A couple of weeks ago I posted a short piece about how copying CDs that you bought and paid for to your iPod or other digital device (including your computer) constitutes copyright theft. I was so intrigued by this that I felt compelled to contact IRMA and ask them directly if it was true. I got the following response:

Dear Dermot

It is illegal to copy music from its original format without the permission of the record company which owns the copyright in the tracks being copied (this applies even if you have bought the CDs yourself and only want to make back-up copies or a compilation for the car).

In Ireland, there is no such thing as a “Private copy”.

Best regards,

Name Deleted
Irish Recorded Music Association
IRMA House
Dun Laoghaire
Co Dublin
Ireland
T: +353 (0) 1280 6571
F: +353 (0) 1280 6579

So there you go, right from the horse’s mouth, as it were. I wonder if that means that by converting the audio from bits on a CD, via sound waves, to, I dunno, my memories I am violating copyright law? Or is that only true if a clairvoyant then uses their talent to listen to my memories of that piece of music?

In related news, the BBC recently ran a piece in which members of the public asked questions of industry execs. It makes for interesting reading and there is analysis of the story on ArsTechnica and here and probably elsewhere.

So, I finally got the finger out and bought a new helmet for cycling (my old one melted when it was left on the parcel shelf of my car - thanks Flood!). I wanted to get one with jet engines but I had to settle for a less flash one. I also bought a bag that fits under the saddle and comfortably holds my mobile phone, house keys and digital compact camera.

I haven’t cycled in months - not since last June - so I decided to take it easy today, cycling into Saggart and then taking the back road towards Crooksling to the N81 near Brittas. I was bollicksed within 10 minutes, but as always it was worth it for the downhill journey! Thank god I live at the bottom of the hill and not the top! I didn’t take any pics - despite having my camera with me - because there really aren’t any great views from that stretch of N81 (between Crooksling Nursing Home and the turn off for Saggart) but next week I might cycle up to the old De Selby quarry and take some pics from there.

My goal this year is to get involved with a club - I know that the Mountain Biking Association of Dublin have regular meetups, but I ‘d like to find a club a little closer to home…

According to this article, simply by ripping CDs that you have purchased in good faith and copying the tracks to your iPod or other digital audio device, you are contravening copyright law.

Far be it for me to encourage people to break the law, but if downloading music from a P2P network and transferring music that you have purchased from one format to another are regarded as morally equal by the Irish music industry, then I really don’t see why anyone would be bothered legally purchasing their music (other than from somewhere like iTunes).

Last week I bought two albums on iTunes that are, in their own ways, both challenging and revelations.

Firstly, the White Stripes‘ Get Behind Me Satan. The White Stripes can be something of an enigma: if you had only ever heard their singles, you would be forgiven for assuming that their albums are full of quirky but catchy three-minute slices of guitar-driven indie-pop. And you’d be forgiven for feeling smug and self-satisfied when, on listening to Elephant, you discover that their albums are full of quirky but catchy three-minute slices of guitar-driven indie-pop. But Elephant is something of an aberration in the Stripes’ catalogue and is by far the most accessible of their collections.

Get Behind Me Satan is a more difficult album to get to grips with at first but may actually prove to be more rewarding on repeat listens. The singles are as catchy (and quirky) as anything the White Stripes have ever produced and Blue Orchid has the kind of riff that a lot of ‘heavier’ bands can only dream of. The pair have also expanded their sound: piano plays a much greater role throughout than on Elephant and there is even what sounds like calypso drumming on The Nurse.

The other album that I bought was Hard-Fi’s Stars of CCTV. In a way this was the more pleasant surprise as I only bought it on a whim, having both a vague idea of who they were and an iTunes gift cerificate burning a hole in my virtual pocket. Whereas I kind of knew what to expect with The White Stripes - they’re a know entity to a certain extent - I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this one. I’d heard Cash Machine on the radio a few times and liked it but hadn’t heard any of their other stuff.

Once I got past the fact that I was unfamiliar with the band or their sound, I found myself really enjoying it and enjoying it more and more on repeat listens. I don’t think there’s a duff song on this album - some of the songs I like more than others - Hard to Beat, Living for the Weekend, Tied Up Too Tight and title-track Stars of CCTV are stand outs - but that’s true of even my favourite albums. But whatever you do, avoid the NME review, which makes the album sound like the kind of turgid ‘real’ working class yob-rock shite that Pete Doherty would produce.