Musicians continue to defy content industry

Written by Wil Harris

June 12, 2006 | 12:17

Tags: #barenaked-ladies #grateful-dead #mpaa

Companies: #riaa

A couple of interesting bits of musical gossip for you this morning.

Barenaked Ladies, the (still-hip?) Canadian group, have released the first track from their upcoming album in a remixable format. According to the band's blog, a 4-track version of the single "Easy" is available for anyone to download, and there's a full 11-track version available for just $2.49. The band is having a remix contest, with aspiring musicians encouraged to go and create something new with the group's work. Under traditional copyright laws and record deals, remixing of tracks by consumers is technically illegal.

The group is part of the Canadia Music Creators Coalition, which rallies against DRM.

Meanwhile, the MPAA has accused the Grateful Dead of failing to defy the laws of nature by giving away music. The 'Dead are well-known for encouraging fans to record the band's live gigs, and songwriter John Perry Barlow appeared on BBC's Newsnight programme to advocate new approaches to getting music out to consumers, saying that encouraging recording had made the band more successful. MPAA spokesman Dan Glickman said that claiming to make more money by giving content away for free was "Defying the laws of nature". Apparently, he has never heard of the phrase, The first taste is always free?

The interview goes on to show just how out of touch the entertainment industry is, and is well worth a read.

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