AudioGalaxy shut down

[Grojlach]

RIAA, NMPA Reach Settlement With Audiogalaxy.com

Recording Industry Association of America, National Music Publishers Association Reach Settlement with Audiogalaxy.com

New York, NY, June 17, 2002 The recording industry, music publishers and songwriters announced today that they have reached an out-of-court settlement with Audiogalaxy.com, the Napster-like clone, which requires Audiogalaxy to stop the infringement of copyrighted works on their peer-to-peer network.

The agreement follows a lawsuit filed in late May accusing Audiogalaxy of facilitating and encouraging widespread copyright infringement a last resort step after repeated efforts to warn the firm of their liability were ignored or resulted in ineffective attempts to fix the problem. The suit was brought by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), on behalf of its member labels, and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), on behalf of the music publisher principals of its licensing affiliate, The Harry Fox Agency, Inc.

The settlement reached would allow Audiogalaxy to operate a "filter-in" system, which requires that for any music available, the songwriter, music publisher, and/or recording company must first consent to the use and sharing of the work. The other key provision of the agreement is for Audiogalaxy to pay the music publishers and recording industry a substantial sum based on Audiogalaxy's assets and interest in resolving this case quickly.

"We are pleased to settle this case quickly. This is a victory for everyone who cares about protecting the value of music," said Hilary Rosen, Chairman and CEO of the RIAA. "This should serve as a wake-up call to the other networks that facilitate unauthorized copying. The responsibility for implementing systems that allow for the authorized use of copyrighted works rests squarely on the shoulders of the peer-to-peer network."

"The message is clear there is no place on the Internet for services that exploit creators' work without fair compensation," added Edward P. Murphy, President and CEO, NMPA. "Such services hurt creators and hurt the legitimate Internet businesses that wish to comply with the law and compensate the creators. The swift resolution of this matter is thus a double victory that creators and legitimate Internet businesses should join in hailing." (more)

Audiogalaxy.com, based in Austin, Texas, was one of the more heavily trafficked file-sharing websites.

The Recording Industry Association of America is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry. Its mission is to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes our members' creative and financial vitality. Its members are the record companies that comprise the most vibrant national music industry in the world. RIAA® members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States.

In support of this mission, the RIAA works to protect intellectual property rights worldwide and the First Amendment rights of artists; conduct consumer industry and technical research; and monitor and review - - state and federal laws, regulations and policies. The RIAA® also certifies Gold®, Platinum®, Multi-Platinum, and Diamond sales awards, Los Premios De Oro y Platino, an award celebrating Latin music sales.

The National Music Publishers Association, Inc., founded in 1917, works to protect and advance the interests of the music publishing industry. With over 900 members, the NMPA represents the most important and influential music publishing firms throughout the United States.

The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. provides an information source, clearing house and monitoring service for licensing musical copyrights, and acts as licensing agent for more than 27,000 music publisher principals, who in turn represent the interests of more than 160,000 songwriters. Besides the core business functions of licensing, collections and distribution of royalties, HFA conducts periodic record company and other user audits on behalf of its principals. HFA is the licensing affiliate of the National Music Publishers Association.

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It basically means that you are still able to run the satellite, but you're only able to download music from the bands hosted on AG. A victory for the big Record Companies, a disaster for the music industry itself.

[ 06-18-2002, 08:44 AM: Message edited by: Grojlach ]

[The Hunter of Jahanna]

looks like its time to find a new source for MP3's

All I can say is DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could always get what I was looking for there! Anyone got a good substitute?

[Sir ReGiN]

Originally posted by Aviendha: All I can say is DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could always get what I was looking for there! Anyone got a good substitute?

Just what I was wondering.
Well, I was actually suprised that Audiogalaxy could run as long as it did.

[Leonis]

Hey, just thought I'd say before anyone posts any info, that you may break the ToS in doing so...

No Piracy: DO NOT post links to 'warez sites'. Do not discuss pirating games, bragging about pirating or anything else. This will get your account suspended or banned. The only possible thing you CAN discuss is the so-called 'cracks' for no CD operation. SOME Games don't work on some peoples CD-ROM's. This is because of a special copy protection called 'Safe Disc'. But that is it. Anything else is considered pirating.

We don't want anyone getting in trouble here. You may need to resort to other methods to discuss this?

[WOLFGIR]

Originally posted by Aviendha: All I can say is DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could always get what I was looking for there! Anyone got a good substitute?

How about a CD-store??? *whistles* Sorry, but you made that one far too easy! RAHM [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ʆë®Ñï†Ý]

CD's are very cheap in China [img]smile.gif[/img] but I think quite a few are bootlegs...

[ 06-18-2002, 11:29 AM: Message edited by: ʆë®Ñï†Ý ]

How is this bad for the music industry?
I realize im uninformed since I do not utilize MP3's at all, unless you count the ones that are published in side the Computer games I play.
It sounds to me like it was a move to ensure the artists and producers got a fair price for their work...I haven't followed this too closely since I usually buy the CD's I want. I read through that whole article and didnt't see anything unreasonable.

Can someone explain it a little better for me?

Originally posted by ʆë®Ñï†Ý: CD's are very cheap in China [img]smile.gif[/img] but I think quite a few are bootlegs...

I don't think that the price of CD's is all that bad here either. They are roughly the same price as tapes were before Cd's came along. And now tapes are even cheaper. Of course I have heard arguments that since CD's are cheaper to produce the profit margin for the record label is higher...but I don't see where that is a crime. As I said the cost of CD's now is roughly comparable to what I used to pay for cassette tapes.

The only legitimate arguments I have heard so far for the MP3 exchanges such as napster was only valid if you believed that all music was free for the taking. I am really interested in following this thread...if it continues so I can hear the other half of the story...so far all I have is articles like the one posted which sound reasonable to me.

Originally posted by MagiK: It sounds to me like it was a move to ensure the artists and producers got a fair price for their work...I haven't followed this too closely since I usually buy the CD's I want. I read through that whole article and didnt't see anything unreasonable. Can someone explain it a little better for me?[/QB]

Because Audiogalaxy & Napster etc, shift the power, from the record companies to the consumers and the Artists.
The record companies generally expoloit not only consumers, but also the artists.
And being the evil greedy Exploiters they are, the big record companies will fight this trend of shifting power to consumers & Artists and changing the market in favour of small dynamic and independent companies tooth and nail.
But in the end,The record companies are ultimately hurting themselves as well as consumers since this can only stifle and prevent the market from expanding in a more democratic way to the greater profit of all.
Since most people, when exposed to Mp3's tend to acutally by more records than they would have before, But one of the reasons for the fall in sales of C.D's, is simply that most people have now bought all their old record collection, and since the record companies stifle orginallity in their ceasless quest for profits, only the same tired old stuff gets revamped slightly and churned out again, and of course over time, this induces consumer apathy and falling sales.