California governor Gray Davis has his eye on Hollywood.

But he's not trying for a Reagan-in-reverse. Rather, with the recall election less than two weeks away, "he will soon sign into law entertainment industry-friendly bills aimed at curtailing the illegal copying of film and music, and reforming labor laws on child actors," says an Associated Press story here.

Two of the three bills Davis is wielding are, he says, designed to keep entertainment jobs in California.

Anyone who says the true purpose is to keep Davis' job intact is a nasty cynic.

Be that as it may, "The piracy problem is severe and we're seeing it in terms of layoffs," quoth RIAA president Cary-Sue Sherman. "We are really grateful for anything that can be done to deal with this problem."

Bill AB 1277 will adding one representative each from the RIAA and the Consumers Union to a committee that advises a state task force on high technology theft, says the report, going on, "Illegal copying and online sharing of music would be added to the task force's menu of crimes to target."

"Thousands of people in the recording industry have lost their jobs, artists are having trouble being signed ... retailers are going out of business," Sherman said

SB 1032 would make it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison, to use a video recorder to make an unauthorized copy of a film playing in a movie theater, said the AP story.

At the bottom of the list, "SB 210, would require that 15 percent of the gross income earned by children who work in the entertainment industry be placed into a trust account known as a Coogan Trust," adds the AP report.

(Thanks for the pointer, otech1 : )

HE'S A WITCH I TELL YOU!!! A WITCH!!!

I can see it now all throughout california. Kids in schoolyards with their hands against the wall and feet spread while they getting their rights read to them. Parents drug away in chains cause little Johnny managed to download a song from Barney without their knowledge. Bankrupt families who dared to burn some downloaded music onto CD's for their family trip to Yosemitie. No wonder I moved out of Califonia. I'm never moving back

Cha-ching. Another politician gets paid.

" artists are having trouble being signed "
Perhaps we're reading the contracts

Wait, is this the same state legislature that is considering a bill to close loopholes in the industries accounting practices?

This is definintly not a good thing, they need to tell the MPAA and RIAA to ADOPT to technology and stop dragging there feet. PEOPLE WANT TO DOWNLOAD MOVIES, SO PROVIDE A LEGAL ALTERNATIVE! Also, what is gray davis doing to curtail ILLEGAL DVD sales in Downtown LOS ANGELES, according to my visit yesterday, ABSOLUTLY NOTHING!

If I recall,

Gray Davis was only concerned about raising campaign money instead of serving the peoples interest.

I think this is what got him into trouble in the first place.

Unbeleiveable...

Just Freking Unbeliveable..

Its like judgement day..

Three Years Later:

Welcome To Calafornia!
Pop. 0.000000000000001
"The Jail State"
Calafornia Has 17 Jails Per Square Mile!

... and to think I was going to vote no on recall - I should have known better.

sad...

Please tell me the Consumers Union is, not paid off too...

RIAABoycott, you spelled California wrong...

Isn't California's motto, Stay on Vacation: Leave on Probation...

This may be off post but I'm new so I'll try anyway. For what it's worth. I just went to the store a little while ago. Took my wifes car so I had to listen to country?? music. This station had a call in artist. Her name is Jo Dee Messina. She was talking about a song she has on a (new?) comp. CD. The DJ asked her if she was making any money from this CD, she laughed and said something like she though so and it was something like $.01 per 2000 DC's sold........

You folks are GREAT!!

keep raggin' on the riaa

I was against the recall, but not now. California is just screwed. Is there a p2p artist/consumer friendly candidate we can endorse?

Post the name if you know it.

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy
http://electricgypsy.iuma.com
Support Local and Independent Music!

I guess the consumer union is suposed to provide a balance to having the RIAA on
Independentm-- Try Larry Flint. he's running and I think he's all for it, maybe.(just a joke)

For the record, Gray "Red" Davis has also caught flack for signing into law a bill that would enable illegal aliens to easily obtain drivers' licenses. This has been roundly condemned in some circles as being a potential threat to both national and homeland security.

And as I may have noted before (I think in a comment on the recent article pertaining to Gary Coleman), Davis is indeed a stooge of the multinational entertainment-media complex, a.k.a. the mass-media oligarchy, so fully is he in their pockets. So that he would impose this particular fascistic prohibition does not exactly strike me as a surprise.

And as for this "artists are having trouble being signed": Yeah, right. The RIAA labels, in their full-metal-jacket contempt of the consumer, DELIBERATELY avoid signing quality acts because they think that with the downloading, uploading, sideways-loading or whatever excuse or cop-out they cite, fans aren't even remotely "deserving" of anything other than the peach-fuzz puppets and street-thug rappers they've been shoving down our throats these last few years.

i suppose i'm a nasty cynic, then. suits me well.

the reason they cant sign arist is because we know about thier bull shit. Why make less than a dollar a CD when we can make 4.00 a CD and thats selling it at 5.OO. You know when an Independent can get CD's made for 94 cents a CD can you imagine what the majors pay for them and they own the manufactoring plants. Granted it does cost some for recording but not that much.

Whats going to be sad is when they makes these laws. Do I still get to choose how people view or listen to our music or is sharing just illegal. That will be the day the music died. I pray they dont.

To bad Arnold can be for us:" I will Terminate RIAA"

or Gary Coleman " What you talking about RIAA"

Some one needs to stop him, since he's going out of office he's signing cr@p thats is going to mess up Calf even more. Is there any way to put a stop to what he is doing?

Ronnie, Gary Coleman wants to put file sharers in jail. The story is around here somewhere. Arnie is best buddies with Orrin Open Hatch so I can guess where he stands. I was under the impression that the entertainment jobs were moving out of the country because of the taxes etc. in California. Amazing how it suddenly became file sharers fault. I wonder if they caused 9/11 too?

this is a little off post but today i was listening to the radio at work and on the news they said that because there was 50 million people that wanted the no call list enacted they overruled the district judge that was stopping it saying that 50 million people want it then it must be the will of the people. there is 60 million of us what is wrong with this picture

Independentm, there is more to life then music. California needs somebody who is strong on many fronts, but not predominantly on music...

I will not support any candidate for any office that obviously has their nose in the RIAA butt-crack. I don't care WHAT the other issues are. I am a social liberal who mostly tends to vote Democrat, but even if a candidate supports my view on EVERY other issue, I will vote/endorse AGAINST them if they smell like RIAA.

I feel THAT strong about the issue of music freedoms.

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy
http://electricgypsy.iuma.com
come get your free music before these blockhead RIAA owned politicians make it illegal to promote our art!
Support Local and Independent Music!

Actually, jobs of ALL types have been lost in California due to the high taxes imposed by Davis to pay for the various social and entitlement programs in the state. But this latest act of tyranny does stink of "Red Diaper Doper Baby."

The point here is that the small areas like "music" are but a window into the larger picture. After all, Davis' supporters had sought to usurp the right of Californians to vote on the recall by shopping the case to three judges of the 9th Circuit (two of whom were appointed by fellow RIAA / MPAA stooge Bill Clinton; the third had been appointed by Jimmy Carter), out of pique that the voters not only weren't going to pick Davis's Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, but also were giving indications of actually picking a Republican (horror of horrors!). But aside from Mr. Schwarzenegger, does anyone know what "Republican-Conservative" candidate Tom McClintock's position on this issue is? If he's an RIAA stooge, forget about him too . . .

Grey Davis is a little bitch, but what do you expect? he's like 99% of politicians out there.. Do you smell that money Davis, it's coming from the Entertainment Industry after you give them a BJ for their support.. Talk about whoring yourself out..

Well once the idiots sign some more stupid bills and the people get tired of the shenanigans of so called big corp. and it's politico rats people won't be buying much music or anything else for that matter of being sued one way or an other. I'd like to see how Christmas comes an more people don't buy the music or anything thats RIAA they'll keep crying wolf about file shareres till they go out like a light *poof* oh and another thing I still won't buy music from some outfit who claims to be a legal downloading site from the RIAA you can forget it they still want to control the contentplus CD's that have DRM are gonna be nothing but junk not worth my time or money. I've been boycotting the industry since the napster days hoping people will someday say enough is enough.

one other note support your local scene and buy from non RIAA affiliated music scources peace .

Corporate money is so interweaved throughout our government, it is hard to make out who's who. I like a lot of the things Bill Clinton did for our nation, and there were also things that I think he did that were very "wrongheaded" (as Code would say). Gray Davis is, I'm sure now, just another stooge, but how bad is he compared to the other individuals that are running? I'd like to note that as soon as Enron started charging California way more for electricity, Gray Davis was the only person I saw stand up and say "hey, that's wrong!" Even during the scheduled blackouts in California, he's the only one that I saw standing up to what Enron was doing. And furthermore, what Enron did to California, is part of the reason why they are in the financial mess they are in right now (not that it is the only reason). So all in all, who do you vote for? It's tough from where I'm looking at it. Corporate money needs to get out of our politics, otherwise it'll just keep getting harder to make the decision on who to vote for.

~goingnova

This is not surprising. Remember, Californians, that this is the very governor that all but instituted a "Pay for Play" policy in regards to contributions. In short, his positions vary depending on who flashes how much cash in his general direction. Yeah, most politicians are corrupt, but Davis makes the rest look honest in comparison.

>and reforming labor laws on child actors

I guess he's going to bring back child labor, I thought it was illegal?

>artists are having trouble being signed

Yea, the “bread and water” contracts are just not worth it for a little exposure if that. Looks like artists are realizing they don’t need the labels any more, to bad.

well i do not think that his child labor thing is a bad i idea really i think it's a grate thing if the money is kepte from thair parents till the child is atlest 18 then the kids gets all his money with no parent controle i would love that i hear to many times chiled acters getting screwed out of money becose thair parents stole it all leagly but for that other bill he must be on crack

you know what independentmusic i don't evern shar riaa music but what you sed


come get your free music before these blockhead RIAA owned politicians make it illegal to promote our art!
Support Local and Independent Music!



made alote of sence and it is vary true i will end on that note i do not need to prove my self to any one


long live art long live music

die riaa die

i'm a pissed off pit bull will a taste of riaa blood i'll neaver go back to eating my kibbles and bits

man why these punk ass nigg@s be player haten i be gettin me slang on down on dayton me and shoe string do are thing blunt smoken back seat riden limosise see i been a millonare since 91 unholy esame i'm moma son all you rappers out there saying you went gold but aint got sh!t to show for all your records sold iv told me let the riaa be a hoe if thay are a hoe fu@k them niggas thay hate you if you got payed thay player haten you so no one will show at thay hoe azz funral nigg@s get payed when thay stay true to the game cus only you would know nigg@s get payed when thay stay true to the game stady fu@ken the fame se me and getto E kinda feal the same all you riaa nigg@s know all name



lmao omg i just heard this song as you all know i like rap it's a rap song indapentdent and killing the riaa reall lol

Artists are having trouble being signed??? Oh Really. Okay....

Hmmm, two of my friends bands here from Jacksonville, FL have just been signed, I'm sure you've heard of them----Yellow Card and Shinedown....

Guess how Yellow Card got a name out there.....p2p!!!!

Not to mention the other big named bands that have come out of Jacksonville in the last decade...Limp Bizkit, Cold, etc.

I'm sorry to say I was a dear friend of Wes Borland back in high school days. I'm sorry I ever knew him. He quit talking to me years ago.

That's right. They shared and had me share their first demo online for the longest time. I had many people download the songs from me during this time.

Sounds to me like someone needs to do a little research before they start pointing fingers.

Research is not necessary when you have a whipping boy. Using the whipping boy as an excuse not to change is not going to bring home the bacon. The file sharer problem is a convient catchall for whatever problem of the day happens to surface.

Arnold, you can be sure is safely in the MPAA pockets. No matter the canidate they will seek to buy their way into good graces. If they can not then a little chicanary will help them in their goals. Look back over history, happens all the time.

Trouble is that the last thing these groups want is to own up to what is wrong. Overpricing, poor talent, poor business practices, influnacing goverment till it is too expensive to continue to do a job. The raising of taxes was ok for the industry as it keeps the new comers down and helps eliminate fresh competition. That and tv is why New York is doing as well as it is with the movie business.

Guess movie downloaders were at fault, eh?

it's the taxes that is turning the state of california into turmoil and insurance. the businesses are running out of the state in droves because of the insane high taxes and insurance.las vegas, navda and other states are luring these businesses out of california with better taxes and lower insurance, which in turn give the businesses more money to hire more workers at a better rate.these bills he will sign into law will drive out the very californians that live in the state. talk about going backwards. california is going down the tubes and none of these so called poititains have an answer because they are just as greedy as the riaa,along with the insurance companies and the high taxes that they propose.

cant believe that i didnt see this earlier.... i must be desensitized to dumb politicians....guess when you are on the tail end of your career you want to grab all the bucks you can

davis is a traitor to this country. 1st he wants to give illegal immigrants drivers licenses and now he wants to steal money from the workers to be put into a "trust fund" managed by the largest monopolies on the planet.

davis along with cary the boy sue need to be lined up infront of a firing squad!

More reason to vote for AHHHHHNold. LOL.

Vote "NO" on the recall, then don't vote for anybody else. California can fall of into the Pacific Ocean, and take Cary and Jack Cigar Valenti with them. Lozers. Take your car taxes, your RIAA/MPAA, $3.00 a gallon gas, and your emission controls and shove them up your ASS! What a Fucking circus of a state.

Anybody from California please vote Gray Davis OUT!!!

Well Gray Davis is obviously paid off by the industries; record manufactures and old style “middleman” promotion are defiantly becoming more and more obsolete.

Why would you want to force the old obsolete unattractive way; shouldn’t it be the industries responsibility to attract customers with new ideas?

If the industries don’t have what we want, why should we buy from them, and why should an artist have to pay for there studio time and promotion; when there are cheep utilities and hardware like Cool Edit and Sound Blaster 128’s?

You don’t actually believe the recording industries don’t know this do you?

The industries have nothing we need, and the R.I.A.A. and M.P.A.A. will cry out “Theft!”, until they are in the ground and buried.

After all, what else can you do when what you have is worth so little for such an expensive price when compared to the new that makes your way obsolete?

Why would you want to have to feed and take care of a horse daily, when you could have a car cheaper, and with less maintenance?

The R.I.A.A represents an old tired horse refusing to be replaced; the glory days are over, your replacement is already here, you’re no longer necessary.

As for Gray Davis, no one is that stupid; I wonder what horrid things the R.I.A.A, and M.P.A.A. will do with our children.

Child labor?

Sorry, defiantly == definitely

Micorsoft word has taken over my computer, and if you press the wrong key...

Boycott! Boycott! Boycott! Recall! Recall! Recall!

Can you say 'America-Land of the Free'?

Free for 'who'?

~Quote~
HE'S A WITCH I TELL YOU!!! A WITCH!!!
~Quote~

Can we burn him?

I live in California and I say it is time to 'terminate' Davis!

koemoejoe

As an African-American, I find your little poem up there to be somewhat offensive. Please keep your racial slurs to yourself. Also, check your grammar and punctuation, maybe people will pay more attention to you.

~Jiggaman~

At Webcaster Alliance's website you can get an 'RIAA' Voodoo doll with your donation.

I wonder where you can also get a 'Govenor Gumby' Voodoo doll.

If your offended, click the upper right "X" and close the window. I'm more offended that the RIAA is so very worried about the porn that a child might have access to, when it shoves music porn at em at a faster rate.

777.. Why don't you let "little man racism" fight his own battles here. I wasn't even talking to you. If you are so offended by riaa, why don't you click the upper right "X" and close the window and go do something about it, versus talking about it. I can't believe I waste my time responding to you.

~Jiggaman~

That's the lyrics to a rap song which he reposted.

If that offends you so much, go tell the artist. And if that doesn't work, call the ACLU, because no one here gives a damn.

So let me guess, the 15% that these kids can't afford to let go of is going into a trust fund. Hmmm, that's a good Idea - maybe we should get the social security guys to administer that fund so it will be readily available when it's time to pay up...

uh oh, watch out - we have an "African-American" in our midst. Everybody get ready to bow... Don't offend him or our middle class white male tax rates will be doubled to provide for his "protected status". BTW, how are the spotted owls these days???

"~Jigganman~" Unbelievable - Take your social crutch somewhere else would you please...

lol..social crutch. its a wonder he gets around at all.

Oldies, to make that statement you must be a racist pig. I am black and also middle class and most of my tax dollars goto the majority of people on welfare (white people) if you don't believe me look up the statistics. I used to enjoy this site, but if I have to read posts from ignorant racists such as yourself I guess will have to move on and goto another site that does not promote racism. You would not like it if I cracked on your ethnical background. If you want to be a redneck do it some where else. There are people of all races and creeds in this fight, don't try and alienate those who have the opportunity to do good by your racists comments, that would be a shame.

Koemoejoe quoted some rap lyrics with provocative lyrics and the offensive material were censored and was not used in regards to anyone.

Then jiggaman takes everything out of context and is offended. And because's he's offended at censored rap lyrics we're supposed to care?

Then he tries to make everyone feel guilty about it by using "reverse racism." Koemoejoe did his part. If he doesn't like it, then he shouldn't read it.

OK OK. First I am not a racist, nor am I a pig. If my off topic outburst offended anyone I appologize. Some stats for this if I may:

1. I did not bring up this topic, nor do I see the relevance for when it was brought up.

2. I am of the ethnic background that is probably more abused than yours, I'm of Irish background.

3. That being said let me expound to say that although I am Irish Blood, I am not an "Irish-American", I am an American. I am not confused nor undecided on my current status or citizenship. I am an american, a person very proud to be one and it get's me upset to think that I gave as many years of my life as I did to provide a place where people can come and dilute that status.

This is my position, it is not presented as a continuance of any argument or anything else, just a small attempt at an explanation of my position.

Again, I am sorry if I offended anyone but sometimes...

"Thousands of people in the recording industry have lost their jobs"

So what? You still have a job you leech. Not to mention hundreds of thousands of phone and web tech support people have lost their jobs because companies out source them overseas for the cheap labor. I don't hear anyone whining on their behalf. There are realtively few manufacturing jobs left here who is "fighting" to keep those people working. The difference is in these examples the people were providing something we wanted.

Thanks John316. Glad to see someone here can "handle" some diversity.

For all those defending koolmojoe, when quoting song lyrics most people will put them within quotation marks (perhaps even make reference to who wrote them), so those of us who don't listen to that type of music will realize its a quote. When I first started reading, "man why all these ni66as playa haten...." I chose to stop reading at that point.

Let me rephrase so koolmojoe will understand...

put you quotes in quotationmarks because otherwise somepeople may noit understand what youmean and maybe even take offense people sometimes get offended at use of n-word because of negativeconnotation over years not that i think anyone here owns slave or has owned slaves but sometimes riaa artist write horrible lyrics that make ni66as maybe feel unkomfterble with what is being said i hope this form of language is understandable to your standards koemojoe it is hard to learn your version of english language