Hello,
We’ve made so much progress in the last few weeks that it is going to
be difficult to summarize it all for you. Our main goal as an organization
is to keep musicians and music fans informed about complicated music/technology
issues. We need to keep you folks informed about our work on behalf of musicians.
So here are some of the the highlights:
Table of Contents
Clarifying the RIAA's role
On 6/14/00 we published our first
press release. Among other issues we questioned the sincerity and
appropriateness of the RIAA ’s recent congressional activity lobbying
on behalf of "the artists" when that organization is funded
by record labels that have a history of exploiting and devaluing the
labor of these same artists.
A journalist from Soundbytes.com contacted the RIAA for comment and
got them on the record. A representative from the RIAA confirmed that
their group represents the major labels and not the artists. We applaud
the RIAA ’s candor and look forward to representing those musicians
whom that organization is no longer publicly pretend to represent.
Jennifer Toomey, Brian Zisk, and Walter McDonough
attended the MP3 Summit, in San Diego, CA , and connected with programmers
and members of the music/technology community to discuss their ideas
and concerns regarding the impending technologies. If you’re curious,
you can watch the excellent Summit panels (of which Pamela Samuelson’s
speech on Wednesday afternoon was particularly noteworthy) at http://www.mp3.com/summit/webcasts.html?mc=hptn07 .
Group Summit Highlights
* On Tuesday, June 20th at the "Models for Monetizing Music"
Panel, Jenny raised a question that tried to direct the discussion
away from "pie in the sky" solutions (i.e. Sting’s Internet
partnership with Jaguar) and refocus the issue on solutions more appropriate
for the great majority of artists who do not have entree of someone
like Sting. She was rewarded for her efforts by a flurry of support
and business cards. There are a lot of influential people who will
remember this day as the first time they actually met Jenny Toomey.
* On Wednesday Brian represented iCAST on the MSP vs. Radio panel
where he exemplified the reason, innovation, and optimism that he
is known for.
* Walter split his time between The Summit and Tuesday, June 20th’s
University of Southern California Symposium regarding Copyright in the
Digital Age. He raised questions regarding the Digital Performance Royalty
for Sound Recordings (DPRSR ) controversy and the "Digital Black Box."
* Watch for Jenny’s upcoming CNet opinion piece regarding the Summit’s
"Transitioning between the Major Labels and the Online Industry" panel.
You have to know where you are going in order
to get there. That’s why Brian, Walter, & Michael all agreed to
separate interviews with Jenny to focus their goals for The Coalition. Specifically:
Why each member formed his/her area of The Coalition;
What the most important music/technology issues are affecting
their area of expertise; and
Action items for their respected focus areas of The Coalition
over the next 6 months.
*Check out Walter’s drive to clarify the royalty distribution process
through the AHRA . At http://www.insound.com/machine/essay.cfm?id=32
*Watch Brian question the closed SDMI process. At http://www.insound.com/machine/essay.cfm?id=39
*Read about Michael’s plans to represent The Coalition’s concerns
in congress. At http://www.insound.com/machine/essay.cfm?id=36
Jenny Toomey has taken a 3-month leave of
absence from her position at The Washington Post in order to help effectuate
the goals outlined in the board-member interviews. She is currently
the Future of Music Coalition’s Acting Executive Director.
She will also be working directly with The Coalition board members and
with experts in the music/technology community to develop original research
in areas that remain too cloudy. This research will focus on a broad
variety of subjects such as:
Artist compensation (i.e. understanding how and where Indie
artists make their money and what effect the new technology is
having on their livelihood).
Strengths and weaknesses of encryption and watermarking technology.
The effects of the DMCA and the AHRA on the value of the labor
of independent artists.
The Coalition for the Future of Music wishes
to invite all of you to a two-day music/technology event in December.
Our main goal is to invite experts and artists to represent their
perspectives in Washington. It is our hope that that by holding an
event such as this one in Washington DC , the seat of American government,
we might facilitate a more nuanced understanding of these complicated
questions by our newly elected government officials. We believe this
is crucial, as it is these officials who will be passing legislation
that will have lasting affects on music/technology.
If you haven’t read and signed the
manifesto please do so at http://www.futureofmusic.org/manifesto/ .
It is imperative that we document the large number of musicians, programmers
and music fans whose pro-technology/pro-compensation perspective is
not being represented.
Tell your friends, link to us from your sites http://www.futureofmusic.org/movement.cfm
, and spread the good word! And if you don’t agree with the manifesto,
write us an e-mail and tell us why? We have no desire to operate in
a vacuum.
Check out the "News "
section of the Coalition’s website for a list of links to articles
and interviews about the Future of Music that have run in Wired, The
Industry Standard, NPR , and elsewhere. There have been a lot of interviews
so you can expect more press in the near future.
We may not have the solution to the problem
that Napster and its ilk present, but we can try to explain the problem
clearly. Our newest piece of original research is an article by Peter
DiCola, (which can be found at http://www.insound.com/machine/essay.cfm?id=38 .
It describes the basic economic forces that have led to the music
industry’s current plight. It demonstrates why artists and labels
are going to have more and more trouble receiving money in return
for their recorded music (which is why you indie artists and indie
labels really should read this.) We’re very excited to have Peter
helping out. This is the first in a series of articles that will appear
in The Machine about economic and business issues in the music/technology area.
If you have any feedback, questions or
suggestions please drop us a line to any of individually, or to feedback [at] futureofmusic [dot] org .
Thanks for your support.
xjenny toomey
Acting Executive Director of The Coalition for the Future of Music and friends.
Please donate to the cause - PayPal donations welcome at paypal [at] futureofmusic [dot] org .