[no subject]

Matthew Ingram of the Globe and Mail wrote that the judge's ruling "didn't
just poke a few holes in the industry's legal case - he blew it completely out
of the water. In fact, if it was a turkey and this was hunting season, it
would be nothing but a cloud of feathers. There were a number of reasons why
Judge Finckenstein might have quashed the Canadian Recording Industry
Association's attempt to identify individual music uploaders, including the
fact that it is difficult to tie specific IP (Internet Protocol) addresses to
individual users, or to ensure that those users were the ones who actually
shared the music files at the time in question."

Ingram also wrote that "as far as [Canada's] Federal Court is concerned,
neither the downloading nor the sharing of digital music files is illegal
under Canadian law. Should it be? Judge von Finckenstein didn't deal with that
issue, since it's not the court's job. If the federal government wants
file-swapping to be illegal, it will have to make that clear - because as of
Wednesday, one of the country's senior judges is convinced that it is not. And
the recording industry is left to lick its wounds and plan some other form of
attack."
. The Globe and Mail: Ingram: File Swappers Win Big

The Ottawa Business Journal called the ruling "a blow for the Canadian
Recording Industry Association (CRIA). Last month, the industry association
took five Internet Service Providers to Federal Court in an attempt to force
them to disclose the names and addresses of 29 people alleged to have shared
hundreds of songs with others using programs like Kazaa. In his ruling, von
Finckenstein said that downloading a song or making files available in shared
directories like those on Kazaa was not a crime. The ruling means that the
five ISPs will not have to disclose the identities of the 29 individuals.
Without the names, CRIA can't file lawsuits," the paper said.
. The Ottawa Business Journal: Federal Judge Quashes Attempt To Identify Music
Uploaders

The Edmonton Journal wrote: "Given Wednesday's blunt decision by the court,
the mainline record industry may next turn to federal legislators, seeking
amendments to the Copyright Act. It could be a longer wait than the Glass
Tiger comeback CD, considering that it took almost a century to clean up the
complicated relic last time. With federal Liberals gun-shy of anything
approaching corporate stroking and the Conservatives and NDP in touch with
their respective libertarian and youth pandering sides, the Mexican standoff
isn't likely to resolve anytime soon."
. The Edmonton Journal: Ruling Leaves Industry In Musical Mexican Standoff

Rising Sales, Falling Employment

Music sales continue to rise, according to new numbers from Nielsen SoundScan.
"Album sales for the first quarter rose 9.2% from a year earlier, with strong
gains in sales of both current and older albums. Total sales for the quarter
reached 158 million copies, up from 144.7 million for the first quarter of
2003," The Wall Street Journal reported. But the paper said the "industry
continues to cut back. Yesterday, EMI Group PLC announced it was cutting 1,500
jobs, or 20% of its work force, and dropping weak acts from its roster. Warner
Music Group also is in the midst of deep personnel cuts."
. The Wall Street Journal: Album Sales Show 9.2% Increase In Quarter as
Rebound Continues (Subscription required)