A Letter from the RIAA

Fellow Musiced.net blogger Evan Tobias forwarded the following email to me. Evan is a doctoral student at Northwestern University. I thought that you might be interested to see how the university is dealing with the recent onslaught of poison pen letters being sent to university students across America. Thanks Evan for sending me the email.

An important message to all Northwestern University students:

The Recording Industry Association of America (the “RIAA”) continues its efforts to curtail unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing of music over the Internet. Earlier this year, approximately 16 Northwestern students were contacted by the RIAA and requested to resolve claims of copyright violations through out-of-court settlements. According to the RIAA, the vast majority agreed to settle. Based on information received from those individuals who agreed to settle, the average settlement amount has been approximately $3,000.

Using its own process of monitoring peer-to-peer traffic, the RIAA identified IP addresses for members of the Northwestern University student body alleged to have violated copyright laws. The RIAA then notifies the University that it intends to issue pre-litigation settlement letters for these students, outlining the details of the settlement process and threatening to initiate legal proceedings against these students, should they elect not to participate in the settlement process. Upon receiving such settlement letters, the University promptly takes steps to identify and notify the students at issue. The University does not share information about the identities of individuals with the RIAA unless required to do so by law (e.g., in response to a lawful subpoena).

Northwestern University does not condone unlawful downloading and unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing of copyright-protected works. Individuals who engage in these practices are in violation of University policy (see “Rights and Responsibilities for the Use of Central Network and Computing Resources at Northwestern University”, at http://www.it.northwestern.edu/policies/responsibilities.html) and may be subject to University disciplinary action as well as civil and criminal penalties.

Northwestern requires the members of its community to respect the intellectual property of others and abide by all applicable laws. If you have engaged in file-sharing activity (e.g., downloading of movies, music, TV shows or software) in violation of copyright laws, you should immediately cease any such illegal file-sharing activity and the use or distribution of any illegally obtained material. (Unless you are the target of an enforcement action and subject to related evidence preservation requirements, you may also wish to remove such materials and the program you used to obtain them from your computer.) Lawful downloading of music is possible through Apple iTunes, MSN music, Rhapsody, Ruckus, and other web-based providers. Further information concerning these services may be found at the following sites, among others:

http://mp3.about.com/od/wheretobuymusic/a/all_profile.htm and

http://mp3.about.com/od/freemusicdownloads/tp/freeandlegalmp3.htm.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

The Choral Public Domain Library website, CPDL, is one of my favorite sources of free public domain sheet music and MIDI files. The site, started in 1998, hosts an incredible library of over 8,000 scores from over 1,200 different composers. You can browse the collection by composer, musical era, voicing, and style. My personal favorite section of the site is the Bach Composer page. Aside from that fact that Bach is my favorite composer (I’m a bit biased), all 185 Bach chorales are posted as a set of 4 PDF files that you can download. Once on your computer, you can use the new PhotoScore Lite that comes with Sibelius 5.0 to open the PDFs as notation files. Many of the files are also available as MIDI files and even Finale files which can easily be opened in any notation software program. Can’t find the score you are looking for on CPDL? No problem. Just join the site (it’s free to join) and request the score you’d like. With over 300 active contributors, you will likely get a version completed for you within a few days.

I strongly recommend this site for any choral director or instrumental director who is looking to arrange a choral work for an instrumental ensemble.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Looking for an affordable USB Keyboard Controller? Look no further. The K-61 from Korg is my personal favorite. Here’s why:

• 61 full-sized keys
• Great controls! - Pitch bend, Mod Wheel, two assignable knobs, two assignable switches, a slider and the very cool ClickPoint which acts as a X/Y joystick
• USB powered - no AC adapter required
• Korg M1Le Sounds included. This easy-to-use VST gives you all those classic M1 sounds you love.
• Great demo software bundle included with Reason 3.0, Ableton Live 5, and the Korg Legacy Collection.
• The price - only $179 from SoundTree

I’ve had using the Korg MicroKontrol for many years now, but recently switched because I needed the full-sized keys of the K series. If you’ve got a little more money to spend consider the K-61P that also doubles as a stand-alone keyboard with built in sounds and audio outs. The K series also comes in a 25 and 49 key version if space is at a premium on your desk.

While there are many brands of USB keyboards out on the market, I’ve stuck with Korg because of its’ quality, durability, and dependability. In the 20 years that I’ve been a Korg keyboard owner (M1, M3R, X5, X5D, MicroKontrol), I’ve never had a problem. That means a lot to me.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

In the seemingly endless parade of entries into the digital music downloading ring, Amazon.com launched their new MP3 Download Store today. With over 2 million DRM-free songs available at 99 cents each, Amazon is following in the footsteps of many other established retailers, including WalMart and BestBuy. The online store is pretty well organized and the songs are compatible with both iTunes and Windows Media Player.

Personally, I think that unless a service comes along that either drastically cuts prices or upgrades the quality of the files, all of these services will still be living in the shadow of iTunes. What makes the iTunes store so amazing is its very existence. Apple had the foresight four years ago to be the first launch a legal music downloading source when P2P sites were wildly popular (and free). Now with “billions and billions served” I don’t think that competition will have any significant impact on their business. I would like to see sites offer better music for less, but until then buy your CDs from Amazon.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

One Month Away! Mark Your Calendars! Register Today!

The 2nd Annual TI:ME New Jersey Technology In-Service Conference, sponsored by SoundTree and Sibelius, will take place on Thursday, October 25th 2007 from 8:30am to 3:30pm at the Franklin Avenue Middle School in Franklin Lakes, NJ. Our Keynote Speaker this year will be Dr. Sandi MacLeod, Co-Founder of the Vermont MIDI Project.

A preliminary schedule of the conference is posted on the TI:ME NJ website. Please download the poster announcing the conference and pass it on to anyone who you think would benefit from attending. I look forward to seeing you there!

To register for the conference, please visit the TI:ME NJ Events Page. Be sure to register by Friday, October 19th 2007.

My 7th Grade General Music students at the Franklin Avenue Middle School (as well as the students of my colleague Elizabeth Lavery) will complete their World Music Wikispaces today. The project requirements have the students to select a culture from their family background and then create a website that showcases the music and culture. The students have been working on their wikispaces for the past week, and this is the first time we’re trying this project. I’d love for you to visit their sites (links to the sites are at the bottom of the project requirements page) and give the students some feedback. Better yet, have your students check out the sites and perhaps create their own.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

The Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME) is looking for 10 middle school Math and 10 middle school Language Arts teachers to participate in the Connect With Music Project. Funded last year by NAMM, Connect With Music is a website that contains 30 interdisciplinary lesson plans that use music, multimedia, and technology as a way to teach Language Arts, Math, and Science. The project was funded again this year to bring 20 Math and Language Arts teachers in for professional development workshops that train the teachers how to use the website effectively and to have them create their own lesson plan that will be added to the website.

The Language Arts training will take place in Haverford, PA and will delivered by Jason Finn and Tom Rudolph, the authors of the Language Arts lessons. Dates for the training (Oct. 27, Nov. 3, Nov. 10, Dec. 8th) are all on Saturday mornings from 9am - 1pm. Upon successful completion of the training and the submission of a lesson plan and student work, all teachers will receive a $250 honorarium and Act 48 credit. For more information, please visit the Language Arts Call for Participants Page.

The Mathematics training will take place in Franklin Lakes, NJ and will be delivered by Katy O’Malley and myself, the authors of the Math lessons. Dates for the training (Oct. 13, Oct. 20, Oct. 27, Nov. 3) are also all on Saturday mornings from 9am - 1pm. Upon successful completion of the training and the submission of a lesson plan and student work, all teachers will receive a $250 honorarium and 16 hours of NJ Professional Development Hours. For more information, please visit the Mathematics Call for Participants Page.

Please pass this information on to a middle school Language Arts or Math teacher that you think would be available for this project and who would enjoy using technology and music to help teach their subject. We have a few openings left and we need to fill them soon! I appreciate your help with this.

I wlecome any questions about the project. Please feel free to email me at jtfrankel@hotmail.com.

Apple sent me an email the other day (along with all of the other Logic Pro and Logic Express owners) with an incredible deal - upgrade to the new Logic Studio for $199 (Logic 6/7/Pro users) or $299 (Logic Express users).  This is one of the best upgrade deals that I’ve ever seen.  Here’s what you get:

• Logic Pro 8 - great new features!
• MainStage - a live computer-based effects and software instruments rig
• Soundtrack Pro 2 - powerful audio post production software
• Studio Instruments - build your own VSTs from the ground up
• Studio Effects - one of the best effects processors on the market
• Studio Sound Library - 18,000 royalty free loops - ALL of the JamPacks!

My only problem is that I don’t have nearly enough memory on my MacBook Pro to install everything I’d like to.  It’s 7GB just for the applications, and over 75GB for the optional content.  Logic Studio is the perfect opportunity for Logic Express owners to step up to the Pro level and an extremely affordable price.  Discounts are available if you plan on purchasing multiple copies of it for your lab - as little as $129 per station!  I strongly recommend checking out the many Logic Studio Tours to see it in action.  If you’ve already purchased it, I’d love to hear what you think!

I welcome your comments and suggetions.

While reading through one of my favorite technology blogs - TechDirt - I read about something that will change the way we do things, and Google is at the center of it. Introducing Google Docs.

Google Docs is a FREE service that offers an incredible way of creating documents. Users can sign up for a free account which allows you to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations and post them to your Google Docs site where you can invite others to view and/or edit those documents. This wiki-style of document management is a truly exciting way of creating content. Instead of saving versions of documents and posting them, the document is live online. Archived copies are saved but you are always looking at the most current version when you open any document.

What is perhaps most exciting is that the software is not only free, you don’t have to download anything - it all lives server-side. When you create a new document your browser screen looks just like your favorite word processor. When your finished you can save the document, publish it to your Google Docs site, export it in a wide variety of formats (including .doc) and print it. The presentation documents are just as slick - they’ll remind you of your favorite software.

In the classroom there are many ways to utilize Google Docs. First, in any group project, students can work on a document together and there is no longer any issue of whether the student has Microsoft Word or not. Second, teachers can post any documents to their Google Docs site so that students and parents can view or print them. Curriculum writing can benefit greatly from Google Docs. Everyone works together on one document that is updated live for all to see. Your Google Docs site can be linked to from your class homepage as the central location for students to turn in their homework. The list goes on…

I would strongly suggest visiting the Google Docs site and taking the video tour. Hats off to Google! You’ve done it again.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

After years of hype, Spiral Frog makes its’ debut today beginning a whole new chapter in the digital music revolution - or at least that’s what Spiral Frog execs would like you to think. The new iTunes contender has a whole new way of doing business. In an effort to harness the millions of P2P music pirates, Spiral Frog is a service that offers FREE downloadable music (the current catalog has over 770,000 tunes available). The music is supported completely by advertising. In a review by Eliot Van Buskirk over at Wired.com, Van Buskirk takes you on a tour of the features of Spiral Frog as well as its shortcomings. They include:

• Sorry Mac users - you can’t play
• Easy registration - free downloads
• Attention Firefox Users - WMP Plugin in required - no other browsers while your listening please
• Handy Download Manager Tool
• Hope you like the Universal Catalog - there’s not a whole lot else
• Limited selection will hold it back - iTunes offers more than 6 million tracks

So all of you PC people, check out Spiral Frog while you can. I hope that it sticks around for a long time and that Mac users can partake in the taking. I think that the idea of ad-supported downloading is very interesting, and just might be a solution to the rampant illegal downloading that occurs everyday. I look forward to a Mac version soon. Until then, I’ll keep using iTunes, and I’ll wait to hear reactions from my PC friends.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.