Conflict Of Interest rules in many situations(*) ban material conflict of interest (ex: receiving a monetary benefit) AND the appearance of conflict of interest.
The 2nd phrase is what I assumed the original article covered, and upon reading it, I learned that my assumption was correct.
*- A non-profit I ran used this definition of conflict of interest, as well as the Board of another non-profit I'm involved in, so I'm speaking from direct experience.
Otherwise, you can buy the CD & import it in any format you wish. I just did a quick search through iTunes & eMusic & can't tell you what level format they offer- though I'm pretty sure that more recent releases are much higher quality than our earlier ones. We've been with Revolver since early 2008, so all of our digital files on the various digital outlets post-date that year so they're certainly better than if we'd been selling the same earlier versions on iTunes from 7 years ago.
That's not exactly answering your question, but hopefully it helps. Thanks, Jesse
I definitely identify with most of what you write. We also work very hard on taking good care of our loyal customers while trying to sell enough to support our bands & ourselves.
For me (and I'm not speaking for the label or Jello), this thread's main point concerns A2IM endorsing the heavy-handed & very possibly unjust action by ICE. I think it's definitely a due process issue that turns the "innocent until proven guilty" standard on its head. It's my inner ACLU peeping out, but this has been clouded by the myriad other issues mentioned above.
I'm not making a blanket condemnation of A2IM, but A2IM's decision to be a cheerleader for this kind of stuff makes me doubt its judgement. It's as if a music industry group had busted out with a "Let's send the L.A. D.A.'s office a thank you letter for busting those Dead Kennedys perverts" back in 1985, ya know? (Obviously, if it turns out the blogs that were impeded by ICE are all illegal file-sharers, this comparison is accurate, though I'd still strongly suggest A2IM support different ways to deal with illegal-file-sharing)
P.S.- If you're willing to drop me a line at my e-mail above, I'd like to communicate further privately about this, thanks!
P.S.- Alternative Tentacles is NOT a member of A2IM. We considered it a few years ago but haven't taken the plunge.
Endorsing ICE's entry into this fight is a pretty big black mark for me, personally, although I DO appreciate their work on other issues- including the endorsement of net neutrality.
The question for us is whether it's worth the pretty steep dues ($1,000/year) to join an industry group that we're only half-heartedly in agreement with.
Wow, this is a pretty good thread- glad that there are real people from A2IM involved with this thread- it's a lot more helpful to understand the specifics. I'm happy I was able to apparently instigate it!
Also, while I'm flattered that we're described as "highly successful" (we HAVE survived for 31 years as a fully independent label!), we are going through some pretty tough times like many labels are. Click on the link on my name above to support us directly (hint hint).
Here are 2 things that I posted at the bottom of the item that started all of this yesterday that I'd like to be considered in the context of this blog post.
1st post:
I actually just got off the phone from an hour-long conversation with Jim/A2IM. He made the effort to call me, and while he certainly stood his ground he also stressed that they want other labels involved & running for their board of directors to make sure that they're not top-heavy with old-guard record business people. Flattering, to be sure.
It's impossible to summarize our long-winded conversation here, so I'll highlight one key point where we disagreed. He said that government pressure is needed to force people to the table- the recent attempt at setting performance royalty rates for radio that's been sunk by the end of the Congressional term is one example. In this one, Congress said to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) that they needed to negotiate w/ the RIAA, A2IM, & music publishers or Congress would get involved & whatever came out of that would be much much worse than an internal industry agreement.
I pointed out AT's very negative history with this approach. First, there was the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), which pitted Tipper Gore (wife of former VP Gore) & other jerks against everyone from Dee Snider, Frank Zappa, and my boss & AT's owner, Jello Biafra, trying to force the music industry to self-censor and if the industry didn't do it, then the government would. Second, at around the same time, Jello's house, our distributor, and a L.A. record store were all raided for "peddling obscenity," a.k.a. selling Dead Kennedys "Frankenchrist" which had an HR Giger insert. We went through a hellacious legal process that ended with our right (& everyone's right) to put out challenging and edgy art confirmed by the jury.
We have a very strong aversion to heavy-handed government intervention in the arts, to put it mildly.
P.S.- We are also fully engaged in selling music & music-related products to our fans & customers. We do a fair amount of digital promotion, which includes giving away some tracks for free. It seemed that Jim was aware of a huge grey area between super-pirates & the RIAA, but our discussion kept on getting caught up in there just being "2 sides."
2nd post:
I want to be clear- the conversation was pretty wide-ranging and while there was some agreement, there was also a fair amount of disagreement.
Also, this was all between myself and him, and my statements here & in my conversation with Jim represent only my own opinion, not that of Alternative Tentacles Records or Jello Biafra. Jello can & will speak for himself if he wants to.
It WAS a friendly discussion. I was happy to have an in-depth conversation with someone who's also put a lot of time into these issues, even if I think he leans towards too much towards erring on the side of restriction rather than creative freedom.
What's the cliche? "Some of my best friends...?" Ha ha ha...
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: A2IM Indy music group joins in...
I want to be clear- the conversation was pretty wide-ranging and while there was some agreement, there was also a fair amount of disagreement.
Also, this was all between myself and him, and my statements here & in my conversation with Jim represent only my own opinion, not that of Alternative Tentacles Records or Jello Biafra. Jello can & will speak for himself if he wants to.
It WAS a friendly discussion. I was happy to have an in-depth conversation with someone who's also put a lot of time into these issues, even if I think he leans towards too much towards erring on the side of restriction rather than creative freedom.
What's the cliche? "Some of my best friends...?" Ha ha ha...
I actually just got off the phone from an hour-long conversation with Jim/A2IM. He made the effort to call me, and while he certainly stood his ground he also stressed that they want other labels involved & running for their board of directors to make sure that they're not top-heavy with old-guard record business people. Flattering, to be sure.
It's impossible to summarize our long-winded conversation here, so I'll highlight one key point where we disagreed. He said that government pressure is needed to force people to the table- the recent attempt at setting performance royalty rates for radio that's been sunk by the end of the Congressional term is one example. In this one, Congress said to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) that they needed to negotiate w/ the RIAA, A2IM, & music publishers or Congress would get involved & whatever came out of that would be much much worse than an internal industry agreement.
I pointed out AT's very negative history with this approach. First, there was the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), which pitted Tipper Gore (wife of former VP Gore) & other jerks against everyone from Dee Snider, Frank Zappa, and my boss & AT's owner, Jello Biafra, trying to force the music industry to self-censor and if the industry didn't do it, then the government would. Second, at around the same time, Jello's house, our distributor, and a L.A. record store were all raided for "peddling obscenity," a.k.a. selling Dead Kennedys "Frankenchrist" which had an HR Giger insert. We went through a hellacious legal process that ended with our right (& everyone's right) to put out challenging and edgy art confirmed by the jury.
We have a very strong aversion to heavy-handed government intervention in the arts, to put it mildly.
P.S.- We are also fully engaged in selling music & music-related products to our fans & customers. We do a fair amount of digital promotion, which includes giving away some tracks for free. It seemed that Jim was aware of a huge grey area between super-pirates & the RIAA, but our discussion kept on getting caught up in there just being "2 sides."
This was my reply:
Jim & Rich-
Not to be rude, but really? Really?
The URLs that ICE removed from circulation were badly targeted and at least in some cases, completely and utterly against record labels' & artists' promotional interests.
Seems like of the 4 songs that "caused" ICE to harass the site, 3 were sent by the record labels specifically to promote the songs and the 4th was sent by the artist's mentor to promote the song (the artist is not on an RIAA-affiliated label).
This flies directly in the face of record labels trying to be flexible & USE blogs for promotion, which all of us smart ones are doing (among many other things).
If all A2IM is trying to do is be a runt RIAA, complete with the willful blindness & strategic missteps of that larger organization, why would other independent labels like Alternative Tentacles bother joining?
Sorry, but this rah-rah celebration of FBI/ICE/RIAA idiocy is really disappointing from a group that claims to represents so many key indie labels.
After I read this blog post, I got the following e-mail from A2IM, American Association of Independent Music, an umbrella group for non-major labels & publishers. Some of our friends & allies are a part of this organization (we're not) but e-mails like this make me pretty unwilling to join up.
I replied to the e-mail and specifically mentioned this news item & sent along the link. Hope it helps A2IM stop trying to be a runty version of the RIAA...
"To Independent Labels, Creators & Service Providers who rely upon music having value:
For years we have called on government to help fight Piracy, including those websites that promote the devaluation of music and disregard the rights of creators by leaking music early and without permission. Both the Obama Administration and the Congress have started to provide creators much needed support in recent months. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency has taken aggressive action against infringing websites, recently seizing the domain names of 82 sites. Since then ICE, and its Director John Morton, have been taking heat in the blogosphere and in some print media for their actions. It is imperative that the music community let the Administration know just how vital ICE's actions are, and how much we appreciate them.
We need to show them some love for their action! PLEASE send a note to John Morton thanking him for what he's doing.
This letter, which also highlights a recent A2IM press statement, was sent to the Obama administration by A2IM today. They need to hear from our members across the country now!
Use the A2IM letter as a guide, but please personalize your letter, and write to:
Mr. John T. Morton
Director, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528
And express your support for the current actions of U.S. Homeland Security detailed in the attached link press release and please copy: Rich.Bengloff@a2im.org. This is important so let's get to work!
While I agree that the common sense approach is usually the best one, there's a flip side to this.
A judgement process in an antagonistic legal system (i.e. 2 sides presenting evidence against each other) depends on whatever the 2 sides bring. If they screw up & don't present evidence or are able to surpress damaging evidence by the opposition, then that's all the Judge and/or jury sees.
The reason this is important is that the controlling authority (Judge or Hearing Officer) vets the evidence as to its trustworthiness. It keeps jurors from seeing evidence that is either completely false or easily misconstrued. (See every red herring in any mystery novel ever for examples of the latter!)
It can be frustrating- I serve on a municipal body that hears appeals and sometimes we're constrained by the rules of evidence. What I would consider "fair" is rejected because our hands are tied by the legal language & various court decisions.
It's not like other systems where the Judge does the investigating (I know Spain has this system for some things). I don't know how evidence is handled in that system- like, can everyone bring evidence- lawyers & the Judge?
I hope all of the politicians who are confused about freedom of speech & freedom of press are honest enough to turn around and THANK Wikileaks for shedding more light on this truly disgusting scandal.
I'll be waiting a long time for that, but I can always dream. Meanwhile, I'm spreading the word and you should to.
Uh, any comment on the clear attempts at entrapment done by the ex-FBI informant? He's claiming he was trained to try to entrap people, and it turned out that the people he was trying to entrap called the FBI on him, thinking he was a terrorist.
As David St. Hubbins said, "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever." This situation is clearly far far far on the stupid side now.
"All this, and the next failed terrorist attack might involve explosive eyeglasses. Then what, force everyone to wear contacts?"
^^^ This is the larger issue. Every time some would-be murderer gets caught, they institute procedures that *may* have caught them. It's the "closing the barn door after the horses have left" cliche. The TSA is in a bind though, because if they don't close the metaphorical barn door & the next terrorist is successful, they're open to a lot of justifiable criticism.
That said, I think this is the limit. Insert George Orwell reference here. They've gone too far with this.
I'll try to summarize one of the key points some have said vs. Zane's posts: Life cannot be made completely safe, and certain efforts have a larger impact on our freedoms than our safety.
I have both Netflicks & Greencine. Most of what I really want to watch is actually available on Greencine (more UK TV, cult asian & european films, etc) and not Netflicks.
The 2 complement each other, but an either/or situation would be a bummer.
It's so much easier (& cheaper) to just buy a physical book used or go to [gasp!] the library.
If I drop a paperback in the tub, I'm not out hundreds of dollars.
I'm sure at some point I'll get an e-book reader of some sort for specific uses, kind of like how I buy both physical & digital music & video media, but right now the ratio of pros & cons is firmly on the book side!
Whoa, those numbers are way off. It's a lot harder to generalize about tour numbers then it is about the other things in this thread.
Bands are paid either $ guarantees, percentages of the door income, or a combination of the 2. Depending on the venue & the band, there's hospitality ranging from a couple of free beers to hotel suites. Often the more successful touring bands use a booker for the tours- bookers take a % of each show (often 10%, sometimes more, sometimes less).
Merchandise is the "cash cow" on tour- generally bands plan on the door income to cover most unavoidable expenses (transportation, fuel, per diems, lodging) and count on the merch for everything else (meals, expenses on off-days, partying, tour profit). Merch companies front shirts & other merchandise for the tour, and are often paid back during the tour (if the band is savvy). Labels usually sell LPs & CDs to bands at a very low "band rate" that is below wholesale & is exempt from royalties- this is usually fronted to the band & paid for the same way as other merchandise.
Both of these sources of income REALLY depend on the venue, the band's popularity in that town, the tour booker, and what else is going on in the area that evening.
Expenses include: FUEL!!!! Van/Bus rental/upkeep, roadie(s), merch person, tour manager, sound person, lodging, meals, per diems, and unexpected disasters like equipment theft or vehicle accidents. The non-band personnel depends on a lot of factors too. Bands of equal popularity/draw can take completely different sized crews.
On the post: Let's Try This Again: Even If There's No Corruption, The Appearance Of Corruption Hurts Representative Government
Conflict of Interest definition
The 2nd phrase is what I assumed the original article covered, and upon reading it, I learned that my assumption was correct.
*- A non-profit I ran used this definition of conflict of interest, as well as the Board of another non-profit I'm involved in, so I'm speaking from direct experience.
On the post: Indie Music Association Comes Out In Favor Of Seizing Domain Names Of Blogs That Promote Their Music
Re: Re:
http://www.midheaven.com/
Otherwise, you can buy the CD & import it in any format you wish. I just did a quick search through iTunes & eMusic & can't tell you what level format they offer- though I'm pretty sure that more recent releases are much higher quality than our earlier ones. We've been with Revolver since early 2008, so all of our digital files on the various digital outlets post-date that year so they're certainly better than if we'd been selling the same earlier versions on iTunes from 7 years ago.
That's not exactly answering your question, but hopefully it helps. Thanks, Jesse
On the post: Indie Music Association Comes Out In Favor Of Seizing Domain Names Of Blogs That Promote Their Music
Re: Re: Hi fellow label!
On the post: Indie Music Association Comes Out In Favor Of Seizing Domain Names Of Blogs That Promote Their Music
Re: Hi fellow label!
For me (and I'm not speaking for the label or Jello), this thread's main point concerns A2IM endorsing the heavy-handed & very possibly unjust action by ICE. I think it's definitely a due process issue that turns the "innocent until proven guilty" standard on its head. It's my inner ACLU peeping out, but this has been clouded by the myriad other issues mentioned above.
I'm not making a blanket condemnation of A2IM, but A2IM's decision to be a cheerleader for this kind of stuff makes me doubt its judgement. It's as if a music industry group had busted out with a "Let's send the L.A. D.A.'s office a thank you letter for busting those Dead Kennedys perverts" back in 1985, ya know? (Obviously, if it turns out the blogs that were impeded by ICE are all illegal file-sharers, this comparison is accurate, though I'd still strongly suggest A2IM support different ways to deal with illegal-file-sharing)
P.S.- If you're willing to drop me a line at my e-mail above, I'd like to communicate further privately about this, thanks!
On the post: Indie Music Association Comes Out In Favor Of Seizing Domain Names Of Blogs That Promote Their Music
Re:
Endorsing ICE's entry into this fight is a pretty big black mark for me, personally, although I DO appreciate their work on other issues- including the endorsement of net neutrality.
The question for us is whether it's worth the pretty steep dues ($1,000/year) to join an industry group that we're only half-heartedly in agreement with.
On the post: Indie Music Association Comes Out In Favor Of Seizing Domain Names Of Blogs That Promote Their Music
Also, while I'm flattered that we're described as "highly successful" (we HAVE survived for 31 years as a fully independent label!), we are going through some pretty tough times like many labels are. Click on the link on my name above to support us directly (hint hint).
Here are 2 things that I posted at the bottom of the item that started all of this yesterday that I'd like to be considered in the context of this blog post.
1st post:
I actually just got off the phone from an hour-long conversation with Jim/A2IM. He made the effort to call me, and while he certainly stood his ground he also stressed that they want other labels involved & running for their board of directors to make sure that they're not top-heavy with old-guard record business people. Flattering, to be sure.
It's impossible to summarize our long-winded conversation here, so I'll highlight one key point where we disagreed. He said that government pressure is needed to force people to the table- the recent attempt at setting performance royalty rates for radio that's been sunk by the end of the Congressional term is one example. In this one, Congress said to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) that they needed to negotiate w/ the RIAA, A2IM, & music publishers or Congress would get involved & whatever came out of that would be much much worse than an internal industry agreement.
I pointed out AT's very negative history with this approach. First, there was the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), which pitted Tipper Gore (wife of former VP Gore) & other jerks against everyone from Dee Snider, Frank Zappa, and my boss & AT's owner, Jello Biafra, trying to force the music industry to self-censor and if the industry didn't do it, then the government would. Second, at around the same time, Jello's house, our distributor, and a L.A. record store were all raided for "peddling obscenity," a.k.a. selling Dead Kennedys "Frankenchrist" which had an HR Giger insert. We went through a hellacious legal process that ended with our right (& everyone's right) to put out challenging and edgy art confirmed by the jury.
We have a very strong aversion to heavy-handed government intervention in the arts, to put it mildly.
P.S.- We are also fully engaged in selling music & music-related products to our fans & customers. We do a fair amount of digital promotion, which includes giving away some tracks for free. It seemed that Jim was aware of a huge grey area between super-pirates & the RIAA, but our discussion kept on getting caught up in there just being "2 sides."
2nd post:
I want to be clear- the conversation was pretty wide-ranging and while there was some agreement, there was also a fair amount of disagreement.
Also, this was all between myself and him, and my statements here & in my conversation with Jim represent only my own opinion, not that of Alternative Tentacles Records or Jello Biafra. Jello can & will speak for himself if he wants to.
It WAS a friendly discussion. I was happy to have an in-depth conversation with someone who's also put a lot of time into these issues, even if I think he leans towards too much towards erring on the side of restriction rather than creative freedom.
What's the cliche? "Some of my best friends...?" Ha ha ha...
On the post: More & Bigger Mistakes Discovered In Homeland Security's Domain Seizures
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: A2IM Indy music group joins in...
Also, this was all between myself and him, and my statements here & in my conversation with Jim represent only my own opinion, not that of Alternative Tentacles Records or Jello Biafra. Jello can & will speak for himself if he wants to.
It WAS a friendly discussion. I was happy to have an in-depth conversation with someone who's also put a lot of time into these issues, even if I think he leans towards too much towards erring on the side of restriction rather than creative freedom.
What's the cliche? "Some of my best friends...?" Ha ha ha...
Jesse Townley/General Manager/ATR
On the post: More & Bigger Mistakes Discovered In Homeland Security's Domain Seizures
Re: Re: Re: A2IM Indy music group joins in...
It's impossible to summarize our long-winded conversation here, so I'll highlight one key point where we disagreed. He said that government pressure is needed to force people to the table- the recent attempt at setting performance royalty rates for radio that's been sunk by the end of the Congressional term is one example. In this one, Congress said to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) that they needed to negotiate w/ the RIAA, A2IM, & music publishers or Congress would get involved & whatever came out of that would be much much worse than an internal industry agreement.
I pointed out AT's very negative history with this approach. First, there was the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), which pitted Tipper Gore (wife of former VP Gore) & other jerks against everyone from Dee Snider, Frank Zappa, and my boss & AT's owner, Jello Biafra, trying to force the music industry to self-censor and if the industry didn't do it, then the government would. Second, at around the same time, Jello's house, our distributor, and a L.A. record store were all raided for "peddling obscenity," a.k.a. selling Dead Kennedys "Frankenchrist" which had an HR Giger insert. We went through a hellacious legal process that ended with our right (& everyone's right) to put out challenging and edgy art confirmed by the jury.
We have a very strong aversion to heavy-handed government intervention in the arts, to put it mildly.
P.S.- We are also fully engaged in selling music & music-related products to our fans & customers. We do a fair amount of digital promotion, which includes giving away some tracks for free. It seemed that Jim was aware of a huge grey area between super-pirates & the RIAA, but our discussion kept on getting caught up in there just being "2 sides."
On the post: More & Bigger Mistakes Discovered In Homeland Security's Domain Seizures
Re: A2IM Indy music group joins in...
Jim & Rich-
Not to be rude, but really? Really?
The URLs that ICE removed from circulation were badly targeted and at least in some cases, completely and utterly against record labels' & artists' promotional interests.
See this explanation of the half-assed affidavit against DaJaz1:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101222/02112912376/more-bigger-mistakes-discovered-homel and-securitys-domain-seizures.shtml
Seems like of the 4 songs that "caused" ICE to harass the site, 3 were sent by the record labels specifically to promote the songs and the 4th was sent by the artist's mentor to promote the song (the artist is not on an RIAA-affiliated label).
This flies directly in the face of record labels trying to be flexible & USE blogs for promotion, which all of us smart ones are doing (among many other things).
If all A2IM is trying to do is be a runt RIAA, complete with the willful blindness & strategic missteps of that larger organization, why would other independent labels like Alternative Tentacles bother joining?
Sorry, but this rah-rah celebration of FBI/ICE/RIAA idiocy is really disappointing from a group that claims to represents so many key indie labels.
Yours,
Jesse Townley
On the post: More & Bigger Mistakes Discovered In Homeland Security's Domain Seizures
A2IM Indy music group joins in...
I replied to the e-mail and specifically mentioned this news item & sent along the link. Hope it helps A2IM stop trying to be a runty version of the RIAA...
"To Independent Labels, Creators & Service Providers who rely upon music having value:
For years we have called on government to help fight Piracy, including those websites that promote the devaluation of music and disregard the rights of creators by leaking music early and without permission. Both the Obama Administration and the Congress have started to provide creators much needed support in recent months. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency has taken aggressive action against infringing websites, recently seizing the domain names of 82 sites. Since then ICE, and its Director John Morton, have been taking heat in the blogosphere and in some print media for their actions. It is imperative that the music community let the Administration know just how vital ICE's actions are, and how much we appreciate them.
We need to show them some love for their action! PLEASE send a note to John Morton thanking him for what he's doing.
This letter, which also highlights a recent A2IM press statement, was sent to the Obama administration by A2IM today. They need to hear from our members across the country now!
Use the A2IM letter as a guide, but please personalize your letter, and write to:
Mr. John T. Morton
Director, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528
Care of: erik.barnett@dhs.gov
And express your support for the current actions of U.S. Homeland Security detailed in the attached link press release and please copy: Rich.Bengloff@a2im.org. This is important so let's get to work!
Best and happy holidays to all!
The A2IM team
www.a2im.org "
On the post: Judge's Ruling Says: Go Check Out The YouTube Video, Which 'Speaks For Itself'
Re: Re: Quick note
I enjoy reading the posts and the subsequent comments, and often link them to my workplace's facebook page (Alternative Tentacles Records, hint hint).
On the post: Judge's Ruling Says: Go Check Out The YouTube Video, Which 'Speaks For Itself'
Quick note
A judgement process in an antagonistic legal system (i.e. 2 sides presenting evidence against each other) depends on whatever the 2 sides bring. If they screw up & don't present evidence or are able to surpress damaging evidence by the opposition, then that's all the Judge and/or jury sees.
The reason this is important is that the controlling authority (Judge or Hearing Officer) vets the evidence as to its trustworthiness. It keeps jurors from seeing evidence that is either completely false or easily misconstrued. (See every red herring in any mystery novel ever for examples of the latter!)
It can be frustrating- I serve on a municipal body that hears appeals and sometimes we're constrained by the rules of evidence. What I would consider "fair" is rejected because our hands are tied by the legal language & various court decisions.
It's not like other systems where the Judge does the investigating (I know Spain has this system for some things). I don't know how evidence is handled in that system- like, can everyone bring evidence- lawyers & the Judge?
On the post: So WikiLeaks Is Evil For Releasing Documents... But DynCorp Gets A Pass For Pimping Young Boys To Afghan Cops?
Holy crap!
I'll be waiting a long time for that, but I can always dream. Meanwhile, I'm spreading the word and you should to.
On the post: FBI Sent Informant Into Mosque To Find Terrorists... Mosque Gets Restraining Order And Reports Him To The FBI
About the article that's the subject of this post
As David St. Hubbins said, "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever." This situation is clearly far far far on the stupid side now.
On the post: The 19 Senators Who Voted To Censor The Internet
Guh
On the post: TSA Threatens To Sue Guy For Not Agreeing To Having His Groin Touched By TSA Agents
Re: Re: Deal with it.
^^^ This is the larger issue. Every time some would-be murderer gets caught, they institute procedures that *may* have caught them. It's the "closing the barn door after the horses have left" cliche. The TSA is in a bind though, because if they don't close the metaphorical barn door & the next terrorist is successful, they're open to a lot of justifiable criticism.
That said, I think this is the limit. Insert George Orwell reference here. They've gone too far with this.
I'll try to summarize one of the key points some have said vs. Zane's posts: Life cannot be made completely safe, and certain efforts have a larger impact on our freedoms than our safety.
On the post: Why Does Everyone Underestimate Netflix?
Issues of catalog
The 2 complement each other, but an either/or situation would be a bummer.
P.S.- I still use my brick & mortar store too!
On the post: Reminder: You Don't Own Your Ebooks; Amazon Locks Customer Out And Doesn't Respond To Help Requests
Re: e-books vs physical books
If I drop a paperback in the tub, I'm not out hundreds of dollars.
I'm sure at some point I'll get an e-book reader of some sort for specific uses, kind of like how I buy both physical & digital music & video media, but right now the ratio of pros & cons is firmly on the book side!
-J
On the post: RIAA Accounting: Why Even Major Label Musicians Rarely Make Money From Album Sales
Re: Re: Re: Re: Touring
Bands are paid either $ guarantees, percentages of the door income, or a combination of the 2. Depending on the venue & the band, there's hospitality ranging from a couple of free beers to hotel suites. Often the more successful touring bands use a booker for the tours- bookers take a % of each show (often 10%, sometimes more, sometimes less).
Merchandise is the "cash cow" on tour- generally bands plan on the door income to cover most unavoidable expenses (transportation, fuel, per diems, lodging) and count on the merch for everything else (meals, expenses on off-days, partying, tour profit). Merch companies front shirts & other merchandise for the tour, and are often paid back during the tour (if the band is savvy). Labels usually sell LPs & CDs to bands at a very low "band rate" that is below wholesale & is exempt from royalties- this is usually fronted to the band & paid for the same way as other merchandise.
Both of these sources of income REALLY depend on the venue, the band's popularity in that town, the tour booker, and what else is going on in the area that evening.
Expenses include: FUEL!!!! Van/Bus rental/upkeep, roadie(s), merch person, tour manager, sound person, lodging, meals, per diems, and unexpected disasters like equipment theft or vehicle accidents. The non-band personnel depends on a lot of factors too. Bands of equal popularity/draw can take completely different sized crews.
On the post: RIAA Accounting: Why Even Major Label Musicians Rarely Make Money From Album Sales
Comment #65 is mine, by the way
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