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MUSIC DOWNLOADING
Ms. Gilzenrat's article ["Do It Illegally,"
Apr. 16] is probably getting a great deal of
feedback, and for good reason. I don't know
where to begin, so I'll take a guess and start
with Nine Inch Nails.
They did a five-day promotion online where
the whole album streamed for free, leading up
to the release. You could listen to the songs
as many times as you want for free, for that
five days. When the album came out, you had
to pay for it. Just like R.E.M. did for their new
album on ilike.com. No more free music once
the album came out, though, because it was
streaming media,
which means it wasn't
downloaded into
a file that can be
replayed or shared.
They (NIN) dis
tribute through
Tunecore (I also
distribute through
Tunecore) to sell on
iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, etc., for digital
downloads. And through that service, you
make 100 percent of the commission from
iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, whichever online
vendors you choose to distribute through. No
labels involved. Artist (NIN) to distributor
(Tunecore) to vendor (iTunes, etc). The artist
pays a small flat fee for hosting and storage,
and keeps 100 percent of what the vendor
pays. iTunes, for example, pays $7 on a $9.99
album. Sell a thousand albums, make $7,000,
less your $30 setup fee to the distributor
(Tunecore). The industry is changing indeed,
and the major labels are in trouble, and there
really isn't anything they can do about it.
That's the only thing Ms. Gilzenrat is right
about.
This bohemian idea that we little people
should steal music in the form of "sharing"
as a way to get our tunes and stick it to the
man, killing two birds with one cool stone,
goes about as far, logically, as a 13-year-old
who realizes he can say "damn" in front of his
parents without getting spanked. Sharing files
of indie artists specifically helps to destroy
alternative music, not in spite of the music
industry, but because of the change in the
industry.
You are no longer ripping off rich people,
no more Robin Hood arguments. Right now,
millions of artists have already cut the big
labels out of the deal and are using direct
marketing techniques to distribute, using
modern (postmodern?) technology, like myself
and Trent Reznor. When you "share" our files
with a few hundred other people, you are liter
ally taking money from our pockets, not some
faceless corporate entity, or "the man." With
technology and the changing industry, Trent
Reznor is the man. I am the man. And you are
ripping us off.
Some artists want you to share their music
for free with as many people as possible.
Some don't. Respect the artists' right to dic
tate the use of their creation. It's not about
record companies anymore. Radiohead's last
album was an experiment, not a mandate. Ms.
Gilzenrat's article made some decent points
about the RIAA and big record labels, but
completely missed the point.
Especially disconcerting was her diminish-
ment of "intangible" products in terms of
value; reading these words from a writer made
my back hurt.
John Williams
Athens
SOCKFEET IN THE AIRPORT
Pete, I have had a very bad sore on my big
toe for a year. I have tried every over-the-
counter medication available to try to cure it
with no success. I even tried several alterna
tive medicines to cure my ailment, again with
no luck. Yesterday, I went to a dermatologist
for help. She diagnosed a very severe bacterial
infection and prescribed very powerful anti
biotics and cortisone cream to heal my toe. I
asked how I could have gotten such an awful
infection.
For years I have argued with airport secu
rity personnel about having to take my shoes
off and walk in stock
ing feet across the
floor where unknown
strangers from all
over the world walk.
TSA personnel wear
rubber gloves and
never take their
shoes off. I have
requested booties
from TSA and suggested several other ways I
could walk through without risk of smuggling
explosives aboard planes. Of course TSA has
no solution and treats everyone from octoge
narian females to very young travelers equally
bad. Before last year, I would walk through
with my shoes on, submit to an insulting body
search and have my shoes scanned separately
while I waited, sitting on a chair with my feet
held off the floor.
In September of 2006,1 think, TSA refused
to let anyone walk through and then be
frisked. Everyone now takes their shoes off
and walks across filthy floors covered with the
germs of thousands of worldwide travelers. I
believe this causes a terrible risk for spreading
contagious diseases.
The U.S. Surgeon General recommends that
everyone wash their hands after even a brief
excursion into public places to prevent the
spread of flu and other contagious diseases.
Imagine, with the advice from the Surgeon
General widely published, the TSA makes it
mandatory that everyone expose themselves
to deadly germs with no really practical way to
protect themselves.
Could the widespread flu epidemic this
year be caused by the TSA airport security
program? The flu has caused more deaths by
far than have been saved by any ill-conceived
TSA security program that requires millions of
people to expose themselves, unreasonably,
by walking through security line* in stocking
feet. I am convinced that my staph-like infec
tion was caused by the TSA forcing me to walk
through their security points in my stocking
feet.
When is the TSA going to relent and choose
other less dangerous ways to supposedly make
our air transportation system safe? I, for one,
do not believe it is worth the risk for the
infinitesimal probability of preventing a ter
rorist from boarding a plane with a bomb in
their shoes. It is time for the public and the
Congress of the USA to stop the TSA from this
very unsafe practice.
Bobby J. Summerville
Atlanta
AN EXCHANGE
Dear Senator Chambliss: I deeply appreci
ate the depth of the analysis required for your
staff to not only cut and paste their responses
as if unfamiliar with Microsoft Word, but to
respond with an identical collage of phrases
from the Turkish junta's lexicon as was sent to
me last year on Apr. 24, internationally known
as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (a
recognition you apparently oppose). Turkey
has spent millions of our defense dollars on
the annihilation of its ethnic minorities, both
within its borders and in Kurdish Iraq. They
helped ensure the futility of sanctions in
avoiding conflict in Iraq by openly flouting
them to purchase Iraqi oil at beneficial prices.
They have spent millions also on the care
and feeding of their lobbyists: unemployed
senators such as Stephen Solarz, whose New
York constituents decided he truly was the
"Congressman from Istanbul" as he proclaimed
so often before he was "fired," and disgraced
former Sen. Bob Livingston. Nevertheless, I
will share your thoughtful response on this
issue, which you will find below my insertion
of your previous email, with a wide range of
journalists and political activists in both par
ties, as well as other voters. I will be glad to
disseminate any subsequent thoughts on this
issue you may develop, so feel free to follow
up at your convenience.
Laura A. David
Athens
On 4/24/07, Saxby Chambliss saxby_cham :
bliss@chambliss.senate.gov wrote: Dear
Mrs. David: Thank you for contacting me to
share your concerns about H. Res. 106, the
"Affirmation of the United States Record
on the Armenian Genocide Resolution." I
appreciate knowing your thoughts on this
issue. The passage of H. Res. 106 would dam
age United States-Turkish relations and pos
sibly harm U.S. interests in the Middle East
and Central Asia. Such a resolution will not
advance the Turkish-Armenian dialogue and
it will not improve the process of Turkey's
examination of its own past. The United
States-Turkish relationship is both deep and
broad. Turkey is a strategic partner with the
United States in a number of significant areas,
including the War on Terror and the United
States' involvement in Iraq. Our friendship
with Turkey goes back a very long way and we
must continue to work together on issues of
importance. If you would like to receive timely
email alerts regarding the latest congressional
actions and my weekly e-newsletter, please
sign up via my web site at: www.chambliss.
senate.gov. Please let me know whenever I
may ever be of assistance to you.
On 4/24/08, Saxby Chambliss saxby_cham-
bliss@chambliss.senate.gov wrote: Dear Mrs.
David: Thank you for contacting me to share
your concerns about S. Res. 106.1 appreci
ate knowing your thoughts on this issue. The
passage of S. Res. 106 would damage United
States-Turkish relations and possibly harm
U.S. interests in the Middle East and Central
Asia. Such a resolution will not advance the
Turkish-Armenian dialogue and it will not
improve the process of Turkey's examination
of its own past. The United States-Turkish
relationship... [etc.]
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BUMPERSTICKER OF THE WEEK:
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Thanks, Ben. Send sightings to
ben@flagpole.com or call 706-549-9523.
4 FLAGP0LE.C0M • APRIL 30,2008 NEWS & FEATURES I CALENDAR I MOVIES I A&E I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS
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