Summit 09

Reinventing the Music Business

By Aaron M. Cohen

The Futurist

December 10, 2009

The music industry continues to search for a sustainable long-term model for the digital age. Recently, industry leaders, musicians, and policy makers gathered to search for innovative solutions at the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit in Washington, D.C.

“It’s chaos, the music industry right now,” said Greg Kot, music critic for the Chicago Tribune, during a panel discussion. “But chaos is not necessarily a bad thing.” read more

The Critical Condition of Music Journalism: Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit

By Claire Marie Blaustein

BlogCritics

October 30, 2009

Why are you reading this right now?

Is it because you know who I am (hi mom!)? Is it because you assume I have something interesting to say? Are you looking for something to guide you? Inspire you? Entertain you?

These are questions that have plagued me since I first started thinking about the role of the journalist, particularly when it comes to my field of music criticism. I write things, put them out for consumption, but what prompts you, the audience, to consume them?

At this year?s Future of Music Policy Summit, I was determined to find out. And the panel on The Future of Music Journalism was just the place.

The panel was diverse and star-studded: Maura Johnston of Idolator, David Malitz of the Washington Post, Mike Riggs of Washington City Paper, Howard Mandel the president of the Jazz Journalists Association, Raymond Leon Roker of URB Magazine, Molly Sheridan of New Music Box, Eliot Van Buskirk of Wired.com, Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork, Greg Kot, host of Sound Opinions, and Tom Moon, music critic for NPR. If these folks didn?t know what the future holds, then nobody does.

Well, nobody knows?at least not for sure. read more

The Future Of Music: What Are Working Musicians Working Toward?

All Our Noise

October 26, 2009

The Future of Music Coalition (FMC) held its annual music policy summit earlier this month, right in our backyard at Georgetown University. The FMC is a national nonprofit organization working ?to ensure a diverse musical culture where artists flourish, are compensated fairly for their work, and where fans can find the music they want. The three-day event hosted some excellent speakers from various positions in the music industry. Bertis Downs, ?fifth? member of R.E.M., as well as Mike Mills gave very interesting interviews and panel discussions. Peter Jenner, who has represented the likes of Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Clash and Billy Bragg, gave excellent commentary on copyright issues, as did Hank Shocklee of Public Enemy, and media prankster Kembrew McLeod. Ian MacKaye, and Daniel Elk from Spotify also spoke.

In the almost ten years that Future of Music Coalition has existed, we've seen tremendous changes in the way musicians go about reaching and cultivating fans. Perhaps the biggest development in our decade on the scene is in how artists are using the internet.

It's safe to say that nearly all of the exciting things that have gone down online are the result of net neutrality — the principle that protects the open internet. read more

Can't Hold Back Low Power FM!

Wow. The good news keeps on coming!

We're thrilled to report that the Local Community Radio Act passed out of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in a unanimous vote on Thursday, Oct. 15. This means the bill will now move to the full House.

Having worked on this issue for nearly a decade, we couldn't be more excited.

The Local Community Radio Act would allow for the creation of hundreds of new Low Power FM (LPFM) radio stations in communities across the country. But what is Low Power FM, anyway? read more

D.C. summit asks: Who will save music?

By Greg Kot

Chicago Tribune

October 11, 2009

he music industry is trying to survive and possibly reinvent itself. Artists want to get paid. And consumers want music quickly, with no strings attached. Are all three goals achievable, and if not, who will lose out? Can unfettered access to the Internet co-exist with artists’ desires to get paid for their music? Can the music industry hack its way through a maze of legal obligations and create a new business model that entices fans before they disappear into the digital underground, where music runs wild and free? These questions dominated the Future of Music Policy Summit in the nation’s capital, an annual gathering of some of the industry’s leading thinkers and innovators, alongside representatives of the music, technology, business and government communities.

FMC Policy Summit: Music 2.0 Business Models

The Future Blog

October 14, 2009

A very inspiring organization, the Future of Music Coalition, have released a series of videos that explore new music industry models. The significance of these models is that they take into account how artists need to be compensated, but recognize the need to be relevant in culture. Of all of them, the subscription-based models stick out the most to me. Music consumers are no longer in the mindset of paying for music on a ?per unit? basis. Instead, we have come to expect to get our music for free, immediately, and involve little effort. A subscription service could possibly function within a culture like ours because it mostly matches this criteria. Subscription services, like Rhapsody, ?feel free? because it is an all you can eat buffet ? a once per month, small fee. In turn, a subscription offers the same flexibility and feel of free downloading.

One of the most fascinating and fun parts of the 2009 Future of Music Policy Summit was the screening of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS -- a documentary by Benjamin Franzen and University of Iowa professor Kembrew McLeod. The free movie screening at Georgetown University in DC (where Summit took place from October 4-6) was incredible. Of course, so was the conversation with Kembrew and Tony Berman of Berman Entertainment and Technology Law, who is featured in the film. read more

New Business Models: Info Now Posted

Well, we hope everyone had a nice long weekend (if you got one, that is). We at FMC took a couple of days to unwind from the 2009 Future of Music Policy Summit, which took place from Oct. 4-6 at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. If you were there, you know how awesome it was. Hopefully the rest of you were able to catch the live webcast.
But we haven't exactly been slacking since this year's Summit wound down. Our Education Director, Kristin Thomson has been hard at work putting together slides and documents related to the musician-oriented programming from Sunday, Oct. 4. read more

Summit 09

Reinventing the Music Business

The Critical Condition of Music Journalism: Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit

The Future Of Music: What Are Working Musicians Working Toward?

Standing Up for Net Neutrality

Can't Hold Back Low Power FM!

D.C. summit asks: Who will save music?

FMC Policy Summit: Music 2.0 Business Models

Copyright Criminals Comes to Your Hood!

New Business Models: Info Now Posted

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