The Future of Music Coalition is a not-for-profit think tank that advocates
for new business models, technologies or policies that will advance the
cause of artists. We firmly believe that the music industry as it exists
today is, at a very basic level, anti-artist, and that any serious examination
of a digital future must first take into account the imbalanced structures
in place in our analog present.
Today’s panel is focused on piracy. It is a question for serious
consideration and discussion. Without a doubt musicians should have serious
concerns if the music/technology future realizes its most discouraging
– and very real – possibilities. The future could be a landscape
where the creation and transfer of music is removed entirely from the
legal and cultural responsibility of society to compensate artists for
their innovation and creation. That said, to look at file trading or the
question of “piracy” in a vacuum without acknowledging the failures
of the existing music business structure is to ensure the replication
of that same system of terminal imbalance. We need to reverse the systematic
diminishment of the music industry’s responsibility to compensate
artists for their innovation and creation as much as we need to fight
piracy.
I am very honored to be asked to contribute today. As a musician I’m
glad to be included in a discussion at the level that is often reserved
for artist representatives. As the executive director of a think tank
representing a broad diversity of interests I understand the value of
public discussion. Inevitably the lasting solutions to the challenges
in this space will come only from honest public discussion between musician,
label owner, citizen, and technologist. Many of these solutions will be
driven by the invisible hand of the market. Some may be set in place by
the broader reach of legislative concern. Still there is no question in
our minds that many solutions to today’s financial threats and structural
inequities will very likely come to us in the form of technological innovation.
It is our greatest hope, therefore, that today’s discussions will
not lead only in the narrow direction of a punitive and restrictive policy
whose surface appeal to protect musicians merely masks much less altruistic
and ulterior motives. In these motives we recognize policies that will
do more to allow the established players to maintain control over existing
structures of contract, distribution and promotion than to do anything
that would place more control back into the hands of musicians.
Yes, it is vitally important to understand and explore how technology-enabled
piracy can negatively impact the legitimate music marketplace. It’s
also vitally important to enact policies that will guard the value of
artistic labor. But it is also vitally important to not allow “piracy”
to become a code word for not allowing artists and consumers the ability
to create a legitimate marketplace that takes advantage of technological
advances to offer more equitable products and services that consumers
and musicians may ultimately demand. The VCR looked awfully frightening
to a movie industry that only understood how to charge at the box office.
Those who brought forth the “Blockbuster culture” were courageous
enough to imagine a way to extend the value of those creative works well
beyond the box office totals. Had we left that choice to industry …an
industry that was quite legitimately frightened by a technology that it
had yet to learn to control…we might not have reaped the benefits
of these valuable new revenue streams and that is the cautionary tale
to remember today.
A Look at the Music Landscape
For too long musicians have had too little voice in the manufacture,
distribution and promotion of their music on a national and international
level and too little means to extract fair support and compensation for
their work. For that reason, much of the work that Future of Music has
done in the past two years has been focused on documenting these structures
of imbalance and inequity that impede the development of an American musicians’
middle class. This includes original research: a critique of standard
major label contract clauses, a study of musicians and health insurance
and a comprehensive study of the radio bandwidth in the aftermath of the
drastic consolidation that followed the 1996 Telecommunications Act. I
won’t go into details on these studies today but they can be found
on our website, www.futureofmusic.org and they are linked here at the
bottom of our statement.
Two parallel oligopolies dominate the commercial aspect of music today
– the major labels that control an overwhelming percentage of copyrights
and album sales and the broadcasters that remain the most effective way
of promoting new music to potential fans. Both of these industries are
driven by publicly traded conglomerates with a laser-eyed focus on the
need to maximize shareholder value.
Major labels hope to take advantage of the economies of scale that come
with huge, multi-platinum hits. It costs so much to promote and distribute
albums through this system that the RIAA claims that roughly 90% or more
of their releases lose money. It is commonly estimated that it takes sales
of 750,000 copies of a particular release for the record company to break
even on their investment. A major cause of the problem and an outgrowth
of consolidation of commercial radio, is the extraction of huge “independent
radio promotion” costs that are a prerequisite to getting a song
commercial national airplay. In the 1950’s, this practice was called
“payola.”
Contrast this with the reality of the majority of working artists. In
1999, 99% of all albums released sold less than 10,000 copies. For an
overwhelming majority of artists, the idea of getting a song on commercial
radio is a pipe dream. According to a National Endowment for the Arts,
their study, based on census data, musicians typically work between two
and three jobs to meet their household expenses. According to a recent
Future of Music Coalition study of 2400 working musicians conducted last
spring. Musicians are three times less likely than the average citizen
to carry health insurance. And over 70% of the musicians surveyed indicated
that poverty was the most important factor in not carrying coverage.
This is not the face of all musicians. Some have been lucky to find good
business relationships and good council like many of the artists that
Londell represents. Just the same, I'm sure we've both have first-had
experience watching that "impulse to create at any cost" that
is the core of the artistic disposition I bet he would agree with me when
I say that for many musicians, their dream is not to be a superstar. If
they were offered the modest rewards that would allow them to meet a mortgage
payment, to have health insurance and be on the radio in their hometown
they’d take it in a heartbeat. But sadly due to the increasingly
consolidated marketplace those three goals might as well be pipe dreams
for 99% of working musicians.
It is with this in mind that we say today that it’s not possible
to discount the value of new technologies, like peer-to-peer file trading
systems. Artists in desperate need of ways to promote their music. It
is also not wise to simplify what is a complicated debate involving developing
technologies, an emerging market for broadband technologies, new business
structures and the potential need for changes in existing copyright law
to black and white choices. These are not black and white choices. The
choice for artists is not whether they are pro- or anti- technology. The
challenge, rather, is to facilitate the development of a legitimate marketplace
where the new opportunities made possible by emerging technologies result
in artists gaining additional abilities to control and be compensated
for their work. Until this legitimate and open marketplace is created,
an underground market will unquestionably continue to flourish. And, certainly,
it would be unwise for artists to sit back and allow the same structures
that have been so damaging to artists in an analog world to be replicated
in a digital one.
The Future of Music Coalition nonetheless remains committed to working
with industry, the policy community, public interest and consumer groups
and other artist organizations in an attempt to find creative solutions
to some of the daunting challenges we all face in this space. Thank you
again for the opportunity to participate in this panel.
Musicians Get the Hint About Health Insurance
Two Raleigh concerts in memory of musician Drew Glackin; proceeds go to Glackin’s family and Future of Music Coalition’s Health Insurance Navigation Tool
April 10, 2008 Press release FMC's HINT program
New York State Music Education Events Examine Crucial Issues Facing Artists Forums in Rochester (April 28), Syracuse (April 29) and Albany (April 30) to focus on music, media, technology and policy issues for songwriters, composers and performers from all genres.
March 25, 2008 Event details | RSVP
Pop Rockers OK Go "Tour" Congress in Support of Net Neutrality
Damian Kulash and Andy Ross discuss the importance of open Internet structures to musicians; Kulash testifies before House Judiciary Committee.
March 13, 2008 Press release
Spoken testimony
Written testimony
Rock the Net
New York State Music Education Events Examine Crucial Issues Facing Artists Kick-off forum in Buffalo on April 2 to focus on music, media, technology and policy issues for songwriters, composers and performers from all genres. March 7, 2008 | Event details
Philly Bands Rocking for Net Neutrality February 23 Sugar Town show at Tritone in Philadelphia will showcase lady rockers and DJs, as well as musicians' support for net neutrality. February 15, 2008
OK Go and Bonerama Rocked DC for New Orleans Musicians Bands also champion FMC's "Rock the Net" campaign for net neutrality February 2 benefit show at DC's 9:30 Club raised over $8,000 for New Orleans musicians. Bands played cuts off their new benefit EP, You're Not Alone, available on iTunes on February 5. February 4, 2008
Upcoming Washington, DC show and benefit EP from OK Go & Bonerama
On February 2, OK Go and Bonerama will play a benefit at D.C.'s 9:30 Club in support of You're Not Alone - an EP to support Sweet Home New Orleans and Al "Carnival Time" Johnson. January 21, 2008
Successful New Orleans Concerts Aid Big Easy Musicians
Last week, two benefit concerts raised over $6,000 for Sweet Home New Orleans - a coalition of non-profit organizations that helps find affordable housing and provides rental assistance for the city's musicians - and Big Easy music legend Al "Carnival Time" Johnson.
January 15, 2008 Press release | Event details
Ann Chaitovitz Appointed
FMC's New Executive Director A proven leader in musician and public policy issues, Chaitovitz replaces founding Executive Director Jenny Toomey January 3, 2008
Concerts for New Orleans Musicians Bring Artists Together Two New Orleans shows and upcoming benefit CD from OK Go and Bonerama January 2, 2008
FMC's Jenny Toomey Appointed Program Officer for Ford Foundation
Kristin Thomson to Serve as FMC’s Interim Executive Director Michael Bracy to Chair FMC Board of Directors November 26, 2007
Seattle "Rocked the Net" Rep. Jay Inslee advocated network neutrality;
joined by rocker Matt Nathanson, Reclaim the Media, FMC and local music business representatives October 31, 2007
Rock the Net: Campaign for Net Neutrality Rocks Seattle
Teleconference with Rep Jay Inslee on Tuesday, Oct 30. Matt Nathanson performs at Seattle’s Crocodile Café on Tuesday, Oct. 30 October 26, 2007
Future of Music Policy Summit to Tackle Critical Issues at the Intersection of Music, Law, Technology and Policy Sen. Byron Dorgan and Sen. Ron Wyden to Deliver Keynote Addresses
Mac McCaughan, Bob Mould, Marybeth Peters of the U.S. Copyright Office and More Than 90 Other Panelists Confirmed. September 10, 2007 Summit home page Press Credentialing
AT&T's muting of bands points toward a pattern of silencing political speech Content monitor did not edit out 20 instances of curse words during Pearl Jam webcast, despite AT&T claim it hires monitors to block "excessive profanity". August 13, 2007
Top musicians, lawyers, technologists confirmed for FMC's 7th annual Policy Summit August 13, 2007 Press Release Summit home page Press Credentialing
FMC Statement on AT&T Silencing Pearl Jam's lyrics during Lollapalooza webcast August 9, 2007
FMC Statement on Federal Trade Commission Report on Net Neutrality June 29, 2007
FMC files testimony with House Small Business Committee on CRB Webcasting Rates June 27, 2007 Press Release | Testimony
Clear Channel strips local, independent artists of digital performance royalties
FMC has discovered that Clear Channel's online application for local and independent artists to submit their music for airplay on each of its stations requires the artist to approve a licensing agreement that does away with their digital performance right. June 22, 2007
Low Power Radio Gets New Push in Congress
Congress introduces bills to create hundreds of new low power FM radio stations to cities and suburbs across the country. June 22, 2007
FMC Announces Dates for 7th annual Policy Summit
September 17-18, 2007
GWU Betts Theatre, Washington, DC June 11, 2007
FMC Organizes "Musicians Bringing Musicians Home II"
A Benefit Concert on May 27 at New Orleans' Tipitina's for Sweet Home New Orleans featuring: Indigo Girls, Damian Kulash of OK Go, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Matt Nathanson, Pamela Z...and special guests
May 23, 2007 Press Release | Details
Congressman Mike Doyle to address conference on music, law and technology
May 2 event will bring together leading experts from worlds of music, law, technology and policy. April 25, 2007
A2IM Endorses Rock the Net Campaign
American Association of Independent Music urges its label members to join the campaign for network neutrality. April 17, 2007
Music Mashes with Policy at upcoming Technology and IP Policy Day
May 2 event will bring together leading experts from worlds of music, law, technology and policy. April 16, 2007
FMC Applauds FCC's Payola Settlement
Payola agreement by FCC and big broadcast chains represents a major - but tentative - step toward once again opening the nation's airwaves to local music and voices. April 13, 2007
Rep. Edward Markey, Ted Leo kick off "Rock the Net"
Nearly 150 artists and labels have already signed onto campaign for net neutrality
March 27, 2007 Press Release | Rock the Net
Major Artists To Join Launch of Rock the Net Campaign for Net Neutrality March 23, 2007
FMC Statement on FCC's "Rules of Engagement" On Payola March 5, 2007
FMC Files Reply Comments in FCC Media Ownership Proceeding January 16, 2007
FMC Statement on FCC Payola Settlement
FMC's statement on FCC's reported consent decree with the broadcast industry in regards to payola. January 16, 2007
Radio Station Ownership Consolidation Shown to Harm Musicians and the Public
FMC study shows that the rapid consolidation of the commercial radio industry that followed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has led to a loss of localism, less competition, fewer viewpoints and less diversity in radio programming in media markets across the country.
December 13, 2006 Press release Report details
FMC Organizes Musicians Bringing Musicians Home Benefit concert at New Orleans' Tipitina's on November 6th featuring Steve Earle, Mike Mills, Allison Moorer, Tom Morello, Boots Riley, Corin Tucker and special guests.
October 23, 2006 Read press release Read press coverage
Job
Losses Associated with Radio Consolidation Undermine Localism and Diversity FMC, Newspaper Guild and Consumers Union urge FCC to take employment effects
of their policies into account during upcoming review of media ownership rules August 9, 2006
FMC Releases Research on Employment and Wage Effects of Radio Consolidaton August 9, 2006
FMC on Preserving the Dynamism of the Internet Opinion Piece on ABC News June 29, 2006
FMC Statement on Senate Commerce Committee Vote in Support of LPFM June 28, 2006
FMC Statement on FCC Media Ownership Proceeding June 21, 2006
Indie-rock revolution, fueled by net neutrality Op-ed by FMC's Jenny Toomey and Michael Bracy June 13, 2006
Pearl Jam Donation To Help Musicians Help Themselves Proceeds From Washington, DC Appearance to be Donated to FMC Artist Research
Council May 25, 2006 Press Release
FMC signs on letter to preserve net neutrality May 17, 2006
FMC Announces Dates for Sixth Annual Future of Music Policy Summit
October 5-7, 2006 Media Advisory May 15, 2006
FMC Statement on Release of Feingold's Radio and Concert Disclosure
and Competition Act of 2005 November 18, 2005
FMC Sends Letter to Senate Commerce Committee in Support of a
Public Performance Right for Sound Recordings October 19, 2005
Top Names in Music, Law, Technology and Policy Return to Debate Critical
Issues at Fifth Annual Future of Music Policy Summit
September 6, 2005 Media Advisory | Policy
Summit home page
FMC Announces Health Insurance Navigation Tool
August 9, 2005 HINT Home Page
FMC Press Release: Music Mashes with Policy at DC Policy Day April 8, 2005
FMC's Michael Bracy Testifies in front
of House Judiciary Committee on "Digital Music Interoperability" April 6, 2005
FMC files comments at US Copyright Office on "Orphan
Works"
Comments also ask Copyright
Office to consider status of out-of-print recordings March 25, 2005
FMC Sends Letter to Senate Stating Concerns about S 193, Broadcast Decency Enforcement
Act March
10, 2005
FMC and artist groups file joint reply comments at FCC on localism in broadcasting,
MB Docket 04-233
January
3, 2005 PDF of document
