Spring has finally sprung on the East Coast. With Congress
back in session this week, the FMC crew is ramping up for a busy month
as we approach the June 2 deadline on the media ownership rules. Plus,
lots of news on the digital distribution front. Read on!
Things never seem to slow down at the FMC.
With the media deregulation issues still on the front burners, we’ve been
submitting testimony, preparing documents and participating in a variety
of events, including the FCC hearing in Richmond, VA, the upcoming hearing
in Seattle and events at South by Southwest. There are lots of details
about the importance of these efforts to musicians and citizens below,
so read on!
It’s fall again and you can be sure that the leaves ain’t
the only things changing these days. No… it’s the times. Finally, it’s
the times. With no further ado let’s get into the heart of what’s been
up at FMC in the past six weeks.
Hello again. It’s hard to believe how much we’ve tackled
in the five weeks that have passed since the last newsletter; from participating
in the webcasting debate, to moving forward on our health insurance study,
to filing comments with the FCC. Chalk it up to persistence, concern,
and more hours of daylight. Now, shortly before this newsletter’s release,
we get word from the US Copyright Office that the Librarian of Congress
has rejected the CARP proposals regarding webcasting rates and reporting
requirements. While the Office’s announcement did not include any particular
reasons for the rejection, we assume that the collective effort made by
webcasters, artists, and citizen groups to include their voices in the
debate has had an effect on the process.
The Future of Music Coalition is a Washington, DC-based not-for-profit collaboration between members of the music, technology, public policy and intellectual
property law communities. The FMC seeks to educate the media, policymakers,
and the public about music / technology issues, while also bringing together
diverse voices in an effort to come up with creative solutions to some
of the challenges in this space. The FMC also aims to identify and promote
innovative business models that will help musicians and citizens to benefit
from new technologies. read more
A Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel is a group of three arbitrators from the private sector, appointed and administered by the US Copyright Office and the Library of Congress, which meet for limited times for the purpose of adjusting rates and distributing royalties. A CARP was established in 1993 to negotiate the terms of the webcasting royalty rates and reporting requirements. This fact sheet covered some of the core issues that were present in the proceedings in 2001-2002. read more
Things are humming along at a swift pace in Future of Music Land. It seems
like every day brings new revelations in the music/technology space —
from the Copyright Office, to Judge Patel and now even the Supreme Court!
We’ve linked to many of best articles in various sections below.
In addition, the Future of Music is busy with its own projects; from organizing
another speaking tour, to conducting research, to participating in public
events and writing articles.