Hypebot’s New Music Industry Briefing For Thursday April 27, 2006

– Nokia has unveiled the N series. Various cell models include superior video, a 3.2 mega pixel camera, large strange capacity, stereo speakers, an FM tuner, and mp3/AAC software and a steak sandwich. (Endgadget)

Motorola has launched StudioMoto where users to create custom ringtones, graphics, animations and even video mashups of developing artists for their mobile phones.

Top Canadian recording artists have formed the Canadian Music Creators Coalition to protest RIAA style tactics against their fans.  The CMCC opposes lawsuits against individuals, DRM or "locks" on songs and wants more government support for Canadian artists.  Outspoken RIAA critic Teri McBride’s Nettwerk management roster is heavily represented with Bare Naked Ladies, Sum 41, Avril Lavigne among the founding members.

– The Electronic Frontier Foundation has gathered 85,000 signatures on an anti-RIAA petition towards it’s 100,000 signature goal.  (Digital Music Weblog) Read the petition after the jump.

– Recording studios are having to adapt to shrinking label budgets and home recording. (Boston Globe)

– First ringtones, then ringbacks and now text tones?  Major labels are said to be eying selling short 4 second song snippets that play when a text message arrives.  The text tones could be customizable to fit the sender’s identity. (Digital Music News)

THE EFF PETITION:

To The United States Congress:

We are the customers and former customers of the member labels of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). We love music and will gladly pay a fair price for it, but we are outraged by the RIAA’s tactics in suing ordinary Americans for filesharing.

We condemn the RIAA’s choice to force the family of a 12 year-old girl to forfeit $2,000 – money that could have gone to feed, clothe and educate this honor student. We stand with the retirees, parents, children and others who have been caught in the RIAA’s line of fire.

We respect reasonable copyright law, but we strongly oppose copyright enforcement that comes at the expense of privacy, due process and fair application of the law.

We urge you, as our representatives in Congress, to stop this madness.

We oppose the recording industry’s decision to attack the public, bankrupt its customers and offer false amnesty to those who would impugn themselves. We call instead for a real amnesty: the development of a legal alternative that preserves file-sharing technology while ensuring that artists are fairly compensated.

In signing this petition, we formally request that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), as representatives of the public interest, be included in any upcoming hearings regarding the proper scope of copyright enforcement in the digital age.

We sincerely thank you for your time.