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Musicians Trumpet Napster Ruling
A federal court ruling preventing Napster users from swapping copyrighted music on the Internet is getting a standing ovation from the American Federation of Musicians.
“This is a victory not only for the artists but for the supporting musicians as well,” AFM President Steve Young said. “Napster and other similar software let the public thoughtlessly become thieves. It would be just as easy to open all the doors of record stores and let people walk off with whatever they wanted without paying.”
The Napster case, which went to the heart of the debate about intellectual property rights in the Internet age, had been pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for three months.
Music fans who’d registered with Napster may be upset about the ruling, but Young said they need to consider the musicians’ point of view.
“People favoring and using this software should think how they would feel if people took things they had created without asking or compensating them,” he said. “Artists work hard. There’s a lot more that goes into creating recordings and making a living as an artist and musician than most people understand.”
The Boxer Rebellion
If you’ve ever had days when you felt beaten up at work — and who hasn’t — imagine the life of boxers.
They’re literally taking a beating, or fending one off, every time they go to work. They may or may not have insurance, certainly don’t have a pension and get passed around from promoter to promoter, never sure what they’re going to get paid.
But boxers have figured out how to change that: unionize.
“The story has been told a hundred times before of boxers being exploited and taken advantage of,” Irving Abramson, head of the Boxers’ Organizing Committee, said in a letter to unions. “Now, in the spirit of democracy, boxers are ready to experience the dignity of helping themselves through unionization.”
The organizing committee is gaining support for its movement from the AFL-CIO and member unions, as well as boxing associations. Ultimately, organizers want to announce the formation of a union and a boxers’ pension fund at a world championship fight.
“It will be a powerful, symbolic event to galvanize boxers and public support,” Abramson said.
A federal court ruling preventing Napster users from swapping copyrighted music on the Internet is getting a standing ovation from the American Federation of Musicians.
“This is a victory not only for the artists but for the supporting musicians as well,” AFM President Steve Young said. “Napster and other similar software let the public thoughtlessly become thieves. It would be just as easy to open all the doors of record stores and let people walk off with whatever they wanted without paying.”
The Napster case, which went to the heart of the debate about intellectual property rights in the Internet age, had been pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for three months.
Music fans who’d registered with Napster may be upset about the ruling, but Young said they need to consider the musicians’ point of view.
“People favoring and using this software should think how they would feel if people took things they had created without asking or compensating them,” he said. “Artists work hard. There’s a lot more that goes into creating recordings and making a living as an artist and musician than most people understand.”
The Boxer Rebellion
If you’ve ever had days when you felt beaten up at work — and who hasn’t — imagine the life of boxers.
They’re literally taking a beating, or fending one off, every time they go to work. They may or may not have insurance, certainly don’t have a pension and get passed around from promoter to promoter, never sure what they’re going to get paid.
But boxers have figured out how to change that: unionize.
“The story has been told a hundred times before of boxers being exploited and taken advantage of,” Irving Abramson, head of the Boxers’ Organizing Committee, said in a letter to unions. “Now, in the spirit of democracy, boxers are ready to experience the dignity of helping themselves through unionization.”
The organizing committee is gaining support for its movement from the AFL-CIO and member unions, as well as boxing associations. Ultimately, organizers want to announce the formation of a union and a boxers’ pension fund at a world championship fight.
“It will be a powerful, symbolic event to galvanize boxers and public support,” Abramson said.