Miracle – Matisyahu
Happy Hanukkah!
Browsing Tag
music
Candlelight – The Maccabeats
Happy Hanukkah!
Courtesy of Canadian Press:
An A-to-Z list of Canadian music stars, including Anne Murray, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, and members of the Tragically Hip, called on the government Thursday to impose a levy on MP3 players. More than 350 musicians signed a letter addressed to Industry Minister Tony Clement and Heritage Minister James Moore about the government’s copyright bill, C-32.
A Commons committee began studying the proposed legislation this week, and the two ministers testified before MPs on Thursday morning.
The letter urges the ministers to apply a levy to MP3 players that would later be redistributed to artists in royalties, in the same way that levies are currently applied to blank cassettes and CDs as compensation for music that is copied by Canadians.
“MP3 players are this generation’s version of blank media. A copy is a copy and the principle of fair compensation for rights holders should apply whether the copy is made onto blank media or MP3 players,” the artists wrote.
“…We know that you do not want to see a Canada that is devoid of musicians and songwriters, but without fair and balanced treatment, that may be the tragic consequence.”
Other artists who attached their names to the letter include Stompin’ Tom Connors, Tom Cochrane, Lawrence Gowan, Metric, Hedley, Sarah Harmer, Kathleen Edwards and Hawksley Workman. The letter was co-ordinated by the Canadian Private Copying Collective, the organization that takes in existing levies and hands out royalties to singers, songwriters, producers and record companies.
Last week, a group of Canadian actors lobbied MPs on Parliament Hill on the same issue on behalf of actors union ACTRA.
Clement and Moore have consistently said they are against applying a levy to MP3 players, calling it an unnecessary tax on Canadians.
Bill C-32 makes it legal for Canadians to copy music for personal use, although it has been criticized in some quarters for making it illegal for an individual to pick a digital lock imposed by rights holders to do so.
Some critics also say the legislation gives educational institutions to much freedom to reproduce and use copyrighted material.
It’s time to uninstall Limewire, folks.
“As a result of a court-ordered injunction, we are required to disable ‘the searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality, and/or all functionality; of LimeWire’s P2P file-sharing software”, reports a Limewire spokeswoman.
The Social Network prompted many people to reminisce about Sean Parker’s launch of Napster. Once his software faced lawsuits, Limewire’s green icon found a place on my desktop and has sat there since the early 2000’s.
Now Internet users must find alternate sources for downloading their favourite shows and music. University students enjoy peer-to-peer file sharing on campus using programs like DC++ and Shakespeer, while millions of others seem content listening to songs on YouTube.
Steve Jobs must be thrilled about the potential boost iTunes sales will have as a result.
School’s back in session, but this blogger’s computer is still in repair!
Here’s what happened in the last few weeks: I turned nineteen, moved back to London, and then downloaded Facebook Mobile, something I said I’d never do. But as someone majoring in media studies and enrolled in a course called ‘The Brief History of Social Networking’, downloading it seemed like the natural thing to do, considering the circumstances. It’ll be the first thing to delete off my phone once I pick up my laptop next week.
Nevertheless, I am still determined to never watch Gossip Girl, no matter how often I overhear my roommate following the lives of Blair and Serena. I’ll admit that I enjoyed reading the series’ prequel, but that’s where I drew the line. I just hope Blake Lively doesn’t lose sight of the genuinely friendly, down-to-earth girl she was when I met her at a movie premiere six years ago.
Despite weekly updates from Rescue Time (which tracks your online habits), my lack of computer access has also emphasized how much time we waste casually browsing the Internet. One minute you’re checking your e-mail, and then suddenly you come across an interesting news article or click a link in someone’s tweet, without acknowledging how time consuming this process becomes. Outside of keeping up with current events courtesy of The Globe and Mail’s mobile app, I’ve also had time to read two fantastic books: plus size model Crystal Renn’s autobiography, Hungry, and The Secret Life of Bees.
I’ve also been listening to new music releases on MuchMusic and MTV and adding to my list of albums and singles to download. You can be sure Brandon Flowers’ Crossfire album is on that list, in addition to Kings of Leon and Goo Goo Dolls. Hopefully they won’t be as disappointing as Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream record. Her latest two singles may be catchy, but the rest of the album was a letdown and not what I was expecting from her follow up to One of the Boys.