Some of you may have seen recent news stories about the possibility of RIAA threatening to
target people who rip commercial CDs to mp3 (or other format) for use on portable music players.
IPM's response to this: If you purchase a copy of our work on CD or in any other media format,
then you have the right to convert or transfer that work to any format you like for your own personal
use. Every purchase supports our efforts to produce new work; but our business model is not about
selling plastic discs, media files, copies, formats, or other nonsense. We sell music and other
creative art. The rest is just a means to get the art in your hands. Thanks!
--
Mike and the IPM Team
Folks this isn't a long-winded legal document. We just want you to know why IPM copyrights its works, how we view copyright in today's internet- and computer-empowered digital media world, and what it means for you our friends and fans.
Mike and the guest artists of IPM want to create works of beauty that inspire you and make your lives
better. In order to do this, we have dedicated our full-time careers to music and related arts. In
other words, we want to make a living in ways that enable us to create and share as much as possible.
Unfortunately, making a living involves money. The "Copyright" notices on our work are there to remind
folks that we need your support. That is essential in order for us to keep doing what we do. Basically,
we need to pay the bills and build a public image that accurately reflects who we are and what we believe.
If people use our work to make a buck without giving us so much as a dime or a bit of credit, then we
have fewer resources to continue our creative efforts. If somebody accidentally (or worse intentionally)
uses our work to promote or enhance something we can't support, it creates confusion. THAT IS WHY WE
COPYRIGHT OUR WORK.
IPM is not out to use the law to get rich. Punishing (read: suing, crippling with DRM, etc.) our fans
for listening, watching, sharing and promoting (all of which are GOOD things) our work is WRONG. We have
no desire to do that - EVER. [Case in point: We are actively working via our digital distributor
to release On
Wings of the Wind via the new DRM-free iTunes Plus service. Here is the official news blog:
CDBaby - iTunes Plus. Look for a BIG
notice on our homepage when that happens.] Our hope is that copyright will be a way to encourage people to
communicate with us and support our creative efforts. After all, music, multimedia, and all good art
forms are about communicating; and without people who appreciate, benefit from and support us, then our
efforts are pointless.
So, if you wish to use our work in a public setting or for profit, please
contact us! We want to hear from you, find out how
you think our work could inspire more people, support other great projects, gain insight and new ideas
from you for future IPM projects, and more! We encourage you to share our work with your friends and help
IPM succeed by spreading the word about our concerts,
CDs, iTunes and other digital albums, and
services.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions
about our work, this copyright policy, or anything else. And THANK YOU for taking time to read this!
On behalf of IPM and all of its guest artists,
--
Mike
