Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 11:16:36 +0100
From: "Simon Gardner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: MD: V2 Music Boycott (?)
> Hi Mike,
>
> Given V2Music's answer (from "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED], presumably
official),
> I do not wish to further a boycott at this time. Do let me know if
> you find they are releasing additional CDs with copy protection
> however.
>
> As a wise person once said to me "Never ascribe to malice what can
> suitably be explained by stupidity". I think V2Music's mastering house
> just screwed up the SCMS bits on a few CDs. Really.
>>I'd tentatively agree, but from the orignal response from V2 ("Copying to
MD
>>is piracy", etc), it's one of those things that must be monitored
carefully.
>>Clearly not all people at the record companies are sufficently
well-informed
>>to comply with their own company's policy.
>>Simon
I agree wholeheartedly. My original terms were they replace all "defective"
(under their own policies) CD's and post straight to both the mdlist and
newsgroup their policy. This mainly stems from the fact that they have
retracted a supposed policy in the past (all home recording is illegal) that
was posted privately. Those terms above at the time were the sole terms to
end the boycott. Sounds reasonable doesn't it? If V2 actually has such a
policy I still ask the question why must they only state their policy
through third parties that must then post them?
I will not question Eric Woudenberg of the MD community page and have no
reason to though I don't personally know him. What I do question is why V2
will still not make a direct public statement to the list or newsgroup.
E-mail passed through a third party may be faked. (very easily with a word
processor). Now don't get me wrong I am not accusing Eric Woudenberg of
faking anything. I have no reason to believe he has and have no suspicions
that he has. What I worry about is that with only private e-mails of their
policy they may simply say once again we were mistaken or maybe even "We
didn't write that." Now if they do say this in the future what would you
rather say. "Come on guys, On 9-1-99 you made a public statement to the
mdgroup and the mdlist that your official policy was to master all CD's to
allow a first generation digital recording" or would you have to stoop to
"Well, Eric Woudenberg says you did". It's obvious which one caries weight
and which one is hearsay that would not stand up in any court in the land.
I am here to protect the home recording rights of all of us and many of you
have played a valuable part in this. If I wasn't I would have just took the
CD offer and ran. If V2 has such an official policy what have they got to
hide. Why won't they make it public? Is it even their policy if they have to
whisper it behind the closed doors of private e-mail? This shows a real
contempt for the MD community. Their self-serving private e-mails (to get
boycotters to buy their CD's) carries no weight with me. If they actually
have such a policy lets see it in the open light of a direct post to the
MDnewsgroup and MDlist. Heck, If it is their own policy and they actually
support home recording rights they should put it up on their own website. It
would only gain them business and put many of us at rest. The V2 machine is
in full roll here and our recording rights are at stake. Remember the
company that won't make their policy public and still hasn't under any sort
of e-mail address attributable to V2 is the same company that stated
this.....
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 1999 8:46 AM
Subject: Chocolate Genius
Hello.
Please accept my apologies for not returning your e-mails in the recent
past.
To be honest, I was under the impression that the answer to your question
may be
quite obvious.
It is still illegal to record or download information, in particular
music, from
a pre-recorded source. It is piracy and that is why we as a record company
take
great pains to ensure that it does not happen. Of course, people DO record
music
onto blank minidiscs or CDRs but it is illegal. That is why your Chocolate
Genius cd has had a block put on it.
If you still have further questions pertaining to this release and in
particular, the methods we emply to stop recording you should contact
Sharon
Lord in V2 America as it is V2 US who are the repertoire owners and put
the
album into production.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Let's not let the V2 machines scorn and contempt slowly erode our ability to
digitally record CD's we legally bought. They are treating us like a fringe
group of little importance. If you care write the bands below and ask them
why V2 will not make a public statement concerning their own policies on the
MDgroup and MDlist or better yet their own official webpage (Lets see them
try to retract that one!)
The bands to write are ....
UNDERWORLD
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
STEREOPHONICS
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
BLESSID UNION OF SOULS
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
..and I must say that there are no reported digital blocks on the CD's by
these bands but endless boycott letters have been met with nothing but
contempt by the V2 machine. Lets put pressure on the bands to set V2
straight.
Mark
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