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Copyright and the Interweb - New Angle

  
 
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16:44 / 19.04.05
A law firm working for Meisel publishing company in Germany are seeking damages against a number of websites which host written word versions of the lyrics to various songs...They are seeking 1600 Euros per song reproduced on the websites, a sum far greater than any court case so far brought before the courts for illegal distribution / hosting of mp3's.

What do you think of this development? Obviously the lyrics are subject to copyright, and should not, strictly, be reproduced without permission, but I can't help but think this is total fucking madness.

Why is the music industry obsessed with suing and seeking damages from its biggest fans?
 
 
distractile
17:58 / 19.04.05
Story here.

I can usually work out what the industry's trying to do with lawsuits, even if it is almost always counterproductive and asinine. This time, though, I haven't got a clue. Protecting the artists' "right" to dictate the transmission of their lyrics? Seems pretty weak.

Why is the music industry obsessed with suing and seeking damages from its biggest fans?

Actually, the industry is obsessed with suing music's biggest fans. Those people may not be the biggest customers of companies whose business models are designed to force-feed lowest-common-denominator pablum to passive consumers. That contempt for customers is what permits the industry to think it can get by without people who actually care about music.
 
  
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