from the table for newer artists as their record contracts would have taken new digital realities into account. For them, it’s more proof that they won’t make a living by relying on how things once were.

  • UPC 1, Irish record labels 0

    October 11, 2010 @ 2:06 pm | by Jim Carroll

    The legal action taken by four Irish major record labels against UPC, the third biggest internet service provider in Ireland, has not gone according to the script.

    Per Ciara O’Brien’s report, Mr Justice Peter Charleton has ruled that “laws to identify and cut off internet users illegally copying music files were not enforceable in Ireland”.

    The judge, who issued the ruling which allowed Eircom to proceed with their three-strikes-and-your-internet-is-cut-off policy back in April along with a quote from St Colmcille, said that laws were not in place in Ireland to enforce disconnections over illegal downloads despite the record companies’ complaints being merited. He also said this gap in legislation meant Ireland was not complying with European law.

    The case was taken by Warner Music, Universal Music, Sony BMG and EMI Records to force internet service providers to adopt a “three strikes” rule to halt copyright infringement and piracy by internet users.

    As Ciara notes in her report, “it is not yet known what effect the UPC judgment will have on Eircom’s agreement with record labels, which it settled on out of court last year.”

    For the record labels, Dick Doyle from IRMA, the lobby group for Irish record labels, said it was now down to the government to close the doors. “The judge made it very clear that the Irish legislature had failed in its obligation to confer on the courts the right to grant such injunctions, unlike other EU states. We will now look to the Irish Government to fully vindicate the constitutional rights of copyright holders and we reserve the right to seek compensation for the past and continuing losses from the State.”

    No doubt, there will be more on this in the coming months and years, especially when efforts are taken to sort out the statute book (or are there more pressing issues which warrant the attention of our legislators and elected representatives right now?). What will happen, for instance, if someone cut off by Eircom uses this ruling to cause a rumpus? Of course, all of this will just be small potatoes compared to what might happen if IRMA move to “seek compensation for past and continuing losses from the State”, as outlined by Dick Doyle above. If anyone expects the big wigs in the record industry to go quietly into the night, they’re very much mistaken.

  • US VP of Everything takes on the Jolly Roger fans

    June 24, 2010 @ 10:00 am | by Jim Carroll

    It has been an interesting week in the music piracy business. The BPI (the British version of IRMA) issued a cease-and-desist notice to Google requesting them to remove links to nine hosting sites, such as Megaupload, Sendspace and Usershare, which they claim are hosting illegal downloads. It’s a move which has been surprisingly long in the works and signals that the BPI and IRMA are not just going to stick to P2P offenders.

    Then, the big guns came out on the lawn. In a classic play from the “I’m-mad-as-hell” school of acting, US vice-president Joe Biden took time out from his hectic schedule to give Jolly Roger flag-wavers a piece of his mind. “Piracy is theft, clean and simple”, said the VP Of Everything (including Wars, Environmental Disasters and Economic Failures). “It’s smash and grab, it ain’t no different than smashing a window at Tiffany’s”. Go on, imagine Sarah Palin coming out with that one.

    Biden’s remarks came as the US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Victoria Espinel, presented 33 recommendations on how the US government will help IP owners to protect their rights.

    Espinel had words of comfort for those who are getting their asses kicked by online pirates: “help is on the way”. This “help” consists of such familiar ideas as encouraging ISPs to be more pro-active in stamping out online piracy and lobbying at an international level to get other governments involved in the campaign (they could have said “like we’ve done so successfully in Iraq and Afghanistan).

    However, it’s hard to believe that it is really as easy as talking tough, getting the legal eagles in and making even more recommendations which may never be acted upon. Every single one of these high-level attempts to deal with online piracy, from the BPI’s move on Google to IRMA’s ongoing actions against Irish ISPs, appear designed to take us back to the situation which prevailed before the internet was on tap in every corner of the globe. Is it really possible to turn the clock back? Does the record industry think people are going to go back to buying CDs if online piracy is stamped out?

    It would surely be better for all concerned to deal with the here and now and accept we’re in a brand new situation. There have been many suggestions made about how copyright holders and content creators can deal with the new realities and get paid. Of course, as is always the case, some of these suggestions are viable and others are totally unworkable. But the suggestions have been made and are there to be tested. Yet the record industry, the sector which has been the most high-profile victim in all of this, continues to rely on courtroom machinations to get its way. Sadly, it seems that the notion of trying out new ideas for size is too onerous for this beleagured industry to consider.

  • Ruling delivered on illegal firesharing. Judge quotes Saint Colmcille.

    April 16, 2010 @ 4:30 pm | by Jim Carroll

    Full report here from Mary Carolon on today’s High Court judgement by Mr Justice Peter Charleton which allows Eircom to proceed with their three-strikes-and-your-internet-is-cut-off policy.

    Per Mary’s report, “the judgment arose from a settlement last year of proceedings by four major record companies – EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner – against Eircom over the use by others of its services for illegal downloading. Other cases are pending”.

    “Mr Justice Charleton today ruled concerns raised by the Data Protection Commissioner about those measures, including about the rights of access to the internet, did not prevent the measures being implemented. The measures were lawful and compatible with the data protection legislation, he found.

    “There was nothing in the criminal or civil law which legalises that which is otherwise illegal simply because the transaction takes place over the internet, he said.”

    The upshot of this judgement is that the parties can now proceed to implementing last year’s settlement. “Under the settlement, Eircom agreed to implement measures aimed at stopping illegal downloading, including disclosing to the companies the uploaders and downloaders’ identities through their IP addresses, and ultimately cutting them off if illegal downloading persisted.”

    Full ruling here.

  • MCD: More Court Dates

    March 1, 2010 @ 9:51 am | by Jim Carroll

    As if last week’s “tell that cat to chill” drama with Prince was not enough to be going on with, MCD boss Denis Desmond will find himself back in the High Court again this week facing two different cases.

    The Sunday Times reported yesterday on the action taken by Sophie Ridley, a former MCD event controller, seeking to injunct the company from holding a disciplinary hearing into her performance after an investigation held her responsible for difficulties at music festivals last summer. This investigation was undertaken by former garda commissioner Noel Conroy after “event-control failures” at last year’s Oasis concert in Slane, AC/DC show at Punchestown and Metallica and Fatboy Slim’s gigs in Marlay Park.

    Ridley claims she is being “scapegoated” and says the problems at the shows were “organisational matters involving a range of personnel and the failure to properly or adequately resource the concerts”. MCD hotly contest this, saying that their events are amongst “the most generously funded and resourced in the Irish market”. The application for an injunction will be held before Judge Mary Laffoy on Thursday.

    Meanwhile, the Mc v D case is due back in court today.

    (Comments turned off as these cases are currently before the courts)

  • MCD v Prince: the cat can now chill

    February 26, 2010 @ 2:20 pm | by Jim Carroll

    The case taken by MCD Concerts against Prince and William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC over that infamous cancelled Croker gig in June 2008 has been settled. Details of the settlement have not been disclosed, though MCD boss Denis Desmond says he is “delighted” with the outcome. A good day for the MCD cat as they also added a second Michael Buble show.

    Meanwhile, not to be outdone, new music from Prince. Sure, why not?

    UPDATE Extracts from Ronan McGreevy’s interview with Denis Desmond from earlier today. OTR predicts: we’ll see Prince doing a few nights in the O2.

    Q – Denis, what is your reaction to the settlement?
    A – Delighted with the outcome, very happy, disappointed with the 55,000 people who didn’t get to see the show because Prince is a great performer. Very happy that the figures which were questioned that our figures were inflated were unfounded.

    Q – Can you give us details of the settlement?
    A- No it is confidential, but suffice to say we are very happy about the result. Suffice to say, we are not out of pocket.

    Q – What you think of Prince now?
    A – I think he is a great performer. I’m looking forward to doing some shows with him in the future. I did some in the past. It is unfortunate. I think he could do with some good advice. If I was him I’d be looking at getting himself a manager. The evidence was quite short, I was only in the witness box for three hours. Very glad we had a paper trail. Nobody contested the fact that concert had not been booked, that we hadn’t paid the deposit, that it hadn’t been confirmed.

    Q – Would you work with Prince again?
    A- Gladly. No hard feelings.

    Q – Have you spoken to Prince? Has the cat chilled?
    A – The cat has chilled.

  • “Tell that cat to chill”

    February 25, 2010 @ 10:31 am | by Jim Carroll

    Full report from yesterday’s proceedings in the Commercial Court as the 1.7 million action taken by MCD Concerts against Prince and William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC continues. There is also coverage here.

    Keith Sarkisian, a William Morris exec who acted for Prince, gave evidence in court yesterday. When told by Sarkisian of MCD boss Denis Desmond’s anxieties about whether the artist’s Croke Park June 2008 show would proceed, Prince told Sarkisian to “tell that cat to chill”.

    (Comments off as the case is currently before the courts)

  • MCD v Prince: judge issues warning to pop star

    December 8, 2009 @ 5:36 pm | by Jim Carroll

    Full report here from Mary Carolan on today’s proceedings in the case taken by MCD to recover some €1.6 million damages over the cancellation of Prince’s mooted gig at Dublin’s Croke Park in June 2008.

    Per agents William Morris, Prince was on a “an artist’s guaranteed fee of $3 million” (€2.04 million) for this gig but refused to travel to Dublin and gave “no reason of substance” for this. Promoters MCD had to refund some 55,126 tickets purchased (at prices ranging from €66.50 to €125.50) and its total losses exceeded $1.66 million.

    (Comments turned off as this case is currently before the courts)

  • MC v D: round one

    November 3, 2009 @ 9:14 am | by Jim Carroll

    Full report here from Mary Carolan about yesterday’s opening bout in the MCD Concerts case. This involves an action taken by Eamonn McCann (the MC in MCD) against Denis Desmond (the D in MCD) over a share of the profits he claims he is owed from various outdoor events promoted by the pair.

    Per report, “it was agreed in June 2006 Mr Desmond would buy Mr McCann’s share of the partnership in relation to the promotion and operation of outdoor concerts in the Republic for 4.66 times the average net profits of the partnership for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005, it is alleged.”

    McCann “claims he is owed some €3.8 million as his profit share, but that Mr Desmond claimed that figure should be €104,680.”

    However, “it is alleged Mr Desmond later denied the existence of a partnership, was reluctant to disclose the books and accounts and provided limited information relating to accounts.”

    McCann claims “it became clear Mr Desmond had failed to keep proper books and records for the partnership and that partnership funds had become intermingled with funds and accounts of other companies of Mr Desmond’s” such as MCD Productions and Gaiety Investments.

    Forensic accountants Grant Thornton had been engaged to examine the books and McCann claims their examination “indicated no evidence of separate books and records maintained for the partnership. He claimed the firm found that payments which should have been recorded as partnership monies were recorded in the books of other companies of Mr Desmond’s.

    “As late as September last, Grant Thornton received new information from MCD about settlement statements for events in Lansdowne Road between 2002 and 2006, it is claimed. Mr McCann said the firm was given selected settlement statements with artists and certain settlement statements for Oliver Barry, event co-organiser, but it had not been possible to reconcile the two sets of statements.”

    (Comments turned off as this case is currently before the courts)

  • The MC in MCD heads for court

    November 2, 2009 @ 9:34 am | by Jim Carroll

    One for the Irish music business news diary this week as MCD Concerts co-founder Eamonn McCann takes his former partner Denis Desmond to the High Court for his share of the Irish live music giant’s pie.

    While Desmond has been in full control of the business for quite some time, per the Sunday Business Post, “the former business partners have yet to agree on the value of McCann’s stake, and the Belfast prompter is now taking his case to the High Court in an effort to force a deal”. Naturally, “it is understood that the two men have very different valuations of the stake”.

    The case is due before the Commercial Court this morning and, should it proceed to a full hearing, “will reveal the inner workings of MCD, one of the most private businesses in Ireland”.

    (Comments turned off as this case is before the courts)

  • Revenue Commissioners lodge petition to wind-up POD Concerts

    June 26, 2009 @ 9:49 am | by Jim Carroll

    Simon Carswell reports in today’s paper that the Revenue Commissioners have lodged a High Court petition seeking the winding-up of POD Concerts, the company behind the Electric Picnic festival. This is on foot of an outstanding VAT bill for €800,000 and the case is due to be heard on July 13.

    However, the report and a statement on the Elecric Picnic website stresses that the move will have no effect on this year’s Electric Picnic festival (which is now owned and run by EP Republic, a joint venture between POD and Festival Republic), any upcoming shows promoted by the company (such as Leonard Cohen in The O2) or any of the Pod’s venues.

    Per Simon’s report, “POD Concerts said it had been in talks with the Revenue and its creditors with a view to paying its debts and “sought time” from the Revenue “in order to execute this….This has not been forthcoming from them, even after paying them a substantial down payment in March and putting a payment plan to them for full execution over 16 months”.

    There was no statement from the Revenue about this.

  • Pirate Bay founders walk the plank

    April 17, 2009 @ 10:02 am | by Jim Carroll

    Per BBC News, Pirate Bay founders Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde have found guilty of breaking copyright law and sentenced to a year in jail. This comes on the back of a court decision in Spain earlier this week where the operator of a file-sharing site was fined and jailed.


Search On The Record