Congrats EMI! You've Killed Some Innovation

from the nice-work dept

Tue, Mar 10th 2009 9:32am — Mike Masnick

Remember how EMI insisted it was going in a new direction that wouldn't be anti-technology and anti-fan? The company even hired some well-respected Silicon Valley techies for street cred. And then... it just kept on suing any and every innovation that came, often making it personal. Last month we wrote about yet another such lawsuit that had numerous troubling implication. The lawsuit targeted a developer of a service, Swurl, who just used an API for another service, Seeqpod, that was being sued. It's quite troublesome to claim that one company is liable for simply using an API of another company who, itself, is probably not doing anything infringing. But, EMI is a big company with lots of money (though, it's dwindling) and the developer it sued, Ryan Sit, was just a guy working on a fun project -- so, he's now pulled down the project. So, congrats, EMI for killing an innovative service. Great way to show how you're "different" and how much you "get" Silicon Valley. If I were Doug Merrill or Corey Ondrejka -- EMI's two big digital gurus -- I'd be ashamed to be employed by such a company. You're helping to stomp out innovation rather than enable it.

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Filed Under: cory ondrejka, doug merrill, innovation
Companies: emi, seeqpod, swurl

11 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2009 @ 10:07am

So exactly what is the difference here from when Microsoft gets up to all kinds of tricks to "persuade" PC vendors not to pre-install rival browsers etc. we know the Masnicks have designated MS behavior as nothing to worry about and in favor of healthy competition, so why how come EMI isn't the same - is it just because EMI is a company having problems whereas MS has always been a success and techdirt need to align with success ?
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shawn kneher, 10 Mar 2009 @ 10:20am

a public shaming
calling them out by name . . .
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2009 @ 10:37am

Re:
I think when Microsoft actually starts suing Linux for copyright infringement, Mike will change his tune a bit on them. For instance, the Tom Tom suit.

Currently though, Microsoft isn't doing anything to stop end users from accessing other browsers. They just don't do the work of the end user for them.

I don't have an issue with Microsoft in the browser space either. Microsoft is anti-competition in every area, but apart from making IE uninstallable and standards compliant, I wouldn't ask for much else.
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simon, 10 Mar 2009 @ 10:41am

Apart from that just look at the artist who left emi or are planning to leave, how could they get it so wrong?
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2009 @ 11:52am

Re:
Um that's different and inaccurate. The OEMs have no reason to actually install another browser since one comes with the OS.

That said, there are several OEMs that will let you choose if you want Firefox/Safari thrown on the OS on top of Vista/XP. Unsure if it violates the OEM license or not but it seems to happen for those who care.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2009 @ 12:05pm

Re:
If you read techdirt more you would know that Mike is critical of MS when it does BS like EMI
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Rekrul, 10 Mar 2009 @ 12:27pm

Their mistake was not getting EMI's permission to innovate first...
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Killer_Tofu (profile), 10 Mar 2009 @ 1:15pm

A Fool and their Money
A fool and their money are soon parted.
This is completely true for all the management at EMI.
They keep letting the lawyers run things.
Either that or they are just plain stupid.
Either way they keep feeding money to the lawyers.

As things are I would say that they cannot possibly run out of money too fast.
The sooner they are gone, the better.
The artists need to be released from the stranglehold of such a backwards thinking label. The sooner they get with a label that actually understands the internet, the better.

Dear EMI, please die and fade away.
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TW Burger, 10 Mar 2009 @ 2:19pm

EMI and the Old Music and Entertainment Industries in General
EMI and the rest are either going to adapt or bankrupt themselves.

The attitude reminds me of the stages of dying Elizabeth Kubler-Ross identified:
* Denial (this isn't happening to me!)
* Anger (why is this happening to me?)
* Bargaining (I promise I'll be a better person if...)
* Depression (I don't care anymore)
* Acceptance (I'm ready for whatever comes)

Right now EMI and the rest are in stage two - anger. They really should run themselves as a business and not a set of petty little fiefdoms run by overtly emotional tyrants.
Someone compared the current situation to the ice harvesting industry at the turn of he 20th century. The companies that adapted to refrigeration technology and developed it (Frigidaire) did very well. Those that did not were gone by the end of the 1940's.
Considering the amount of music they stole from musicians (mostly black) early in the recording industries heyday their claims of file sharing theft are as ironic as they are false. EMI (and others) just do not seem to be able to understand (stage one denial) that they can no longer control the media and therefore can no longer control distribution.

I wonder what the bargaining stage will be like?
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2009 @ 3:14pm

Congratulations, Mike! You're bitter.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2009 @ 6:58am

Re: EMI and the Old Music and Entertainment Industries in General
just a minor correction, those stages are the Five Stages of Grief
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