Downloading Ringtones Is Copyright Infringement
from the another-Napster-in-the-making? dept
Okay, if you ever needed evidence of some people taking themselves and their industry too seriously, here it is. Some company in the UK is acting very upset that people who download ringtones of popular songs for their mobile phones aren't paying any royalties to the artists for those ringtones. They describe this as (and I only wish I could make up stuff this funny) "another Napster in the making". Somehow, I don't think cheesey ringtones of a Britney Spears song is the equivalent to trading her MP3 files on Napster (which I still don't think is a problem, anyway). The guy also says that they know the "music industry has been hit very hard by this". Huh? The music industry is still making a ton of money from all the studies people have come out with - and I don't think they've been sweating over some kids downloading ringtones.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Case?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]