BlueBeat.com

For some strange reason, the topic Jerry started about BlueBeat.com has been deleted. Now I am not sure what happened, but as the BlueBeat.com site was taken down I suspect that EMI and their lawyers are also after sites like Beatlelinks. They might have demanded the removal of the link to the site.

I wouldn't be surprised if you won't hear from Jerry till at least Sunday,
as he is spending time at some police station.

In the meantime,
here is more to the story.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/n...ou-thought.ars

Psycho-acoustic simulation, huh? That just sounds so Magic Alex.

Here's the latest on the story from BBC

Beatles tracks pulled off US site

Published: 2009/11/06 11:02:15 GMT



EMI Music has won an injunction against a US website which it said was selling Beatles songs without permission.

A Los Angeles judge issued the order against Bluebeat.com, banning it from streaming or selling tracks by the band and other EMI artists.

Bluebeat said it was selling only re-recorded versions of the songs, but the judge ruled it had not provided reliable evidence to back up the claim.

The Beatles are one of only a few major acts not to sell their songs online.

EMI filed the legal action against BlueBeat earlier this week after it became aware the company was offering unauthorised downloads of Beatles tracks, for 25 cents (15p) each.

It also noted many of the songs on the site had never been licensed for sale or replay online.

Copyright loophole

Bluebeat's owner, Hank Risan, has claimed he does not need to license the music as the service is selling re-recorded versions of the songs using a technology called "psycho-acoustic simulation".

He argues it enables him to sell music that sounds identical to recordings, making it exempt under a section of the Copyright Act which applies to recordings that "imitate or simulate those in the copyrighted sound recording".

Music by tribute bands are typically covered by this section of the law - for example, a Beatles tribute act would not be guilty of violating recording copyright, however they would still be required to pay publishing royalties on any songs they recorded.

A court date has been set for 20 November when arguments will be heard from both sides.

EMI - which owns Beatles recordings - has been in protracted negotiations with Apple Corps, the company set up by the band to look after their catalogue, to agree a deal to sell their songs online.

An EMI spokesperson told the BBC: "Discussions between EMI and Apple Corps continue. EMI would love to see The Beatles' music available in digital stores."
Story from BBC NEWS: Link to article

© BBC MMIX

To be continued...

Two years later... But I did say it was to be continued.


Website pays nearly $1m for piracy of Beatles hits

29 March 2011 Last updated at 02:57 GMT



A website that illegally sold Beatles songs online for 25 cents each has agreed to pay record companies almost $1m (£625,000) to settle a legal case

BlueBeat.com, based in the US, streamed and sold music by The Beatles, Coldplay and others until it was sued in 2009. In the few days before it was forced to shut down, it had distributed more than 67,000 Beatles tracks.

Judge Josephine Tucker ruled that the site had violated the music labels' copyright and was unfair competition. BlueBeat had denied wrongdoing, claiming that owner Hank Risan's pioneering technique of so-called "psycho-acoustic simulation" allowed him to produce unique versions of copyrighted music.

The judge rejected that argument on the grounds that Mr Risan's versions were based on tracks he had purchased on CD. She labelled the justification as "obscure and undefined pseudo-scientific language [that] appears to be a long-winded way of describing 'sampling'."

'Still active'

BlueBeat's attorney, Archie Robinson, said the settlement was a fraction of what music companies EMI Group PLC, Capitol Records and Virgin Records America had sought.

"I felt that was sort of an acknowledgement on their part that they don't have the damages they claimed," he said. He said the California-based BlueBeat site was still active. "So long as we pay royalties, we can stream their music all day and all night without a problem," he said.

Music by The Beatles has been available on iTunes since November 2010, but for years music label Apple Corps was involved in a bitter trademark dispute with Apple the computer company. The dispute was finally settled in 2007.

Article link