Can Copyright Be Saved?
Posted on June 12, 2005
Can Copyright Be Saved?: New ideas to make intellectual property work in the digital age
by Ethan Smith, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
Reprinted with permission, January 2004
URL : http://creativecommons.org/audio/wsj
For some people, the future of copyright law is here, and it looks a lot like Gilberto Gil.
The Brazilian singer-songwriter plans to release a groundbreaking CD this winter, which will include three of his biggest hits from the 1970s. It isn't the content of the disc that makes it so novel, though -- it's the copyright notice that will accompany it.
Instead of the standard "all rights reserved," the notice will explicitly allow users of the CD to work the music into their own material. "You are free... to make derivative works," the notice will state in part. That's a significant departure from the standard copyright notice, which forbids such use of creative material and requires a legal agreement to be worked out for any exceptions.
Continues at http://creativecommons.org/audio/wsj
German Sounds : Music made and sold in Germany
Posted on June 12, 2005
German Sounds : Music made and sold in Germany
URL: http://germansounds.de/en/service/market/
The Music Market Players
"The principal music industry players are the record companies and music publishers involved in the direct creation and exploitation of copyright-protected music and recordings, though the event organizing sector is also an important contributor to the industry. There are also companies in the fields of artist management, studios, manufacturing plants, recorded music media retailers and service providers such as promotion companies, graphic artists, legal advisers, advertising agencies, multimedia agencies and, last but not least, about 150,000 musicians and songwriters who in turn invest in musical instruments and associated equipment. Then there are the merchandisers who benefit from the music business, the entertainment electronics sector, the music trade press, discotheques and clubs, and of course the broadcasters who make use of the music industry's products in their radio and TV programmes. Total sales of all industry players in the German music market was placed in a 1995 study at €15 billion in all."
Music market data
In 2003, people in Germany spent an average of €19,98 (2002: 24,93 Euro; 2001: 26,97 Euro) on recorded music products, which is 0.09% (2002: 0.11%; 2001: 0.12%) of average income.
That is an average per person of 2 units (2002: 2.6). As a result of negative economic development in the German recorded music media market, Germany was relegated in 2002 to fifth place in the world ranking, ceding its previous fourth place to France. In 2003 it remained there.
The level of piracy is under 10%. The rate of value-added tax imposed on recorded music media in Germany is 16%.
Music wants to feel free
Posted on June 12, 2005
Statement of James Hazen Griffin before the Senate Judiciary Committee. [No date given]
URL : http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/7112000_jg.htm
No one is here to defend free music, but music can and should be made to feel free, even when it is not free.
...
The delivery of music is approaching zero marginal cost - the cost of enabling each listen after the first. For some, this is a terrifying prospect, as their income may have depended upon charging a price much higher than marginal cost, say $18 for a disc that costs no more than a dollar to reproduce.
For others, this is not at all terrifying. To Mel Karmizan, who runs CBS radio and its Infinity broadcast stations, it is expected. He makes music played on CBS stations feel free to its listeners, though they pay indirectly each time they patronize an advertiser. Likewise, Jerry Seinfeld feels free to his viewers, none of whom can remember paying, though they all do. If we suggested to either of these gentleman that they encrypt and protect from non-paying eyes and ears their words and images, they would laugh, as this would reduce the income they receive.
http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/7112000_jg.htm
Courtney Love does the math
Posted on June 12, 2005
Courtney Love does the math
Courtney Love
June 14, 2000 | Today I want to talk about piracy and music. What is piracy? Piracy is the act of stealing an artist's work without any intention of paying for it. I'm not talking about Napster-type software.
I'm talking about major label recording contracts.
I want to start with a story about rock bands and record companies, and do some recording-contract math:
This story is about a bidding-war band that gets a huge deal with a 20 percent royalty rate and a million-dollar advance. (No bidding-war band ever got a 20 percent royalty, but whatever.) This is my "funny" math based on some reality and I just want to qualify it by saying I'm positive it's better math than what Edgar Bronfman Jr. [the president and CEO of Seagram, which owns Polygram] would provide.
What happens to that million dollars? [Click here to find out !]
Details for Music Business Majors
Posted on June 12, 2005
What's in it for the music business ? Sony and Planet Shark [Sic] are sponsored [July 2004] a promotional event - the "Sony Urban Hip Hop R&R Showcase" and are seeking "Artists and Sponsors." Here are some snippets from their webpage [a href="http://www.audiocourses.com/article380.html">http://www.audiocourses.com/article380.html]
Planet Shark, the exclusive LA-Area producer of the Sony Urban/GigAmerica Hip Hop R&B Nationwide Showcase is currently accepting additional showcase sponsorships, artists, and goodie bag products.
Sponsorship Opportunities: Increase your brand awareness and target a vast demographic of well-heeled Showbiz Professionals, Celebrities, A&R Execs, Recording Artists, Models, and Fashionistas, (ages 21-50, 60% female/40% male, average income: $70,000 per/yr.) by sponsoring this exclusive star-studded A&R event. Los Angeles sponsorship opp''s are available via Planet Shark (see below) and all sponsorship opportunities include a concentrated promotional/PR initiative before, during, and after the event.
The advantages of sponsorship include but are not limited to:
1. Sponsorships deliver direct communication to your target customer for a smaller investment with larger returns than almost any other medium.
2. Measurable customer interaction with product/services in ways no other medium allows.
3. Associative value with a property that draws a loyal, targeted, impassioned audience.
4. Category exclusivity that lets you deliver the message free from the competition's clutter.
5. Targeted Media Coverage (radio, print, tv, and/or internet - depending on package selected)
Details for Theatre Majors
Posted on June 12, 2005
Details for Theatre Majors
College of Creative Arts - Theatre and Dance
URL : http://www.arc.wvu.edu/admissions/fliers/CAC/theater_dance.html
Salary Range
The salary for those with a Visual and Performing Arts bachelor’s degree (average) was $18,541. The master’s average was $21,033, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Salary Survey. The design and graphic arts fields average was $15,625, and the communication and production fields average was $20,575. Earnings from acting are low because employment is irregular. The median earnings for stage acting in a course of a year were approximately $5,200.
The Screen Actors Guild reported that the average income its members earned from acting was $1,400 a year, and 80% of its members earned less than $5,000 a year from acting. Therefore, many actors must supplement their incomes from acting by holding other jobs.
the problem with music
Posted on June 12, 2005
the problem with music
by steve albini
excerpted from Baffler No. 5
URL: http://www.arancidamoeba.com/mrr/problemwithmusic.html
Google [ average income of recording artist ]
Note: Steve Albini wrote this article describing what happens with a band signs with a major label, produces an album, and goes on a 5 week tour. The article also appeared in Maximum RockNRoll #133.
Conclusion:
The band is now 1/4 of the way through its contract, has made the music industry more than 3 millon dollars richer, but is in the hole $14,000 on royalties. The band members have each earned about 1/3 as much as they would working at a 7-11, but they got to ride in a tour bus for a month.
The next album will be about the same, except that the record company will insist they spend more time and money on it. Since the previous one never "recouped," the band will have no leverage, and will oblige.
The next tour will be about the same, except the merchandising advance will have already been paid, and the band, strangely enough, won't have earned any royalties from their t-shirts yet. Maybe the t-shirt guys have figured out how to count money like record company guys.
Artists in the Labour Force
Posted on June 12, 2005
Artists in the Labour Force,
Planning and Research, The Canada Council for the Arts
July 1999
URL: http://www.canadacouncil.ca/NR/rdonlyres/6B59A41F-01B4-41A6-8806-D5FE39159D1B/0/asp02e.pdf
Google [ average income of recording artist ]
Summary:
* Almost three-quarters of Canada's artists live in the 25 largest cities.
* Artists' unemployment rate is lower than the labour force average (5.3% compared with 7%).
* Artists' work is characterized by its part time, seasonal nature, especially for performing artists.
* In addition, 53% of artists are self-employed - about four times the level for the labour force as whole. Visual artists and craftspersons have a particularly high rate of self- employment.
* In six of the artist occupations, average employment income is significantly below the average for the labour force as whole. In the other three occupations, though all characterized by the high level of skill and education required, average income is only slightly above the labour force average.
* Visible minority artists make up over 7% of artists. Musicians and Singers and Artisans and Craftspersons account for almost one-half of visible minority artists.
Artist's Earnings and Copyright
Posted on June 12, 2005
Artists’ earnings and copyright: A review of British and German music industry data in the context of digital technologies by Martin Kretschmer
First Monday, volume 10, number 1 (January 2005),
URL: http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_1/kretschmer/index.html
Google [ average income of recording artist ]
Abstract: Digital technologies are often said (1) to enable a qualitatively new engagement with already existing cultural materials (for example through sampling and adaptation); and, (2) to offer a new disintermediated distribution channel to the creator. A review of secondary data on music artists’ earnings and eight in–depth interviews conducted in 2003–04 in Britain and Germany indicate that both ambitions have remained largely unfulfilled. The article discusses to what extent the structure of copyright law is to blame, and sets out a research agenda.
Google: average income of recording artist
DigiCULT : Towards a Cultural Heritage RTD Roadmap.
Posted on May 10, 2005
Dear Expert,
the DigiCULT project is currently preparing a roadmap on the challenges and possible achievements in research and technological development (RTD) over the next 10 to 15 years that are likely to lead to advanced applications for the cultural heritage sector.
The roadmap is a navigation tool that will provide essential understanding and direction in the strategic planning of research agenda, guiding investment in and funding of innovative RTD.
We invite you to participate in this roadmapping exercise, helping DigiCULT to define and qualify the challenges and approaches ahead. The roadmap will be published in Thematic Issue 7 that will be available in December 2004.
Starting from the current IST programme's vision of "anywhere, anytime, natural and enjoyable access to IST services for all" the roadmap concentrates on the following five themes:
* Theme 1: Intelligent & Contextual [MEANING]
* Theme 2: Natural & Enjoyable Interaction [EXPERIENCES]
* Theme 3: Create / Re-create [3D/AR/VR]
* Theme 4: Large Scale & Distributed [AUTOMATION]
* Theme 5: Persistent & Perpetual Access [PRESERVATION]
Click here to start http://www.digicult.info/pages/drr_themes.php
c) DigiCULT Forum 2002-2004
http://www.digicult.info
Rupert Murdoch sees the future
Posted on May 10, 2005
"Murdoch expects that, someday, people will start their days with a cup of coffee and a news website rather than a newspaper. Thus, newspaper publishers must embrace the internet and build websites that are compelling enough for the public to turn to them every day."
"Rupert Murdoch, the CEO of News Corp. recently urged newspaper publishers to create a presence on the internet so that they can survive in the new world of publishing. With a new study showing that 44 percent of 18-to-34 year-olds use the web at least once a day, the trend is definitely moving toward electronic media.
"Rupert Murdoch urges newspaper publishers to create an internet presence in order to survive in the future", News Target, Friday, May 06, 2005, http://www.newstarget.com/007308.html
The image is from a DVD documentary, entitled "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" (USA; 78 min.), that describes the evolution of Fox News. There are a number of interesting reviews of this on the web, e.g. : Red Bank International Film Festival. and Chlotrudis.org
Faculty Academy on Instructional Technology
Posted on May 10, 2005
The University of Mary Washington's Faculty Academy on Instructional Technology is a free annual event promoting the sharing of experiences and information regarding teaching and learning technologies. At Faculty Academy, presentations, poster sessions, roundtable discussions, and many other opportunities for professional development fill a varied, inspiring schedule with tools and ideas to help you serve students better.
This year's conference will be held May 10-11, 2005, in Combs Hall on UMW's Mary Washington College campus (Fredericksburg). The 2005 Faculty Academy theme is "The Net Generation."
Sharing Educational Resources in the Creative Commons
Posted on May 10, 2005
Brian Lamb observes
... A growing number of instructors at UBC, in the context of workshops and focus group interviews, have indicated that they are willing to share their work.
But they commonly cite three concerns that prevent them from doing so:
1) They want to ensure attribution from those who reuse their resources.
2) They are worried that others may take their free materials and subsequently commercialize them.
3) They sometimes worry that their works may be modified inappropriately, endangering the integrity of their resources and potentially damaging their own professional reputation.
He then goes on to explore the Creative Common's model and some local BC extentions to it.
Brian Lamb, Sharing Educational Resources: Creating Copyright Policy That Works for Creators and Users, eStrategies, a publication of UBC's Office of Learning Technology, September 29, 2004, http://estrategy.ubc.ca/news/update0409/040929-copyright.html
Google accounts
Posted on May 7, 2005
Google is developing as a platform for internet based, as opposed to office based, or even laptop based, research - login to google, and there you are.
Google Alerts - Receive news and search results via email
Google Mail - 1 GByte database driven email
Google Groups - Create mailing lists and discussion groups
Google History - Save your history of Google searches, a personal weblogging system
Google Froogle Shopping List - Shop smarter with wishlists of your favorite products
Google Scholar - Searches narrowed to you areas of interest