Canadian Border to Check iPods for Copyright Infringment

If this law is passed no more making playlists for those road trips up to Montreal to take advantage of their drinking age. This law, that is secretly being created, will allow border patrol to go through your laptop, iPods, and CD/DVDs checking for copyrighted material. If they do find anything, which they probably would with any college student, you would face fines and/or confiscation of your device. This law would just expand on the duties of border patrol because they are already allowed to randomly search people's laptops for child pornography.

Check out the full article here.

What are your thoughts on the issue? Leave some them in the comments.

College Music Discovery: Dropkick Murphys

Artist: Dropkick Murphys

Originally From: Quincy, Massachusetts USA

Genre: Celtic Punk Rock

Most of the College Kids have been listening to the Dropkick Murphys for several years, but their unique sound and individual style have for the most part kept them out of the mainstream everywhere that is not Boston or Ireland.

The Dropkicks formed in Quincy Massachusetts in 1996 as a fun activity for several friends; however, they soon became aware that people enjoyed their unique style and a tour and album soon became possible. They have since released six studio albums. Arguably their most well known song, "I'm Shipping up to Boston" featured as the opening theme to 2007's best picture, The Departed. The Dropkick's latest work and first album released under a major record label, The Meanest of Times, debuted at #20 on the Billboard Charts and also was featured in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2007.

The Dropkick's unique sound is the driving force behind their popularity in Boston. They effectively combine a Celtic sound, often including bagpipes, with punk, and often heavier rock. This has made them one of the most recognizable and unique bands on the radio. A look through their albums will show the development of the Dropkick's sound throughout the years.

While they do not get the radio play they deserve, the Dropkick Murphys are top notch artists and the College Kids highly suggest you take the time to experience them.

Wikipedia
Official Site

Cheers!

College Kid: Frenchie

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College Kid Music Discovery: Hilltop Hoods

Artist: Hilltop Hoods

Originally from: Adelaide, South Australia

Genre: Australian Hip-hop

Over break, all the college kids were hanging out like we do, and a song came on that I didn't recognize. It had an awesome beat and I instantly wanted to press the repeat button (which I did). It was a nice break from the hip-hop we all here on the radio everyday which is mostly quite annoying (except of course Snoop Dogg's new single Sensual Seduction). Hilltop Hoods formed in the down-under in 1991 when two of the three members met in High School.

The two albums I currently have, and listen to constantly, are The Calling (2003) and The Hard Road Restrung (2007). Each of them have a very unique sound that is completed by DJ Debris; the third member of the group. You can check out my favorite song here, and if you have any input feel free to leave it in the comments.

Official Site
Wikipedia
Myspace

IWOULDNTSTEAL.NET

Whenever you rent a movie, the multinational media industry forces you to watch their propaganda. They claim that [downloading movies is the same as snatching bags, stealing cars or shoplifting]. That’s simply not true – making a copy is fundamentally different from stealing.

The media industry has failed to offer viable legal alternatives and they will fail to convince consumers that sharing equals stealing. Unfortunately, they have succeeded in another area – lobbying to adapt laws to criminalize sharing, turning consumers into criminals. They argue that their laws are necessary to [support artists], but in reality all they’re protecting is their own profits.

The Greens in Europe and worldwide has been opposing these laws. We believe that consumers are willing to pay if offered good quality at a fair price. We also believe that sharing is expanding culture – not killing it.

To protest against the faulty propaganda from the industry, we made our own film. The difference is – you can choose whether you want to watch this one.

via [IWOULDNTSTEAL]

Music Map

Browsing the web today I found this really cool tool. It is called Music Maps and allows you to go anywhere in the world and see who the top 10 musicians are. You'll be surprised who they are in different countries. I never knew Linkin Park was so popular in Russia.Via[GraceNote]

Canadian Study: Piracy Boosts CD Sales

University of London researchers, Birgitte Andersen and Marion Frenz surveyed a large group of Canadians to find out what the effect of piracy is on music sales. The results are surprising, at least, for the music industry.

The researchers conclude that that people who download more music actually buy more CDs. They report: “We estimate that the effect of one additional P2P download per month is to increase music purchasing by 0.44 CDs per year.”

This basically means that if someone downloads 270 songs a year via BitTorrent, he or she will buy 9 CDs more than someone who only downloads 27 songs. So, in a way illegal downloads actually convert into more CD sales.

Overall the researchers found no difference between pirates and other people in the number of CDs they buy. They did not find a positive or a negative relationship between filesharing and CD sales. So, at worst, filesharing isn’t the cause for a drop in CD sales. It might even be a boon to it.

This study once again confirms that piracy is not as bad as the recording industry content “owners” want us to believe. Filesharing gives people the opportunity to discover new music for free. It makes it easier to try new music before you buy. Right now, downloading songs off P2P networks is pretty much the only way to listen to complete tracks before deciding to buy them.

It is worth mentioning that there are legal alternatives, like Soundpedia and Lala.com’s upcoming service, which will let you stream entire songs for free. However, most people will still prefer pirated music because the quality is much better and they can transfer it to their MP3 player.

via [TorrentFreak]