Re: [dvd-discuss] [openlaw] Government takes moreextremelineinsecond "Eldred" case

["John Zulauf" <johnzu(at)ia.nsc.com>]

What a bit of hand-wring about the self-same artist they have
consistantly taken advantage of.  If they where so worried about the
artists, they could change the "$1 for you, $10 for me" deal they have
with most of them to 2-9, 3-8 or even 5-6 split... they aren't.  They've
lost a customer.

For fun I submitted a story with the umg "comment and feedback" email
and pmail to /. -- I hope they bury them.

> From: "MusicHelpOnline.com Support" <support@musichelponline.com> 
> Subject: MusicHelpOnline Support 
> 
> Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 14:44:51 -0600 
>
> Thank you for your feedback regarding copy protected CDs.  We
> appreciate your opinion, as the consumer experience with the music we 
> all
> love has always been a priority at the Universal Music Group.
> 
> Unfortunately, over the last few years, the music industry has been 
> faced
> with a growing problem of unauthorized CD "ripping" leading to illegal
> Internet distribution of music - a practice that is hurting everyone 
> from
> recording artists to songwriters to record stores. This illegal copying 
> is
> taking place on a massive scale, with literally millions of copies 
> being
> made without any compensation to the creators of the music.  If a way 
> is
> not found to protect the music from these abuses, recording artists,
> songwriters and many others will be deprived of their livelihoods.  The
> changing economics could cause fewer new artists to get a chance to 
> find
> their audience.
> 
> Universal Music Group is committed to protecting the rights of our 
> artists,
> songwriters, and copyright holders, and, like the rest of the 
> entertainment
> industry, is evaluating emerging technologies to assess their viability 
> while
> also attempting to maximize the consumer experience. In addition,
> Universal is exploring new ways to make music available in a variety of
> online formats.  We are also working with technology companies on new
> offline formats that appeal to consumers.
> 
> We have licensed copy protection technologies developed by others and
> are experimenting with the integration of those technologies into some 
> of
> our CDs as a first step in measuring their effectiveness in an evolving
> marketplace. While the CDs with copy protection may not be playable in 
> a
> limited number of CD players, UMG is currently working with our
> technology providers to achieve 100% playability.   We also hope to
> include Macintosh-based playability on copy-protected discs in the 
> future.
> We have not finalized our plans for 2002 nor have we made a commitment
> to put copy protection on all of our CD releases.
> 
> UMG has also established www.musichelponline.com to provide
> consumers with support and to answer any questions you may have
> concerning copy protected CDs.
> 
> We appreciate your business, and your support for the musicians who
> bring so much to all of our lives.
>