Where did the form go? There is a group of merry pranksters out there with nothing to do but paste pages laden with links into forms all day in hopes that they'll get automatically get posted. Now What Do I Do? Send e-mail to wizard (at) azoz.com. Comments about specific stories are posted with the article referred to. Some interesting letters get posted here, or a link if it inspired or required more than a couple of paragraphs in response.

From the Wizard's Mailbag... August 8, 2009 -- I just read your article about the RIAA numbers. And I agree with you so much. There is no clear information available on the recording industry sales figures, market shares of recording companies, albums released or any other information which may be instrumental in calculating if these companies have actually been affected by anything. You were right to point out that the industry has killed the single. But from what I understand so far is that the music companies are not actually doing bad and are actually profiting from the file sharing software as it helps international audiences to test out the music first before they actually convert to the sale of a CD. One thing, however you did not address is that of artist development. If you notice there has been a rise in a lot of independent labels over the years, and a lot of them are releasing good music. The reason for that is that the BIG FOUR are not investing any money in grooming artists as a "long term investment" and are just interested in short term pop sensations to make their quarterly numbers. Some of this has also been portrayed in the film "Before the Music Dies" with accounts from a lot of musicians. I think the fundamental problem with the industry is that they are not music companies any more...they are " a CD distribution" company, which also happens to sell a little bit of artist merchandise and digital content. And I think that if they don't go back to the basics they would really be headed for some trouble. Aneesh B. University of Glasgow La Compil' Pirate Vol.2 (Press Release from French Parti Pirate) After a successful first installment, the French Parti Pirate proudly presents this second chapter of our Pirate Compilation ! This year, no less than 19 artists have joined us, bringing along their different styles: rock, pop, electro, jazz, bossa, folk... an impressive diversity, and a confirmed quality. All of these musicians have chosen, like thousands all over the world, to offer their works as freely accessible to the public. A remarkable choice in our times where citizens who contribute to propagate culture and knowledge are commonly referred to as "pirates". This Pirate Compilation is freely downloadable on our website, in various audio formats, alongside with a French/English booklet where you can find the websites of each artist, and thereby download or buy their own records. Through this initiative, we're very proud to contribute to the Free cultural life that our world, and our democracies, deserve and need. Happy listening! Cheers Mary Poppins Reader Wants a Book April 6, 2009 To George Ziemann: Have you considered writing a book detailing the shenanigans of the RIAA, MPAA and their associates, and how the music and media industry are basically committing suicide (or have already done so) by suing its own customers, among a host of other dirty deeds for which they have now proceeded to twisting the minds of the Obama administration into supporting? (More) December 25, 2008 -- Jason writes in to offer a solution to the RIAA problem, which turns out be not entirely novel, yet not without merit, either. (Read More) Help! I have a friend who is being sued by RIAA for downloading music. She is a student at a Chicago university and is very scared about the suit. Can you recommend anyone in the area to represent her or can you recommend any course of action? Thanks, Mike I am not a lawyer, I am a writer and a musician and I am not qualified to give a course of action, especially not knowing the specifics (which I don't want to know). Does the university have a legal department? These things usually come in groups. Many universities have had the subpoenas tossed because there were multiple cased grouped together, which the RIAA has repeatedly been told not to do. Go to this site: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/ Ray Beckerman seems to be the country's leading attorney against the RIAA. He can probably help you locate an attorney that knows what he's doing. I think there may even be a directory of anti-RIAA lawyers. And then there is http://www.rivaa.org, which is rather new, but is a victim's advocate. I think Beckerman is the best bet. 99% of the people that get subpoenas pay the settlement. Those that insist the RIAA prove their case have been fighting a 3-year battle before the RIAA gives up, usually on the verge of a court date, because they have no evidence. The defendants have been cashing out at between $60,000 to $100,000 because, unless the wording of the subpoenas has changed this year, the RIAA can't prove what they accuse the alleged filesharers of. If your friend is truly innocent, fighting the RIAA is a long, grueling process, but there's a big payday at the end, at least for your lawyer. And it would be stupid to pay $4,000 for a "crime" you did not commit, especially when the RIAA is not capable of proving that filesharers have violated the law, even when they catch them. Only one case has ever gone to trial. They've sued more than 30,000 people. The only real course of action I can give you is to stop listening to RIAA music, or at least turn off sharing. I know that sounds sarcastic, but this is the 6th year of lawsuits and they're still reeling in the college kids. Find some new music to listen to that's not illegal.