If you, like I, work in any sort of music-publicity or -journalism capacity, you'll have noticed that record companies are moving away from sending CDs in the mail – expensive, cumbersome... – in favor of sending reviewers and radio stations emails that provide access to digital files of newly released albums. The companies provide either streaming or downloading of music, but stipulate, in aggressive legal language, the conditions under which the recipient of the email can access the digital files. In essence, there's little difference between the stipulations for streaming or downloading, as this typical policy makes clear:


THIS MUSIC FILE IS WATERMARKED.

IF YOU ARE GIVEN RIGHTS TO STREAM, DOWNLOAD AND/OR BURN THIS MUSIC TO CD, EACH COPY WILL CONTAIN A UNIQUE WATERMARK AND BE TRACEABLE BACK TO YOU. IF YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS NEEDED TO PREVENT MUSIC PIRACY, YOU WILL THEN BE GIVEN THE ABILITY TO DOWNLOAD OR STREAM THE MUSIC FILE. THESE TERMS ARE PROVIDED IN FULL IN THE "VIEW WATERMARK POLICY" LINK.

THESE TRACKS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL YOU HAVE ACCEPTED [company]’S TERMS. [Company] RESERVES ALL RIGHTS.


NOTICE REGARDING USE OF THIS PRE-RELEASE MUSIC FILE

This music file is WATERMARKED.

Music piracy is a serious threat to the record industry. [Company] needs your help to fight it. Depending on the terms under which this music was sent to you, you may either download this music file or stream it only. By downloading or streaming the music file you are agreeing to the following terms which are needed to prevent music piracy.

Please be aware that this music file contains a unique encrypted WATERMARK to enable us to trace any use of this music file in breach of these terms. If you are not prepared to accept these terms please delete the music file now or contact the person who supplied you with the music.

• The music file (and any copies if applicable) is for your professional use only.

• You may not sell, give, transfer, lend or grant access to this music to anyone else. In particular you must not make the music file available on the Internet for download or streaming.

• If you require that another copy of this music be sent to another person for professional reasons, please contact the person who sent this music to you and we will attempt to accommodate your request.

• You must keep the music file (and any copies if applicable) secure, may not alter it, and must take care to ensure they are not copied or taken by anyone else.

• [Company] reserve the right to require deletion of the music file and any copy thereof, if applicable, if it believes that these terms have or may be breached. [Company] has not sold this music to you and retains its copyright ownership in this music.

We are carefully monitoring the use of our pre-release copies and view all infringements of our rights extremely seriously. We fully reserve our rights and will, if necessary, bring legal proceedings to enforce our rights. You will be held liable and responsible for any unauthorized use of the relevant recordings, whether undertaken by you or by any third party to whom you supply the recordings (such supply itself being a breach of these terms).

Thank you for your help in fighting music piracy and enjoy the music.



[Industry PR person],

Please stop sending me these emails [with directions on how to stream/download company's new releases of music] – let me tell you why.

Your conditions – the watermarking business (appended below) – may seem a good idea to you, but really what it does is require reviewers and others in publicity roles to keep track of all downloaded or streamed music, for all eternity. That's an absurd-enough condition, but what makes it worse than that – onerous, and obnoxious – is that, taken literally (as your legalese suggests we reviewers would be wise to take it) it criminalizes even well-intentioned publicizing of your music by any means, whether purposeful or inadvertent.

For example, it would mean that I would have to:

- make sure that no one so much as hears the music to which you provide access; I'd have to make sure I shut all my windows in case someone walking by outdoors overheard it.

- remember never to say to a fellow music aficionado: Hey, check this out; play it on your radio show; write an article about how good this artist is.

- inadvertently include it on a mixed-music cd that I give to associates by way of publicizing your company's artists, and encouraging sales of their music.

- (remember to) refrain from playing it at a house party for friends, 37 years from now.

- be alert enough to erase it all from my computer before I become so senile, at the age of 94, that I forget that you have legally bound me to not, say, give my computer to a great grandchild who might then listen to the music.

All of this, upon pain of prosecution by your legal department. Please!

Those are just some of the scenarios that your legal stringencies ignore in the interests of overprotecting what you take to be your own interests. In fact, however, the policy, while its thrust and intent are clear, simply is outmoded and in the end obnoxiously belligerent. I simply don't imagine your products so essential to my efforts at publicizing music (at no charge to you and similar companies, let it be noted) under such silly and aggressive conditions.

So, please remove my address from your records.

Unless, of course, you'd like to pay me for the work I've been doing for you, at no expense to you?

Sincerely....



As I upload this exchange, another thought occurs to me: How presumptuous is it of record companies to make statements such as this: "Music piracy is a serious threat to the record industry. [Company] needs your help to fight it."

The approach of the companies is, to begin with, obnoxious, burdensome, and presumptuous; it also assumes a power over recipients of the music, for all time, regardless of whether they use the digital files in good faith, or not; but this sanctimonious statement about how they "need our help to fight it"... Well, again, puh-lease!