The Pirate Bay Four Get Jail Sentence
A Swedish court has jailed four defendants in a copyright test case involving The Pirate Bay, one of the biggest file-sharing websites. TorrentFreak says the four defendants will each get 1 year in jail each and fines totaling $3,620,000. One of the defendants is calling the verdict an "epic win" according to PC Magazine.
Music Labels Deny Signing Qtrax Deals Qtrax is a new free ad-based music p2p service claming to have 25 million songs from all the major labels. However, the BBC reports that three major record labels don't see it that way.
Three major record labels have denied signing deals allowing their music to feature on a new file-sharing service offering unlimited free downloads.
The service, Qtrax, boasted it would carry up to 30 million tracks from "all the major labels".
But Warner, EMI and Universal all say they have not licensed their music.
Qtrax said it expected an agreement to be reached with Warner and that terms had been agreed with the others even if deals had not been formally signed.
Qtrax claims signed agreements with the label are still coming.
Gizmodo calls the news rumor smashed and shows an angry picture of the Hulk. Engadget says that it's probably too good to be true. There's more discussion here on Techmeme.
Amazon's MP3s are not free but they claim to be the only retailer currently offering DRM-free MP3s from all four major record labels.
Ringtones Are a Huge Business
InformationWeek reports that revenues from mobile downloads have soared to $4.1 billion and ringtones are a big part of the picture.
Mobile phone users are downloading data at increasing rates with Verizon Wireless attracting the highest level of interest, according to a report released Tuesday by IDC.
In all, the 230 million wireless subscribers in the United States bought a total of $4.1 billion in data services in the third quarter of 2006.
"Our research found that at $7.27 spent per-customer on data services in 3Q06, Verizon Wireless became the new market leader among the national operators, eclipsing Sprint Nextel, the long-time leader in this metric at $7.15," said IDC's Julien Blin. The two leading firms employ CDMA technology.
Blin, who is research analyst for IDC's Wireless and Mobile Communications program, said Verizon leads in total wireless data revenue, data percentage of average revenue per user (ARPU), and data spending. However, Sprint and other national carriers pace the market in some selected service offerings.
Geek.com reports that the IDC study found that "20% of subscribers purchase at least one ringtone every quarter." You can find a list of ringtone retailers here. Billboard Magazine maintains a list of the bestselling ringtones called Hot Ringtones.
Website Offers Sneak Peek at Amazon's Video Download Plans This website has numerous screenshots of an Amazon video download service named "Amazon Unbox." The service offers both video rentals and video downloads. There is also a section on Amazon.com called the Lumiere Digital Video Store (thx Reuters blog). If Amazon does go ahead with a video download website the Amazon Unbox name sounds better than Lumiere. Paid Content also has a post about Amazon's video download plans.
Music Download Records Smashed
Vnunet.com reports that 20 million music downloads were downloaded between Christmas and New Years smashing previous records.
US music lovers downloaded 20 million tracks from firms including iTunes and Napster in the seven days between Christmas and the New Year, according to tracking firm Neilson SoundScan.
The figure more than doubles the existing record of 9.5 million set the previous week, and is three times the figure for the same period a year ago.
Vnunet said it is thought that MP3 players and iPods given as presents as well as vouchers for music downloads were a big reason for the surge in downloads. This sounds like a reasonable theory. Walmart.com, which saw numerous sales of its mobiBLU Cube, a 1 inch MP3 playing cube device, also gave away several music downloads along with the purchase as part of its holiday offerings.
Tivo To Let Users Download Shows From the Web
The Associated Press reports that Tivo has plans to allow customers to download tv shows from their Tivo set-top box to the Internet.
TiVo has struck a deal with the Independent Film Channel to transmit several of the cable channel's shows through a broadband connection as part of a trial program. Participating customers will begin receiving the shows next week, said TiVo spokesman Elliot Sloane.
Sloan confirmed that TiVo sent messages to its customers - later posted on the technology Web log Engadget.com - offering to transmit three IFC shows beginning Aug. 19, before they aired on the cable channel.
Here is an Endgadget.com entry on the Tivo web download plans and here is an Engadget post with pictures of the download service. Engadget says it will just be the Independent Film Channel to begin with and will expand to include other content at a future date.
CNET List's Top Ten Downloads
CNET, a technology media company which runs the download.com website, has posted a list of the Top Ten Downloads for the past ten years. Download.com has been online since 1996 so these programs that made the list have seen some major use. You will probably be familiar with most (if not all) of the downloads that made the list. Here is the Top Ten list:
7-Eleven Eyes Download Profits
Reuters reports that convenient store chain, 7-Eleven, plans to test music download sales. 7-Eleven runs over 5,800 store nationwide. The store might also consider movie downloads if the music test is a success. Reuters writes, "James Keyes said selling digital content, including music, could provide a good growth opportunity as sales of portable gadgets such as Apple Computer's iPod take off. Customers should be able to walk into a 7-Eleven store to burn their favorite songs onto a CD or download content onto their portable music player, Keyes told a Merrill Lynch retailing and consumer products industry conference in New York."
Movie Downloading Networks Targeted
Movie downloading is quickly becoming the threat to film companies that music downloading is to music
publishers. To thwart this threat the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), has launced a plan to file lawsuits against peer-to-peer (P2P) networks where they claim the illegal downloading is occuring.
The MPAA says 115,000 to 148,000 illegal movie downloads occur daily on these P2P networks. The MPAA
also hinted they might go after individuals in the future. An MPAA statement read, "Although lawsuits have not yet been filed against people who illegally make movies available on P2P networks, our outside counsel is collecting evidence regarding individuals who use the Internet to trade illegal digital copies of our member companies' motion pictures."
RealPlayer Cuts Music Download Prices RealNetworks has cut prices for music song downloads to 49 cents to compete with music downloads stores like iTunes that offer downloads for 99 cents each. News.com reports that RealNetworks has also made its downloads compatible with the iPod music play. However, Apple claims they did not give RealNetworks permission to do this and compared the company to a hacker. In a statement Apple said, "RealNetworks has adopted the tactics and ethics of a hacker to break into the iPod, and we are investigating the implications of their actions under the (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and other laws."
Many Americans Against Music Download Lawsuits
The Write News reports that a new poll from FindLaw found that a majority of Americans say the music industry should not sue people who illegally download music off the Internet. According to the national survey by FindLaw, 56 percent of American adults oppose the lawsuits. Thirty-seven percent support the industry's legal actions. Seven percent of those surveyed had no opinion. Nearly two-thirds of those between the ages of 18 and 34 said the music industry should not sue people who illegally download music. Still, legal experts say the industry's suits have legal merit and urge consumers to be aware of copyright laws and their legal rights before downloading from any website.
Microsoft Plans Music Download Site
Microsoft is planning to enter the rapidly developing legal music downloading market. The company will compete with website like Roxio's Napster and Apple's iTunes. A Reuters article indicated that Wal-Mart Stores, Sony, Dell and Amazon.com are also expected to launch song download websites.
Source: CRN
Orrin Hatch Wants to Stop Illegal Downloads
Senator Orrin Hatch, who is backing the extreme measures music companies want to take to prevent people from downloading illegal music files, has been using unlicensed software on his own website. Hatch backs the music companies plan to destroy people's computers if they illegally download pirated music files. Read more at The Media Cynic.
