 |
 |
I don't get it. Exactly what was his copyright infringement? Selling his revamped versions of other people's old hits on his site? Best, John On Fri, May 1, 2015 at 9:39 AM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Al Kooper, who wore many hats in the rock and blues worlds over the years, > had an online "column" called New Music for Old People, hosted by the > Morton Report, which seems to be a lifestyle blog for the wealthy. > > Kooper often spotlighted younger bands and highlighted many genres and > musicians. He claimed, in announcing his shutdown (see below), that neither > he nor the Morton Report profited from anything posted, and in fact his > column led to sales of physical copies and downloads. > > Shutting down expertly "curated" blogs that draw attention to a wide > variety of music and musicians is very short-sighted. I assume Kooper just > got caught up in the general war on Grooveshark, but why would YouTube shut > him down too, when it is teeming with unauthorized uploads of needle-drops > and even full high-rez CD rips? > > Kooper's farewell message e-mailed today: > > Friday, May 1, 2015 > > Howdy, music lovers! > > It is with a heavy heart that I have been forced to close down my column > today as a result of alleged copyright infringement. The irony is striking > as I have never profited from this column, never received a salary, and my > sole intention was to inform others about music I believe that they would > enjoy listening to and then purchase from the proper channels. I think that > has ALWAYS been a major interest of mine. Those who know me well have been > subjected to non-stop musical marathons in my Mancave; in seats next to me > on trains and airplanes, in cars on long trips, or just in emails directing > friends to music I thought was appropriate for each individual. > > When we started the column, we used Grooveshark because of their way of > delivering a proper menu for each column, the fact that I was able to edit > and remaster tracks to make them sound as strong as possible, and that they > were being streamed - the intention being that those who enjoyed a > selection might proceed to download their selections from proper channels > and purchase them. I was hired initially by The Morton Report and paid a > month in advance, and then never again. I decided to stay with it anyway > as I thought it was a good thing to do for others and I enjoyed it more > than the paltry salary they originally offered. Suddenly it's four years > later and Grooveshark (who also were accused of copyright infringement) > finally shut down under duress yesterday without any prior warning to us. > My partner in this column these last four years, Lisa McKay, designed the > column, selected the photos, and made it appear on deadline every week, > perfectly edited. She also worked gratis for the same reasons I did and I > could never have pulled this off for so long without her inestimable > assistance. By total coincidence, we had decided to switch from the ailing > Grooveshark to YouTube today, making it the first time we would be > available for listening on smartphones, iPads and other such methods as > opposed to only computers as sanctioned by Grooveshark. > > No such luck. Last night YouTube shut us down immediately for copyright > infringement. The only people in business who understood us were the promo > and press people behind the scenes. They totally "got" what we were doing > because it assisted them in doing their jobs. There was one problem with > me, though. I would only use material from iTunes or Amazon that I selected > and purchased each week based on my personal taste. In all four years, I > never included a track I didn't like, especially as a favor for anyone. > Nor did I include anything I despised in order to slam it. No way. > > So here we are. I was at a crossroads anyway. As I have mentioned before, > I am trying to put out a 4CD box set crammed with everything UNRELEASED > from my entire 57-year career. It seems I have concluded my recording > career with my last two CDs, Black Coffe and White Chocolate, which IMHO > were the best ones I ever recorded. I started work on a third one, but > found halfway through that it wasn't as good as the two previous ones and > pulled the plug. The only way I can deliver this monster project is with > your assistance. At the moment I am talking to several sellers and have > realized that this must be funded by fans. In return I can send autographed > paraphernalia and other goodies lying around the house to commensurate > those who contribute. This is a very costly project > for many reasons but I feel it is a capper to my long, crazy journey and I > want it to be impeccable. So once the trail is properly planned I will > start a Facebook page for the first time to keep everyone informed on a > daily basis. That should be in the next month or so. > > Finally, I want to thank all of you who listened every week and you know I > would keep going if they would only let me...but that's another whole story. > So watch for the Facebook page and please help me to get this box set out > before I leave this poor dying planet. > > All my best as always, > > > @l k%per > > New Music for Old People