From Rodney Perkins Sent Mon, Aug 10th 1998, 18:46
A friend just sent this to me and since a number of people run CD-Rs, dubplates, and mix-CDs, it seems like a relevant post. Has anyone here hit this wall? >Subject: uncleared samples > > >Amazingly bad news has just come down the pike that I thought worth >mentioning here. It would appear that the R.I.A.A. (the dreaded >Recording Industry Association of America, they who wanted a blank >tape tax, among other things) has rather recently begun their latest >Major Crackdown on "piracy", this time on "uncleared" samples - and >the target is pressing plants. > >We were informed yesterday by our manufacturer for years of releases >that they were refusing to manufacture the new Negativland OVER THE >EDGE disc due to a Pink Floyd sample that they detected within which >we had not cleared. Trying to explain that this was a radio show with >lots of sources mixed in was obviously a failure and rather suddenly >our production schedule ground to a halt...but that's only part of the >story. Through this incident, we learned of an industry-wide R.I.A.A. >clampdown. > >Apparently, they've declared war on this heinous form of piracy by not >only citing disc manufacturers $100,000 per supposed infraction, but >by presenting new guidelines stating, among other things, that a >pressing plant possessing an item in question (and I emphasize IN >QUESTION) must turn over that item and all master parts to the >R.I.A.A. for "investigation". In other words, it's no longer the case >that a LABEL is solely responsible for its "content": the pressing >plants are both the new cops _and_ the new victims. Pressing plants >are actually LISTENING to the masters they get and looking for >ringers! It had previously seemed very hard to imagine some staff >person at a pressing plant sitting in front of a CD player, finger on >the scan button, searching for unauthorized reproductions. It's >happening. The R.I.A.A. has positioned itself as judge and jury. The >ramifications for this are rather enormous. > >We immediately learned of several other releases by various labels >around the country who have suddenly had their pressings refused by >different makers (this is by no means exclusive to our >manufacturer...we learned of huge fines being levelled at other >plants). In one case, a CD was refused that was to be a not-for-sale >short-run for club DJ's only. > >The R.I.A.A. is basically a corporate watchdog for the Big Six >mega-companies (Time Warner, et al) in the US. They are being >extremely vague about just what "guidelines" they have instituted, >which they expect to be complied with, are. My friend Steve (who was >on the committee which helped fund SONIC OUTLAWS) remarked something >to the effect of, "what AUTHORITY does the RIAA really have? They're >not the state, and a pressing plant might not necessarily be paying >them dues or considering them in any way, so what right do they have >to dictate manufacturing?" And if he's on-the-money here, WHY >shouldn't plants be telling them to fuck off or butt out?? He also >questioned how they could enforce payment of a fine. > >Naturally, everyone is immediately thinking the same thing: taking it >BACK into the home studio is such the logical choice. Big problems, >though: CD-R's are delicate. Accelerated aging tests have shown that >they don't retain their information indefinitely, and more to the >point, they are very sensitive to heat and light. And also to >touching the top layer (with a sticker or some sort of writing) is >risky. AND there are compatibility issues with them: evidentally they >have trouble being read by some CD players (www.fadden.com is a great >resource for CD-R FAQ). > >In any case, on the level of mass replication, this will very likely >have a huge effect on the entire found/recycled music culture should >the R.I.A.A.'s Big Brother tactics not abate soon. At the very least, >very close to home, the new Negativland release and the ENTIRE back >catalog is now completely up in the air. We think we've found a plant >to handle the current release but we have no idea if it will actually >go through or not! Who would have touched DISPEPSI under >circumstances like these?? > >P C >on behalf of NEGATIVLAND >