The Scene

MusicDetour.com’s commentary on music, performances, and the DC metro area music scene

Whenever some new use of the internet to download music comes along, the Recording Industry Association of America tries to shut the action down through litigation . . . unless of course the action was created by iTunes. This time around Apple is interested in cloud computing where iTunes users can access their music database via streaming technology from anywhere there’s the internet. Users would upload their (legally purchased) music onto an Apple server and always have access to their music. Sounds good, only this idea is not new nor has the RIAA been approving of this structure in the past. (more…)

The internet is yet again creating more instability for performers, artists, composers and internet businesses because it once again shifts conventional notions of music. Performance rights on the internet are difficult for corporations, the legal community and trade associations to get their head around at this time. People are always quick to write off the significance of performance rights for several reasons. 1) Consumers feel that they are already paying too much money to listen to music. 2) Some people feel that performance rights are relics that do not reflect the current form of the music industry. 3) Critics think that the whole system is a further way to extract wealth. 4) They simply don’t understand what performance rights are. Unfortunately, there is no clear cut way to approach the issue of performance rights on the internet. (more…)