skevinp Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 (edited) As a lawyer who has some experience in Copyright law (although not an expert by any means), I find the explanations as to why we can't have On Demand streaming this season to be bizarre. It really is not that difficult, at all, to get a license that covers both live broadcast and replays ... and for the type of content we're talking about here, it shouldn't be that expensive to get the additional rights (in fact, I would be shocked if they had to pay anything more for them at all). Without knowing anything about what is actually going on behind the scenes, it seems to me that DCI's real problem is that they are not getting very good legal advice on copyright issues. The copyright issues can get a bit complicated, but they shouldn't pose the major problem that the DCI feedback suggests. The back catalog is a different issue ... it can be solved very easily, but it will take some time and work. But with respect to this year's shows, there really is no excuse for not having all necessary rights cleared before the season starts. When I was in high school band, it was the responsibility of every school to make sure the necessary rights for the music they were performing were obtained. The state organization promulgated form license agreements that schools could use to get the clearances they needed. If DCI isn't requiring the individual corps to get the necessary clearances for their respective shows ahead of time, they have no one to blame but themselves. It should be a requirement that if you can't get the copyright clearance, you can't use the music. If they don't get a handle on this stuff, this whole organization is likely to go down in flames pretty quickly. Online content has to be a key part of DCI going forward if it is going to survive and thrive. I just don't see how I can justify paying for only live streaming. I am not available for half the shows. I was really looking forward to seeing a preview of many of the shows this next week, but since they won't be available on demand, it doesn't look that is going to be a possibility. Add the fact that my local DCI show has been all but abandoned by the top corps and it is becoming very difficult to see myself staying invested in drum corps for very much longer. I never marched in the corps, and therefore my personal ties are not as deep as others. I find it very entertaining though, which is why I have been a fan network subscriber for several years. DCI's negligence in taking care of these issues (which have been around for years) is going to make it difficult for fans like me to stay involved. There has not been any significant changes in the copyright laws in the last few years. The law regarding on demand streaming is exactly the same as it was last year and the year before. If I had to guess, DCI has received a few cease and desist letters from some copyright trolls. A good lawyer would take care of those pests pretty quickly, but I can see how they would freak out an organization without the appropriate legal support. I realize that DCI does not have a ton of resources, but they need to make this copyright issue a priority by hiring an experienced, competent copyright attorney to advise them and help them draft some form license agreements that will allow them to offer the services to fans that they need to offer. This isn't a new issue ... they've been trying to deal with it for years. It's also not a hard issue, though, with the right legal advice. There really is no excuse that they don't have it solved by now. Maybe DCI is who you should be saying this to. I have a feeling it isn't that simple, but if you are correct then an early season fix would seem possible. In the meantime I won't get my hopes up, as I suspect DCI is not, PR aside, as incompetent as people are suggesting they are. If I'm wrong I will be thrilled but concerned. If I'm right I will be disappointed but relieved. Edit to clarify: PR = Public Relations, not Phantom Regiment. Please don't phlame me. Edited June 16, 2015 by skevinp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I get why they chose not to go the victim route: to some, it can be viewed as unseemly. But for once, DCI actually could have gotten support if they had. We know the licensing issues that arose in December aren't entirely of their making (again ignoring years of DCI ignoring licensing), but some communication could have gone a long way. Did they choose not to play the "victim" card because, as you indicate, they were partly to blame for ignoring some aspect of the licensing requirements, and feared it would backfire? That the company contesting DCI not only has better lawyers but better publicists? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashevillemurphy Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Once again, Bands of America/Music For All has 30+ years of content online... are they breaking the law? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Did they choose not to play the "victim" card because, as you indicate, they were partly to blame for ignoring some aspect of the licensing requirements, and feared it would backfire? That the company contesting DCI not only has better lawyers but better publicists? no clue. given the silence the last 7 months, i doubt we'll know. I'll giv Acheson one thing...on the preview tonight he was upfront about why the stuff we want isn't there, but man, knowing this weeks ago would have soothed a lot of savage beasts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 (edited) Once again, Bands of America/Music For All has 30+ years of content online... are they breaking the law? edit: redacted comments after reading trooper/madison thread Edited June 16, 2015 by Liahona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 (edited) Once again, Bands of America/Music For All has 30+ years of content online... are they breaking the law? double post Edited June 16, 2015 by Liahona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 no clue. given the silence the last 7 months, i doubt we'll know. I'll giv Acheson one thing...on the preview tonight he was upfront about why the stuff we want isn't there, but man, knowing this weeks ago would have soothed a lot of savage beasts You call that "upfront"? Unflinching, maybe. But why is it that whenever the questions get specific, the answers get more vague? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 You call that "upfront"? Unflinching, maybe. But why is it that whenever the questions get specific, the answers get more vague? Is that a literal question? I don't think answers get any more vague when the questions get more specific. It's just perception. The consistently vague answers just become more and more prominent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 <rant> I've been in a ranting mood lately...lol...Attention DCI...Please learn the difference between EDT and EST...We are in Eastern Daylight Time(EDT) not Eastern Standard Time(EST)...the DCI Live Schedule is incorrect...among other things...or -4 GMT...but that would probably confuse folks who don't use GMT... </rant> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I'll giv Acheson one thing...on the preview tonight he was upfront about why the stuff we want isn't there, but man, knowing this weeks ago would have soothed a lot of savage beasts As soon as he started into some of the reasoning I thought "Why couldn't they have done something like a Podcast weeks ago to explain some of this stuff?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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