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Future of Music Policy Summit 2002: SpeechesJanuary 7-8, 2002 • Gaston Hall, Georgetown University
• Washington, DC
Day two of the 2nd Annual Future of Music Policy Summit. How do you follow an act like day one? But before we bring out Representative Conyers, I think
it’s important that we respond to something that we heard over and
over yesterday. That is the question of how artists can be successful
in influencing the political process. In particular, California state Senator Kevin Murray put
the question most succinctly – the challenge for artists, as outlined
by Senator Murray, isn’t one of artists getting the attention of
policy makers. It’s what we do when we have their attention. That gets to the root of what we are working to accomplish
in the Future of Music Coalition -- to identify and ask the right questions,
in the hope that, as answers emerge, we will be able to formulate a common
agenda that could benefit the greatest possible number of artists. In April of 2001, we submitted testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee that outlined four core principles that impact all artists:
The package of SoundExchange reforms negotiated by AFTRA,
the RAC, the RIAA and others closely mirrors the comments that we submitted
to the Copyright Office in August. With these reforms in place, our General
Counsel, Walter McDonough, has agreed to join the SoundExchange board
where he will, no doubt, serve an effective watchdog function. In addition,
this deal committed that the 45% digital royalty for non-interactive digital
services will be paid directly to artists rather than being leveraged
against artists’ album deals. Regarding non-commercial speech, the Low Power FM initiative
continues to move forward in the rural parts of the country while the
FCC tests the impact of LPFM signals on existing stations in urban markets.
We will end up with nearly 1000 new, non-commercial radio stations by
the end of 2003…and while all of us in urban markets are disappointed
that we have to wait longer for full implementation of LPFM, we need to
acknowledge the difference that these hundreds of stations will make in
communities across the country. We also need to acknowledge the critical role that artists
played in moving the Low Power FM debate forward. It is simply unthinkable
that Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John McCain, David Bonior, Bob Kerrey, Dick
Durbin, Paul Wellstone and others would have taken such an interest in
the issue if it wasn’t for the dogged support of the Indigo Girls,
Bonnie Raitt, Ellis Marsalis, Mike Watt and many others who wrote letters,
played rock shows, appeared on radio talk shows, did interviews, posted
information on websites, and performed at press conferences. Now, this morning I must admit it feels like there’s
a bit of an elephant in the room…a big ole pachyderm named commercial
radio. As we planned this conference we originally considered doing a
panel on commercial radio…but then we realized there’s not too
much to debate. After the NAB and Clear Channel declined our offers to
appear, we decided it wouldn’t really make sense to dedicate time
to a one-sided vent session. But next year, things may be different. This morning, I
am happy to announce that the Future of Music Coalition has been awarded
a $100,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to study the impact of
the 1996 Telecommunications Act on the amount and type of music played
on the radio. More importantly, we will be looking at citizens’ attitude
toward the government’s management of this precious natural resource.
Our partners in this project will include the Media Access Project, Lawrence
Lessig’s clinic at Stanford Law School and the Behavioral Research
Center. Ideally, we will announce the results of the study in late 2002,
leaving plenty of time for all of you to read the report before we finally
have a full discussion of radio at the Future of Music Policy Summit in
2003. So, back to the challenge outlined by Senator Murray. The
Future of Music Coalition remains committed to serving as a consensus
builder in the artistic community. Often, it is difficult for artists
to work together toward common goals. Further, artists need to recognize
that the citizens who work in the music community are, like most Americans,
music fans who are eager to do what they can to help. Finally, artists need to become less cynical about the process
and fully engage. It’s the same question Jenny raised yesterday –
do we want things to stay the same? Or do we want to make a difference? The only way to guarantee that artists won’t succeed
in the policy community is for artists to refuse to engage with the policy
community. Further, without a unified voice, artists stand no chance of
moving ahead in Washington. With one voice, or more accurately, many voices
singing in harmony, artists are uniquely positioned to enact reforms. And this, finally, brings us back to Rep. John Conyers. The ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Conyers is also commonly known as “Mr. Jazz.” More importantly, he is generally regarded the best friend that artists have on Capitol Hill. It is our honor and privilege to today welcome him to the Future of Music Policy Summit.
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Keynote Speakers: Chris Amenita Paul Brindley Greg Hessinger Dick Huey David W. Lightfoot |
