Monday, June 2, 2014

EXCLUSIVE//Pirate Bay fugitive Peter Sunde arrested in Sweden

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 Peter Sunde, one of the founders of file-sharing website Pirate Bay, was arrested in Sweden this past weekend to serve an outstanding sentence for copyright violations.



Peter Sunde
Sunde has been on the run for almost two years since a Swedish court in 2012 found him guilty of breaching copyright laws and sentenced him to 8 months in prison.
A Swedish police spokeswoman said Sunde had been arrested on Saturday after a raid on a farm in southern Sweden.

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The 35-year-old computer expert was one of four men who co-founded The Pirate Bay, the world's most popular site for the illegal sharing of copyright-protected material. Sunde's arrest came exactly eight years after Swedish police raided The Pirate Bay's servers, kicking off the prosecution of the company's four founders. Of the four, Gottfrid Svartholm and Carl Lundstrom has completed their prison sentences while the fourth defendant, Fredrik Neij, remains a fugitive and currently resides in Asia.

Svartholm, however, remains in prison, having been extradited from Sweden to Denmark late last year on separate hacking charges. He is being held in solitary confinement and faces up to six years in prison if found guilty.

Despite this police crackdown, The Pirate Bay has remained active, shifting ownership and the locations of its servers to stay ahead of European authorities. Over the weekend, the site celebrated its “independence day” on the eight-year anniversary of the first police raid.

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Swedish media reports that Sunde's lawyer, Peter Althin, said he client will likely now serve his 8-month sentence. Sunde fought the ruling against him but his requests were rejected by both the European Court of Human rights and Sweden's Supreme Court.

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While officially a fugitive from justice, Sunde remained very much in the public eye -- most recently running for the European Parliament as a candidate for the Finnish Pirate Party in last week's European elections. He was the most successful of the Pirate Party candidates but did not receive enough votes to win a seat in Brussels.

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Sunde was also involved in numerous tech startups in recent years, including the short messaging service Heml.is (“secret” in Swedish) - reportedly a NSA-proof service – for which he raised more than $150,000 through a crowd-funding campaign.
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Lawsuit Claiming Led Zeppelin Stole 'Stairway to Heaven'

by Eriq Gardner

EXCLUSIVE//Using the Led Zeppelin IV typeface, and including a claim for the "Falsification of Rock N' Roll History," the heirs of songwriter Randy Craig Wolfe have finally lodged a copyright infringement lawsuit against Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and others Led Zeppelin parties over the 1971 song, "Stairway to Heaven."


Kennedy Center Honors | Washington D.C., Dec. 2
The complaint -- 43 years in the making --  was filed in Pennsylvania federal court Friday, and it's indeed a colorful one.

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It tells the story of Wolfe (aka Randy California), a guitar virtuoso who was discovered by Jimi Hendrix at the age of 15 and later became the founding member of the band Spirit, which in 1968 released a self-titled album that made Billboard's Top 40 charts. Most notably on that album was a 2-minute, 37-second instrumental titled "Taurus" with a distinctive guitar line. According to the complaint, "Little did anyone know at the time, 17-year old Randy had created what would become some of the most famous guitar work in the history of music."

That same year, Spirit was touring. The opening band? Led Zeppelin, of course. "Jimmy Page’s use of the Etherwave-Theremin, and other psychedelic-type audio effects which helped give Led Zeppelin its distinctive sound — especially prominent in 'Whole Lotta Love' — was inspired by seeing California effectively use these types of audio-enhancing effects on tour," states the complaint.

In 1970, the official story of Rock N' Roll History goes, Page holed himself up in a remote cottage in Wales called Bron-Yr-Aur, and by fireside, wrote "Stairway to Heaven."

"I had these pieces, these guitar pieces, that I wanted to put together," Page would later explain in describing the writing of the song. "I had a whole idea of a piece of music that I really wanted to try and present to everybody and try and come to terms with. Bit difficult really..."

The song was recorded in London in 1970-71. It was released on an untitled album now known as Led Zeppelin IV. Its introductory passage is now quite iconic -- arguably the one song that every aspiring guitar player tries to learn. See Wayne's World.

But the trustee now managing the Wolfe estate is taking legal action. See better-late-than-never.
"Any reasonable observer, when comparing 'Taurus' and 'Stairway to Heaven,' must conclude that—at the very least—significant portions of the songs are nearly identical," the lawsuit argues.
Judge for yourself.

Although the complaint admits that "Led Zeppelin is undeniably one of the greatest bands in history, and their musical talent is boundless," it also notes that "this is hardly the first time Zeppelin has been accused of lifting their most famous songs."

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A chart of 17 allegedly stolen songs is provided. Titles like "Dazed and Confused," "Whole Lotta Love" and "Since I’ve Been Loving You" are sourced to others. Among the allegedly ripped-off are Howlin' Wolf, Eddie Cochran, Willie Dixon and Ritchie Valens. Led Zeppelin is said to have made six settlements (evidenced seemingly by song credits). Other supposed "infringements" prompted no legal actions.

The plaintiff is demanding statutory damages, defendants' profits, punitive damages plus equitable relief in the form of an order that Wolfe is credited as a writer of "Stairway to Heaven." A footnote in the lawsuit indicates that funds obtained from the lawsuit will go into a trust whose proceeds go to buying needy children musical instruments.

Below is the full complaint, notably from the same lawyer who just two weeks ago, was sanctioned in a songwriting dispute involving Usher. That lawyer is apparently unaware of the rash of copyright cases targeting font infringement.

As for Page, the legendary guitarist himself told a French newspaper recently that the claims of plagiarizing "Stairway to Heaven" were "ridiculous."

Twitter: @eriqgardner

SOURCE:  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/heres-lawsuit-claiming-led-zeppelin-708742
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Wendy & Lisa to Receive ASCAP's Inaugural Shirley Walker Award

Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman
Composers Wendy Melvoin (L) and Lisa Coleman attend "SCORE! A 
Concert Celebrating Music Composed for Television" presented by 
the Television Academy at UCLA's Royce Hall on Wednesday, May 
21, 2014, in Los Angeles.
 Vince Bucci/Invision for the Television AcademyAP Images

 Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman will receive the inaugural ASCAP Shirley Walker Award at the performing rights organization’s 29th annual Film & Television Music Awards on June 25.

 
Named for the first prominent female film and TV composer, the Shirley Walker Award is given to those whose achievements have contributed to the diversity of film and television music.

Wendy & Lisa, as they have been known since their days in Prince’s band the Revolution, have been working on films since 1995 when they scored “Dangerous Minds.” Their TV credits include “Crossing Jordan,” “Touch” and “Heroes”; they won an Emmy in 2010 for “Nurse Jackie.”

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"Their music sets new standards for excellence, and their achievements have inspired a generation of female composers looking to follow their lead,” says Shawn LeMone, ASCAP vice president of Film & TV/Visual Media.


The ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and will honor composers of the top box office film music, the most performed television music and the top video game music of 2013.
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New Digital Music Store to Cater to Theater Fans

By MARK KENNEDY

The digital age virtually wiped out specialty theater record stores, where show-tune lovers could happily browse aisles bursting with cast albums and sheet music. Now some entrepreneurs are hoping to bring back such an experience — online, of course.



This screen image provided by BwayTunes.com shows the home page to their new digital theater music site.   (AP)
Monday marks the launch of BwayTunes.com, which promises to become the Internet's most comprehensive catalog of digital musical theater music.


The website will have Broadway-related songs, albums and compilations on sale, as well as better ways to search for music, a personal locker to hold all downloads, a player to listen, access to AccuRadio curated Broadway-dedicated radio channels, links to sheet music and several blogs. It will even feature music for2 shows in development.
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The new, ad-supported site is the brainchild of theater marketing professional Jim Russek, an executive creative director at theater advertising agency AKA-NYC, and Erik Hartog, a Wall Street strategist. They have partnered with 7digital, a fast-growing music and content digital platform with broad licenses with record companies.

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"Every time I'd go on Amazon or iTunes, what I was looking for was hidden in 25 million songs and it was a long search," said Russek, who with Hartog has spent three years on the project. The result is free-floating location for casual fans and music buffs: "As the specialty music store was on the corner of a side street in a city, we're on every street corner in America."



While he didn't want to divulge the full costs of the project, Russek said the site becomes viable if it attracts 50,000 users a year, and direct mail invites will soon be going out to 600,000 theater fans. Music prices, which are set by the record companies, are the same as in iTunes — $1.29 for many songs and $8.99 and up for albums.


Some differences from other Internet locations include that fact that MP3 downloads at BwayTunes.com will be provided at a bit rate of 320 Kbps, compared with the 256 Kbps at other locations. The creators also have added the production credits for cast albums to allow searchers to find even the most obscure figures. Down the road, they'd like to offer gift cards.


Russek, who as a young man used to race over to the Colony Record store near Times Square to get recordings or sheet music as a low-level employee of the "Ed Sullivan Show," now finds himself recreating that fabled store, which closed in 2012.

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"In a lot of ways, that's true," he said, adding that revenue streams will come from the music, banner ads and offers from shows. "We'll try to stay a profitable business so that we don't have to be the online version of Colony going away."
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Appeals Court: Digital Music Store Was Illegal Pyramid Scheme

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 A federal appeals court determines that BurnLounge was focused in building revenue through participant recruitment, not through sales of any product.

BurnLounge, a New York-based company that launched a decade ago, has failed in its bid to legitimize its novel method of selling music. On Monday, the 9th Circuit Court of appeals affirmed a lower court's holding that certain aspects of the e-tailer represented an illegal pyramid scheme. The opinion provides warning to other companies whose success is tied to recruitment rather than products sales.


The Federal Trade Commission sued the outfit in 2007, three years after BurnLounge began operating a service that allowed its customers to double as independent retailers. Customers could buy different levels of packages and then spend extra to qualify as "moguls." Participants got customized web pages to sell music, merchandise and "right to sell" packages, and if they qualified as moguls, they were given the ability to redeem credits for cash rather than goods.

The system provided an incentive towards downline recruits. BurnLounge preferred to think of its business model as "concentric retail bonuses" whereby customers in one ring of the hierarchy would sell to those in another. To qualify for bonuses, moguls had to meet certain targets in selling packages and albums.

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Whether or not BurnLounge's multi-level marketing business constituted an illegal pyramid scheme came down to an interpretation of whether it met the FTC's test of participants paying money in return for (1) the right to sell a product and (2) the right to receive rewards for recruiting others into the program unrelated to the sale of the product to ultimate users.

The first prong was easily satisfied.

As for the second, evidence that participants were focused on recruitment included that 96.8 percent of those buying packages became "moguls," and that the moguls themselves bought the most premium packages to drive their bonus returns. Non-moguls were much more interested in basic packages.

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Then, there was the financial impact of a stipulated injunction. After the FCC raised a red flag about BurnLounge's approach, the company agreed to stop its mogul service. Before the shut-down in June 2007, the company's monthly revenue was at $476,516. By August, revenue had dropped to $10,880. The appellate court says the dramatic decline provides further evidence that participants were most interested in the Mogul program, where it was once possible to earn cash rewards.

In the opinion that is likely to be closely scrutinized by followers of controversial outfits like Herbalife, circuit judge Morgan Christen also writes, "In practice, the rewards BurnLounge paid for package sales were not tied to the consumer demand for the merchandise in the packages; they were paid to Moguls for recruiting new participants. The fact that the rewards were paid for recruiting is shown by the necessity of recruiting to earn cash rewards and the evidence that the scheme was set up to motivate Moguls through the opportunity to earn cash. Rewards for recruiting were 'unrelated' to sales to ultimate users because BurnLounge incentivized recruiting participants, not product sales."

SOURCE:  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/appeals-court-digital-music-store-708671
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Mack Maine Gives Big Update On Lil Wayne's Final LP & Nicki Minaj's "Pink Print"

Diehard Young Money fans have received a huge update courtesy of label president Mack Maine who revealed a significant detail involving Lil Wayne's Tha Carter V and Nicki Minaj's The Pink Print albums. #WeezyWatch


Although he would not dish out release dates, Maine did admit Nicki's long-awaited LP would arrive before Weezy's.

With Nicki's upcoming album having an extremely strong presence last night at Hot 97?s Summer Jam, one had to wonder if this was in fact strategic. When asked if YMCMB had plans to release The Pink Print prior to Tha Carter V, Mack Maine responded, "It will be before Carter V as of now....no concrete date yet." (XXL Mag)
Nicki recently discussed her upcoming The Pink Print.

"I think everybody knows how obsessed I am with Jay Z. He's always been my favorite rapper -- him and [Lil] Wayne," Nicki said in an interview. "He did such a great job of creating this Blueprint brand for male rappers, I felt. And I studied a lot of his blueprint, just in terms of becoming a mogul. ... I wanted to be like Jay Z. I felt like with what I'm doing, I want female rappers to be able to pattern themselves with what I've done one day," she said. "And I think the album is soooo classic, it's gonna feel so good and it will probably be one that female rappers will look to as a 'pink print' for years to come." (Power 106)

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A few weeks ago, Nicki said the LP would remind fans why they rode behind her since day one.

"It feels very uplifting and it feels very soulful," she shared. "It's a great, I feel, indicator of what The Pink Print will feel like in terms of the storyline of that song." The album, due sometime this year, marks a return to her roots. "The Pink Print will remind people why they fell in love with Nicki Minaj," she added. "And I think that needs to be done." (Rap-Up)
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Recently, the rap star talked about holding her own weight with notable male competition.

"I do not see myself as a female rapper anymore, I'm sorry," she told MTV News on Monday. "I see myself as a rapper. ... I've worked with the greats and I've held my own with the greats and they respect me - so I should respect myself enough to see myself the same way they see themselves." (MTV)
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Apple Introduces Newest Employee: Dr. Dre

Apple Introduces Newest Employee: Dr. Dre At WWDC (Updated)
EXCLUSIVE//Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi introduced Dr. Dre as a company employee via telephone during the keynote presentation at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference. 

“What time should I show up for work?” asked the hip-hop producer/entrepreneur, joking that he wanted to arrive at the company’s campus in the morning before early-arriving CEO Tim Cook.

“New employee orientation starts at 9:00, and you don’t want to miss the free t-shirt,” Federighi told Dre in a tongue-in-cheek conversation. The company did not announce a job title for Dre.


Apple acquired Beats Electronics and Beats Music, founded by Dre and former Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine, for $3 billion in a deal announced last week.  Dre’s equity stake in Beats was believed to be worth several hundred million dollars, though the exact amount hasn’t been made public.

Iovine was not introduced, and neither Federighi, Cook, nor any other presenter mentioned Beats by name during the presentation. Iovine has joined Apple as part of the deal, however, as has Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers and chief creative officer and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. A report surfaced over the weekend suggesting that Reznor had left the company, but both Beats and Reznor have confirmed that he will remain with Beats under Apple’s ownership.

The brief telephone exchange with Dre was part of a demonstration of Apple’s desktop-based calling system, one of many new features of its newly updated operating system OS X Yosemite. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company also introduced iOS 8, the newest version of its mobile and tablet operating system.
“Hey, Doctor, you’re on speaker phone via my Mac,” Federighi said shortly after Dre picked up. “We all want to welcome you to Apple.”

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“I love a big audience,” Dre replied. “I want to thank everyone there for creating such amazing apps.”

The new Mac-based phone calling system features desktop caller ID, integrated with incoming calls to a nearby iPhone. Federighi dialed Dre directly from a Mac onstage, using it as a speaker phone.

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For the iOS 8 update, Apple revealed the integration of song-recognition service Shazam, including functionality within the Siri voice-response system. A tie-up with Shazam had been rumored for months.
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