-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2510/ohio-u-plays-host-to-a-forum-on-file-swapping
> Earlier this year, Ohio University finished atop the recording > industry's infamous list of institutions receiving the most > copyright-infringement notices. But these days the university is > singing a much happier tune: Campus officials say a ban on > peer-to-peer networking has cut down on piracy without restricting > legal file sharing. > > Now that it's no longer perched on top of the industry's most-wanted > list, Ohio seems eager to join the debate over campus song swapping. > Today the university played host to a forum -- called "P2P File > Sharing: A 360 Perspective" -- on its Athens campus, and it will soon > post video of the event online. > > The discussion included veterans from both sides of the file-sharing > wars, but it devoted considerable time to remarks from several > musicians, songwriters, and agents -- who argued that music piracy > hurts not just platinum-selling artists and record-company CEOs, but > also industry members who aren't nearly so well paid. As some of the > speakers acknowledged, that argument can be a hard sell: Stewart > Harris, president of Edisto Sound, bemoaned the fact that some > college students in the crowd shook their heads when he referred to > copyright infringement as "stealing." > > Many college file swappers say they would like to offer financial > support to the musicians they enjoy, according to officials at > Illinois State University, which is conducting a series of in-depth > campus-piracy studies. But the same students often say they have no > desire to support the recording industry itself. Clearly, the > industry's controversial lawsuit campaign has caused a backlash, and > the Ohio event was at its most interesting when panelists discussed > that theme. > > Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of > America, argued that the lawsuits jump-started "a national > conversation, as painful as it may have been at times, that has > generated a better understanding of the law." > > "If our marketplace is the digital marketplace," he said, alluding to > the rise of MP3s and the decline in CD sales, "we need to protect > that." > > But Timothy Vonville, president of the university's Student Senate, > said the RIAA's methods of protecting its turf had deeply damaged the > group's standing with college students. "The real problem is with the > procedure and attitude adopted by organizations like the RIAA," he > said. "Students feel intimidated. That's the truth." > > And college students might start to act on their distaste for the > recording industry, according to Mr. Vonville. Some college groups > are considering a plan to protest the lawsuits, he said, by refusing > to bring to their campuses any musical acts represented by the RIAA. - -- Gavin Baker http://www.gavinbaker.com/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFHJ9HhtLXQdLhFpekRAsTaAKCV218/BYKGJjQDuJa5Bmz+LsiRUACZAeGG 1revsgbDcxHRF+twZmDQBR8= =LFI6 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss
