A BIG HAND, PLEASE

eREGULAR READERS may remember that, an issue or so ago, we ran a piece detailing the potential impact that the MP3 system of downloading sound files may have on the Internet, and more generally the music industry as a whole. Since then, the ante has been upped, with the music business authorities getting tough on what they see as the wholesale thieving of their profit margins.
MP3 files, just to recap, constitute the technology which allows for music to be reproduced at a fraction of the file-size of other Internet music file formats. Last month, while speaking at the MIDEM music fair in Cannes, Cary Sherman, Senior Executive VP and General Counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America, went into greater detail about the RIAA s efforts to eliminate music piracy on the Web.
Sherman said that, in addition to tracking down websites that post illegal MP3 files, the RIAA is also working on educating the public with regard to copyright laws. In his speech, he mentioned conducting focus groups on American college campuses to determine what would discourage the students from posting illegal music files. Surprisingly, according to Sherman, the threat of criminal prosecution was largely irrelevant . What the students were really concerned about was suspension or dismissal from their university, or even worse, much worse, losing their Internet privileges .
Sherman also mentioned that the RIAA will be launching a campaign to work with search engines . One search engine already involved in the MP3 files controversy in no small degree is Lycos, which has created an entire section dedicated to searching for MP3 files. This, understandably, drew the wrath of the RIAA, which immediately contacted Lycos. In a recent press release, the RIAA stated: They (Lycos) are committed to work with us to develop procedures to eliminate infringing sites from their directory.
But Lycos isn t the only major Web player that has wholeheartedly gotten behind MP3. Diamond Multimedia, which got on the wrong side of the RIAA last year when it unveiled the Diamond Rio, a small personal MP3 player, has now launched its own portal dedicated to MP3. Located at the address below, it includes links to authorised MP3 files.
Last year, the RIAA tried in vain to obtain a permanent injunction preventing Diamond from marketing the Rio. In court, however, Diamond argued that the Rio could only play back files transferred to it from a computer, and that it could not transfer files to another machine.
Hackers, though, have reportedly been successful in creating software that thwarts Diamond s efforts to prevent files from being transferred from the Rio to another device. They ve posted the software in question on the Net for free. A spokesperson for Diamond indicated that although they were less than thrilled with this development, they weren t going to take any preventative measures against it.
As soon as any further developments occur in this area, we ll keep you posted.
http://www.rioport.com/ #
Underground
Rock
THE BRAINCHILD of one Gordon Polatnick, Fuller Up: The Dead Musician Directory is, as its name suggests, an index of rock stars (famous or otherwise) who ve shuffled off to the great Telecaster in the sky.
The site is named in honour of Bobby Fuller of The Bobby Fuller Four, a young, be-quiffed rocker from the 1950s who was forced to drink gasoline at gunpoint by mobsters, and was then beaten to death. When Polatnick heard this gruesome tale for the first time, he was intrigued and wanted more details of the incident. Upon being unable to find any, he decided to create a resource of his own in a similar vein. This is the result.
It s certainly nothing if not comprehensive the latest addition to the site is that of LA punk harp player Lester Butler (no, us neither). Should you wish to elicit the details of, say, soul singer Sam Cooke s demise, go to the self-explanatory Search By Name section.
Alternatively, if you require a list of rockers who ve all died in the same manner choking on their own vomit, for instance your first port of call should be the Causes Of Death section. The most compelling (read: sickest) categories are listed first, while new ones are being added all the time.
If anyone has any inside information regarding any controversial accounts of deaths reported on these pages, then, like Ross Perot, I m all ears, promises Polatnick on the title page of the site.
The one glaring oversight in an otherwise admirably extensive site is the failure to mention the deaths of all those Norwegian black metallers who began stabbing each other senseless a few years ago. Otherwise, Fuller Up is required surfing for those of you interested in rock n roll s sense of the macabre.
h#ttp://elvispelvis.com/fullerup.htm
Forget about South Park. Ditch King Of The Hill. The strongest contender yet for the cartoon throne currently occupied by The Simpsons is arriving on British screens soon, and its name is Family Guy.
The series pivotal character is one Peter Griffin, a Homer-alike (but with a full head of hair) who aided only by his long-suffering wife Lois presides over a brood of children that make the Simpson family look like the Flanders. There s Meg, the oldest child and a gleefully neurotic teenager; Chris, a 13-year-old described as an overweight underachiever ; Stewie, the homicidal baby who has already set his sights on total world domination; and Brian, the talking family dog.
Bespectacled twentysomething Seth McFarlane is to this show what Matt Groening is to The Simpsons. He recently signed a lucrative three-year deal with the Fox network, worth something in the region of between $2m and $2.5m for each season that the show runs. Indeed, in America, Fox plan to run Family Guy straight after The Simpsons in the 8:30pm Sunday evening slot.
http://g-r-e-g.com/familyguy/