Prince on p2p?!

[assorted]

I believe this is from August so it may have been here already but if it has I haven't seen it....

Prince wrote a great article on p2p networks and the recording industry here.

on the notion that p2p users are a 'nation of thieves' who don't respect the value of art

It is worth noting, 2 begin with, that the recording industry itself is far from having distinguished itself by recognizing the true value of art. Instead, it has consistently fought 2 b allowed 2 deprive many artists of their most fundamental rights. It has allowed popular artists 2 go bankrupt even though their albums were selling by the millions. It has reduced the artists’ cut of the album sales pie 2 a ridiculously small portion of the actual income generated by these sales. It has consistently pushed commercial musical products at the xpense of real musical artistry.

This hardly entitles the recording industry 2 lecture anyone about recognizing the just value of art.

It is also interesting 2 note that the cultural products that seem 2 b the primary concern of the industry giants r those that r already the most popular ones, and that things such as CD copy protection r being xperimentally used mostly with items that will sell millions regardless of whether they r copy-protected or not.

So r most citizens really being completely disrespectful of the value of art and the need 2 provide appropriate compensation 2 the artists 4 their works? We’ve said it b4 and we’ll say it again: the rise of digital technology and peer-2-peer file sharing has little 2 do with people’s intrinsic respect 4 art and artists, and everything 2 do with the cynical attitude of big industry conglomerates, which have consistently pushed 4 more and more commercial, highly profitable products at the xpense of authentic art and respect 4 artists.

read the whole article and get past the single letter/single number crap; its' one of the more advanced critiques of the major media conglomerates i've read.

[kento]

i agree.

[kento]

hi assorted...looks like "prince" has once again changed his "tune"

Prince's production company is suing the operator of an Internet site that allegedly offered pirated recordings of the rock star's live performances from his "Xenophobia" concert series in June.

Paisley Park Enterprises, based in Chanhassen, Minn., filed the copyright-infringement lawsuit in federal court Wednesday.

Prince names Matthew Lankford of Seattle, operator of http://FreeMyHeart.com -- a Web site devoted to singer Me'Shell Ndegeocello.

The lawsuit alleges that Lankford broke federal copyright laws by allowing Web users to download Prince songs that included "specific information describing which day the unauthorized recording of the 'Xenophobia' concert took place."

Lankford denied violating the copyrights and said he doesn't think he's done anything illegal.

"What he's claiming is that I put up files on my Web site. What happened is I put up links to other Web sites that had files on them," he said Friday.

Lankford said there's no mention of Prince on the Web site now and there won't be any in the future.

"One of my favorite artists is coming after me for promoting him on my Web site," Lankford said. "For him to seek $150,000 per song to try to ruin me for doing nothing more than promoting him is ... overdoing it."

Prince, a longtime artists' rights advocate, filed at least nine lawsuits against Web sites in 1999, accusing them of selling bootlegged recordings and offering access to downloads of his songs.

Prince's official site says he plans to release a three-CD box set from his recent U.S. tour. He hasn't released anything from the "Xenophobia" sessions.

Full story here