Major Labels

3 Major Labels Say They’ll Share LimeWire Settlement, But New PR Nightmare Emerges

image from www.google.com When Hypebot and others suggested that, based on previous statements, none of the $105 million settlement that LimeWire is paying to labels was unlikely to find its way to artists, the RIAA contacted us to say that they really weren't in control of who got the money. So we went to the four major labels and asked, "Will you be distributing some of this $105 million to your artists?".  For the three that replied, the answer is yes.

RIAA Pushes For Warrentless Search Law


Without providing any specific details, Warner Music Group, EMI and Univeral Music, all said that they would be shairng some portion of the LimeWire settlement with the artists signed to their labels. “We will share the settlement money with our artists,” replied a WMG spokesperson,  “Our plan is to share settlement monies with our artists.” said UMG.  EMI said much the same, and Sony has not yet responded to our inquiry.

But now, the labels and the RIAA have a brand new PR nightmare. The RIAA is pushing for a California law that would give law enforcement the power to enter CD manufacturing plants without any notice or court orders to check that discs are authorized and and carry the legally required identification marks.

The bill introduced by state Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) is raising protests from privacy advocates and constitutional law scholars as it moves through the Legislature. I can understand why this makes people nervous," Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School of Los Angeles told the LA Times. "We have the 4th Amendment that generally requires probable cause [for a search]. This is a huge exception."

 

 

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5 Comments

  1. Man, they are really overreaching on this one. Probable cause is a key feature of what liberty we do have in this country. That’s a serious maneuver that crosses a line into the civil liberties war zone.
    And given California’s budgetary issues, why should their police force be providing private investigative services? That’s just not right given the state’s cuts in public services.

  2. anytime you think that there’s a least a tiny little dot of sanity & sense of shame left in RIAA & its major label agenda setters, baaaaam, reality strikes back, smacks you in your face, hits you on your head: as if the music industry was really trying to prove that the abounding clichés are true.
    *sarcasmon* well done, music industry! *sarcasmoff*

  3. And! who will be handing the needs of the Independent artists.
    The Majors aren’t the sum total of the music producing population representing less then 20 precent of the recording artists.
    BTW if the RIAA only represents the Majors then we have a conflict of interest in their policing role as arbitrator of all things related to musicians and a new group must be established.
    Buy Indie Suport Locals

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