article from mtv.com

http://www.mtv.com/news/a...lines=true

Prince filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit against a Seattle Webmaster on Thursday, claiming that his site had posted downloads to unauthorized songs. The Webmaster denies this claim.

"All I did was link directly to songs [on another, unrelated Web site]," Matthew Lankford said. "And I've been unemployed for the last year. I live in a studio apartment in downtown Seattle. They're basically suing me for my Top Ramen money."

Thirty-three-year-old Lankford, who runs the Me'shell Ndegeocello fan site FreeMyHeart.com, said that he linked to upwards of 50 recordings from another Web site which were taken from Prince's Xenophobia live concert performances this past June. Since Prince is seeking damages of $150,000 per song, that could total up to $7.5 million.

However, Prince's lawyer said that it wasn't just links that irked the Purple One. "Lankford had both sound files and links to other sites," Jerry Blackwell said. "And some of those links were to other sites that he directed and controlled."

Lankford, who disputes having any control over the other Web sites, said that he first got word that Prince's camp was upset with his activities when he received a notice in mid-August via Prince's NPG Music Club, which notified him that he had violated the singer's copyright and demanded the removal of unauthorized music.

Lankford then sent a letter in response which convinced Prince's lawyers that it would take a court action to stop him, since he wrote, "Until my Internet Service Provider says 'No,' or until I receive a judge's decision that says 'No,' I will continue doing what Prince promised in 1995 by freeing the music in a non-profit format."

The Webmaster argued that he wasn't bootlegging, but file-sharing, noting that the entire week of Xenophobia concerts were already being sold as bootlegs elsewhere on the Internet. Lankford then wrote, "My putting up a track or two a day of unreleased material for the 500 people that visit FreeMyHeart.com per day isn't going to harm Prince financially in any way whatsoever. In fact, I put up a link for folks to support Prince by purchasing his most recent album."

Prince's camp next notified Lankford's ISP provider Affinity, who took down his Web site for a month under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Lankford removed the links and had his access restored in mid-September, only to find that the matter, as far as Prince was concerned, was still unresolved.

"Yes, the files are gone," Prince lawyer Blackwell said. "But since he said he would link to every bootleg site he could find, it could happen again. He intends to keep on doing this. We could shut down his site today, and another would pop up tomorrow."

Consequently, Prince's Paisley Park Enterprises filed the suit in U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleging that there was an "ongoing infringement." Even though any files or links are nowhere to be found on Lankford's site at present, Prince's lawsuit alleges that he "continues to willfully infringe Plantiff's copyright and has indicated that he will continue to infringe Plantiff's copyrights once his Web site is back online."

Lankford, who has discussed the matter with Prince's lawyers, says that he's confused why they're going after him and not the original Web site which posted the music files to begin with. His defense ? that he didn't post the files, and that he took the links down ? seems to have made no impact, he said. Prince's lawsuit claims that by directing his users to the other Web site, he gave access to copyrighted music and allowed others to make copies and transmissions, thereby violating the Copyright Act.

"There are hundreds of bootleggers out there," Blackwell said. "We can't find them all. But we do try to get the ones we do find to act responsibly. [Lankford] is spending his entire day providing unauthorized music to people. He could certainly get authorized music and do the same thing. There's a fan club for that.

"Why he doesn't get a regular job, I do not know," he continued. "He thinks he's a modern day Robin Hood. But I don't think anybody who has a legitimate job and works for a paycheck would willingly be robbed of that check, and that's what's happening to artists. And we'll take whatever measures we have to get them to stop."

—Jennifer Vineyard

whoa... did it just get serious?

so this knucklehead had plenty of warning ahead of time and still basically said "F*** you" to the lawyers. Real smart. No wonder he's been unemployed for a year.
[This message was edited Thu Oct 3 14:07:47 PDT 2002 by DonnieDarko]

Might be getting serious, but I find it funny as heck!!!

Yes he was warned, but I think he has a point. Prince always wants to free the music then free it dang it!!! Give me the freakin' key to the Vault and I'll free it for you.

"There are hundreds of bootleggers out there," Blackwell said. "We can't find them all.
Heheheheeheheee Funny we all know who they are even though I don't buy them. It's kinda listed everywhere.

OK all kidding aside... Hope they resolve this soon.

Much Love,
LoLinex

Matthew was warned.. yet he continued to play with fire. Now he may get burned.. unfortunately, it's not the fans decision on what music to distribute. That is Prince's. I gotta support the man on this one..

Did Matthew ask money for the music?

No, he didnt make nor ask for any money, at least not that eye'm aware of.. but it still goes against copyright laws, and PRINCE's law:) the "Dont f*ck with my music" Law.. he has had this law 4ever.. look at his fued with Warner?

no seriously.. eye hate the fac that this guy is getting a full load on his back over this, but he had road signs, and now he is at the end of this road. or is it just the start
[This message was edited Thu Oct 3 11:48:18 PDT 2002 by Sdldawn]

Prince is a freakin millionaire. He should quit bitching. I don't see this breaking the bank for him

anemone said:

Prince owns the music -- it is his to control. I can't really feel bad for freemyheart.
[This message was edited Thu Oct 3 12:09:37 PDT 2002 by slm4m]

CarrieLee said:

I don't see this as a money issue. I think it is more of an owership issue. Prince's additude is likely, "Hey, thats my music, there is no offical release of that performance -- it was obtained illegally."

It is simple, If I am a painter and you steal my painting --thats illegal. If you copy and distribute stolen painting --again illegal. FReemyheart may not have provided the downloads, but he did provide a link to said downloads, again -- illegal, end of issue.

I just wonder, is Prince short of cash? I bought concert tickets 4 his one nite alone gig in Rotterdam and i had 2 pay, brace yourself, 65 (!!!) euro. The last time he was in Holland in 1998 i had 2 pay 35 euro.

Also if u want 2 b a member of his music club u have 2 pay 100 dollars a year and 4 that u still have 2 burn your own cd and still have 2 pay big money 4 your tickets.

And now he isn't even allowing his fans, the people that made him what he is 2day, 2 use his name or pictures of him on their websites. And he is having lawsuits against fans 4 puting a few mp3 files on their website.

I think that the man has forgotten that without his fans he wouldn't even be in 2 music industry in the first place.

The public has forgotten him since he is only making the music he likes and seems 2 have forgotten how 2 make hits. His fans r the only ones buing his music 2day and instead of being grateful 4 that, he pisses them off!

lolinex said:

I think there has always been a big misunderstanding among some fans when Prince said "Free The Music" back in 94/95. It was never a monetary statement. It was a statement regarding liberation. For example, there is a big difference between the statement "Buy one, get one free" and Martin Luther King saying "Free at last!". Same word, 2 entirely different meanings. "Free the music" is interpretted by some as "take my music and pay me nothing for it" while others more correctly interpret it as "Allow me as the creator to freely choose what to do with my creations". This should have been crystal clear when he wrote "Slave" on his face. When you hear "Free the slaves", do you think it means "Get your slaves for free!" or that slaves should have their freedom and no longer be slaves? It is very clear. Yet some fans continually say things like "Prince said 'Free The Music' so he should give me a free CD!!" I certainly don't think that when Donny Hathaway sang "One day we will all be free" that he meant one day we will all be given away for free.

DonnieDarko said:

Sensualmelody says: Amen, brother!!!...

Oh goodness I don't want anything for free!!! Geez some fans take things to serious. If you read below I put down all kidding a side... just like the press they only list half of it but not all!

I for one don't ask for anything to be given to me for Free because ppl always want something in return.

Much Love,
LoLinex

DonnieDarko said:

HAHA!!! Good one.

He deserves it..What an idiot.
[This message was edited Thu Oct 3 18:39:53 PDT 2002 by cracknbush]

Did he think of asking?

Hey Donnie, that's not alltogether true. In interviews he gave in the second half of the nineties, he actually spoke of giving the music away.

I think I agree with the man and you, tho. People like us or whoever can think that Prince should do this and this all we like and maybe he's an asshole and perhaps he ought to run his business that way or the other. None of this gives us the right to do as we please with his "property".

But I still buy bootlegs.

there was a time when Prince was talking about giving The Gold Experience away for free in protest of Warner Brothers. A feeling that if he couldn't sell it, he would just give it away because it had to be heard. However, a fan shouldn't take that out of context and apply it to all future recordings. It entirely had to do with his situation with WB at that time and how they were getting the lion share of the money for everything he was forced to release through them by his contract.

I'm not saying that you're wrong, just pointing out the context of what was going on back then.

I brought this up because I seem to hear (or read) fans say things like "He said 'Free The Music' so we should be getting free stuff!!" all the time. And again, I'm not saying that is your attitude or Lolinex. But Matt Lunkhead brought it up in the above article:

"I will continue doing what Prince promised in 1995 by freeing the music." (i.e. giving away bootleg MP3s free of charge)

and it needs to be cleared up once and for all (tho that will never happen cuz people are pretty lunkheaded in general).

I guess Matt's site "FreeMyHeart" must therefore mean that his heart is free of charge. I know an organ bank in Kansas City that would be very interested, I will be sure to pass along his info. And I guess "Free The Heart" would mean the same thing = Big Sale in the Cardiology Department!!

What a dumbass

WHEN PRINCE IS NO LONGER HERE-WE WILL HAVE ALL THE VAULT-THATS WHAT PEOPLE DO U KNOW. WHY DOESNT HE REALISE-YE THERE WILL BE WILLS TO STOP IT-BUT IT WILL NEVER WORK(AS ALWAYS), A BIG FAN-WITH A PERSONAL OPINION-NOT A fam

Prince got pissed because Matthew sent him a "I'm not taking them down nah-nah letter" I thought it was funny, but this is waaay too serious. Making this guy an example is NOT going to prevent people from attempting to access music. Authorised or not, I WANNA HEAR IT! He can make it more difficult but it won't stop people wanting to hear it. For those people saying, "Guys an idiot for putting links on his site" it was awesome to hear Empty Room and All the Critics so thanks Matthew. Hope that makes you feel like $7.5 million.

i think it would be great to watch movies on a 60 inch digital television. but if I walk into best buy and decide to "free the television" as Matt would define it, they would throw me in jail. no doubt someone who mugs you enjoys spending your money they stole to buy a big mac. it's not about what you would enjoy. it's about the choices you make and the consequences for those choices. do the crime, pay the fine - whether you enjoy it or not. we don't make the rules down here, but we will pay the price for breaking them - sho nuff.

Ok none of you have brought up the point that they kept calling john blackwell rince's LAWYER...does john have a law degree? Whats up?

read it again: JERRY Blackwell is the lawyer

This is too ... too brainless for words ...
Hello if the bootlegs are made available for free on the net it's the bootleggers who loose income not Prince cuz Prince ain't tryin to sell the stuff !
The music has allready been stolen from the man an sadly it's not like it can just be returned and all is good in the world ... The music is out there if Prince likes it or not ...
Now the choice is do you punish those who share the music freely and encourage people to buy the bootlegs or do you Chill Out and realize that Mat ws doin Prince a favor by hookin people up with the links to the music that the bootlegggers are sellin ?
Busness lesson ... How to kill the black market ... Give away the stuff the theives are tryin to sell ! How many people are gonna pay for what they can get for free ? Only those who don't know they can get it ... The materials all ready out there Mat didn't do the recording and dispite his being unemployed he never tried to sell the stuff ! he was simply grantting free access to it !
Two wrongs don't make a right ... it's not right that the material was stolen in the first place granted but it was and now people are selling it and there are plenty of folks here callin Mat an idiot who own UnAutherised materials and Paid for those materials some times hunderds and thousands of dollars ....
It's Not about the Money you say then why sue a jobless man for millions ? Why punish a man who by distributing the materials freely is taking proffits from the theif that the lawers aint out there gettin ?
Go After The Damn Bootleggers not those who ruin busness for them !

Dang !
[This message was edited Sat Oct 5 11:35:26 PDT 2002 by Zandi]

You're missing the point, Zandi. It's not about filesharing or bootlegs. It's about letting the creator make the decisions regarding their creations. If Prince wants to share his music online (like he did with "The Work Pt. 1" which he gave to Napster) then that is HIS choice. Not anyone elses. Not mine, not yours, not some jobless guy in Seatles. If Prince wants to release 57 live albums or just one, that is HIS choice. Once you rob him of that choice, you're writing "slave" on his face.
[This message was edited Sat Oct 5 19:12:52 PDT 2002 by DonnieDarko]

As usual Prince is being a sissy bitch. The man must really be hard up for media attention to be sueing a fan. Furthermore Prince and Londell and company don`t have the backbone or the commonsense to go after the real bootleggers. Why because they know that they can`t beat them. Period. I dare you to go to Kazaa or Limeware or any other file server and do a keyword search for Prince bootleg. Or maybe Prince live. Or maybe Prince outtake. Go ahead Prince be a man and quit stepping on the little guy. If you wanna play Mr. Bigshot Head Honcho try stopping the real bootleggers. HELL IM GONNA GO PURCHASE ANOTHER PRINCE BOOTLEG CD JUST TO HELP THE CAUSE. Maybe I should start hanign out at www.rageagainstthemachine.org instead.


PRINCE

funkbible said:

please do
[This message was edited Sun Oct 6 10:35:55 PDT 2002 by DonnieDarko]

First: Bootlegging is illegal, we all know that, but imagine, if there were no bootlegs, means there's no interest in the man's music. I know for sure Prince still has a core fan base cuz of bootlegs, that's normal, that's how it works. Bowie allows bootlegging, he even gives material because he knows u can't stop, but cooperating is controling it at least. Sueing fans is not the way to stop this at all..

Second: If there were no bootlegs, and I do not approve them, Prince wasn't hot anymore, the man made some terrible decisions in the past & present, like the way he is distributing the releases now. Hook up and bring a record is my opinion, Prince is not more then an artist and believe it is also for Prince only about the money, because if it ain't he would be only jamming in PP.

I hope no one is seeing this story in a negative way, it is just the way it goes, change with evolution is my advise.

As usual, there are two sides to every story. The fact is, what freemyheart did was illegal, so he will probably lose the case. HOWEVER, Prince doing this just winds up alienating his fans. Bootlegs kept the man's career going for years, and now he wants to shut them down. If Prince had a lick of sense, he would leak even more stuff to freemyheart, so more people would get exposure to his music. Freemyheart was always promoting Prince for free, and really doing a better job of it than the man himself does these days