TorrentFreak

The place where breaking news, BitTorrent and copyright collide

TorrentFreak TV S02E02

Another brand new episode of TorrentFreak TV. This week’s episode covers BREIN’s false evidence against The Pirate Bay, Kazaa’s creators working on new project, MySpace not allowing a copyright owner upload his own song, VODO the new P2P distribution platform and we review a few VPN services.

TorrentFreak TV covers some of the best, most interesting or remarkable stories from the wonderful world of file-sharing. An HD version of this episode is available on Mininova.

As always, we’re looking forward to your commentary. For questions or suggestions, feel free to contact the crew at tv@torrentfreak.com. We encourage contributions from viewers!

An iTunes feed is available here, and a regular RSS feed here.

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  • Anonymous

    Awesomeness.

    It’s great to see TTV back and better than ever.

  • Anonymous #2

    First paragraph is missing 3 words.

    … working on [a] new project
    … upload his [own] song
    … we review [a] few VPN services

  • Nobody

    Please keep Kathrine Fung.
    She speaks clearer than Stacia Lawrence and does not do as much unneeded, distracting handwaving.

    Don’t do white text on light pink/purple background.
    That makes it very hard to see the text.

    Oh, and please keep doing the show.
    It’s always nice to get the news presented in a different format than what you had them presented in before.

  • commondenom

    great show, i always like to keep up to speed with the P2P news and while this is no replacement for the text news its a welcome change….

    keep up the good work…

  • news

    Corner shop worker told to stop singing in her store – or pay for a performing licence

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1220423/Corner-store-worker-told-stop-singing-works–pay-licence.html

    Music police have told a grandmother to stop singing behind the counter of the corner shop where she works – or pay for a licence.

    Sandra Burt began serenading customers at the A & T Food Store in Clackmannan, near Stirling, after the owners were contacted by The Performing Right Society and told they would have to pay an £80 annual fee to keep the radio on in the shop.

    They decided not to bother and now 56-year-old Sandra sings tracks ‘from anyone from The Noisettes, to the Rolling Stones’ as she stocks the shelves and weighs customers’ purchases.

    Music police have told a grandmother to stop singing behind the counter of the corner shop where she works – or pay for a licence.

    Sandra Burt began serenading customers at the A & T Food Store in Clackmannan, near Stirling, after the owners were contacted by The Performing Right Society and told they would have to pay an £80 annual fee to keep the radio on in the shop.

    They decided not to bother and now 56-year-old Sandra sings tracks ‘from anyone from The Noisettes, to the Rolling Stones’ as she stocks the shelves and weighs customers’ purchases.

    Now, however, the PRS, which collects royalties on behalf of music industry bosses and artists, has told her that her ‘spontaneous outbursts of joy’ constitute live public performance, and she could have to pay annual fees of ‘four figures’.

    Gareth Kelly, music sales advisor for PRS, said that Mrs Burt was getting up to ‘mischief’ to get round the radio licence fee.

    He said: ‘Using any copyright material in your store, without paying for it, is illegal.

    ‘It doesn’t matter whether you’re singing a Robbie Williams track, or listening to a Robbie Williams track, you still have to pay for it.

    ‘She could be fined for not having a live performance licence, and if the fine isn’t paid, then she could potentially be taken to court.’

    The PRS said that Mrs Burt could be judged to be giving daily performances, which would require individual daily licences, taking the annual cost up to ‘four figures’.

    Mrs Burt, a Rolling Stones fan, said she was shocked by the attitude of the PRS.

    She said: ‘I come from a very musical family. My husband is a drummer in a pipe band, and even my two-and-a-half year old grand-daughter is always singing.

    ‘I sing all the time, and I often don’t even know I’m doing it. It’s just a spontaneous, happy thing.

    ‘They’d have to put tape over my mouth to stop me singing these songs. Even if they threatened to take me to court, I don’t think I could stop singing. I’m just a naturally happy person.

    ‘Nobody that comes in the store complains about me singing. I love singing and think it’s cruel that PRS would try and stop me from doing it.’

    Assistant manager of the store Dale Alexander said they had been contacted by the Performing Right Society to say their business could be fined if they were caught listening to a radio without a licence, so Sandra decided to entertain the staff and customers instead.

    Mr Alexander, 29, said: ‘Sometimes you can go half an hour without seeing anyone in the shop so the radio was a wee bit of company.

    ‘It was really just for the staff. It is not like we were putting on a concert. The rules have been in for a while but the PRS have been targeting small shops recently, and with the recent huge increase in the drinks licence to stump up it is just too much to pay extra for.

    ‘It helps that Sandra actually likes singing the oldies from the sixties and that sort of thing, and she is quite a good singer.’

    Mrs Burt, who has worked in the store for four years, added: ‘I have always sung in the shop but it is so quiet now without the radio on, that I’m singing all the time.

    ‘I’ll basically just sing anything that comes into my head, and then Dale will start singing along with me, and people in the shop will say ‘Oh I know that song too’, and they’ll start singing along too. It’s a happy store.

    ‘It’s ridiculous. What’s the world coming to when Big Brother wants to charge you for singing a wee tune?’

    The Performing Right Society said it was within its rights to charge for all copyright music played or performed outside of the home. The not-for-profit organisation distributes the royalties to the writers and publishers of the songs.

    Music police have told a grandmother to stop singing behind the counter of the corner shop where she works – or pay for a licence.

    Sandra Burt began serenading customers at the A & T Food Store in Clackmannan, near Stirling, after the owners were contacted by The Performing Right Society and told they would have to pay an £80 annual fee to keep the radio on in the shop.

    They decided not to bother and now 56-year-old Sandra sings tracks ‘from anyone from The Noisettes, to the Rolling Stones’ as she stocks the shelves and weighs customers’ purchases.

    One delighted regular has even compared her voice to Amy Winehouse.

    Now, however, the PRS, which collects royalties on behalf of music industry bosses and artists, has told her that her ’spontaneous outbursts of joy’ constitute live public performance, and she could have to pay annual fees of ‘four figures’.

    Gareth Kelly, music sales advisor for PRS, said that Mrs Burt was getting up to ‘mischief’ to get round the radio licence fee.

    He said: ‘Using any copyright material in your store, without paying for it, is illegal.

    ‘It doesn’t matter whether you’re singing a Robbie Williams track, or listening to a Robbie Williams track, you still have to pay for it.

    ‘She could be fined for not having a live performance licence, and if the fine isn’t paid, then she could potentially be taken to court.’

    The PRS said that Mrs Burt could be judged to be giving daily performances, which would require individual daily licences, taking the annual cost up to ‘four figures’.

    Mrs Burt, a Rolling Stones fan, said she was shocked by the attitude of the PRS.

    ‘I sing all the time, and I often don’t even know I’m doing it. It’s just a spontaneous, happy thing.

    ‘They’d have to put tape over my mouth to stop me singing these songs. Even if they threatened to take me to court, I don’t think I could stop singing. I’m just a naturally happy person.

    It was really just for the staff. It is not like we were putting on a concert. The rules have been in for a while but the PRS have been targeting small shops recently, and with the recent huge increase in the drinks licence to stump up it is just too much to pay extra for.

    Mrs Burt, who has worked in the store for four years, added: ‘I have always sung in the shop but it is so quiet now without the radio on, that I’m singing all the time.

    ‘I’ll basically just sing anything that comes into my head, and then Dale will start singing along with me, and people in the shop will say ‘Oh I know that song too’, and they’ll start singing along too. It’s a happy store.

    ‘It’s ridiculous. What’s the world coming to when Big Brother wants to charge you for singing a wee tune?’

  • chillienet

    @ 3 Oct 20, 2009 at 11:41 by Nobody
    Are you serious??!?!?
    I have no problem listening to Stacia and her hand movements are just a sign that she is a little nervous and hasn’t yet got the hang of talking on video. But Kathrine was very difficult to understand, she seems to mumble her way through the english language.

    Great episode, the only advice I will give is that Stacia might need to slow down a little bit, she seems a bit rushed to get it all out.

  • Matthew

    not bad ep at all , and i would recommend keeping Kathrine Fung. She is one hot babe ;)

    I look forward to each new episode, and wonder what lovely stacy might be wearing….i mean might be informing us about :)

  • Matthew

    i ment Stacia Lawrence not stacy….sorry

  • Cordelia

    Very good ladies!
    Definitely keep Katherine. The tech world, particularly torrenting needs all the women they can get.

    Some VPNs that are good:

    SwissVPN (.ch)
    GoSecure (.co.uk)
    Relakks (.se)
    Ipredator (.se)
    btguard (.ca)

    People from

    ESTONIA, LAT, LIT, ROMANIA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE…

    can you help with tips on VPNs there?

  • Really?

    Is the best you can do. Get rid of them both and lose the gfx person too. Overall very unprofessional and dis-jointed.

    Must do better.

  • PirLog.com

    Nice to see this again.

    http://Pirlog.com

  • Positron

    @ news (#5 Oct 20, 2009 at 12:12):

    Those people at the PRS (Performing Right Society) ought to get their heads examined, very thoroughly!! What they are saying here is just beyond ridiculous. Organizations such as these should really be done away with permanently and as soon as possible. They’re just criminals, trying to enforce their preposterous rules upon the public.

    Don’t let them intimidate you, Sandra Burt! They won’t get away with this nonsense, I’m sure.

  • Positron

    Oh, and I’m sorry Ernesto, for responding to an off-topic post like this (#12 Oct 20, 2009 at 14:24 by Positron), but I just couldn’t let it pass without speaking my mind about it. Please forgive me. ;)

    As far as TorrentFreak TV’s latest episode is concerned, I can say that I enjoyed watching it, but like chillienet at #6 already mentioned, Stacia should really slow down a bit. Viewers need to get a chance to process the information that is being conveyed to them. Good articulation will help to achieve this as well. Aside from that I’d say, keep it up, and I’ll keep watching!

  • hmm

    can’t understand a word either of them say……..

  • aquila92

    @14 Why can’t you understand a word they say? Are you retarded?

  • Xcel

    I would guess that the “fast talking” is probably due to a “time Factor” Ppl….

    personally I thought it was great, both of them did a fine job, no problem understanding either of them, AND it was informative as usual…

    Thanks TF & Torrent TV Crew….

  • devvo

    dont like her hair , dont pay for vpn use Ultra VPN its free and not too bad speed!

  • Name Here:

    Thanks very good video!!, Use itshidden.com vpn, its free and very good

  • insinuendo

    Am downloading now….Thanks!

  • FlightSuit

    Please ignore the comments from “Nobody,” who dissed Stacia Lawrence. Stacia is adorable and quirky. Some people might criticize her bizarre fashion sense and self-conscious hand-gestures, but I think these things just make her all the more endearing.

    Stacia, I love you!

  • z

    Stacia is a fine host, and I think Katherine did very well for her debut performance. I recommend keeping her.

  • drunkard

    Im sorry but i love chicks, thats jsut how i am.. If you were like torrentfreaks chicks i might have given it a try

  • Calorine

    i love TTV n as what i see they came back better than ever..
    those girls are awesome n good lookin
    grat job girl..!

  • Calorine

    i mean GREAT!!

  • disanon

    I must say, the overall episode is good but I don’t like VPN spam. What’s next, seedboxes?

  • calorine

    i mean again GIRLS !! :) sorry

  • Dave

    i use a VPN called Hotspot Shield. Discovered it when i was trying to get around the net nanny at my school on my laptop. Works well, no noticeable slow down and it is free

  • vorsorge

    dont keep Kathrine.

  • Bobe-On (Steampunk)

    I’m new to TFTV but it’s fun.
    I do design by trade, so to me, anything goes.

    The word-typing typewriter sounds made me giggle. Must be a steampunk setup. ;)
    I’m tempted to agree with a previous poster about the white text colour though, but the effect, itself, is fine.

    Good segment transitions.

    It was cool to see someone else pop on too, talking about her own personal experience with VPN, which some of us might be considering.

    I liked the end segment too. I wonder who the bald guy is. Maybe Cory Doctorow or Clay Shirkey.

  • omfg

    for me it was pretty hard to understand Kathrine (i’m no native speaker)

  • Cordelia

    Yeah, one comment about the newsreaders: Remember that half of the people who read this site are not native English speakers. So you must speak clearly and slowly and not use complicated English expressions and idioms.

    I am not a native English speaker myself. Your accents do not cause me any trouble, but some years ago it probably would have…
    So remember; slowly, clearly, simply…

  • sk

    now i see the diference!keep this girl!

  • 42 meaning of life

    First time commenter just to leave my opinion on the new girl

    I like her but it seems that something is missing, keep her I am all for it but also I feel that she needs to be teamed up with a guy. Both her and a guy switching off between stories while both on screen or something to that effect. But good job none the less and am glad for the info about VPN sevices.

  • devvo

    Calorine are u a lesbian? :P

  • Yatti420

    http://www.nastyoldpeople.org – First Creative Commons Film!.. Trailer\Torrent Avail On Site!.. I liked it..

  • entirely unprofessional

    i would probably withdraw all tf video in embarrassment.

    seriously. these girls are half-wits, the content is mediocre and of marginal credibility etc…

  • Hom3r

    definitely cut kathrine, her accent is too heavy, and her english is bad.

  • James

    Hey — Nice production. One hint: cough-up for at least a LAPEL MIC so capture this nice lady’s speech without the echo from the whole room. Or perhaps boom mic?

    Cheers!

    (Sorry, not shouting there, but guessing this is going to be skim-read at best).

  • Kathrine Fung

    I no can spreak the Engrish ranguage, prease not to make me talrk in pubric or on TworrentFweak no mo’!

    Thank for your understandring.

    Rood-bye!

  • Asshat

    Meh, Katherine seems kind of… Uncomfortable. She also needs to enunciate for words a bit more. I’m not asking for perfect pronunciation, but she’s cutting whole syllables out of words. If she wasn’t talking out VPNs -something of quite high interest to me- I would have turned it off…

  • angryyy

    get some tits out. also please only put dvd rips on the top 10 review, r5 are decent but screeners and so on are not quality to rave about.

  • BTGuard - BitTorrent Anonymously

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