It's funny that there isn't more talk about the Writers' Guild strike in the US, when there has been so much discussion about the other end, people downloading music that somehow finds itself on the internet. Publishers and media distributers are really concerned about that.

...actually sent out a team of hitmen to hunt down and kill some guy in Liège who had a .gif of a two-page score by Alkan...

The biggest music publishing firm in France actually sent out a team of hitmen to hunt down and kill some guy in Liège who had a .gif of a two-page score by Alkan on his humble website last year. I went to the firm's site for more information about this Alkan, wondering if he was really all that important a composer, as he has been dead for a good while, but they didn't seem to know who he was either. Their biography page was empty (“Désolé”, etc.). They just knew that he was their dog, and you can stay the fuck away. And they were spilling beer all over everything, too, really out of control.

So of course, in the matter of movies and shows being downloaded, the studios want to be sure of their cut. Understandably, they also want to ensure that the writers of those movies get no cut. Some discussion by Kung Fu Monkey and Online Blogblob.

Labels: People Who Just Want to Screw You Blue