TechWire

Hacked music company's email to Irish victims

Another week, another entertainment company hacked.

This time, it's Universal. There has been some reporting of this story already, mainly around some of the label's singers (Amy Winehouse, Justin Bieber).

Here's the email that one Irish music fan got from Universal yesterday:

Important information regarding your personal data.
	As you may have heard in the media this week, various websites hosted by Universal Music UK have been targeted by a so-called internet hacker. As part of our investigations into this illegal activity we have discovered yesterday that some user information on our website www.klaxons.net was taken. The hacker gained access to a small set of data collected for the The Klaxons site login. Unfortunately the data obtained contained the following information that you provided: email, password firstname and surname Please note there were no financial or credit card details associated with any of your details and no financial or credit card details have been accessed. However, we know that a lot of people use the same passwords and logins across many different sites. So for your security, we encourage you to change your passwords for any site logins if you think they may be the same as the one you entered for this site. Additionally, if you use the same user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them as well. Also please look out for any email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information over the next few weeks. Universal Music UK sincerely apologises for this breach of data security. We take information protection very seriously and have put in place additional measures to protect personally identifiable information. Please note that this is an automated e-mail, so replies to this address cannot be responded to. However, please contact us at ecrmuk@umusic.co.uk should you have any additional questions and we will do our best to help.

Christmas gifts on a budget: Archos 1 Vision 4GB MP3 player

iPod schmiPod. If you're on a tight budget and looking for an entry-level MP3 player with a screen and enough memory for well over 1,000 songs, this MP3 player is a good choice.

It can take songs in almost any digital format and lists them on its 1.5 inch colour screen. At this price, it's hard to go wrong.

Okay, the operation isn't as smooth as an Apple MP3 player. And there are no fancy features, such as photo-viewers, album-art or fitness software synchrinisation.

But here's its killer feature: €30 (€50 for an 8GB version). That's about a third of the price of an entry-level, colour-screen iPod.

You'll get it for €30 from Gamestop shops nationwide or from Pixmania.ie (including delivery charge).

Vodafone to follow Eircom into 3 Strikes territory? If so, open the floodgates

In last Sunday's SBP, I wrote that Vodafone was in discussions with Irma to possibly introduce a 'graduated response' (or 3 Strikes) system.

A further report in today's Irish Times indicates that this will now happen.

"EMI Ireland chief executive Willie Kavanagh said “significant progress” had been made with Vodafone in relation to implementing a solution similar to that which Eircom is using to deter file-sharers," writes Ronan McGreevy in the Times article.

As I pointed out in Sunday's piece, this is is likely to herald a new wave of 3 Strikes ISP agreements.

For instance, Digiweb's chief executive, Colm Piercy, told me that defending a costly High Court action against ‘‘the might of the music industry’’ is just not a realistic option. And the same goes for every other small to medium sized ISP in the country.

Yes, UPC will fight this court case. And both 3 Ireland and O2 probably will, too.

But it may well just be a matter of time before a huge swathe of Ireland's internet customers become governed under the 3 Strikes system.

The end of music. Not.

Entertainment companies say that file-sharing is killing music. They say that, if left unchecked, it will prevent new music from being commissioned.

Although I can see the rationale of their position (from a commercial perspective), I'm unconvinced of a doomsday scenario.

But perhaps I'm wrong. What do you think? If file-sharing is left unchecked, and a generation grows older paying for less and less music that they download, will any of the following scenarios come about?

1. No new music will be made. Western civilisation will cease to create or record any new music. Music will become a thing that used to be created. There will be no new bands, no new songwriters.

2. Anyone who did want to write a song will now, instead, go back to night-courses in an RTC to gain a junior accountancy degree.

3. With no new music being created, people will eventually stop listening to music. The only people who will play music will be Ronan Collins and Gay Byrne.

Is this really possible? Is music about to become a thing of the past? Hard to imagine.

What Panasonic plans for Ireland

Walk into any big Irish electronics store: chances are it'll be dominated by Samsung, Sony, Canon or LG.

Panasonic doesn't seem to be on the radar with the punters of Power City. Perhaps this is because its stuff is pretty high-end.

Nevertheless, I've had a good root through the stuff Panasonic will be launching on the Irish market this year, thanks to a big tech conference I'm at in Munich. It's impressive.

What's on offer is three things: 3D HD televisions, 3D Blu-Ray players and some new camera equipment.

The 3D tellies aren't especially unique, with Sony, Toshiba, LG and Samsung all doing them too. Its Blu-Ray 3D players are interesting, though. Firstly, because there are 31 3D titles coming out in 2010, most of them blockbusters. Secondly, because Panasonic has gotten the start-up time of its Blu-Ray payers down to seven seconds. (My current Sony model -- which is two years old -- takes about 35 seconds to start up.)

The best of the rest is the HDV cam that will shoot in 3D and a couple of Lumix compact digital cameras.

There's also a range of iPod/iPhone docks, which I didn't know Panasonic was into. Here are two of them that I had a short play with: the SC-HC3 (€200)

and the quite lovely SP100 (€140).

EU demands "due process" for three-strikes: experts say it won't deter new law

So it's official. The EU has approved legislation that requires "due process" before a file-sharer can be cut off by his ISP, regardless of any 'three-strikes' policy.

The telecoms commissioner, Viviane Reding, is firmly of the view that this means the involvement of a judge and/or a court. As I wrote last week (see below), I'm not convinced of that. And neither is a legal specialist from the British law firm (Pinsent Masons) that publishes Out-law.com, an excellent tech-focused legal newsletter.

John MacKenzie argues that Britain's proposed three-strikes law does not conflict with the just-passed EU law.

As Out-law.com points out, this is because Britain intends to allow cut-off subscribers to appeal to a body set up by Ofcom. If a subscriber appeals, the disconnection will not happen until after the appeal.

"The Directive … will require a process to be followed before disconnection takes place," said MacKenzie. "That gives member states a lot of flexibility for policies like three-strikes-and-you're-out. It doesn't demand a right to a trial before disconnection takes place."

MacKenzie said that Reding's comments do not necessarily change the position because there is some flexibility about exactly what can be meant by a 'judge'.

"When someone is having their electricity supply cut off then there is a warrant granted by a magistrate following the presenting or certain evidence," he said. "The procedure to freeze assets includes a warrant being seen by a judge but that doesn't men you have full blown trial."

"It depends what you mean by 'a judge'," he said. "An arbiter – somebody appointed to decide or deal with these issues – may not be a judge in the classic sense but would be a decision maker and as long as there is a process in place to allow people to fairly and properly to oppose or recall these orders that should comply with European law."

EU telecoms commissioner: three-strikes will "certainly not become part of EU law"

Okay, there's a new law on internet access coming down from Europe.

Its significance lies in any effect it might have on the current legislative drift toward a Europe-wide 'three strikes' principle against file-sharers (as is law in France and may soon be law in Britain).

On one hand, it appears to galvanise resistance against a three-strikes law. But when read more closely, it may do nothing more than represent a principle that won't, ultimately, prevent a three-strikes law being introduced in Ireland.

Here's what it says (it's a bit windy, but it's important for anyone following this debate. I've added the bolded emphasis):

Article 1(3)a of the new Framework Directive

"Measures taken by Member States regarding end-users’ access to or use of services and applications through electronic communications networks shall respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and general principles of Community law.

Any of these measures regarding end-users’ access to or use of services and applications through electronic communications networks liable to restrict those fundamental rights or freedoms may only be imposed if they are appropriate, proportionate and necessary within a democratic society, and their implementation shall be subject to adequate procedural safeguards in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and general principles of Community law, including effective judicial protection and due process. Accordingly, these measures may only be taken with due respect for the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to privacy. A prior fair and impartial procedure shall be guaranteed, including the right to be heard of the person or persons concerned, subject to the need for appropriate conditions and procedural arrangements in duly substantiated cases of urgency in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms . The right to an effective and timely judicial review shall be guaranteed."

Okay, does that make sense?

If not, the European telecoms commissioner, Vivane Reding, sums it up this way:

"The new internet freedom provision represents a great victory for the rights and freedoms of European citizens. The debate between Parliament and Council has also clearly shown that we need find new, more modern and more effective ways in Europe to protect intellectual property and artistic creation. The promotion of legal offers, including across borders, should become a priority for policy-makers. 'Three-strikes-laws', which could cut off Internet access without a prior fair and impartial procedure or without effective and timely judicial review, will certainly not become part of European law."

Fairly bullish. But there is a key distinction. Three-strikes may not become part of European law at EU level. But that does NOT mean that three-strikes laws will not become law in member states. (It's already the law in France. It may soon be law in Britain.)

A lot of this seems to hang on the meaning of the term ‘judicial protection’.

I know that this is supposed to imply a judge’s oversight. But looking at the way that European law is often transposed into Irish law, it’s not really clear whether this strictly means that a judge has to physically oversee every internet termination.

This is especially so in a free and open market with multiple ISPs in operation (so that an ISP can claim that there are several other means of internet connection open to the cut-off party).

The thing is, if they actually wanted to rule out the introduction of a three-strikes rule, they could have been more specific. They could have simply said: no ISP may cut off a customer’s internet connection without a judicial order.

They didn't do that. Deliberately.

The Economist: illegal file-sharing declines when legal alternatives emerge

This Sunday, I'm writing about why the film industry is facing a massive shock in Ireland (and Europe) due to the lack of a legal movie-downloading (blockbusters, not out-of-copyright titles) service.

One of the key comparisons is with the music industry which, thanks to services like Spotify, is now actually seeing a decline in piracy (primarily in those countries that are offering affordable, legal alternatives).

The Economist agrees, it seems.

Revealed: music labels suffer, artists' earnings soar

The London Times newspaper has done a fascinating survey of who is making money from the music business.

Its conclusion is that while music labels may be suffering, singers, bands and artists are actually making more than they've every earned (see graph below). This is because revenue from concerts and live performances is soaring. As the Times article points out, an artist keeps a far higher percentage of the take form a concert or a tour than they do from a CD or record deal.

This is not to belittle the problems facing music labels. However, it does shed some very welcome light on the charge often made by labels that it is artists -- and not music labels -- suffering when music is swapped for free.

For anyone interested in this debate, this is a must-read analysis.

 

Ad music: the only way to break music markets anymore

While looking for the names of a couple of catchy songs on current ads (Vodafone Home among them), this argument on why ads and hit TV shows are now the most important way of making it for new artists caught my attention...

[From Adtunes.com...]
As a follow-up to the interview we did for this ABC News article -- Ad Music Brings in Big Exposure for Artists -- about TV commercials as a venue for new music artists like Yael Naim and Sara Bareilles:

"It's completely taken over as a first-hear venue for new artists," said Jon C. Allen, co-owner of AdTunes.com, a blog for music fans who are seeking out the names and titles of songs they hear on commercials.

Ad Tunes was born five years ago in the wake of a memorable Mitsubishi Eclipse ad, but Allen says music junkies continue to visit his site as more ads introduce fresh acts to the mainstream.

"When was the last time you heard new music on FM radio or MTV?" Allen asked. "That doesn't really happen anymore."

To expand on our point about MTV and new music: viewers do not tune into the channel to hear new music in videos since the network devotes little airtime to music videos. Those videos as a source of new music have been replaced by songs appearing within the soundtracks of MTV shows. Labels are no longer fighting to get their artists latest video onto the network -- they are devoting energy to getting songs into MTV reality shows. For example, in the new season of The Hills, the network runs captions with the name of the song and artist you are currently hearing -- similar to what was used in music videos. This type of exposure on The Hills soundtrack backing Lauren Conrad and the gang means much more to an artist's career than having their music video play at 3am. MTV has even embraced the idea of music in commercials through their own MTV Artist of the Week (recently featuring French-pop singer Yelle), which features new artists performing in the MTV commercial "bumpers" running over the credits between shows.

What next?

What should I be doing on this blog?

Joost -- slow and slower

Joost is a great idea, but does anyone else find it's horribly slow? It takes literally minutes for anything to load on my newish PC...

Top 10 downloaded songs: Britain v USA

Interesting to see the difference. (Source: Billboard.biz)

USA:

1 BAD DAY  Daniel Powter  Warner Bros.
2 YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL  James Blunt  Custard/Atlantic
3 PROMISCUOUS  Nelly Furtado Featuring Timbaland  Mosley/Geffen
4 CRAZY  Gnarls Barkley  Downtown/Atlantic/Lava
5 TEMPERATURE  Sean Paul  VP/Atlantic
6 UNWRITTEN  Natasha Bedingfield  Epic
7 SEXYBACK  Justin Timberlake  Jive/Zomba
8 OVER MY HEAD (CABLE CAR)  The Fray  Epic
9 HIPS DON'T LIE  Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean  Epic
10 RIDIN'  Chamillionaire Featuring Krayzie Bone

Britain:

1. Crazy, Gnarls Barkley
2. Grace Kelly, Mika
3. Chasing cars, Snow Patrol
4. Umbrella, Rihanna FT Jay-Z
5. I don't feel like dancin', Scissor Sisters
6. Hips don't lie, Shakira
7. Patience, Take That
8. How to save a life, The Fray
9. Ruby, Kaiser Chiefs
10. Maneater, Nelly Furtado

Napster comes to O2, but 12-song maximum applies

O2 i-mode phones will now be able to download songs from Napster directly over the air. The songs will cost €3.50 for two tracks, €6 for four or €8.50 for six. However, there is a maximum download limit of 12 songs per month, which seems daft. From March, the service will also offer dual downloads to computers, with a code that can be redeemed for a PC download. As usual, this service won't work for those with iMac or iBook computers.