TAKE THE NOISE

Corporate "weasels" force PE to remove Mp-3 tracks from site...

Public Enemy, who had been putting up tracks from their forthcoming remix album ‘Bring the Noise 2000’ in MP-3 format files on their web site, have been forced to remove them by their record company.

A statement from CHUCK D posted yesterday on the PE web site read:

BTN 2000 UPDATE

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“It seems like the weasels have stepped into the fire….

“Today Polygram/Universal or whatever the fuck they’re now called forced us to remove the Mp-3 version of Bring The Noise 2000.

“The execs, lawyers and accountants who lately have made most of the money in the music biz, are now running scared from the technology that evens out the creative field and makes artists harder to pimp.

“Let ’em all die… I’m glad to be a contributor to the bomb…

There was no comment from Universal in the UK as of Friday at 4.30 pm gmt.

The first mass-market MP-3 player (the first, the MP-man, is rare and hard to come by) the DIAMOND RIO (pictured) arrives in British shops next week, and will sell for around ‘175. Basically, it’s a discless walkman which downloads music files from PCs or from websites and can store up to an hour of high quality stereo sound.

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The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has already filed a complaint against Diamond on the grounds that it violates US law on home recording. Diamond have launched a counter-claim against the RIAA, alleging that they are conspiring to restrain trade. related related stories

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EMMA FANNING, legal adviser for the BPI (British Phonographic Industry – equivalent of the RIAA here) told nme.com: “We want consumers to get the most out of this new technology but at the same time we have got to protect the artists. We have come across illegal use of the internet, but hopefully that sort of thing will change.”

One source who works in a major label told nme.com: “The big labels are running scared because they don’t understand the implications of Mp-3. It’s like trying to sit on the lid of Pandora’s Box after it’s been opened.”

This story will be updated. Click back for statements from Public Enemy, the BPI and a further report on Mp-3, including a test-drive of the Rio next week.

Will this be the death knell of the music biz or are they getting their knickers in a twist for nothing? Post a message on Angst!

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