DRM for 1'3" of Silence

jc42 writes "In the latest entry in the battle over Digital Rights Management, a fellow has blatantly ripped off a "tune" from the iTunes Store. "Tune" is 1 minute 3 seconds of silence. To compound his crime, he has posted the tune on his web site for anyone to download. I downloaded it to iTunes, and it played just fine (but now I suppose I'm a criminal, too). I wonder what John Cage and Mike Batt would have to say about this? Will lawyers for Apple or Ciccone Youth send a C&D letter? If I were to make my own MP3 silent tune of exactly the same length and put it online, would I be infringing their copyright?"

Well

[Realistic_Dragon]

At least that's one song who's lyrics won't offend the FCC.

Or do you think they mught just be committing quiet obscenities? Better ban it anyway just in case.

John Cage

[suso]

Actually, if it was John Cage, you would hear the performer turning the page.

Quality

[theantipop]

That song has still got to be better than most of the music on iTunes.

You're Under Arrest!

[serutan]

You have the right to remain silent.

Infringing on the copyright?

[Corporate Drone]

If I were to make my own MP3 silent tune of exactly the same length and put it online, would I be infringing their copyright?

Well... you could always claim that your MP3 was a collection of 5 seconds snippets of the "tune", and plead Fair Use...

I looked into the RIAA's stance on this.

[bobdotorg]

But only got the message,

"Nothing to hear here. Move along."

Speaking of which

[MostlyHarmless]

I wanted to find an mp3 of 4'33'' the other day. I searched all the filesharing networks... there wasn't one *anywhere*!

|_

[GillBates0]

Re:John Cage

[Anonymous Coward]

No, if it was John Cage he would shadow-kick your ass.

Down for the count

[endtwist]

Go figure, we silenced a clip of silence.

Re:You're Under Arrest!

[rookworm]

You have the right to remain silent.

But you must pay royalties to the copyright holder(s).

Re:Quality

[fembots]

Yes, it's running at a superior bitrate of 2Gbit/s, I played it on my 6+1 and it was flawless.

Don't tell anybody

[serutan]

I'm about to break the exercise video market wide open.

Six.
Minute.
Abs!

thoughtcrime

[sum.zero]

it doesn't matter if they vocalize the words, we all know they are THINKING them.

sum.zero

Copyright

[ojthecat]

The only problem with this is that Microsoft has just been issued a patent for a method of producing no sound via a mp3 data stream.

Re:Well

[Dr.Zap]

What's this going to do to samplers? Any pause in a song will open it for lawsuits!

Re:Don't tell anybody

[DaHat]

6 minutes? Why spend that long? I am happy to announce my new line of products under the brand name of... Instant* Abs!

*Notice: Results may vary

Huh?

[el_gordo101]

One foot three inches of music?

Listen to it backwards...

[techmuse]

1'3" of silence sounds very impressive when played backwards - especially the backwards lyrics. :)

Dont Forget Pootie Tang!

[jwegy]

I'm sure pootie has his silent song copyrighted!

RIAA's new tactic.

[bobdotorg]

I'm offering this very file for download here on my website. So go ahead, download it (1.1 MB) and break the law with me.

Letter to plasticbugs.com from the RIAA:

Dear PlasticBugs,

It has come to our attention that you are hosting copyrighted material on your website. In the past we have dispatched goons. Unfortunately this takes up to a week.

In order to more effectively destroy your ability to distribute copyrighted material, we have decided to destroy your server by providing a link to its content to a very popular website's front page.

We wish your server well in its next life.

Sincerely,

JC42

Re:thoughtcrime

[TheViffer]

Thoughtcrime? Dont think so.

This is clearly a copyright matter. You just can't take Ashlee Simpson's works and post them freely on the internet. She needs to eat too.

Re:|_

[Meumeu]

Do you realize you are infringing their copyright by writing the lyrics here?

It's not really silence!

[Honorbound]

If you play if backwards and turn up the volume you'll hear, "Developers, developers, developers, developers!"

I want a silent MP3!

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

I want to play it on a cell-phone, charged by air!

Re:Ahh, yes but...

[decipher_saint]

"And we all know that lacks the warmth and depth of analog silence."

I hear ya, you just can't get the full range of nothing on a digital track...

i should add...

[sum.zero]

that any ashlee simpson song consisting of silence would be a vast improvement over those with noise.

sum.zero

Re:Quality

[Taladar]

And I bet your speaker power consumption was quite low as well during playing it.

Re:Still dumb, but I'll answer, anyway.

[darkpixel2k]

I guess we should all observe about a minute of silence then...

It's not the same tune at all!

[raygundan]

This version is an old-school hip-hop track, consisting solely of short, reordered samples from the original, with the addition of turntable scratching with the mixer volume turned all the way down.

Re:This is just dumb.

[bani]

depends. what's the key, b-flat?

I guess the track could be worth a listen

[GMFTatsujin]

But on the other hand, I'm kind of getting sick of cover versions...

Re:This is just dumb.

[js7a]

I suspect the "six figures" mentioned are something like "$", "1", ".", "0", "0", and ".". What a great publicity stunt for Batt and Cage's legacy, no matter what the amount. Well done!

Re:Already Slashdotted

[Anonymous Coward]

It felt like a million geeks were silent at once, and then were silenced.

Re:John Cage

[Chundra]

Re:But it may be a DCMA violation.

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, that would be "Don't Copy My Ass".

Re:thoughtcrime

[Rei]

Clearly it is a copyright matter, as the person's account was suspended ;)

account suspended

Your account has been suspended. We have sent you an email explaining why. This email should also contain information on how you can unsuspend your account.

Re:John Cage

[DigitalHammer]

No, he'd do the splits and shadow-punch you in the crotch.

Re:Well

[EngMedic]

and Frank Zappa's instrumental album, Jazz from Hell, got a "parental warning: explicit lyrics" tag, too. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

Re:John Cage

[Rei]

You can't copyright chord progressions and simple beats? Take it one step further, and Philip Glass will be in some serious trouble. ;)

Re:John Cage

[Null537]

But in the end he'd sign a picture of himself for you.

Re:Account Suspended

[omahajim]

Here's a mirror then:

Re:John Cage

[rwise2112]

Hmmmm..

Is that 4'33" of silence, your own creative work, or a picture of an invisible galaxy?

You're Under Arrest......

[AKosygin]

Anything you say will be used in a court of law, and anything you don't say will be used to prosecute you for copyright infringement.

Re:John Cage

[mobby_6kl]

Somebody already mentioned Frank Zappa here, which reminded me of this:

Guy In The Audience: "Whipping Post"!
FZ: Say that again please
GITA: "Whipping Post"!
FZ: "Whipping Post"? Ok, just a second . . . (Do you know that?) Oh sorry, we don't know that one. Anything else? Hum me a few bars of it, please, just show me how it goes, please. Just sing, sing me "Whipping Post" and then maybe we'll play it with you
GITA: Ooh-ooh-ooh . . .
FZ: Thank you very much. And now . . . Judging from the way you sang it, it must be a John Cage composition, right? Here we go, "Montana."

Re:OMFG

[Phat_Tony]

Actually, it's all part of their evil plan. They will copyright silence, then refuse to sell that track anymore, and then sue anyone who's NOT listening to music, as they are listening to silence, which is copyrighted, and hasn't been legally purchased.

Therefore, you must always listen to music to avoid fines. In this way, they will sell more music.

Re:i should add...

[Ravenrage]

A moment of silence for his web server

Re:Listen to it backwards...

[SamSim]

I'm also told it syncs with The Wizard Of Oz in the freakiest way.

Re:I want a silent MP3!

[brianosaurus]

Ha!

Use it as your ringtone. Piss off everyone who tries to call you when you never, ever answer.

The Law...

[NoseBag]

"If I were to make my own MP3 silent tune of exactly the same length and put it online, would I be infringing their copyright?"

The Law is silent on this issue.

Re:Well

[Meski]

Suggested title: "One hand clapping"

Re:thoughtcrime

[Anonymous Coward]

She needs to eat a sammich.