Courtesy of The New York Times:

The island, a rainy outpost in the Irish Sea, is promoting an offbeat remedy for digital piracy, which the music labels blame for billions of dollars in lost sales. Instead of fighting file-sharing, the local government wants to embrace it — and it is trying to enlist a skeptical music industry’s help.

Read the rest here.

The nominal fee for broadband users discussed in the article sounds definitely like a step in the right direction. Lets hope other nations adopt this model, assuming of course it generates the requisite revenue for the labels and artists.

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Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal:

After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy.

The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry, which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since 2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl.

Read the rest here.

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Courtesy of Hip Hop DX:

It was revealed today that Refugee Camp affiliate John Forte watched his sentence commuted, one of 16 people pardoned by President Bush. Forte and another inmate were given reduced sentences, whereas the other 14 were pardoned.

In 2000, Forte, an alum of the prestigious Phillips Exter Academy, was convicted sentenced to 14 years in prison for aiding and abetting the distribution of over five kilograms of cocaine. Per reports, he is set to be released December 22, to five years of probation.

Read the rest here. Thanks to Richard X for the tip.

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