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NOTE: you'll get that and more with us. --------*********----------**********---------******* Since January, a secretive Tennessee company has been quietly positioning itself as an alternative to Napster. Now that a federal court has ordered Napster to filter out copyrighted songs, MusicCity.com has seen its traffic skyrocket, and along with it hopes of emerging a financially viable survivor of the online music shake-out. Wednesday morning, music fans who logged in to any of MusicCity's 30 servers had access to 8.2 million recordings on the hard disks of fellow users. Meanwhile, a Napster loyalist would have seen a much more limited universe of less than half a million MP3 files. While Napster alternatives such as AIMster and GNUtella may have received more media attention, MusicCity is quietly emerging as the strongest peer-to-peer music contender, according to Matt Bailey, an analyst with digital entertainment research firm Webnoize. "It's a great system. Already, the choice available on MusicCity is actually larger than on Napster prior to Napster putting the filter in place," said Bailey. Besides being unhindered by a court-ordered file blockade, searches on MusicCity produce more results in part because of a technical advantage of its servers, which, like Napster's, act as a directory service. Although Napster boasted over 80 million users at its peak, dwarfing MusicCity's estimated 30,000 users, the big song-swapping service restricts Napster fans to searching only the files of the roughly 10,000 users assigned to a single server. MusicCity, on the other hand, has chained its 30 servers together and allows users to scour simultaneously the entire MusicCity user base. OBSTACLES AHEAD In recent weeks, many disgruntled Napster users have discovered this MusicCity advantage, and word is spreading rapidly through newsgroups and even Napster's own message boards. One big attraction of the MusicCity service is that users can still rely on their familiar Napster client software to search for and download files from MusicCity users. But to do so, they must install a helper program called Napigator, which provides a real-time list of all servers in the OpenNap Network, of which MusicCity is the largest provider. For users willing to try a different interface, MusicCity recommends a powerful freeware program called FileShare, which connects directly to MusicCity's servers. Dannielle Romano, a music analyst with Jupiter Research, says the extra steps involved in using MusicCity will prevent most Napster users, despite their frustration with the company's legal woes, from switching. "I see certain types of the savvier, most experienced, more hell-bent-on-finding-free-music user migrating, but will the huge, amazing fan base of typical music users interested in discovering music online go there? No," said Romano. Nor is MusicCity insulated from the very legal challenges that have gutted Napster in recent weeks. Jonathan A. Friedman, an expert in online copyright law with Willkie Farr & Gallagher, said MusicCity, like Napster, will be unable to find a safe harbor under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. "To the extent that they are just Napster in another form, they are vulnerable to being sued. If their facilities are being utilized to facilitate this type of file swapping, that would make them vulnerable," said Friedman. Indeed, MusicCity's Internet service provider, Interactive Telecom Network Inc. of Sherman Oaks, California, is believed to be among the list of 100 ISPs which last month received requests from the Recording Industry Association of America to shut down any OpenNap servers on their systems. Representatives of ITN, which also hosts dozens of pornography sites, didn't respond to interview requests. Doug Curry, a spokesperson for the RIAA, declined to confirm or deny whether ITN was sent a letter, but he said most of the ISPs contacted have complied with the request. NOT JUST COLLEGE KIDS Next month, MusicCity will attempt to parlay its rising popularity as a free, P2P file service into a profitable business. A source close to the company said MusicCity expects to announce both free and advertising-supported services that "apply the terrestrial radio model to a peer-to-peer streaming environment." The company also intends to compensate artists and copyright holders, according to the source. Whether it can pull off this transition and gain traction in an already competitive online radio market remains to be seen. Romano of Jupiter says the space already has strong brands in NetRadio and SonicNet, with efforts from radio giants ClearChannel and Infinity on the way. "I find it hard to believe that MusicCity would be able to carve out a niche for themselves," said Romano. But unlike most other Napster alternatives and even Napster itself, MusicCity was launched not by programmers working from a college dormitory room but by seasoned music and radio business people. Chairman Steve Griffin is a Nashville-based music agent who has founded two small Christian music labels, Pathstone and Infinity Music. President Michael Weiss, previously helped to launch WebRadio.com. Both declined to be quoted for this story. And should a legal battle be all that stands in the way of MusicCity's new venture, look for the company to go to the mat. In the early 1980s, Weiss helped to found the Video Retailers Association of America and successfully beat back attempts by the Motion Picture Association of America to block the rise of video rental stores. That combative spirit appears alive 20 years later. In an email last month to a fellow OpenNap operator, a copy of which was obtained by InternetNews, Weiss wrote, "If the movie studios had their way they would have killed the video industry before it ever had a chance to take off, like the record labels are trying to do with music on the net today ... And just like I did back in the video industry ... we have a real once in a lifetime opportunity to change the course of history." -----------**********----------***********-----------**********------- What is the Free Music Philosophy (FMP)? It is an anarchistic grass-roots, but high-tech, system of spreading music: the idea that creating, copying, and distributing music must be as unrestricted as breathing air, plucking a blade of grass, or basking in the rays of the sun. What does it mean to use the term "Free Music"? The idea is similar to the notion of Free Software [1], and like with Free Software, the word "free" refers to freedom, not price. Specifically, Free Music means that any individual has the freedom of copying, distributing, and modifying music for personal, noncommercial purposes. Free Music does not mean that musicians cannot charge for records, tapes, CDs, or DATs. The above definition of Free implies that any tangible object cannot be made free. However, something that can be copied arbitrarily many times, like music, should be set free. When I say music, I mean the expression of ideas (in the form of a musical composition or a sound recording) on some medium, and not the medium itself. Thus you have the freedom to make a copy of a CD I've created, the freedom to download soundfiles of songs I've created from my server on the Internet, the freedom to cover or improve upon a song I've written, but you are not necessarily entitled to free CDs. Why must we Free Music? Music is a creative process. Today, when a musician publishes music, i.e., exposes it to the outside world, only a privileged set of individuals are able to use the music as they please. However, the artist has drawn from the creativity of many other musicians and there is an existential responsibility placed upon them to give this back unconditionally, so creativity is fostered among people. As a dissenting opinion in the Vanna White vs. Samsung case [2], Judge Kozinski writes: All creators draw in part on the work of those who came before, referring to it, building on it, poking fun at it; we call this creativity, not piracy. Isn't free copying of music infringing copyright law? The Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) [3], states: No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital audio recording device, a digital audio recording medium, an analog recording device, or an analog recording medium, or based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings. A literal reading of the law indicates that individuals can make copies of music recordings for personal noncommercial use and cannot be sued for copyright infringement (at least as far as those devices listed above are used). The message we get from this law is "Music listeners, start copying!" Why is the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 inadequate? It is inadequate because the entire ethical basis of copyright law with respect to music has been perverted---free copying, and other uses, of music is ethical even if it is not legal. The main motivation for the law being passed is due to a tariff that is imposed on blank Digital Audio Tapes (DATs). The tariff goes back to the music industry in order to compensate the supposed loss of profits that arise as a result of unauthorised home taping. But the majority of the funds collected goes not to the creators of the music, but to the record companies! See Richard Stallman's The Right Way to Tax DAT for more information [4]. Thus it makes sense to follow the Free Music Philosophy and encourage direct reimbursement to the artist rather than go through a bureaucratically-entangled and unbalanced system. Why is freeing music the ethically right thing to do? First, limiting your creativity to specific audiences, especially based on monetary reasons, is shirking existential responsibility and destructive to society as a whole; today, when people create, they're creating by standing on the shoulders of giants. Second, it's fair that people pay for music only if they like it after listening to it first; the present system does not allow for this for all forms of music. Third, in order to prevent "illegal" copies from being made, a tremendous burden (restricting legitimate expression) must be placed on all individuals to circumvent what is human nature. This is a rather impossible task and is probably the reason the AHRA was passed in the first place. Fourth, the derivative works clause prevents the incorporation of your own ideas to enhance other people's expressions, and this is abridges the free exchange of ideas and information. Finally, the current practices of the recording industry, which exploit both artist and consumer in the interests of profit, are unethical, and one must take steps to force changes. What about the intellectual property rights of the individual? Intellectual property and other such "rights" have essentially existed to benefit society rather than the individual. The U.S. Constitution, for example, states that the purpose of Copyright is "to promote the progress of science and useful arts." The Free Music Philosophy ensures that both society and the individual benefit. The individual's creative freedom is completely unabridged. This freedom is more important than any "right" society could give. To quote Stallman [1]: "Control over the use of one's ideas" really constitutes control over other people's lives; and it is usually used to make their lives more difficult. Won't musicians starve to death if they freed their music? Musicians currently make money through a variety of sources: sales of records, merchandise and concert tickets, and royalties from commercial airplay. Freeing music will certainly not be detrimental to the sales of merchandise and concert tickets, nor will it affect compulsory or performance royalties. If anything, it will improve sales since people will continue supporting artists they like by going to their concerts and buying their merchandise. Profits from record sales will also not be affected because people will be encouraged to buy directly from the artist for the added bonuses of liner notes, lyrics sheets, and packaging. Thus Free Music can be used as a marketing tool to ensure that musicians do not starve. An approach where people send the artist a "donation", if they found value in the music they copied, is another way to make money in a direct fashion. This could become an ingrained practice in society, like tipping, where even though there is no enforced requirement to tip for various services, people do anyway. What about copying music at concerts? Copying music at concerts, at least for personal noncommercial use, should not be restricted. Chances are, most recordings that people make at concerts are not going to be of high quality, but some will be. These recordings can then be collected, assembled, and released by the artist, much the way the Butthole Surfers have bootlegged themselves. Here, there is some sort of a selection pressure for the best songs recorded live and it is a great way to obtain low-cost material for a future live album. Won't record companies exploit musicians who make Free Music? No, because the artist will still retain enough rights in order to ensure against monetary exploitation by commercial interests. Free Music can be used only for noncommercial purposes. In order to have total freedom, music must be free for commercial purposes also. This does not mean you cannot receive payment for commercial uses of your music. This means that you have no control over the nature of the commercial use of your music. Fortunately, with respect to music, there already exists some of this freedom (in the form of compulsory mechanical licenses and the public performance model). While there could be more freedom in music in this regard, I have left this as an optional issue. Won't talented and dedicated musicians give up music because there's a possibility they won't be multi-millionaires? Consider the fact that except for a few hundred musicians who are on top of the billboard charts, the chances of making a living by record sales in the present system are very low. This system cannot be worse for most musicians. In fact, this is an excellent reason to justify the statement that most musicians perform and record with creativity as the primary motivation---any money-minded person can easily use their talents in other fields to increase the probability of actually making some. Thus the source of talented music will never dry up. What we might actually see is more creative and self-indulgent forms of music being perpetuated. Shouldn't musicians deserve rewards for their creativity? The greatest reward musicians should have is their own music and nothing else. According to a study reported in the 19, January 1987 issue of the Boston Globe, Alfie Kohn reports on a psychological study that shows that creativity diminishes if it's done for gain [5]. He writes: "If a reward - money, awards, praise, or winning a contest - comes to be seen as the reason one is engaging in an activity, that activity will be viewed as less enjoyable in its own right. With the exception of some behaviorists who doubt the very existence of intrinsic motivation, these conclusions are now widely accepted among psychologists." It follows then that the best music I've heard to date is from artists, who are struggling to make ends meet working two jobs, who are doing their music with an inherent passion and a desire to share it with people, and not because they have a contract to do so. Shouldn't musicians ask rewards for their creativity? Sure they can. As a musician, I'm happy when someone appreciates my creativity and shows it in some form. But I also do not believe that musicians should want rewards in ways that restrict the spread of music. As Stallman writes [1]: the desire to be rewarded for one's creativity does not justify depriving the world in general of all or part of that creativity. But the above question is worded wrong. It should be: Should record companies, controlling people's activities in order to achieve monetary gains, make every music lover pay them in the name of musicians as long as they give back a small fraction of what they make in order to justify the charade? I think not. Why am I doing this? My personal motivation is to see more self-indulgent and noncommercial forms of music spread around so creativity is enriched. Why should corporate labels and commercial radio decide what we get to hear and make millions of dollars by exploiting artists? Why not let the people who love music decide for themselves? What should you, as a musician, do? If you are a like-minded independent artist not wanting corporate controls interfering with your creativity, and would like more freedom in society, then this is a way to spread your music widely. If your music is different and you don't think it has much chance of being spread on commercial radio then you can try the Free Music Philosophy. If you are tired of commercial interests controlling what is heard by the people and you want the people to decide for themselves, this is one path you can take. Finally, this way you could be on a major label or an indie and your integrity isn't compromised since you're giving your fans what they want. What should you, as a music fan, do? If the freedom of copying and using music appeals to you and you would like the idea spread around, then when you copy a album of anyone, regardless of whether they follow this philosophy or not, send them a donation to enable them to continue their making of music. What you contribute should be dependent on what the music was worth to you. You could also go to the artist's concerts or buy releases and merchandise directly from the artist. Finally, if you have the resources, you could support band(s) which have adopted the FMP by putting their music on the Internet. Support the music you like in some way! (This is independent of the notion of Free Music.) Why will the Free Music Philosophy work? In this digital age, the quality of home recordings have substantially increased, to a point where "perfect" replicas of audio recordings are made easily. Recordings can thus be spread around without the need for major distribution. If the music is good, it will spread far more rapidly, in an almost exponential fashion, rivalling the distribution power of a major record label. Further, the Internet allows for a even greater distribution. If you consider the approach that asks for donations, listed above, you could, in theory, make more money than by being on a major label, and still retain all the creative freedom possible. You will be eliminating all the middlemen and be able to provide CDs for prices four times cheaper than what they are sold for, and still make more profit per CD sold than you would by being on a major label! The freeware idea in terms of computer software, which operates under similar principles, has worked [6]. Consider the fact that the best written pieces of computer software are also software that can be copied without restriction (this includes Linux, and all the GNU software, and various software related to making music like sound format converters, sequencers, and multitrack recorders). Further, there is a thriving commercial sector based on the distribution of free software. I see no reason why the Free Music should also not produce equally excellent results. How does one go about freeing music? Set up a server on the Internet with your music, or deposit your soundfiles in a Free Music Archive (FMA) where people can access your music over the net. I am currently compiling a list of sites that will let you store your music files [7]. Include a notice of this form with all records, tapes, CDs, and DATs you sell/give away: Permission to copy, modify, and distribute the musical compositions and sound recordings on this album, provided this notice is included with every copy that is made, is given for noncommercial use. If you obtained this by making a copy, and if you find value in this music and wish to support it, please send a donation based on whatever you thought the music was worth to the address given on this notice. and include a copy of this document if you wish. If you do support the Free Music Philosophy idea, and have a site on the Internet, a link back to this site would be useful. In a sense, that statement is copylefting your music [8]. The donation request is an optional one. Restricting it to noncommercial uses is also optional (see below). It's easy for you to say all this, but are you a musician? Do you realise the difficulty of maintaining a day job and making music at the same time? Yes, I consider myself a musician (though some may debate classifying what I make as "music"). I am indeed consistent with the philosophy I've outlined above. The name of my band is TWISTED HELICES and my music can be copied off of the Internet without restriction [5]. I don't use copyright law to restrict commercial for-profit copying and use without requiring payment which results in greater freedom for the music I create (though even if I required payment, the freedoms I speak of in this manifesto will still exist). I make music by sacrificing many things, sleep being primary among them. There is definitely more of a sense of fulfillment when you do something because you love it and not because you are obligated to. It is not as though I have a great day job and I'm preaching to you all. It's completely to the contrary. I am completely existential in this regard (I would not copy other people's music if I minded them copying mine). Write me personally if you want me to justify this more to you. What will happen to the music industry in this digital age? You, the artist, will have more power with your recordings with this approach. You can be as creative as you want and spread your music around and no one can stop you, as they did with Nirvana's In Utero, and say that you need to change the production on this album because it won't sell as is. Perhaps we can then see individual music instead of music for the masses. Given the nature of how you can spread your music around the Internet, you will be enriching the amount of information in the net as well as reaching audiences in ways you've never dreamt of before! In a more futuristic sense, the major record label's stronghold on what kind of music gets heard by the people will be broken. Music has become an institutionalised industry that churns out musical product. The music industry restricts copying and other uses of music in order to maximise profit, but this comes at a great cost, that of abridging the spread of creativity. This will change. It is now possible for performers to spread their musical message directly to fans via high-technology, thus enriching the artist and the music world in all possible ways. Music is about creative and passionate ideas. Not product. That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them, like fire, expansible over all space, without lessening their density at any point, and like the air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being, incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation.---Thomas Jefferson ------------*************-------------************-------------********** What is WinMX? WinMX is a FREE file-sharing program like no other. It allows you to simultaneously connect through the decentralized WinMX Peer Networking Protocol AND to many networks based on the OpenNap and Napster protocols. This means MORE USERS and MORE SEARCH RESULTS than other sharing programs. WinMX also supports ANY FILE TYPE, allowing you access to a diverse assortment of shared VIDEO and PICTURE files as well as the usual MP3 AUDIO files. Features High performance peer-to-peer protocol Connect to multiple OpenNap networks simultaneously Share and DOWNLOAD ANY FILE TYPE Tracks and RESUMES broken transfers Ability to throttle upload and download bandwidth Upload and download bandwidth graphs Per-user and over-all upload AND download queuing Full chat capabilities including op commands Multiple docking window interface great for hi-res and multi-monitor systems Close program or shutdown computer (Win9x only) when transfers finish Compatible with most LAN configurations ------**********-------------************------------ Napster is pretty much dead, right? WRONG!! We polled over 300,000 Internet users and asked them, "if they could have a Napster™ alternative that functions the way Napster™ did and allows you to find ANY Song on the Internet GUARANTEED, would you pay a small monthly fee to use that service?" 95% of the people said "YES!" What if we told you that for a small monthly fee, there was an exclusive club that exposed you to all the free music AND movies (theater and adult) you could handle? "If you don't find the music you are looking for, you can cancel your membership and KEEP THE SOFTWARES FREE - NO questions asked!" That's right, for just a small monthly fee, we GUARANTEE you will be able to find any song you are looking for AND have the ability to download as many songs you want - no limits! That's right, we will give you the inside scoop on where to find any song you are looking for just like you could on Napster™. So check us out and give it a shot - for just a small monthly fee, what do you have to lose? Trust us, you won't regret it!! If you don't find the music you are looking for, you can cancel your membership and KEEP THE SOFTWARES FREE - NO questions asked! We even have the insider scoop on the newest file sharing interface, an application that allows you to search and share not only music files with thousands of others, but also allows you to trade movie files (including porno movies), text files and just about anything else you want. The interface is a bit different than what Napster™ has, but within a few minutes, you'll be whipping around the program like a pro. --------*******---------**********--------- Find Music, Movies, and More Now!! It used to be that when you wanted to find an mp3 you logged on to Napster and download your songs. Those days are gone, right? Wrong! FreeSoftUsa will show you that these files are being downloaded by our members every day. Our members find all the music they are looking for as well as movies and more for FREE! All they do is download the new file transfer software that has taken Napster's place. The best part is that you can find video's, pic's, and software that you never got with Napster. Free Music, Free Video's, Free Movies and More!! You can search the Internet for sites with a few songs that you might want dealing with all the annoying popup's or you can become a member of FreeSoftUsa and find everything you are looking for in one place. Find almost any song you want!! That's right, songs, movies, pictures, video's if it is on the net you can most likely find it with us. There are already hundreds and thousands using it! Start downloading today! No matter where you get your music and movies from we want to help get you started. To get you started on the right foot we are going to show you how to download over $79 in software free. Free virus software to keep your pc safe and free DivX software to play the latest file type for movies on the web. Click on the products below and download them free now. ----------***********------------************------------ Remember Napster? The program that USED to allow you to exchange music files for free. Now there are several programs available out there that replace Napster (FYI: We are not Napster), but which one's are the best? A lot of people are saying a lot of things, but we show you the best one's here. Hundreds and thousands would agree, that's why they use them! Start downloading today! Once you join, you have access to software which will allow you to download as much as you want. Including music, movies, and tons of other files. You can download virtually ANY song you want! (Of course, we ask users to obey relevant laws when sharing files). FIND VIRTUALLY ANY SONG AND ANY TYPE OF MUSIC! We are really serious when we say this! Do you have a song that you want, just haven't been able to find it? Well then you have come to the right place! Don't be fooled by other websites, who say they offer the same thing, they won't provide with nearly as much as we will provide you with. This site is dedicated to giving you the inside scoop on the newest software as well as monthly updates on new software available. We are constantly updating our site, to keep you up to date. Additional Membership Benefits: We have the fastest, and best customer support! NO excessive advertisements, and NO ANNOYING POP-UP window ads! We have software that supports: Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000/XP ----------**********-------------************----------- MP3 Software: MP3 Decoders MP3 deconstruction - tear em up MP3 Encoders MP3 construction - lets go MP3 Rippers The fine art of CD dissection MP3 Players desk top rockin MP3 All-in-ones the full monty Mac MP3 Players CD-RW Burners burning mp3's to am audio cd. Winamp Skins & Plugins: WinAmp Skins Over 200 hand selected skins! WinAmp Skin Tutor Roll your own! Visual Plugins Super cool plugins for Winamp Skins for Kjofol see K-Nine - its awesome!) Napster Guide! Napster! guide & usage Napster Download installing tutor Napster Fix getting unbanned Search with Napster - how to Advanced Searching options Search Results Wrapster more than just mp3 Napigator controlling the Napster MP3 Hardware: MP3 Portable Hardware skip free tunes MP3 Car Players Road trip! Various MP3 Projects Break out the soldering iron MP3 Home Players jacking in MP3 Utility Software: MP3 Search Utilities lets get em MP3 ID3 Tag Editors clean up those files MP3 Fixers Pops & hisses = boo's and hisses MP3 Playlist Editors aka: choas managment Napster Sources: The Faq's Huh? Napster vs Metallica all the dirt Software software for Napster Linux and alternatives Alternatives other peer-to-peer MP3 Extras: Music Chart Top weekly music charts Shoutcast streaming audio on winamp and freeamp MP3 Sites follow the money! Our MP3 FAQ Our faq file MP3 Search Engines gone fishing MP3 Faq Links Hows all work? MP3 News Stories hourly updated from the majors ------*********---------***********---------***********-------- |
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