Always A Gatekeeper: RIAA Backs .music Proposal... If It's Only Limited To 'Accredited' Musicians

from the gates-have-come-down dept

Fri, Feb 10th 2012 9:31am — Mike Masnick

For years there have been a few efforts underway to try to create a .music top level domain. While I'm not totally convinced such a TLD really is needed, it's been interesting to watch the RIAA's allergic reaction to the general idea. About a year ago, we wrote about how the RIAA was complaining that any such TLD might (gasp!) be used to infringe, and arguing that ICANN shouldn't allow it unless it was completely locked down. Apparently, the RIAA has now found the plan it likes, siding with a company called Far Further on its bid to run .music, and going against the company that has fought the hardest for .music... a company called dotMusic. If you want to understand why the RIAA is now endorsing Far Further's proposal, it's pretty simple:

Its .music would be restricted, along the same lines as gTLDs such a .pro, to card-carrying members of what the company calls "accredited Global Music Community Members".

"It's not open to everyone," Styll said. "You'd have to join an organization."

Amateur bands would have to be members of an accredited songwriters association to get a .music address, for example.

In other words, it goes against the reality we know today, which is that new technologies are allowing anyone to become a musician. Instead, it's based on the obsolete notion that only those in a special club are "really" musicians. What you end up with is exactly what the RIAA wants: a system where it gets to "accredit" musicians. In other words, a system where gatekeepers still matter. Of course, what they don't realize is that if .music uses such a system, it almost immediately becomes irrelevant, and sets itself up as an exclusionary club in an era when such things aren't necessary any more.

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Filed Under: .music, accredited musicians, gatekeepers, top level domains
Companies: far further, riaa

128 Comments

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:Lobo Santo (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:37am

Turnabout is fair play
There's no reason people couldn't get together and make a .indie domain, which is limited to those producers of media who are NOT member of the MAFIAA or any associated guilds...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Planespotter (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:38am

Cool... I can filter out legacy industries easier. Can we please have .movies and .cable?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Rich Kulawiec, 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:38am

This is no different from .xxx
It's just another attempt to extort money. I won't be surprised to see the filth at ICANN back this, though: there's no payoff or bribe too dirty for them.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:41am

I'm actually fine with this proposal...because no one will care about it and the RIAA will waste its time and money.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:41am

And of course, being an accreditted musician would mean signing over the rights to your music to an RIAA-member label, so you can get screwed over for the rest of your life. Funny, this would give musicians the problem that the RIAA is saying piracy does: have your music distributed and used without you receiving a penny. Absolutely pathetic by RIAA, yet completely expected at the same time.

I wonder if they and their members could be taken to court over anti-competitive practices if this were to get implemented, due to them intentionally trying to shut down all musicians that are not part of one of their labels. Of course, then the question would be if it would be investigated, or if the government is too busy investigating Google for succeeding by providing what consumers actually want.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:42am

You are always looking at a way to slam them, rather than considering that what they are doing might actually be good and useful.

The ideas is that .music would be all about music, not about anyone who can just pay for a domain. It would help to assure that the sites aren't scammers, people with fake "you need to download this codec" to listen to the music, etc...

It's a situation where a gatekeeper isn't a bad idea... Where the gatekeeper helps to build the brand and gives the public the assurance that these sites are at least truly music related.

Your negativity is so strong, you cannot seem to see any of the good.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:43am

Re:
"And of course, being an accreditted musician would mean signing over the rights to your music to an RIAA-member label, so you can get screwed over for the rest of your life"

B U L L S H I T ! ! !

Show me where that is the case, because that is a big fat lie.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Marcus Carab (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:47am

Re:
Except if you actually read their statements, they don't say anything at all about quality or scam-prevention or security or anything like that even once. They only talk about the need to police sites for IP violations.

It would be NICE if the gatekeepers' goal was to actually add value for the consumer, but it's not.
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JayTee (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:49am

Re:
"Your negativity is so strong, you cannot seem to see any of the good"

If the RIAA are supposedly doing good then what would a world without them be like?
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:52am

Re: Re:
Common sense? If the RIAA is backing a proposal, it's because it benefits them to ridiculous degrees. This proposal would give them control over who's considered an "accredited musician." You honestly think, given this and their history, that they won't require musicians to drop their pants and bend over in order to get onto a .music domain?
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:56am

Re:
My first thought was also to filter, but I think it's an even greater resource than that. It will cut a lot of legwork out of determining if a band is on an RIAA label. All you'd have to do is search for a band and if it spat back a .music domain, they could be easily ignored.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:56am

Re:
What's the difference between .com and .music? Is it the same difference between .com and .xxx?

Porn.com and Music.com? These seem to be working fine, as is, right now, for everyone.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 9:59am

Re:
You are searching for the solution to an imaginary problem. No one has trouble finding music.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gwiz (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:01am

Re: Re:
Show me where that is the case, because that is a big fat lie.

Well for starters, you can look here to see how little musicians actually make from label deals:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100712/23482610186.shtml

And next you can check out how the labels don't want to give back the musicians the rights to their own music:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110816/09574115549/dear-musicians-riaa-is-about-to-tota lly-screw-you-over-again.shtml
[ link to this | view in thread ]
jackn, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:02am

Response to: Anonymous Coward on Feb 10th, 2012 @ 9:42am
That's idiotic.

We don't need gatekeepers to tell if a site is related to music. U r living in the past.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
jsl4980 (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:05am

I say let them do it. Who would ever think a band wasn't a real band because they don't have a .music website. No one would ever care or notice if the set this system up.

I've never stood out side of a concert and said "I am not going in there. That's not a real band they have a .net website."

How many people go directly to a band's website instead of clicking a link from a Facebook post, tweet, newsletter, or RSS feed? No one will ever notice the address, no one will ever care.

Please allow the RIAA to waste their money on something incredibly pointless. Any idea that helps the RIAA waste funds their is a wonderful thing.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:05am

Anyone can be a musician. There's nothing to it. I'm actually just as special as the Beatles. I've also decided that I'm an astronaut.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
A Guy (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:06am

Re:
Why don't you just call it .myspace instead? It sounds like the same idea.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:08am

Re: Re: Re:
Do you have any real data? Silly stories from a pro-piracy blog like Techdirt hardly qualify.
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Rich Kulawiec, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:09am

Re: Re:
Okay, here's a case. It happens to be the most recent one I'm aware of, but of course it's only the latest in a very, very long line: Sale Or License? Sister Sledge Sues Over ITunes.

One of the links in that story points here, and this touches on my point from yesterday about how record companies are doing their best to see that musicians who are national or world treasures die quickly and impoverished -- since of course sick and/or broke musicians can't sue them. It includes a quote from Joyce Moore, wife of Sam Moore -- of Sam and Dave, one of the seminal groups of blues and soul. (If you don't know them, then read the Wikipedia entry and learn.) And then look at how their record company is STILL screwing them over, decades later -- probably figuring that if they drag it out long enough, Sam and Dave will be dead and the record company's bloated, greedpig executives can just keep the money...or maybe settle out-of-court for ten cents on the dollar.
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Jeremy Lyman (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:10am

I'll do the Accreditation
I hereby declare the founding of the AAAAA! Otherwise known as the Association of America Accrediting Association of America, my organization will be in charge of deciding who the legitimate "Association of Americas" are and who are not. Our first act of business is to declare the AAAAA an accredited Association, all other associations will need to submit applications to the AAAAA in order to receive their accreditation and begin issuing legitimate accreditations in their respective industries.

The MPAA and RIAA are welcome to apply as authoritative accreditors of the film and music worlds, however they should remember that without our graciousness they'll be relegated to the status of 'pirate association' operating outside the providence of an actual Association of America. Don't mess with the legacy player I've just invented or we'll slam the gates shut on your tangentially related business prospects.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:10am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
B U L L S H I T ! ! !
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:11am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
There is data provided. You don't accept it, of course.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:11am

This also illustrates the problem of granting private entities control of top level domains.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Robert (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:12am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Do you have any real data? Silly studies from an anti-consumer monopoly like the RIAA members hardly qualify [especially when the 'facts' cannot be replicated and sources cannot be identified, so the claims go unquantified, unverified, and unbelieved - except by those in Congress/House of Commons/House of Lords purchased by lobbyists].

Works both ways. I would trust the SkyIsRising report because at least it is transparent. It doesn't use upper echelon numbers from 1986 counterfeit studies (which also provide worse-case-all-hell-breaking-loose numbers).
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gwiz (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:13am

Re: Re: Re:
Wait. Maybe I'm confused. Are you saying that it's bullshit that to become accredited you need a label deal or are you saying it's bullshit that you get screwed for the rest of your life when you sign a label deal. I took as the latter.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
monkyyy, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:15am

Re: Re:
this^
but they would have to be proud of being part of the riaa for it to get them
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gwiz (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:15am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Do you have any real data? Silly stories from a pro-piracy blog like Techdirt hardly qualify.

Pretend it's like Wikipedia and click on the reference links in the articles.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:16am

Re:
ask aol how being a gatekeeper on the internet has worked out

they'll be the gatekeeper into non-existence

the internet culture has shown that it will not accept your pitiful choices/limitations, nor will it allow you to ram it down our throats

the internet is now the crowd-sourced middle man giving us the choices we want

you are not needed; go away
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:17am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
He just can't find it because the data isn't on a .data website.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:18am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Not that you actually want information, but both of those articles are about and link to source material supporting the idea that record labels undervalue and steal from musicians.

But you just want to make noise, don't you? It's okay. The more screaming you do, and the more valueless screeds you post without any factual evidence, the more people will reject your position outright.

And the more people reject the idea that associations of media conglomerates and trade groups have value or the right to have their priorities made into law, the better off we'll all be.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:21am

Re: Re:
Can't you read?

"accredited Global Music Community Members"

That means whatever an organization decides its members need to do you got do it or you are not accredit, if they want people to sign off their rights away they will need to do it for whatever reason is there just like scientific journals ask others to sign off their rights so they can exploit those or else you don't get in, that is also why scientific journals are trying to make laws that forbid others from posting on free open journals, which means probably this would be the next step for the RIAA to outlaw any other venue that music can be shown to the public so people have no other place but the .music TLD and be forced to accept whatever rules they will impose there.

This is bad in so many levels.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:25am

Re: I'll do the Accreditation
You forgot to push for the criminalization of the use of other TLD's for music at all, since it is all pirates and those pirates musicians can't go roaming freely they must be stopped from showing off their music without a proper venue were everything is controlled and the rule of law can be maintained at the expense of the public of course.
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Marcus Carab (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:28am

Re:
Anyone can be a musician. There's nothing to it. I'm actually just as special as the Beatles. I've also decided that I'm an astronaut.

Umm, nobody said that anyone can be a good musician. But anyone can try.

You actually make the point quite nicely. Space agencies are the gatekeepers for the astronaut industry, because they are the only ones with the means to put someone in space. Once upon a time, record labels were similar gatekeepers, because they were the only ones with the means to record and distribute music. Technology changed the latter - and you can bet that if we ever invent a DIY spaceship, it will change the former.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Benjo (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:28am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
I hope you don't get paid to be a shill, but instead waste your time willingly.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
MrWilson, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:28am

Re: Re:
Careful, your shill is showing.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jason, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:29am

Re:
You know what. You are right, any music you make is just as special as the Beatles, or it should be.

Making music is an exercise in expression, it doesn't need to be a certain kind, it doesn't need to be a certain genre, it doesn't even need a certain quality to be able to be judged as worthy by someone. Ask any parent that's listened to their young child sing a tune.

When some organization gets to decide how people can express themselves, we have a problem.

Your attitude in your post is much more troubling though because of the fact that if you can't see that music, all music, has the power to move people.

You must be dead inside.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:29am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I don't care what some biased pro-piracy blog or study says.

If record labels did nothing but rip off musicians, then no one would sign with them and their owners would be in jail.

But that's obviously not the case.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
jjmsan (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:30am

Newspring
Maybe the RIAA borrowed this from newspapers' idea that you can only be a reporter if you are paid by a mainstream news organization
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:32am

It's fine to give RIAA a TLD, but it should be .riaa not .music.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:33am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Ah yes, "I don't care what the data tells me!" The true mark of an idiot.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:35am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Marked as funny.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:40am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Marked as you being unable to come up with any logical rebuttal. The truth really hurts, apparently.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jeremy Lyman (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:41am

Re: Re: I'll do the Accreditation
Ah, good point. I'll need someone at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency to immediately seize the RIAA.com and MPAA.org domain names as well as all affiliated domains from other TLDs. The only legitimate and legal URL for these Associations of America are RIAA.AAAAA and MPAA.AAAAA using the AAAAA TLD we just proposed for Associations of America. (Domain name registration pending accreditation as an official Association of America and numerous registration fees and bi-weekly dues compliance)
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:42am

funny, RIAA is an "ancient legacy gatekeeper" but oh , say ICANN, isn't??? why do "they" get to decide my TLD, why can't I have my own??? why can't I be myspecialname.Irockhard

why does ICANN decide for me, .com.edu.xxx.org etc.....

funny you cherry pick your bad guys...........
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:47am

Re: Re:
For the lazy....

http://www.salon.com/2000/06/14/love_7/
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:47am

Re:
i think for $150,000US, you can get your own TLD

you are also free to run your own DNS service that supports whatever TLD you want.

ICANN does have the monopoly on IP address allocation though, so your point is somewhat valid
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:49am

Why would the RIAA have their word to say at all? ICANN rules clearly state that one can oppose the registration, but only if they own the copyright or trademark being registered. ICANN decides, and MAFIAA doesn't have a word to say (imagine .movie?).

The fact that it's a big deal should concern people, not because of the RIAA actions, but because ICANN are actually listening to them, which proves they're not impartial and could even stretch to not following their own rules.

THIS is why we need to decentralize everything that has to do with the structure of the internet from US-based corporations and government.
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John Doe, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:55am

Lets hope they get it
This means we can ignore any site with a .music TLD because we know it is a form of censoring the net. Makes the protest a lot easier this way.
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isaac Kotlicky (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:56am

Come on, Mike!
Stop banging this old drum!
Everyone knows they enjoy things better when an authority tells them it's good!

We need faceless, profiteering organizations telling us who is worth giving our money and paying attention to. Lord knows we can't ask our friends or think for ourselves...

Sheesh.
I bet you're one of those people who "like" things too...
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:57am

Another trooltastic post from Mr. Masnick. Just because someone can create sounds doesn't make them a musician, regardless of what tool they are using. I have some wire strippers but it damned sure doesn't make me an electrician. A tool does not instill anyone with talent; it allows someone to use their talent. If they don't restrict the domain registration, you will end up with something that is meaningless. By restricting it to musicians (and yes by musicians I mean professional musicians - not hobbyists) they will maintain the reason for the domain.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 10:57am

Re: Re: Re:
No, no, no! You didn't read the quote. The guy says "you have to sign your music over to a label to get a .music domain". I don't see that anywhere.

Instead, you go off on a rant about label accounting. Fuck me, don't you guys read?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gwiz (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:00am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
If record labels did nothing but rip off musicians, then no one would sign with them and their owners would be in jail.

Umm. Not sure where anyone said label contracts were illegal. Unfair, one sided and misleading maybe, but not necessarily illegal.

As for the "no one would sign with them" part, before all these new distribution and marketing models came about to compete with the labels, a musician had only two choices, sign with a label or disappear into obscurity. It wasn't really a choice at all.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:03am

Re:
Nice strawman.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Baldaur Regis (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:06am

I get so sick of combing through legitimate sites looking for the pirated stuff - when is ICANN going to really serve the public with a .pirate gTLD?
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Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:06am

Re:
I'm actually just as special as the Beatles.

In my opinion, the Beatles suck...so you have that.

I've also decided that I'm an astronaut.

So the Russians are sending monkeys to Mars now, eh?
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Marcus Carab (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:07am

Re:
funny you cherry pick your bad guys

Heh. Techdirt has criticized ICANN for their gatekeeper status on several occasions:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20041213/1526210.shtml

http://www.techdirt.com/art icles/20060817/1237204.shtml

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111123/02272116882/icann-sued-ove r-xxx-porn-company-points-out-that-its-pure-money-grab.shtml

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/200 60414/1120256.shtml

So, sorry: no cherrypicking happening here.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gwiz (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:08am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Yeah. I realized that shortly after I posted my comment and asked for clarification. (It's the comment right above yours)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
lavi d (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:09am

dotBlackHole
This would be great if it were ALL and ONLY RIAA musicians, and the music was locked down as tight as possible and nothing but 22khz, 1-minute streams, no cover art larger than 320x240 pixels, etc.

Then, the RIAA could stop trying to destroy the internet in order to "stop piracy" and everyone else could go on about their lives.

As the commenter up thread said, we need a .movie and .cable domain too.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:11am

Re:
Go to the top of the page and type "ICANN" into the search techdirt tool. Looks as though Mike has been criticizing them plenty.
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Robert (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:11am

Re:
Actually enjoy using your wirestrippers. You can wire whatever you like. If you screw up and fail, it's all on your head as your insurance company will not pay you a dime.

Anyone can create music and the public will decide what is good and what is not.

There are many people who do better as hobbyists than professionals (as programmers, musicians, actors, electricians, etc...).

They won't maintain shit by restricting, it's only to block competition!

Talent should NOT be judged by some corporation who's bottom line depends on exploiting talent. There are far better musicians on YouTube than some "professionals" as you call them who are under the employ of the labels.

You will NOT end up with meaninglessness because of a lack of restriction.

Here's the problem with capitalism in this day and age, it doesn't work because it isn't capitalism if you have to have laws to restrict who can compete!

Music is no different. If you have to restrict who can compete (ie: those willing to sign away their rights to their art), instead of relying on actual talent (those unwilling to sign away their rights) then you do not have a free market. You have a monopoly.

The Internet did more for culture and creativity than the labels ever did. Hollywood only had creativity when they had the balls to screw Edison's MPCC group. Now look how's acting like their one-time nemesis?

Sorry, but you are flat out wrong!
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iamtheky (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:12am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
The logical rebuttal to "I cant be bothered to click two links deep" would be internalized and strictly rhetorical.

Any vocalization of it will come out as 'what a F* retarded shill'.
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Gharp, 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:14am

Re:
Yes, god forbid we be allowed to decide for ourselves if music is any good. Can you imagine the rampant insanity if absolutely ANYONE was allowed to try to make music? The horror.
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jjmsan (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:18am

Re: Re:
Does that mean what they did doesn't count as music?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
jjmsan (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:23am

Re:
Please define professional. Is it how much money you make? How many songs you write? How much time you spend at it?
Are there judges? If I like the Beatles and someone elses does not does that mean they are less professional?
Do professional musicians get ID cards?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:26am

Re:
Yeah, and as far as I can recall and I won't bother to do any research - Mike has never specifically come out against Nazis, puppy thieves and people who put razors in candy apples!
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tracker1 (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:31am

Same fate as .museum
I remember when .museum was added as a TLD, and thinking to myself that a more generic .art would have been much better. But hey, what do I know.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:35am

Think big picture, folks
Once RIAA gets a tld that reflects 'official' music, then gets SOPA passed at last, they will simply issue takedowns/seizures for any other site with any music at all. Bwahahahahaha....
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:35am

Re: Re:
Only if you make a spaceship that can defend itself against anti-missile defenses that could be used by neurotic states that think everyone is about to launch a nuke at them.
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V (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:38am

Re:
"You are always looking at a way to slam them, rather than considering that what they are doing might actually be good and useful."

It isn't. You apparently are SOOOO intent in trying to find good that you've put on shades AND blinders.

I know many indie musicians... heck... I come from a FAMILY of indie musicians.

I can tell you right now, none of them would want to pay and be in an organization that doesn't nothing for them... all for the "HONOR" of having a .music domain.

It's not like music is a regulated industry - like education or medicine - that REQUIRES accreditation or licenses. Music is something ANYONE with talent - and arguably those without talent - can engage in.

There is no reason to have a gatekeeper and EVERY reason to NOT have one.

To say otherwise displays either ignorance, stupidity or a propensity for Cool Aid drinking.

"Your negativity is so strong, you cannot seem to see any of the good."

You blind devotion to an evil corporate entity has so blinded you that you can't see the OVERWHELMING bad, instead trumpeting the teeny, tiny little spec of good that MAY or MAY NOT come out of it.
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weneedhelp (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:43am

mu�si�cian - One who composes, conducts, or performs music, especially instrumental music.

Hmmmmm. I guess Merriam will have to change the definition to:

mu�si�cian - An artist that is signed with a major label.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:46am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
The amount of irony dripping off your post with you completely unaware is awesome.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:47am

Re:
There is no reason for the TLD. End of discussion.
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Nastybutler77 (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:49am

To quote Seinfeld:

Good luck with aaallll that.
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weneedhelp (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:50am

Re:
What an ass. Trooltastic? Dont you mean trolltastic? Never met a trool. (I am sure they are nice though LOL)

Damn cant even TROLL right.

mu�si�cian - One who composes, conducts, or performs music, especially instrumental music.

"Just because someone can create sounds doesn't make them a musician" - Pure opinion, and a crappy one at that. (My opinion)

Can we please have the paid trolls back that flooded TD while SOPA was going on? All these hobbyist trolls just suck.
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Bengie, 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:54am

Re:
The classical walled garden.

Freedom in exchange for security, which is a valid argument. Just look at Apple. Most people are perfectly happy spending ridiculous amounts of money so they can be spoon-fed.

It is a free market and TLDs can be purchased by anyone and controlled by them.
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Bengie, 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:56am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
"Do you have any real data? Silly stories from a pro-piracy blog like Techdirt hardly qualify."

If you're going to troll, at least put some effort into it.
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Zane Stuart (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:57am

Re: Re:
This is my thought exactly. It's not necessarily a bad thing. It could prove a useful tool for those avoiding - on principle - any music associated with the RIAA. Also, there's the possibility of finding an indie band/musician that's "made it" (or sold out depending on your point of view). Nah, that last part would never happen...
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Baldaur Regis (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 12:03pm

Always a Gatekeeper....
...never a Gatebride. Perhaps that's the REAL reason why RIAA is so bitter.

Sorry.
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weneedhelp (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 12:09pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Dingus, dingus, dingus.
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/05/riaa-settlement-may-be-empty-win.html

Ding us, dingus, dingus.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-9865856-17.html

Dingus, dingus, dingus.
http://www.gplusmath.com/riaa-mpaa-internet-lies-and-other-deceptions/

Dingus, dingus, dingus.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/04/24/327063/-Is-the-RIAA-Pulling-a-Scam-on-the-Music-In dustry

Dingus, dingus, dingus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NcwgdB0NltY

And how could I forget our beloved TechDirt:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110707/03264014993/riaa-accounting-how-to-sell-1-milli on-albums-still-owe-500000.shtml

Dingus, dingus, dingus.
YOU:
http://www.v3im.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/BP-Busienss-Man-Photo.jpg
Dingus, dingus, dingus.
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kenichi tanaka, 10 Feb 2012 @ 12:15pm

Why anyone would want to be part of any organization that sues music fans instead of embracing new business models is beyond me. Just stick with .com, .net and .org websites and let the entertainment industry remain secluded behind their .music address.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 12:19pm

The RIAA/MPAA can go on and do their crap, we will just go on around them, they do not matter now.
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weneedhelp (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 12:19pm

Re: Re: Re:
What a shame. She was intelligent at one time. Great read though.
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Jim, 10 Feb 2012 @ 12:27pm

Re:
That's cool. Please have someone recording your first self-powered space launch to put up on YouTube for the rest of us to enjoy and celebrate your success.
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RD, 10 Feb 2012 @ 12:30pm

Re:
"By restricting it to musicians (and yes by musicians I mean professional musicians - not hobbyists) they will maintain the reason for the domain."

Yeah because every professional musician is born whole with full talent from birth and vaults directly to the top of the music world and lands a record contract the first time they play a single note. They never have to train, work, struggle, practice, or wallow being a nobody for even a millisecond, because professionals just spring into being, no one ever turned their hobby into their job in the history of mankind.
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Hephaestus (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 12:51pm

Re:
Actually, I think it is a perfect idea. We can spam all the .music artists sites with links to techdirt and Rick Falkvinges infopolicy :)
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Hephaestus (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 12:54pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Next time you use a big word like link, please explain what it is and how to use it. We are dealing with content types after all.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 12:58pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
What exactly do you think the process of become "accredited" will involve? I doubt they will let people who are not signed to a label get "accredited".

Also, the internet is worldwide, who would regulate Chinese, Indian, Russian, etc. "accreditation". Another stupid idea from some of the stupidest people to every exist. Ohh, RIAA, when will stop putting your hand on the stove.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 1:04pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
And yet now they do have all these new distribution and marketing models and they still choose to sign with labels.

Watching ignorant nerds try to demonize companies they know nothing about is most amusing.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 1:17pm

I say let the RIAA put every single bit of it's business under .music and as soon as it's completely updated it's business model after years of whining about having to do it, let DHS/ICE come in and sieze the domain, so then they will have something to complain about for the next 20 years.
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RadialSkid (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 1:43pm

Re: Turnabout is fair play
That would be awesome...no digging at all to find out which music is safe to listen to and which is locked up by the various bad guys.
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Rapnel (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 1:46pm

Re:
Given the responses so far that's got to hurt a little bit by now eh? Little stingy sting?

What? Oh, you want the big paddle now? Oh you're a bad one aren't you? Yes you are.
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Rapnel (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 1:49pm

Re:
You miss the memo?

There is no music, only riaa music, and your ma, singing, with permission.
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Gwiz (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 1:50pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
And yet now they do have all these new distribution and marketing models and they still choose to sign with labels.

I know asking you this is pointless, but, do you have some data to back that up with?

It's my understanding that a lot of artists are now DIY or signing limited distribution or marketing contracts with the labels while still retaining the copyrights to their work. Which isn't the same thing as the old sign over all your rights to get the advance which you then have to recoup contracts.

If I am wrong on this, please prove it to me.

Watching ignorant nerds try to demonize companies they know nothing about is most amusing.

While I may be a nerd, I don't believe I am ignorant. And I am not really trying to demonize anybody here, but after reading story after story about the labels screwing the artist over at every turn (and I have been reading those stories for many years before I even discovered Techdirt), one has to start believing there is some truth to it.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 1:50pm

Re: Re:
you post 4 links with Mike deciding that those TLD's are not needed at all, and are a money grab by ICANN, doesn't support you at all

someone wanted the domain idea enough that ICANN created them

but he has 8 gaziilion posts about riaa, so yes, he is cherry picking his bad guys
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drew (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 1:53pm

Re:
really? you actually wrote this? really? wow that's pretty impressive. What about all those professional musicians who signed up to the major labels and got dropped after an album? Are they professional musicians? What about the cruise-ship singers who earn their living singing but have never created an original bit of work in their lives? Where, exactly, is your line of professionalism drawn?
I ask because i want to make damn sure i stay the right side of it.
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drew (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 1:59pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
yep, turns out there's no monopoly on being dumb, nor is there on being greedy.
Doesn't mean there's any value in it either.
Thing is, via the old model, a very small number of people got stupidly rich* and that's always going to appeal to a pretty broad segment of the population who've bought into the myth.
An increasing number of people have done the reading and done the maths though, and they're looking at the old model and working out that, unless they're really, really lucky, there are better models out there.
If you're a music fan and want to support musicians you should be pretty happy about this. If you're connected to the legacy businesses you wouldn't be. Where are you?

* some of them were even artists
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Rapnel (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 2:05pm

Who?
"PERCHANCE he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that."
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silverscarcat (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 2:06pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
A little fact, AC, the music industry kind of FORCES them to sign with them, even though it's a really shitty deal all the time.

Why?

Because, for the longest time, it was the ONLY way to get their music onto the radio and into stores.

Not so much these days.
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asd, 10 Feb 2012 @ 2:25pm

Re: Re: You don't go out much do you?
The RIAA is EVEN GOING SO FAR as to try and accrue royalties for music THEY DONT EVEN OWN THE RIGHTS TO.

So, no. It's not bullshit. It's par for the course with the RIAA. Do your research.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/04/24/327063/-Is-the-RIAA-Pulling-a-Scam-on-the-Musi c-Industry-
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 2:27pm

Re: Re: Re:
You are an idiot.
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JMT (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 2:34pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"And yet now they do have all these new distribution and marketing models and they still choose to sign with labels."

And they're just as unlikely to be financially successful as they've always been. Proud of that?
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Zuni (profile), 10 Feb 2012 @ 3:10pm

Backhand deals by RIAA
The new .music TLD is part of the new business model for the RIAA, and a great way for them to raise revenue. Part of the deal with any organisation wanting to own the .music TLD involves paying the RIAA part of each registration fee and renewal fees, which could amount to $millions in the future, and after the TLd has been allocated, the bid winner can 'sell' it on after 6 months, so the RIAA could end up owning the .music TLD... or Sony Music, BGM, Warner

I know as I was part of a group who meet with the RIAA end of last year looking for their support which they promised to our group if we would cooperate with them.

Same rules apply for many of the other TLDs which will be created including .movie, .news etc
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 5:00pm

Re:
Nice try, darryl.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 6:17pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Thanks... I don't think a label deal is needed, I am guessing that to purchase a domain you will need to be a member of an association or something like that. Not really unusual.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 7:30pm

Re: Re:
Don't you get it? RIAA decides if you're good, it has nothing to do with the public.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 8:35pm

Gotta keep the A&R guys in their BMW's somehow, and creating an admission barrier seems to be the method they prefer.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 8:37pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I thought the RIAA was trying to get music off the radio now. They said something about FM being a hotbed of piracy recently.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Feb 2012 @ 8:41pm

Re:
I want to be the judge of what constitutes music and what constitutes noise. You could pretty much discard most pop and experimental music before we even begin.
Techno? That's a computer, not a composer, in fact, if it uses a synthesizer or electronic playback system, I don't believe it qualifies as music being performed by a musician.

Arbitrary rules are awesome.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Feb 2012 @ 12:48am

Re:
You are always looking at a way to slam Mike, rather than consider that what you are doing might actually not be good and useful.
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techflaws.org (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 3:33am

Re: Re: Re:
So yes, it's his blog where he does as he pleases.
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Angry Voter, 11 Feb 2012 @ 4:16am

When will the RIAA and MPAA members be charged with tax evasion?

There was a big article in The Economist explaining how they do it with tricks like the 'Double Dutch Sandwich' and other tricks so all their losses are claimed in the US and most of their profits are claimed overseas, hidden from the IRS and the artists.

They should be charged under the RICO act.
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PaulT (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 5:33am

Re:
So, your point is that nobody's a musician unless they're pre-approved by the RIAA and sign up for its backward special requirements?

Glad I don't live in your twisted reality.
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Michael, 11 Feb 2012 @ 7:20am

Why am I not surprised?
This is prototypical mega corp behavior. They want to create an atmosphere of exclusivity in order to control and profit from as much content as possible. Only the big hit-makers they select get a decent slice of the pie (because they distribute all royalties based on 'surveying' approx. 1% of national radio play) -- everybody else is left with scraps, if that. Meanwhile, the RIAA is making a fortune by pocketing a substantial portion of the artists' royalties. Along with the major labels, the RIAA are experts at cooking the books and cheating the system to ensure that it always works to their benefit.

If they want to create their own exclusive club, who cares? Let 'em. Most business-wise, self-respecting artists will steer clear of this scam and continue to produce regardless of what the RIAA is up to. Nobody needs these mafia middle-men in order to produce artistic works, let alone profit. As the saying goes, 20% of something is better than 100% of nothing.
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silverscarcat (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 10:07am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
And that would be a death move for them and music, since radio is the way most people listen to the music when it first comes out.
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Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 10:42am

Instant fail: just add stupid.
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Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 10:42am

Instant fail: just add stupid.
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Al Bert (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 5:15pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I don't think anybody needs or intends to contest your statement of pride in willful ignorance.
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Al Bert (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 5:36pm

Re:
We all know they have no idea what value is, but i'm somehow sure that they'd understand that a .riaa TLD is less than worthless.
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Al Bert (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 5:44pm

Re: dotBlackHole
That is a totally unrealistic picture you paint.
320 x 240 is much too large a thumbnail for them
Why, you might be able to read some words...
Without paying to remember them!
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Feb 2012 @ 6:11pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
you get screwed for the rest of your life when you sign a label deal

You'll continue to get screwed long after you're dead
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Feb 2012 @ 6:31pm

Re: Re: Re:
Do they have a list? Do they check it twice?
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TtfnJohn (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 7:16pm

Re: Re: Re:
She may have burned herself out on drugs and what have we but she's right on in what she says about the recording industry and the RIAA and what happens to the vast majority of musicians.
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TtfnJohn (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 7:28pm

Re:
Oh heck, it wasn't all that long ago, pre-iTunes that you did have do download various and sundry codecs to get the music to play. Even from the gatekeepers, along with DRM and host of other crap.

Then came Napster and the mp3, sonic vomit that it is.

It may be a situation where a gatekeeper may (just may) be a good idea. The problem here is that the gatekeeper is the RIAA and they don't give a damn about musicians or their customers or the musicians fans.

The reality is that with RIAA member companies there's lots to be negative about. Their track record is enough, SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, TPP and other nonsense is more then enough to be negative about them and their intentions.
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TtfnJohn (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 7:58pm

Re:
You're being sarcastic, right? I mean you have to be to have written something this inane.

And just who decides who is or is not a musician? You want to limit it to professionals but I know tons of amateurs who can play circles around pros in different genres but mostly just do it for fun so they never perform or play for money.

And you the hell are you to say they're not musicians? Or the RIAA for that matter.
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nasch (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 8:11pm

Re: Re:
Space agencies are the gatekeepers for the astronaut industry, because they are the only ones with the means to put someone in space.

Not for long! Arguably not even in the present, depending on your definition of "space".
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Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 11 Feb 2012 @ 8:21pm

Re:
oops.
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Karl (profile), 12 Feb 2012 @ 10:09am

Far Further vs. Roussos
This is actually not as big a deal as you might think.

The person who came up with the idea for .music, Constantine Roussos, basically said he would do the same thing:

Music community members will verified through our .MUSIC-accredited "Community Member Organizations (CMOs)" which will serve as trusted gatekeepers of .MUSIC domain registrations, ensuring the safe, secure and responsible launch of .MUSIC, preventing gaming, piracy and malicious conduct as well as protecting their members' .MUSIC brand trademarks from being cybersquatted or abused. Accredited CMOs for .MUSIC include:

- Music Trade Organizations
- Digital Aggregators
- Government Arts Councils & Music Export Offices
- Accredited Music Communities

CMOs are invite-only and only reserved for trusted organizations that have a history of activities that serve the music community and their members.
- .MUSIC (dotMusic) Supporters

(Also, it is a bit ironic that the RIAA complains about people "stealing" the fruits of musicians' labor, yet has no problem "stealing" the fruits of Roussos' labor.)

Though it doesn't mention it in the article, a list of "accredited organizations" can be found on Far Further's web site. It is not limited to RIAA clients; it also includes PRO's like ASCAP, BMI, and SEAC.

Now, that still wouldn't be enough to represent the global music industry (in particular, America is rather over-represented). There is no mention of TuneCore or Jamendo, for example. Simply glancing at my own collection, over half the music I own is not produced by members of a PRO (and certainly most were not when they were starting out). That does seem to make it more of a gated community geared towards older, already-established acts.

The kicker, however, is SoundExchange. They are an accredited organization, according to Far Further. They are also required, by law, to collect digital royalties for all musicians (whether you want them to or not). Registering with them is free, so if that's the only barrier to entry, then it's not such a "walled garden" after all.

...Having said all that: Is this anything an artist would actually want to do?
In addition, the content of .music web sites would be policed in a similar way to .xxx or .cat, with regular spidering to ensure the content does not break the rules.

�We�re definitely looking at content, and besides the vetting process, in the registrant agreement there�ll be a warrant you�re not going to violate anyone�s intellectual property rights,� said Styll.

�We�re retaining the right to conduct searches,� he said. �If we find evidence of infringing activity we�ll give you the opportunity to correct that, or we can take down the site.�

I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want major media industries conducting searches on my website, looking for an excuse to shut me down.

Furthermore, with anything like this (which is more a "service" than an actual domain), there are questions about the rules. Would you have to stream music in a DRM-laden format? Would you be prevented from releasing CC music? If you put your own music on the Pirate Bay, would they be allowed to remove your site? How much are you allowed to integrate other services (e.g. Soundcloud), and how easy would it be? Would you even be allowed to run your own backend (e.g. install Drupal rather than whatever web software they're using)?

And why oh why would this walled garden be in any way preferable to something like BandCamp, which pretty much accomplishes exactly the same thing, without needing the approval of a board of censors?

My predictions for how this will turn out:

- The .music gTLD will move forward. Roussos will be squeezed out (among other reasons, his views on stopping piracy are 180 degrees opposite the legacy players').

- The RIAA membership will set up .music sites "on behalf of" their artists, and will control the content of those sites. Artists won't have much say in the matter, since they're not the rights holders. Still, the RIAA believes, for some reason, that this will make other musicians want to join up.

- Musicians, like anyone else, are "bandwagon jumpers" when it comes to signing up for online entities. They will wait for everyone else to get a .music domain first. Nobody does, and .music becomes the de facto location for the RIAA alone.

- It will get a few hits at first, but peter out rather quickly. Nobody trusts the RIAA as far as they can throw them, and nobody wants to be limited to "official" sites alone. Not even artists.

- As it's failing, Far Further and its affiliates will demand that search engines place .music sites at the top of their search hits. Search engines refuse, because that's crazy.

- As it's failing even more, Far Further et. al. will demand that search engines remove every single link from artist searches that don't lead to a .music site. Search engines will refuse, because that's even crazier.

- Far Further et. al. will sue Google. (They won't sue Bing or any other search engine, naturally.)

- After years of costly litigation, Google will win. Public statements from the RIAA about how "Google profits from piracy" will follow.

- By then, every artist on .music will have said "eff this" and moved back to their .com domains.

- Or just stayed on BandCamp.
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