If  by chance you are not familiar with the practice of watermarking advance/promo CDs that record labels  undertake in an effort to discourage digitial bootlegging/file-sharing of their releases in advance of streets dates.  - then you should read this really interesting and well-written story about the controversy caused over a leaked watermarked CD - namely the new  Beirut album "The Flying Club Cup."  on New Jersey based label Ba Da Bing! Records (whose roster includes Dead C)  Eloquently penned by music writer Erik Davis, who contributes to Blender and Arthur, among other publications, it  perfectly explains the whole practice and the issues it raises. It also describes the hot water that the writer recently found himself in with  Ben Goldberg  of Ba Da Bing Records.  Titled "My Data Crime: The Ticking Time Bomb of the Watermarked Advance CD" and posted a few days ago Erick Davis' article can be read on the Techgnosis website. .

NON-FICTION TALE
 Have you heard the true tale of the 16 year old French lad who painstakingly translated (from English into French) all 759 pages of the new Harry Potter book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)  in record-breaking time and within days of its July 21st release date, and then posted it online?  If so you know that this time-consuming task landed him in jail and also facing serious charges of intellectual property violation. 

Now what he did, of course, was illegal but the smart, swift French high-schooler is hardly a hardened criminal. And it is important to note that he was not  trying to make any money off the book or receive any kind of payment for his intense, time-consuming job of translating an entire book. One reason why it is seems crazy to me to go after this young individual  is because anyone who is going to read an entire book online (which is a pain in the ass - most people only read one page online before tiring of starting at their computer screens) is obviously too cheap to buy it in the first place and secondly because if you were to print out all 759 pages you would end up spending more on ink cartridges and paper than if you were to go buy the book itself at the store.

And if you read it online so as to know the story ending before it was published and available in stores - then you are such a diehard Harry Potter fan that you will - undoubtedly -have to later buy a copy of the book to own.  It is just like the music file downloaders who, while download like crazy, also purchase the most music online.

 
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If you want to watch the fun-looking Flavor Flav Roast on Comedy Central tomorrow (Sunday 8/12 @ 10PM)) best to plan on catching it live on TV and not on YouTube in clips at a later time since the media giant that owns the cable station, Viacom,  is doing everything in its power stop clips like it been broadcast on YouTube. And Viacom is not alone in their war on the Google owned YouTube.  Earlier this week they were joined by several other TV broadcasters and publishing companies in  a major  copyright infringement lawsuit against the popular video file sharing website.  These proceedings ultimately mean that we should most likely now begin the countdown to the final days of YouTube .   One of those involved in the legal proceedings  The National Muisc Publishers'  Association said it is joining the lawsuit "out of concern that many songwriters aren't receiving proper compensation when their music appears on YouTube videos."  Additionally Viacom Inc. (which besides Comedy Central also owns MTV and other stations) and the Football Association Premier League are also part of the lawsuit against YouTube/Google.    And while this lawsuit seems crazy for many reasons including that most artists make no money off of past videos played on TV anyways - never mind crumby quality dubs on YouTube which most people only view and don't  download (unlike with Napster in its famous lawsuit some years back) - it certainly looks like it signals the final days of YouTube - as least as  it exists today.  So my advice: enjoy YouTube while you can. 

Once upon a time in ye olde, pre-digital days, music fans would have to trek to their local record store on a certain day, usually a Tuesday, to acquire new music  It was the only way.  And in the great new documentary "Good Copy Bad Copy" the sample-happy artist Girl Talk reminisces on those long gone days when some of his fondest memories were formed. In the film he recalls when as a kid being accompanied to the record store with his parents to buy the  then new Nirvana CD Nevermind and how sadly that this nostalgic relationship no longer exists for most young blossoming music fans today.

Directed by European  Andreas Johnsen  the  ever engaging Good Copy Bad Copy, which so far has only been seen on the Danish Broadcasting Corporation television station,  is a well worth watching documentary about music, copyright,  and culture, and where it is headed. The one-hour documentary also features interviews with Danger Mouse, Siva Vaidhyanathan, Lawrence Lessig, and others. Below is a clip from the film. Fittingly this film, which is supportive of copyright free file sharing, is available for free download. You can access the torrent of the XviD version at The Pirate Bay on the site goodcopybadcopy.net  However, since the film producers have still only recouped a quarter of their production costs, they do request a donation - but only  if you liked the film.  And I think you will.