Last month in Germany, the Federal Court made a ruling which moved to limit the liability of parents for their minor children’s illegal music sharing. The court’s decision stipulates that parents are not liable for the illegal music file sharing of their minor child if they have educated their children enough about the prohibition of participating in file sharing on the Internet.
The ruling represents a setback for the music industry, which demanded several thousand Euros for damages and legal fees. The case was triggered by a 13-year-old who illegally downloaded music and spread it on the net.
As Florian Drücke, the Head of the Federal Association of the Music Industry, warned, the judgment does not mean that parents no longer need to worry about the surfing habits of their children. “The recent statement of the Supreme Court should not be ‘misunderstood’ as a free ride for parents and their children to careless file sharing,” explained Drücke. “What concrete steps parents must take, especially for repeated violations, remains to be seen in the view of for the judgment.”
The issue is not about monitoring the children — we know that over-supervision is not a recipe for success when it comes to 13-year-olds. Rather, it’s about building their awareness for the value of music, films and books. The question is, how do you do that?
Let’s face it, if you’re in the music business, you’ve definitely had to share large files at one point or another: .zip files, hi-res artwork, videos… And so you’re probably familiar with some of the big file-sharing sites like YouSendIt or sendspace. Well, I’m here to introduce you to my personal favorite large file-sharing site: WeTransfer.
The first thing I noticed on WeTransfer is its sleekness. It’s one URL, one simple box on the homepage, no need to register, and you’re in business. As the Co-Founder and CMO of the site Nalden says, “It’s built for digital natives as well as their moms and dads.” It’s true. It was a seasoned professor and college mentor, who actually first introduced me to WeTransfer a few years ago.
The other amazing thing about the site it its background. The artsy images scrolling in the back are in fact the most inoffensive and attractive advertisements I’ve ever seen. Beyond that, they’re actually effective: while the premium ads (the first 5 in the slideshow) generate an average of 3% click-through rate (CTR), in some instances, they’ve generated up to 5%! Nike, Reef, MTV, Vodafone and Canon are among some of the companies who have used WeTransfer to advertise their product. And now, so are we! Check out wetransfer.com and maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of The Orchard while you’re uploading your files.
Another option the site offers is a personalized URL for your very own transfer service, with only your background in the mix. Spotify, Tiesto and Nike are some examples of brands who have gone that route. This is great for freelancers and businesses who send a lot of files through WeTransfer, because it leads their customers to a branded page every time. Think Twitter backgrounds and you’ll know what I mean.
If you haven’t already done so, stop reading this post right now and head over to WeTransfer. I guarantee you’ll instantly be seduced by its sexiness, as have its 10 million (and growing fast!) unique users a month.
