[Ecommerce] RIAA suit against XM is about control

[Manon Ress]

See EFF' page for the 9 counts at http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/
it looks to me as if the RIAA is out of control.
Manon

May 18, 2006 (2:26 PM EDT)

http://www.techweb.com/headlines_week/showArticle.jhtml?
articleId=188100164

Attorney: RIAA Suit Against XM Is All About Control

By David Haskin, TechWeb News

This week's lawsuit by the recording industry against XM Satellite
Radio is all about who controls how music is listened to and the cost
for providing users with more control, an intellectual property
attorney who specializes in such matters said Thursday.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Wednesday sued
XM for giving users the ability in new devices such as the Pioneer
Inno and Samsung Helix to record music received over the satellite
radio service. The RIAA, which represents major recording labels,
said that XM's new service induces its subscribers to infringe on
music copyrights.

The real issue, Baker said, is control.

"There's always been a difference between radio and CDs," Baker said.
"If you're a consumer listening to a radio station, you don't get to
manage that service." In other words, listeners can't control which
songs they hear and they can't save songs and listen to them when
they want. For more control, licensing fees traditionally have been
higher, Baker noted.

"My guess is that XM is saying that (the devices) are no different
than TiVo, and the user has no more control other than they can skip
certain songs," according to Baker. That would argue against higher
fees for that recorded music, according to Baker.

On the other hand, Baker noted that the recording industry seems to
be saying that the devices do give users far more control since it
gives them the ability to assemble a permanent library of music that
they can listen to when they want. That, in turn, indicates higher
licensing fees are required.

This case has already served as a flash point in the public debate
about how artists are compensated for their efforts. The Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EEF) on its Web site strongly sided with XM,
saying that the recording industry is trying to expand the definition
of what illegal distribution means.

Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attorney for the EEF, wrote on the
group's site that the damages that the RIAA is seeking are excessive
and would have a "chilling effect on innovation." He noted that the
RIAA may well be trying to get XM and its users to pay a second time
for music that has already been licensed. Baker said that it's just a
matter of figuring out how to fairly compensate artists and their
recording labels, a problem exacerbated by new technology such as the
Pioneer Inno and Samsung Helix.

"It's a real struggle in terms of where to draw the line and real
pressure on the RIAA from their member labels to create some sort of
predictability," Baker said. This is a problem that other types of
content providers will have to face sooner or later, according to Baker.

"This whole issue gets right to the heart of the digital era.," Baker
said. "The music industry is the first to confront this problem
problem because it's easier to copy a song than a movie and there's a
greater tradition of portability. At the end of the day, though, you
have a lot of people trying to protect traditional models of
production and distribution."


************************************************
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

Consumer Project on Technology
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