Wierd

[andrewducker]

There's recently been a little fanfare about PlayLouder, an ISP which allows you to legally share music, then sees how much music is shared and pays some of your monthly subscription to the rights owners.

It seems to work by redirecting P2P stuff so that it only works internally, and then scanning the packets to learn what you're sharing.

So far as I can make out, the functionality is the same as a regular ADSL connection + Napster's subscription model.  Except that they aren't actually making the music available themselves, just allowing you to share your own, which means you'll be really stuck to actually find anything even slightly obscure.  They haven't made it clear whether there's any DRM on the music either, which would just make it a lose, lose situation all round.

I can't see any positive side to this _at all_.  Anyone care to illuminate me?

Comments

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

I believe* it also allows you to legally DL those labels' tracks from anywhere, thus soothing your conscience.

* drplokta said, when he was telling me about it.

[andrewducker]

They've already said that they will redirect all P2P stuff to point internally to their network. Which means you're stuck downloading P2P from other people also subscribed to them.

From their webpage:
PLMSP employs specially configured routers and firewall technology using 'deep packet searches' to identify and re-route all file sharing traffic. This process ensures that file sharing can occur only between subscribers within the PLMSP "walled garden".

Also:
Only an ISP is licensable in this way because only an ISP can control the network itself to prevent P2P traffic from escaping into the internet and only the ISP can monitor the network to ensure that all P2P downloads are accounted for, even those going direct from one user to another

If they wanted to allow legal downloading, then a central website with a subscription would seem better for the users...

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

Ah, fair enough. I don't know, then.

[drplokta]

The article on BoingBoing, which resulted from direct conversations with PlayLouder's senior people, is explicit that PlayLouder customers can download music from anywhere, not just their own network, and thay can share music as they do at present. The only intervention that PlayLouder make is to filter Sony tracks out so that those tracks, and only those tracks, can't leave the PlayLouder network. PlayLouder's own website is less clear on these issues. But assuming BoingBoing has got it right, then the situation is as I stated.

[andrewducker]

Well that makes a _lot_ more sense.

_If_ the BoingBoing article is correct and the website isn't, it sounds like a fantastic idea (and the best way of sorting the music sharing 'problem').

I am, however, going to wait and see whether the actual service works that well. I'm a tad nervous about how well it's going to work until a fair number of people are signed up, but we'll see. If they could get Telewest signed up, I'd be rather happy...

[drplokta]

You can absolutely not (in the UK; don't know for sure about other jurisdictions) legally share music with people you know, except by lending them a CD of which you have not taken any copy for your own use, or by playing it to them from your own legal copy in private residential premises (but not in a public venue, unless that venue has a suitable copyright license).

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

v g gold star

[drplokta]

But according to the link you provide, it is illegal in the US to make a mix CD for a friend, except if you take special measures to ensure that you're covered by a collective license. Look at Tip 2 in the article.

Fair use generally covers certain copies made for your own use, not for other people.

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, in the US it IS illegal to make copies--of individual songs or whole albums--for anyone else. Not that that stops people from doing it!

My reading of US copyright law ...

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

... is that it is illegal to make copies for friends.

You are allowed to make copies *for yourself* including mix tapes for purposes such as listening in the car etc. but you are not allowed to make copies/MP3s etc. to give to other people.

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Unless you're in La belle France where the latest P2P decision has actually said that the continental right to copy non commercially covers making copies for a number of friends (tho no one knows how many..)
But that definitely isn't the law in UK or US.

[drplokta]

The positive side is that you can legally download music from Sony (and a few independent labels), which might assuage your conscience and also makes you less likely to be sued. It's nothing like Napster, where you download music from their servers in their DRMed format and you only have access to it while you're subscribing. The functionality is exactly what you do now, whatever that may be -- this just makes it legal. They're not providing music.

The only real downside is that you pay a bit more for your Internet connection -- as far as I can tell, you can download the music from wherever you can find it in whatever format you want, so there's no question of DRM being inflicted upon you. They will be taking some measures to stop Sony music that is shared by their subscribers from leaking outside their own network, but that shouldn't inconvenience you particularly.

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

I can see why Boing Boing is excited, this is just what Cory has been advocating, legally selling non DRM music as a value added thing - you *are* paying, you';re just paying the ISP as an agent who will then pay some kind of collective license to Sony. It's a step in the right direction; if all the labels agreed you'd have the non DRM napster-sub but play anywhere legal model, which is the consensus most people want. (Course theres still no way to stop people illegally sharing the non DRM stuff they already have.._ I'd like to see those license conditions)

[opusfluke.livejournal.com]

Obscure? Obscure? If you want legal obscurity wander the web, google a band name to get their record company and download the free MP3s.It's kind of fun.