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Madonna to RIAA: file share watermarked MP3s?
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 16:36:36 -0700
------ Forwarded Message From: Rich Wiggins <wiggins () msu edu> Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 11:50:23 -0400 (EDT) To: dave () farber net Subject: Madonna to RIAA: file share watermarked MP3s? Dave, Jon Pareles reports in the NY Times that Madonna is planting fake MP3s on file sharing networks, taunting free downloaders: Madonna cursing fans who try to download her music free. She has introduced decoy versions of her new songs to file-sharing Web sites. Anyone hoping to listen to a track hears her annoyed voice instead, sneering, "What the [expletive] do you think you're doing?" This raises an interesting question. Why doesn't the recording industry do this on a massive scale? Why not set up servers that offer authentic-looking file names and sizes, only the MP3 is rendered unusable for full-length listening? It'd be an audible watermark, analogous to the visible watermarks you see on high-res stock photography for sale. Instead of cursing the listener as Madonna does, you could have the artist give the URL for a for-fee download, give ads for concerts, whatever. This could devalue file sharing networks tremendously. If you make free file sharing far less effective, you might drive people to buy your authentic versions. So why not adopt electronic countermeasures? I don't see how this violates DMCA; they'd just be offering their own content (in altered form) for global peer to peer networks. /rich ------ End of Forwarded Message ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- Madonna to RIAA: file share watermarked MP3s? Dave Farber (Apr 20)