NPNY: Is this really copyright infringment?!?
View the following clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KfJHFWlhQ , then read the article below. Are Money Minder going too far late or are they in the right?!: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070725-universal-demands-takedown-of- homemade-dancing-toddler-clip-eff-sues.html A 29-second video clip of a toddler dancing to Prince's Let's Go Crazy is the subject of a new court complaint against Universal Music Publishing Group, which demanded that the clip be removed from YouTube in early June. Apparently, the company believes that a few seconds of music blasting from a background stereo infringes on its copyright, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation disagrees. The EFF filed suit against Universal yesterday, alleging that the music in the clip was self-evident non-infringing fair use. The clip in question has already been reposted and so is still available for viewing on YouTube, but the site has yet to restore access to the original clip. The video of Stephanie Lenz's 18-month old son Holden was uploaded to YouTube back in February; Universal filed a DMCA claim against the clip in early June. Lenz responded with a counter-notification of her own at the end of the month, but the clip was never reinstated. Now, she has joined forces with the EFF to recover damages after she has been injured substantially and irreparably, according to the court filing. Lenz wants money to cover her legal expenses and wants an affirmative judgment that her clip is not infringing. Universal has been in this situation before. In fact, it has been in this situation quite recently. In May, parent company Universal Music Group sent a similar takedown to YouTube over a Michelle Malkin podcast critical of the rapper Akon. YouTube reinstated that clip after hearing from the EFF. Viacom found itself in a similar situation earlier this year when it demanded that a Stephen Colbert parody be pulled. The company eventually admitted that it issued the notice in error and pledged to improve its process for sending out such notices. Before it issues a takedown notice, Viacom will manually review the video in question and that it will educate its reviewers about fair use to cut down on erroneous takedown notices. It will also not challenge the use of its content if it is creative, newsworthy or transformative and is a limited excerpt for noncommercial purposes. As these case show, people aren't taking these inappropriate takedown notices passively. There has been a growing movement to hold copyright owners responsible when they overstep the limits of fair use, a movement that has had a string of successes over the last year. One would expect that media companies would get more careful about the DMCA takedowns they shoot out, but as EFF attorney Corynne McSherry notes, this newest case doesn't even pass the laugh test. - NewPowerNewYork Mailing List website: Www.NPNY.Org - Unsubscribe? Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], in body place npny - Questions/Help?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NPNY: EW.com Planet Earth Review
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20046850,00.html Has Prince's genius ever been in fuller bloom? Ever since he came up with that gambit to offer free CDs with concert tickets in 2004, he's been on a roll. In 2007 alone, he's given us a Super Bowl triumph, highly publicized residencies in intimate Las Vegas and L.A. venues, and the controversial giveaway of his latest CD (2.9 million of them!) with a London weekly. Clearly he's at the peak of his powers - that is, as a wily survivor willing to try any new model of getting music out. Oh, you thought we meant his songs? Yes, there's...that. With recent albums like 3121 and Musicology sounding like affably goofy outtakes collections, Prince's brilliance as a self-marketer has grown in almost inverse proportion to his confoundingly shrinking ambitions as an artist. But there's a change in the winds with Planet Earth. It's evenly split between melodic rock and classic soul, minus the daffy, George Clinton-type jams that've lately stood in for actual songs. You say you want the Revolution? Weh-ell, you know, he's finally doing what he can to recapture some of that peak-era vibe. Ex-Revolutionaries Wendy Lisa, long estranged from the maestro, make cameos; real drums mostly replace canned ones; and he unleashes all the guitar eruptions he's been bottling up for years. Though we'll never get another Purple Rain, it still feels right, in a lavender drought, to settle for something at least approaching another Parade (to name a late-'80s work only now regarded as unapproachably awesome). There's a sense of patience rewarded, hearing the feathery tremolo guitars and female backing coos in ''The One U Wanna C'' - a slice of pure pop cut from the same pie as ''Raspberry Beret'' - or the return of his Delfonics falsetto on ''Somewhere Here on Earth'' and ''Future Baby Mama.'' Of all his attempts at rapping, ''Mr. Goodnight'' is the first that works, because it could pass for an early-'70s bedroom recitative. And the one time he lays down serious funk - on ''Chelsea Rodgers,'' sung by band member Shelby J - it isn't 3121's formless party improv but a terrific, full-on disco stomp. Prince continues to get his lothario moves on, with the notable exceptions of the album's bookending tunes, ''Planet Earth'' and ''Resolution,'' which go for globally conscious, peacenik profundity. The title track combines God and going green about as effectively as Evan Almighty. Still, when he cements that number's anthemic aspirations with a ''Purple''-colored solo, it's thrilling to know one of pop's indisputable greats is really trying again - and might be taking the recording process as seriously as he takes disseminating his music. B+ - NewPowerNewYork Mailing List website: Www.NPNY.Org - Unsubscribe? Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], in body place npny - Questions/Help?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NPNY: MUTED 'EARTH' TONES: Prince's latest is no masterpiece, but it'll do
MUTED 'EARTH' TONES: Prince's latest is no masterpiece, but it'll do http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070722/ENT04/707220534/103 9 July 22, 2007 BY MARTIN BANDYKE FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER After a number of inconsistent albums, Prince has thankfully been making a significant comeback as a recording artist over the last few years, releasing the back-to-basics Musicology (2004) and 3121 (2006). Planet Earth is another worthy bid from this music icon to re-establish a connection with those who may have lost track of him. Nope, it isn't the masterpiece Prince fans have longed for, but it'll do just fine. Reunited with Revolution band mates Wendy (Melvoin) and Lisa (Coleman), Prince is in excellent voice throughout the 10 songs on Planet Earth, even if the material doesn't always rate with his past glories. Notably, his lyrics these days barely even creep into PG-13 territory, not at all like his former, XXX-rated self. So be aware that if you like the Purple One only when he's in a lascivious mood, you'd better stick to your copy of Dirty Mind. Guitar certainly shows that Prince can still rock as convincingly as he did in his early days. This one starts out with a guitar lick that owes more than a little to U2's I Will Follow and is delicious fun, similar to such adrenaline-fueled oldies as Let's Go Crazy and Delirious. Quieter but equally compelling is Somewhere Here on Earth, a gorgeous mix of old-school soul and smooth jazz. Prince's ageless falsetto is more than a little reminiscent of vintage Smokey Robinson, and the addition of some muted trumpet and gentle piano accents lend this ballad an elegant touch. There are some scattered misfires, including Future Baby Mama and All the Midnights in the World, both a touch lifeless and uninspired. The idea of a singer as gifted as Prince rapping in a monotone on Mr. Goodnight is not a good one, either. Much better is the eco-friendly title track, which has melodic echoes of one of Prince's heroes, Joni Mitchell. The best thing on Planet Earth, however, is the groove-filled Chelsea Rodgers, which has funky, disco-era drum and bass lines that are simply Chic, plus a kicking horn riff right out of Earth, Wind Fire. More of this and Prince could've achieved something on the order of 1999 in 2007. Copyright C 2007 Detroit Free Press Inc. - NewPowerNewYork Mailing List website: Www.NPNY.Org - Unsubscribe? Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], in body place npny - Questions/Help?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: NPNY: Planet Earth Anyone Buy It?
It is available at Target for 9.99. The advertised price was higher, but the discount was given at the register. I got it on the first day. havent listened to it yet. On Jul 24, 2007, at 2:15 PM, Derek Kelly wrote: Just curious by a show of hands if anyone purchased Planet Earth today. I heard they were fly off the shevles and falling swiftly into the cut-out bin! I will probably purchase it before the end of the week so I can get it at the lower $9.99 price. Definitely not worth 14.99 to 16.99 to me... Derek - NewPowerNewYork Mailing List website: Www.NPNY.Org - Unsubscribe? Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], in body place npny - Questions/Help?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: NPNY: Prince's innovations strictly business these days
In a message dated 7/28/07 6:18:28 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Moderator: I agree with this album 110%. Gee, what a surprise. I think I might agree with the criticism as well though. Moderator: what part of 110% did ya miss :-P -Derek - NewPowerNewYork Mailing List website: Www.NPNY.Org - Unsubscribe? Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], in body place npny - Questions/Help?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: NPNY: Prince's innovations strictly business these days
Yes I agree with the review as well. But for me, Prince's music does NOT have to be innovative in order to still be enjoyable. There are quite a few enjoyable moments on Planet Earth for me. Would I like to be wowed by something Prince does, in the way I was the first time I heard When Doves Cry or Kiss? Yes. But if it doesn't happen that doesn't stop me from enjoying the music he does produce. On 7/28/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 7/28/07 6:18:28 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Moderator: I agree with this album 110%. Gee, what a surprise. I think I might agree with the criticism as well though. Moderator: what part of 110% did ya miss :-P -Derek - NewPowerNewYork Mailing List website: Www.NPNY.Org - Unsubscribe? Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], in body place npny - Questions/Help?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
