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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
The House of Representatives has combined the largely good Music Modernization Act with the CLASSICS Act, which would add new royalties and penalties to recordings made before 1972, without giving anything back to the public. That same mistake was replicated in the Senate with S. 2823.
The CLASSICS Act would extend federal copyright restrictions and penalties to sound recordings made between 1923 and 1972, making it so that songs recorded in that era would, for the first time, not be able to be streamed online without a license. Currently, various state laws govern this relationship, and those laws don't give record labels control over streaming.
The CLASSICS Act gives nothing back to the public. It doesn't increase access to pre-1972 recordings, which are already played regularly on Internet radio. And it doesn't let the public use these recordings without permission any sooner. While some recording artists and their heirs will receive money under the act, the main beneficiaries will be recording companies, who will control the use of classic recordings for another fifty years. Important recordings from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s won't enter the public domain until 2067. And users of recordings that are already over 90 years old will face the risk of federal copyright's massive, unpredictable penalties.
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(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Saturday August 04 2018, @08:53PM
Both the major parties are 2-faced when it comes to corruption:
- "Mainstream" Republicans like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan are indeed for sale to the highest bidder, and are all about pursuing their self-interest to maximize their donations and fat lobbyist paychecks once they leave office. Trump is partially about this as well, e.g. his constant vacationing at his own resorts which just happens to siphon large sums from the public treasury to Trump's businesses.
- The religious right, most heavily represented by Mike Pence, have values. Those values are summed up as follows: "Christianity should be established as the official religion of the United States, and the religious laws of the Bible (as interpreted by our preachers) should be the law of the land. Financial success is a sign of God's favor and moral uprightness, so rich people should be praised and emulated." They tolerate Trump's horrendous personal behavior because they believe he might actually establish Christianity in this way. They generally believe that the Constitution either allows them to do this, or don't care because their religious beliefs are more important than any secular structures. So far at least, the Republicans, dominated by the "mainstream" types, have not been giving these people what they want, though, just occasionally throwing them a symbolic bone or two to keep them from revolting against the Republicans any more than they already occasionally do.
- "Mainstream" Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are indeed for sale to the highest bidder, and are all about pursuing their self-interest to maximize their donations and fat lobbyist paychecks once they leave office. Hillary Clinton was partially about this as well, e.g. her high-powered speeches to Goldman Sachs.
- The progressive left, most heavily represented by Bernie Sanders, has values. Those values are summed up as follows: "All people should have the basics of what they need to survive, and the opportunities they need to get more than that. If we need to tax the rich like crazy to pay for that, so be it." They tolerated Bill Clinton's horrendous personal behavior in no small part because they believed he'd actually move the country towards that kind of environment. They generally believe that the Constitution allows them to do this. So far at least, the Democrats, dominated by the "mainstream" types, have not been giving these people what they want, though, just occasionally throwing them a symbolic bone or two to keep them from revolting against the Democrats any more than they already occasionally do.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.