[pyro-manic]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4508158.stm

Bastards.

[FireCrack]

Throwing people in jail? For a crime they didnt even know existed?

What is this? Salem?

[Kosh]

That is one thing I like about living here. While there are groups like the MPA, they cannot actually sue anybody or have them thrown in jail because the government won't let them.

[General Freak]

Throwing people in jail? For a crime they didnt even know existed?

What is this? Salem?

But you must already know that ignorance of a crime is not considered a proper defence.

[Fineus]

I have to say that this is the stupidest thing I've seen recently. I could wrap my head around the idea of not wanting people to freely distribute the actual music.. but the lyrics? Any monkey could get the lyrics to a song from listening to a radio. Radio is free. So why the hell is it illegal to write some words?

[Black Wolf]

****ers. Stupid ****ers as well.

The really irritating thing is that this will do absolutely nothing for them except cost them money. Why? Consider the logistics of banning tabs. There are literally thousands of sites offering tabs for people to read and learn. But the vast majority of them are for big bands, bands who might put out tab books. The few big sites whom they will pursue are the sites which contain tonnes of tabs from less well known bands. So the end result? Lawsuits and C+D campaigns resulting in the shut down of some of the big sites, getting rid of all the available tabs for the small bands who put out no tab books and made no money whatsoever for the MPA, and the increase in prominence of far too many minor sites to prosecute, sites which have tabs for a single band only, almost certainly bands big enough that they'd put out tab books and make money for the MPA. They're morons.

As an example. If I want tabs for Eskimo Joe's "A song is a City" I might jump onto the Bass Tab Archive and search for them. Eskimo Joe are a relatively small band, somewhat successful in Australia, especially here in WA, almost certainly haven't bothered to put a tab book out. On the other hand, if I wanted tabs for Tabs for the Lemon Song, by Led Zep, a popular, successful band which I know has put out tab books and probably makes a fair bit of moneyt for the MPA, I might go to Alex Reisner's Led Zeppellin Page and grab them from there. Bass Tab Archive will be shut down. Alex Reisner's Led Zep page wont. That's why they're morons.

[Flaser]

Enforcing these corporate friendly regulations (....or more excusis to productionaize life and sell out our life)  under the auspiece of protection of legal property will lead to the very same double standards we (Hungarians, and the rest of the Soviet block) had to live with during Communism.

[an0n]

Which is ironic, to say the least....

[NGTM-1R]

I think they might have realized, that since radio doesn't always tell you artist or song title, such contributed to illegal downloading by allowing people to identify what they wanted. (Although there's roughly three sites I know of that allow searching by lyrics.)

<,< >,>

But on the other hand, that's probably giving them too much credit.

[FireCrack]

Throwing people in jail? For a crime they didnt even know existed?

What is this? Salem?

But you must already know that ignorance of a crime is not considered a proper defence.

Prehaps i should fix my post

Throwing people in jail? For a crime invented after the fact?

What is this? Salem?

[kasperl]

As said somewhere else:

When will they ban singing along with a concert? The bands'll love that.... "Come on, sing a long." *singing* "Riot squad quashing 'copyright infringement'.

[aldo_14]

Busking is piracy.

[vyper]

Well, technically...

[an0n]

Generally only poor people and bohemian losers busk though - so telling them to stop is basically telling them they have to starve tonight.

[Fractux]

Geeze, to me this is just ludicrous.

Think of all of the people who go on line to get lyrics, notation, tabs etc. and then quickly learn a song instead of just listening to it again and again until you've got it memorized. Not everyone can do that easily, and think about the playtime these songs get in social groups when you've learn a song. You play it for other people and friends when you jam, or even if you're out somewhere and people hear it.

It's almost like free advertising, and you're not stealing a damn thing. Could the next step be stopping bands from playing covers?

If they try that, they'll have to take on semi-inibriated bar clientel on Friday nights, and they're asking for it! We feel no pain!

If they do do this, it's not going to make people any less resourceful in learning songs and playing them. As was mentioned before, what a waste of time.

[WMCoolmon]

As someone else pointed out, this is really only going to hurt those of us who use such sites to figure out what a song is that we heard on the radio.

Good job, RIAA/MPA. Now not only will I not particularly feel like buying CDs that I want, thanks to your ridiculous business practices, I won't be able to.

[Nuke]

this is dumb because you can usually pick up guitar tabs from your public library for free, take them to the photocopier and run off what you want, what are they gonna do put a guard by the copy machine. doesnt the music industry have enough money, why do they got to pick on poor people who cant afford to buy cds. its sick. i think that if they keep playing the legal card eventually someones gonna get pissed and declare the music industry a monopoly. i wouldnt support any politition that gets campaign contributions from the record companies if i were you.

[aldo_14]

Generally only poor people and bohemian losers busk though - so telling them to stop is basically telling them they have to starve tonight.

Better starve than cost the RIAA their 30 pieces of silver.