Last Week In News?

We just realized that we didn't give you our customary news roundup last week. So we're making up for it with a Monday post of all the happenings in the music-tech-policy universe.

Music Is Here To Stay, But Change Is Needed, Insiders Say
Presenters at a ABA Section of Science & Technology Law session digitally recorded, remixed, replayed and then uploaded their version of the Rolling Stones' "Last Time" before a rapt audience of music aficionados, recording industry executives and lawyers. But the impromptu recording session was more then just a stunt. It showcased many of the pressing legal and business issues that the music industry is facing today as technology and copyright law intersect.
Jill Schachner Chanen, ABA Journal

Online Music Sales Muddle Royalties
The current system for getting royalty payments to musicians in the United States is seriously hampering the introduction of new, innovative music distribution models, and that problem is not going to get any better in the era of the digital download, leading music experts say.
Chloe Albanesius, PCmag

Warner Threatens To Pull Music from Guitar Hero, Rock Band
To hear Warner Music Group tell it, the creation of new markets for music tends to involve the major labels getting ripped off by outsiders. The latest example of this, according to WMG's CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr., is the videogame industry, which he says is unfairly building a business on top of the recorded music industy.
Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired Listening Post

RIAA Damages Too High in Innocent Infringement Case
A judge has ruled that a teenage girl who admitted to downloading music over Kazaa will only have to pay damages of $200 per song, instead of the $750-30,000 normally allowed under the Copyright Act (and the $750 per song sought by the RIAA). The reason for the cap comes from Whitney Harper's "innocent infringement" defense, in which she argues that she did not knowingly infringe the record labels' copyright.
Eric Bangeman, ArsTechnica

ArtistData Eases Social Net Overload
Today there are more networking sites available than anyone cares to count which makes keeping them up to date tedious. Virb, Indie 911, Last.fm, and countless others are cropping up faster than lines at the Apple Store. This is where ArtistData claims its niche. Essentially, ArtistData is a one-stop means of updating all of an artist's pages by inputting tour dates to their AD account which automatically updates Myspace, Last.fm and any other site that AD can sync with. ArtistData is increasing this list of companies will sync tour dates with Buzznet, Amie St., Beta Records, and others in the near future.
Hypebot