It’s official. March 31st marked the release of Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling and we couldn’t be more excited to help spread the word about it.

The book, available at your local bookstore and Amazon through Duke University Press, presents a compelling and comprehensive examination of sampling’s controversial existence. Written by Kembrew McLeod and Peter DiCola, Creative License also includes contributions from FMC’s Kristin Thomson and former Executive Director Jenny Toomey.

Purchase Creative License

Peter DiCola is making a set of appearances throughout the spring, including an exciting DC event at Busboys & Poets this Saturday, April 16th from 5:30-7:00 pm. Words Beats & Life, in partnership with FMC, are presenting a conversation and panel with Peter DiCola and special guest Producer/DJ Roddy Rod.

Register via Eventbrite
More Information on the April 16 event

If you can’t make it, tune in on Saturday, April 16th at 5:30 pm ET to futureofmusic.org for the live webcast.

Here’s the latest on Peter’s tourdates:

Friday, April 15, 4:00-6:00 pm in Washington, DC
Peter DiCola at American University, Washington College of Law

Open reception + lecture/panel discussion, sponsored by the Copyright Society, the Glushko Samuelson Clinic, and the Center for Social Media. Following Professor DiCola’s lecture and multimedia presentation, Professor Peter Jaszi, Jay Rosenthal of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), and FMC’s own Senior Policy Strategist/Communications Director Casey Rae-Hunter will join the conversation with comments. The event begins with drinks and appetizers at 4:00 PM and is scheduled to end at 6:00 PM. A live webcast will also be available via WCL website. More details and RSVP

Saturday, April 16, 5:30-7:00 pm in Washington, DC
Words Beats & Life and FMC present Peter DiCola with Producer/DJ Roddy Rod at Busboys and Poets at 14th & V St NW. More details and register

Monday, April 18 in Philadelphia
Peter DiCola at Temple University

Tuesday, April 19, 6:00-8:00 pm in Philadelphia
Peter DiCola has a Junto conversation at P’unk Ave with Maxx Stoyanoff Williams from Black Landlord. More information here.

Wednesday, April 20 in Philadelphia
Peter DiCola at Drexel University Music Industry Program

Thursday, April 21, 6:30 pm in Binghamton, NY
Peter DiCola at Riverread Bookstore

Tuesday, April 26 in Iowa City, IA
Peter DiCola and Kembrew McLeod at Prairie Lights Bookstore

About Creative License

Exploring the complexities and contradictions in how samples are licensed, Kembrew McLeod and Peter DiCola interviewed more than 100 musicians, managers, lawyers, industry professionals, journalists, and scholars. Based on those interviews, Creative License puts digital sampling into historical, cultural, and legal context. It describes hip-hop during its sample-heavy golden age in the 1980s and early 1990s, the lawsuits that shaped U.S. copyright law on sampling, and the labyrinthine licensing process that musicians must now navigate.

The authors argue that the current system for licensing samples is inefficient and limits creativity. For instance, by estimating the present-day licensing fees for the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique (1989) and Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet (1990), two albums from hip-hop’s golden age, the authors show that neither album could be released commercially today. Observing that the same dynamics that create problems for remixers now reverberate throughout all culture industries, the authors conclude by examining ideas for reform.

Sample some of the ongoing conversation on this hotly-debated topic by attending one of Peter’s appearances. If you can’t make any events, purchase the book at your local independent bookseller or on Amazon and dive on in.

Official Creative License website

About the Authors

Kembrew McLeod is Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa. He is the author of Freedom of Expression®: Resistance and Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property and Owning Culture: Authorship, Ownership, and Intellectual Property Law, and co-creator of the documentary film Copyright Criminals.

Peter DiCola is Assistant Professor at Northwestern University School of Law. He is a board member and former Research Director of the Future of Music Coalition.

Billboard chart-topping rock-folk act the Decemberists are critical darlings and fan faves. They’re also really good at explaining why non-commercial radio and the internet are so important to musicians across the country. This past March, the group composed a letter to Oregon members of Congress in support of these twin engines of the modern music biz.

Check it out here.

Public radio and an open, accessible internet are being targeted by some in Congress who may not realize that both platforms are key to musicians’ ability to make a living. It’s not a partisan issue: it’s about creativity, commerce and entrepreneurship for local and national acts alike. Here’s what the Decemberists have to say about the power of the internet:

“Our ability to build a fan base at home and abroad was and still is dependent to a large degree on the internet and the way it has changed how musicians connect to their listeners. We depend on everything from our own online store to streaming sites like Pandora and Rhapsody to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Some of these help us reach people, some help us sell our product and generate revenue for our employees and ourselves. These outlets have become absolutely essential to us, and practically all musicians working today.”

And non-commercial radio:

“As helpful as internet technologies have become, we still depend on traditional technologies like radio. In particular, public radio has been a champion of our band and many other Oregon acts. In 2006, which was a breakthrough year for us, our record was voted best album of the year by NPR listeners. We also benefited from radio play on many public stations around the country at a time when we received little or no commercial airplay. This airplay was, and is, essential to the growth of our band and business. Thousands of today’s artists rely on the exposure generated by NPR and non-commercial radio stations. Eliminating funding for public broadcasting would be tremendously damaging to working musicians, not to mention having a negative impact on local economies.”

We couldn’t agree more.

For more information about access and innovation for artists, check out these FMC blog posts:

How Radio Rocks the New Music Ecosystem

Musicians and the Internet: Making Awesome Everyday

On April 6, FMC issued a press release about a resolution in the House of Representatives that would eliminate FCC’s ability to preserve the internet as an engine for creativity, commerce and free expression. Suffice it to say, we’re not fans of this particular piece of legislation.

Press Release

“‘Musicians and music entrepreneurs depend on the internet in practically every aspect of their lives and careers,’ said FMC Senior Policy Strategist and Communications Director Casey Rae-Hunter. ‘Without the ability to compete on a level playing field alongside the biggest companies, today’s musicians — who are essentially small businesses — would be tremendously disadvantaged. The FCC’s Open Internet Order is a result of years of measured deliberation at the Commission, and has its roots in broadly-accepted principles put forth by FCC chairmen from both political parties. Any attempt by Congress to repudiate the Order runs counter to values shared by members on both sides of the aisle, particularly those of entrepreneurship and free expression.’”

FMC has fought for years to keep the web open and accessible to creators. Our Rock the Net campaign highlights the experiences of thousands of musicians and music entrepreneurs representing all genres and backgrounds who understand the importance of access and innovation to the music community. Artists such as R.E.M., the Decemberists, Erin McKeown, Pearl Jam, stic.man of Dead Prez, OK Go and many more have voiced their support for clear rules of the road to keep just a handful of telecommunications and cable companies from playing favorites online.

On April 8, the House voted in favor of the resolution, which the President has threatened to veto. The action now moves to the Senate, which will consider whether to hand the internet over to a few powerful Internet Service Providers who would be free to decide what gets seen or heard based on buisiness or political preferences. FMC and our artist and independent label friends will continue to make the case that the internet is too important to the music community to mess with. Stay tuned…

Recently, the Copyright Office asked for public comment about whether to extend federal copyright protections to sound recordings created prior to February 15, 1972. FMC generally supports this plan, as it would help institutions who preserve our cultural heritage — such as libraries, archives and universities — move forward with maintaining access to these historic works. We also believe that by streamlining our copyright law, today’s creators would benefit from the artistic enrichment that access to these recordings can provide.

The sound recording copyright (think music captured on tape, wax or hard drive) is relatively new, having been established in 1972. (The composition or songwriting copyright dates back to 1831). That means that music recorded before 1972 exists in a patchwork of local law under which protections may be unclear or non-existent. This makes preservation and access for historic recordings difficult due to questions of who owns what and for how long.

Music doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and we think that today’s artists could benefit by having more opportunities to interact with America’s cultural heritage. We understand that there are questions about when works under federal copyright protections would be eligible to revert back to their authors (or heirs), but we also believe that the Copyright Office is capable of establishing a timeline that will both protect rightsholders and enhance access and preservation.

Check out our filing right here.

In a recent blog post, we highlighted three articles that proposed some interesting ways artists can earn make money from their music. Although perspectives differ on what really works, these articles underscore the need to understand the revenue streams currently available to performers, songwriters and composers. Check out our riff on those articles here.

We’re also very excited about the continuing progress of our Artist Revenue Streams (ARS) study - a multi-method research project that assesses how musicians’ revenue streams continue to evolve in this new music landscape.

Artist Revenue Streams Project

FMC has been considering the issue of artist compensation for years. The ARS project was essentially born in 2009 with a blog post called “The 29 Streams,” where we began to tally as many available revenue opportunities for musicians as we could. This led us to some essential questions: What percentage of musicians’ income comes from each possible revenue source? What is the ratio among different sources, whether it be royalties, money from gigs, t-shirt sales, or any of the other meaningful revenue streams that FMC has identified? Has the ratio changed over time and, if so, what are the factors that have conditioned these changes? Finally, are the revenue stream ratios different for artists working in different genres and at different stages of their careers?

We’re currently conducting interviews with a small, but diverse sample of musicians, songwriters and composers who will form the core of our anonymous case studies. If you’re interested in participating, click here to take a 14-question qualifying survey so we can learn more about your role as a musician.

In the second stage, FMC will work with partners to launch a wide-scale online survey, where we hope thousands of US-based musicians will answer questions about their relevant revenue streams. We expect this stage to launch in 2011.

For more information, check out the Artist Revenue Streams Project page:
http://futureofmusic.org/article/research/artist-revenue-streams

This past week, Arbitron and Edison Research released the Infinite Dial, an annual survey that analyzes the relationship and accessibility of American consumers to radio, internet, and other forms of media. The spotlight-stealer of this survey’s 19th edition is without a doubt Pandora, the online radio service that creates “stations” based on users’ listening preferences.

The report states that nearly 50 percent of Americans 12 years old and up have heard of Pandora, with 24 percent stating they have listened to it at some point. The survey goes into such detail as mentioning that 10 percent of the public respondents stated that they listened to Pandora within the week prior to the survey. This adds up to an impressive number: 30 million Americans have listened to Pandora recently.

The study goes into great detail as to why respondents love their Pandora. Pandora’s playlist customizing, its non-commercial play, accessibility via mobile devices and computers, and its extensive song library are just a handful of the reasons Americans love this music platform. For a more detailed breakdown of the stats, check out our recent blog post here.

All of this no doubt results in exposure for a lot of musicians who are unlikely to get played on commercial terrestrial radio. And it’s also important to keep in mind that Pandora and other webcasters provide artists with another revenue stream via the public performance right for digital broadcasts. This money is collected and paid directly to performing artists and sound copyright owners (usually the label, but sometimes the artist) by SoundExchange. This is in addition to royalties to songwriters and composers, which is handled by ASCAP, BMI or SESAC. If you’re the performer, songwriter and you own your sound copyright, that’s pretty much the whole revenue pie (for broadcast royalties, anyway).

The process of setting webcasting rates can be contentious for many of the major players. Still, there’s little doubt that the increased popularity of Pandora and other webcast services results in greater exposure and more cash-in-pocket for musicians. We can probably all agree that’s a good thing.

http://futureofmusic.org/blog/2011/04/06/pandoras-magic-formula

Brian Zisk’s SF MusicTech Summit (May 9)
It’s time for another SF MusicTech Summit, hosted by FMC co-founding Board member Brian Zisk. Brian’s events are the epicenter of all things music and tech-related and attract the best and brightest in innovation and entrepreneurship. The latest installment takes place at Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco on May 9, and features developers, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, journalists, musicians and many more. If you’re planning on being in attendance be sure sure to say hi to FMC Executive Director Lissa Rosenthal and Director of Programs Jean Cook, who will both be at the conference. SFMT

Rethink Music Conference (April 25-27, Boston)
From April 25-27, Berklee College of Music and MIDEM are co-presenting Rethink Music: a three-day conference in Boston that will examine the intersection of creativity, commerce and public policy in a solutions-oriented environment. (Hmmm, that sounds familiar…) FMC Education Consultant Kristin Thomson and Director of Programs Jean Cook will be presenting information about our Artist Revenue Streams project on Wednesday, April 27 at 3:30 PM, so mark that on your calendar if you’re registered for the event. Kristin and Jean will discuss project goals, methodologies and potential outcomes and review results from the work done thus far. For more on ARS, visit our website. The conference on the whole looks to be pretty interesting, too. Rethink Boston

You can always contact us at suggestions [at] futureofmusic [dot] org if you have questions.

Thanks,

Lissa Rosenthal
Jean Cook
Michael Bracy
Walter McDonough
Brian Zisk
Kristin Thomson
Casey Rae-Hunter
Chhaya Kapadia
Chris Naoum
Nicole Duffey
Alex Maiolo

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