Musicians Score a Date With Lobbyists Evidence of the "rock-star effect" was on display
earlier this week as lawmakers, think-tank experts, professors
and scads of musicians gathered at The George Washington University
to debate the politics of media consolidation, music royalties
and peer-to-peer file swapping at the fourth annual Future of
Music Coalition Policy Summit.
By David McGuire washingtonpost.com,
May 6, 2004
Record Industry Wants Still More It's not enough for the music industry that legal music
downloads are
gaining popularity. Company honchos want to raise song prices,
gain
more control of distribution and collect higher royalties. Michael
Grebb reports from the Future of Music conference in Washington,
D.C. Wired,
May 5, 2004
FCC Member Rips Colleagues Over Consolidation "We are skirting dangerously close to taking the public
interest out of the public airwaves," Copps said at the
Future of Music Coalition's policy summit, a conference of musicians,
record industry executives, lawmakers and civil liberties activists.
By Brooke Brody-Waite Reuters,
May 4, 2004
Coleman: Music industry must adapt to technology "You are the creative force in America; be creative,"
Coleman said. "I don't believe you can stop illegal use
by suing a few people."
By Emily Johns Minneapolis
Star Tribune (subscription), May 4, 2004
Harmony Rules in the Future of Music Future of Music Summit Offers an Interlude in the Online
Piracy Cacophony
By David McGuire washingtonpost.com,
April 30, 2004
About the Policy Summit
Now in its fourth year, the FMC Policy Summit
is a forum for musicians, lawyers, academics, policymakers
and music industry executives to come together to discuss
and debate some of the most contentious issues surrounding
digital technology, artists’ rights and the current
state of the music industry.
New for Summit 04!
LOWER REGISTRATION
PRICES $149 for two-day pass
$99 for one-day pass
DISCOUNTED RATE
FOR STUDENTS $99 for two-day pass
$66 for one-day pass
CONVENIENT LOCATION
GWU's Lisner Auditorium is centrally located in the heart
of DC, easily accesible by foot, taxi, car or Metro
(GWU/Foggy Bottom).
It is our continuing goal to bring the best
and brightest people working in music and technology to
discuss the most critical issues impacting our community.
The Summit’s events direct the agenda towards guarding
the value of music for musicians, and guarding access to
music for music consumers. In addition, we look to the future
and discuss the various models the music industry might
adopt in coming years.
It is our belief that by continuing to organize events such
as this one we will help the media, citizens, creators and our
elected officials and policy makers have a more sophisticated
understanding of the opportunities and effects of these new
technologies on the guarding the value of music for musicians,
and guarding access to music for citizens.
Keynote Speeches
Each year we welcome key leaders in the world of music, technology and
policy to speak at the Summit. Our three Summit keynotes in 2004 were:
Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN)
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser
Sunday, May 2: A Musician-Focused Program
Building on the success of last year’s Summit, Sunday’s
schedule focused more on artists’ interests, giving working musicians
an opportunity to learn more about the changing environment. Panel topics
covered such issues as:
treating your band as a business
musicians organizing for political change; and
music distribution in the digital environment.
Monday’s Panels
One of the best features of every FMC Summit is the ability to anticipate
emerging trends and to build panels that bring forward debates that soon
move from the margins to the center of discussion. Areas of focus for
this year’s panels on Monday were:
the state of the music/tech industry
digital distribution/digital music stores
the effect of corporate consolidation in touring, ticketing, major
labels, and media on musicians
In order to make sure that musicians are not left out of the music/tech
debate, we have created artist scholarships for this event. This way,
many of the audience participants will be those who the biggest stake
in the policy debate – musicians themselves.
Thanks to some generous contributions from our sponsors, 300 musicians
were able to attend the event on a scholarship status. You can read the
guidelines about getting scholarships here.
A Few Words About Previous Policy Summits
In January 2001, the FMC hosted its first annual Policy Conference at
Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where over 500 musicians, lawyers,
artists, academics, and policy-makers came together to debate some of
the most contentious issues surrounding digital technology and artists'
rights.
The two-day Policy Conference included keynote speeches from Senator
Orrin Hatch and Michael Robertson, CEO of MP3.com, as well as over 70
panelists including Leonardo Chiariglione (SDMI), Edward Felten (Princeton
University), Hilary Rosen (RIAA), Chuck D. (Public Enemy), Marybeth Peters
(Director, US Copyright Office), Jim Griffin (founder of Pho and Cherry
Lane Digital), and John Perry Barlow (Founder, Electronic Frontier Foundation).
The Policy Conference garnered positive news
stories in some of the nation's most influential media outlets including
the Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and National Public
Radio, as well as coverage in the music industry press -- Billboard and
Spin Magazine -- and online at the Industry Standard, Inside, Wired, and
CNET.
