This in from Bradley Metrock:

The Grokster CEO, Wayne Rosso, was at the center of an incredibly interesting dialogue yesterday (at Vanderbilt).

Many people from the public showed up - several songwriter types, a famous guitar player, and a professor from Belmont with an axe to grind.

Rosso had scarcely finished 10-15 minutes of speaking before catcalls starting eminating from the audience, as the entrenched Nashville music community called several things he said into question.

This immediately turned the lecture into an open question and answer forum.

The songwriters conveyed a sense of loss due to Grokster and other P2P apps, and blamed him directly for it. Rosso then explained that he wants to pay these people, and the major labels are preventing it.

The Belmont professor held up a poster with various "For Rent" and "For Lease" signs on Music Row, blaming the hard times in Nashville on Rosso and his type. Rosso was definitely not amused at this, and dismissed the "idiotic" remark, saying that the labels had mismanaged themselves but could choose to voluntarily reverse course at any time and license their material.

Rosso made the assertion that his ideal world would have Grokster functioning like radio, with songs downloadable with Microsoft digital rights management software that would ensure functionality and that everyone would get paid.

Recanting a history of music industry denial of the potential for technology back to player pianos, Rosso made a very compelling point that the arguments used by the RIAA and major labels in refusing to embrace P2P technology are hundreds of years old and should be dismissed accordingly.

Real interesting event!

There is a mock trial of a file swapper that Vanderbilt's Law School will be hosting, and when that comes around, I'll post info here. The date will be Nov. 4, but don't know the time yet.

This is sickening. I wouldn't trade fascism for more royalties. Bad idea.

I bet if black blues artists like Slim Harpo, Howling Wolf, Sam Moore (he's MoTown), Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson were there...they would have cheered him. But, I wonder what Willie Nelson , Waylon Jennings (if he were still alive), David Alan Coe, and the other "outlaws" would have to say.
Willie "made his bones" as a songwriter.
And, how about Rhodes scholar, Kris Kristofferon?