digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About

Record exec to academic: stop criticizing us or I'll tell your university

boingboing.net — Andrew Dubber, who is on faculty at the University of Central England, blogged a link to a story critical of RIAA lawsuits. Paul Birch, a British record exec wrote him an angry letter, telling him that he wasn't allowed to post that kind of thing to his personal blog, because he works for a university that is funded by the government.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 15, 2007

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

47 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • matriculated, on 10/11/2007, -1/+45Opinion? In a university? What are they? Crazy?
  • Iolite, on 10/11/2007, -1/+29God forbid we should have critical thinking exist in our university faculty. What is this world coming to?
  • cleverhanz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+20Nothing relaxes me like downloading some Metalica and sharing it with my friends.
  • Buddhaismybuddy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+20They are just mad because they might not get paid to do nothing anymore.

    Jerks.

    Dont buy records, download them, then go to the live show, cut out the middle man.

    I just saw Common and the Roots play live at the Health and Harmony festival for $30.
    It was worth every penny.

    On the 24th I'll be purchasing my tickets for the Unity Tour with 311/Matisyahu.

    Support musicians, not record execs!
  • ChessPieceFace, on 10/11/2007, -1/+20FTA:
    Dubber countered with words about how suing music fans is a bad idea, and Birch closed with this threat:

    "It expresses opinion, it’s not factual. If you persist then I shall make a formal complaint to the University.

    Your choice."
  • tech42er, on 10/11/2007, -0/+17"I'm telling!"
  • LeeSoong, on 10/11/2007, -0/+14 RIAA Now runs the Government of England?? Impressive.

    Will RIAA gain control of the E.U. and start the new nation of U.S.S.R.I.A.A. ?

    Academic protection? Academic Freedom? Anyone, Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
  • trer, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15FTA:

    "...and Birch took the opportunity to complain that the record execs who ordered lawsuits against more than 20,000 music fans (in the US alone!) get angry phone-calls, emails and in-person questions. "

    Well what the hell do you think is going to happen when you sue people? They're going to be all right with it? These record execs are none too bright, no wonder they keep pushing the same ol Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Ashlee Simpson crap on us. Makes me wonder also about the people who keep supporting garbage Pop music.
  • Etaoin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11BPI and/or IFPI, actually. This all happened at the University of Central England; the RIAA doesn't have a whole lot of pull over there.
  • jersey, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11Followed the BoingBoing link to the blog ...........and the account has been suspended. Damn. The RIAA Mafia must have got to them first. Since I have nothing to read, and nothing better to do ...... might as well download somethin .......

  • binaryspiral, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10I enjoy the daily reports on mafiaa duchebaggery...

    It just keeps my torrent client happy and humming along.
  • BuzzLightyear, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10Which record company does Paul Birch work for?
    Does his company know that he harasses university staff for expressing opinions?

    If he persists then we should make a formal complaint to the record company.
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9TheFounder said
    "The RIAA needs to RIP"
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
    They certainly are giving people a reason to *not* buy CDs. Eventually, their only source of income will be lawsuits.
  • DrTall, on 10/11/2007, -3/+11It is hard to take seriously anyone who confuses semicolons and commas:

    "It expresses opinion, it’s not factual."

    Go go RIAA.
  • Szandor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6***** Paul Birch.
  • jrbrewin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6i didn't think that universities in england received funding from the government (local or national) any more. At least not directly.
    secondly, as his views are infact personal, and aren't tied in any way to the university, there shouldn't be anything that university could do. dismissal would go through an unfair dismissal case, and the university would lose.
  • hotsake, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6It's like a social RAID array. We're allowed to back up our data, right? ;)
  • shirosamurai, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6More likely caused by the surge of traffic he's getting as a result of this story - not the RIAA.
  • smolakian, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I guess if you work for a public university you are barred from expressing anything that is not a "fact". So, what's gonna happen to all the theoretical physicists philosophers and experimental scientists?

    It's so funny to see business people whore themselves out. Are the really so greedy as to abandon all sense of reason and logic? Hopefully this guy doesn't actually believe what he says.
  • tech42er, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5That's an interesting idea, though they'd probably just give him a promotion.
  • cactus476, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5"personal blog"

    And him being a university faculty member has anything to do with this how?
  • MarkOfTheDead, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5the words "grasping for straws" comes to mind.....
  • Monxrtr, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6You say you want a revolution well you know, it's here. It's a "magic juke box" that turns limited scarcity into infinite reproduction without taking away anything from anyone. Copying is a good thing. In every instance, there's more of something than there was before it was copied. Magic! Nobody loses their property. Nothing is ever stolen.

    And every claim of copyright COPIES previous claims of copyright. And there has never been a single claimed instance of copyright that did not copy someone else. All claims of copyright are hypocritical. If copyright was ever really real, and not arbitrarily enforced, nothing new and innovative could ever be produced, whether it was scientific or artistic. Absolutely everything which is made is copying the ideas of someone else in part.

    Harry Potter talking about people "flying on broomsticks", talking about "magic" and "dragons"? COPIED someone else. Leonardo da Vinci's inventions? COPIED previously established scientific principles. Copernicus proving the earth revolves around the sun? COPIED ancient Greek mathematicians. If people didn't COPY scientific and artistic progress would be impossible. Every single pop song ever played? COPIED chords and progressions and notes of others. Really, all claims of copyright/patent are no different than little children screaming "jinx" at each other.

    And these same people that scream "jinx" at you have no problem themselves hypocritical COPYING others every single day all day long. They use doors and windows in their homes. They use wheels. They use fire. They use words. The copyright/patent system is the biggest puff bluff ever perpetuated, all because the economic proof that copyright and patents cause technological scientific and artistic stagnation (rather than the falsely alleged "progress") didn't exist when patents seemed a good idea. What reason is there for patents when it's economically provable they do exactly the opposite of what was their alleged intention?

    I think it's very possible to pass a constitutional amendment banning all copyright and patent. This is something the masses could be rallied for to slam corporate protectionism and Hollywood hypocrisy. I see it happening. What's to stop State by State constitutional ballot initiatives banning copyrights and patents? Big stuff happens in politics now and then. Political parties come and go. Imagine there's no copyrights ... it's easy if you try.
  • leetdood, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5God, what an asshat.
  • nailPuppy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Uhh, wrong site buddy. We call that the digg affect.
  • TyphoidTimmy, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6Since he is a Brit...let me lay it down for his ears

    Piss off, ye bloody wanker.
  • Kinjiru, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4LMAO what a putz
  • kurtwinter, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Wouldn't be ironic if it weren't the excesses of the neocon agenda, or the ongoing wars, or growing division between haves and havenots that started the next revolution - that it was just the RIAA? They are heading there quickly. I can think that its approaching the time when the only recourse we have is to burn their offices down and chase them out of town. They are nothing more than criminals, offering "protection services" to musicians and shaking people down for money while silencing their critics. If it looks like racketeering...
  • tallguy240, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3As far as I'm concerned the music industry can take a flying suck on my ass. I don't buy or listen to the crap they put out nowadays. Its too expensive, it sucks, and most of the 'artists' are so overproduced that they have to lip sync at their concerts because there is no way their voices can do what they do on the album. I could care less if the entire music industry would cease to exist. *****'em.
  • kero552, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2It seems that site of the bloger was taken down. http://newmusicstrategies.com/
  • hotsake, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4***** Metallica. Their early career is commendable for helping to shape metal, thrash, and such. I admit they have bowed out gracefully and now make hard rock for adults. I understand their legitimate concerns about copyright infringement, but come on. Ninety million records sold worldwide over more than 25 years? Piracy of their work seems like a drop in the bucket (or the tiniest hole poked in that bucket, depending on how you look at it). They should feel grateful that people still find them relevant enough to even pirate.
  • pixelwerx, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Should any of you choose to correspond with any of the organizations that represent the recording industry, I humbly offer the following form letter:

    ************************************************
    To whom it may concern,

    Go ***** yourself.

    Sincerely,
    (please insert signature here)

    ************************************************

    That pretty much sums it up I think.
  • ashishvashisht, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Mirror to the blog entry with all the emails: http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fnewmusicstrategies.com%2F2007%2F06%2F14%2Fan-ifpi-bpi-board-member-writes%2F&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2006-20,GGGL:en
  • ashishvashisht, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Sigh... out of edit window... Text only: http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:http://newmusicstrategies.com/2007/06/14/an-ifpi-bpi-board-member-writes/&strip=1
  • Szandor, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Birch runs an independent record label, Revolver Records. He is/was a member of the exec committee and main board of the International Federation of Phonographic Institutes (IFPI) as well as the BPI Council and Chairs International, whatever the hell those are.

    Email: info@revolver-e.com
  • unknownunknowns, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1@MisterRik

    You really think people only make innovative creations because they are looking forward to reaping the benefits of copyright on their works? Back in my day, people started bands to get girls and drugs, or you know, maybe JUST MAYBE because they liked to play music.

    The same goes for research. The best academics are people who work on things they are passionate about. Not the ones in it for the money, women and drugs. ;)
  • hotsake, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It's one thing to hook up a microphone to a vocoder--that's been used to great effect. But I agree with you. I like hearing music where instruments and singers falter sometimes. It's unnatural to me to hide imperfections with a bunch of slider bars.
  • RagnerD, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I think Andrew is one of the guys who gets where music is going. His 20 things ebook is great http://newmusicstrategies.com/ebook/. If you are into what's going on the industry I'd recommend it. His ideas are very similar to the ones that led to creation of my indie music site http://soundcrank.com.
  • luxette, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2/. effect?
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Good idea, but I would think USB keys (getting larger all the time) will probably be the way to go. You just know the RIAA and their gov't lapdogs will try to infiltrate, though.
  • MisterRik, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I'd never argue otherwise. The people who set about a task with a passion are those we want working on them. But how do you fund research? Developing new drugs isn't something that is often done by someone in their garden shed on a budget of thrupney ha'pence. It costs millions. If I don't have the right to be the only person selling my invention after I've made it for some period of time then how can I raise the money for the research in the first place? I'm not defending the current system. I'm not saying that it isn't hideously flawed. I'm just saying that there needs to be some sort of protection to do what the copyright and patent systems were designed to do in the first place - encourage innovation.
  • theholycow, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0The reason they keep pushing that garbage is not because they're stupid. It's because it makes money. I would too. That is why they are there, to make money.

    Granted, that doesn't make them any less stupid.

    As you mentioned, it _does_ make the consumers who buy that crap, um, questionable...
  • afruff23, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2This bloody chap ain't got a sense o' respekt.
  • MisterRik, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Once you've banned copyright and patent, how exactly are you going to encourage innovation? Follow your argument through and explain to me how people are going to fund research? It is true that the current system doesn't work nearly as well as it should, but if you espouse disbanding it altogether, you are going to need an alternative.

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...

© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.