Music News Bulletin - 31/12/08

2008 U.S. Music Purchases Exceed 1.5 Billion; Growth in Overall Music Purchases Exceeds 10% - Yahoo! Finance

"Nielsen SoundScan, the entertainment industry's data information system that tracks point-of-purchase sales of recorded music product, Nielsen BDS, the music industry’s leading music performance monitoring service, and Nielsen RingScan, which tracks mobile ringtone purchases, have announced their 2008 U.S. year-end sales and performance monitoring data for the 52-week period December 31, 2007 through December 28, 2008." [Yahoo]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 31/12/08

Orphan works - a Sterling solution? 4 December 2008
"Over the years, few members of the IP fraternity can have won as many friends as Professor Adrian Sterling, a distinguished international copyright lawyer and a dedicated teacher of his craft. Adrian's legendary kindness, the IPKat notes, extends beyond his students and colleagues and reaches as far as orphans and their copyright works ... [at this point Merpel interjects: "silly Kat! It's orphan works, not works of orphans! We're talking about works that are metaphorically orphaned because their 'parentage', in terms of authorship or ownership, cannot be traced"]. "As I was saying", continues the IPKat, "Adrian has been working on a scheme for resolving the orphan work problem, which traps many otherwise exploitable works in a sort of commercial limbo". This scheme has been adopted by the British Copyright Council in its Response on the Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy, and the paper will be circulated tomorrow at the 8th IBC Annual Conference on International Copyright Law.

As a special treat, readers of this weblog, whether orphans or sufficiently parented, can get a preview all of their own, which can be read here. If you'd like to have a look at it and tell Adrian and/or the IPKat what you think of it, please feel free to do so. Comments to the IPKat can be posted below. Emails to Adrian can be directed here." [IPKitten]

Web Radio Royalty Battle Takes New Turn December 31, 2008 Wednesday
“The battle over radio royalty rates will likely continue into 2009, with the latest issue tackling how and when cable, satellite, and Internet stations should report their playlists to copyright holders in order to determine payment.The Copyright Royalty Board, a government body that sets royalty rates, released a notice on Tuesday that suggests altering the reporting requirements for stations." [ContentAgenda]

New York state may begin taxing music downloads Dec 17th 2008
"New York, the state that brought us taxes on items bought over the internet is at it again. This time governor David Paterson is considering a 4% tax on music and other digital media downloads." [DownloadSquad]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 31/12/08

RIAA graduated response plan: Q&A with Cary Sherman December 21, 2008
"On Friday, major news broke: the RIAA would (largely) abandon its widespread lawsuit campaign against individuals in favor of a "graduated response" partnership with ISPs. The outlines are clear enough—the RIAA will identify infringers, pass that information on to ISPs, who will notify (and eventually sanction) users without turning personal information over to the music industry.

But details, in some cases hugely important details, remained unclear. Chief among these was the lack of any talk about an oversight or appeals process for users who want to contest the RIAA's claims in some way. We checked in with EFF attorney Fred von Lohmann, one of the leading non-industry voices on these issues; he suggested five potential "gotchas" that need to be scrutinized as the plan goes forward." [ArsTechnica]

No more lawsuits: ISPs to work with RIAA, cut off P2P users December 19, 2008
"In a stunning turn of events, the US music industry has ceased its long-time litigation strategy of suing individual P2P file-swappers. Instead, with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo acting as a broker, the RIAA has signed voluntary "graduated response" agreements with major Internet service providers. Those currently on the receiving end of an RIAA lawsuit, though, will have to see it through to the (very) bitter end.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription) broke the story, and Ars has confirmed all details given in the piece." [ArsTechnica]

ISP to RIAA: Pay up or do your own dirty work December 22nd, 2008
"I love stories of the little guy going head-to-head with the big guys, especially when the big guy looks like a fool in the end.

CNET’s Greg Sandoval tells the story of a small Internet Service Provider in Louisiana whose owner has refused to play ball with the Recording Industry Association of America - at least on the RIAA’s terms. Last week, the RIAA announced that it was going to shift strategies to fight piracy. Instead of filing mass lawsuits, the RIAA said it is partnering with ISPs to identify, serve notice and potentially disconnect file-sharers." [ZDNet]

RIAA drops mass lawsuits, recruits ISPs to crack the whip December 19th, 2008
"The headlines across the blogosphere make it sound like the Recording Industry Association of America has thrown in the towel and decided to stop going after music pirates on the Internet. That’s not exactly the case.

Instead, the RIAA is teaming up with Internet Service Providers to identify and, potentially, blacklist offenders from obtaining an Internet connection in the future. That keeps the RIAA from having to subpoena the ISPs for user information and instead puts the ISP into the hot seat to crack the whip on the customer. OK, maybe blacklisting would be an extreme, last resort after repeated warnings - but I could see it headed that way." [ZDNet]

Update on Capitol Records v. Thomas: Motion to Certify an Appeal Denied; Petition for an Extraordinary Writ May Follow 12.31.2008
"Earlier this fall, the Court adjudicating Capitol Records, Inc. v. Thomas, vacated a $222,000 jury verdict because the Court found it had erred by instructing the jury that U.S. law provides a "making-available right." I have discussed the profound and numerous flaws in that ruling here (http://pff.org/issues-pubs/pops/2008/pop15.16thomasmaright.pdf). I discussed the downright disturbing flaws in Section K of that ruling, (which contains the Court's associated advisory opinion on copyright reform), here (http://pff.org/issues-pubs/pops/2008/pop15.18thomasreform.pdf).

After the ruling, the Thomas Plaintiffs did just what they should have: They filed a motion to certify the Court's making-available-right ruling for an interlocutory appeal. Thomas is an ideal case for an interlocutory appeal: the recent self-reversal in Thomas would require the parties to re-try the entire case because the Court used internally inconsistent reasoning to adopt a minority position on a pure question of law that admittedly causes the United States to violate nine international agreements. Stronger grounds for an interlocutory appeal are scarcely conceivable." [IPCentral]

US Public Affairs - 30/12/08

Lessig: It's Time to Demolish the FCC

"Economic growth requires innovation. Trouble is, Washington is practically designed to resist it. Built into the DNA of the most important agencies created to protect innovation, is an almost irresistible urge to protect the most powerful instead.

The FCC is a perfect example. Born in the 1930s, at a time when the utmost importance was put on stability, the agency has become the focal point for almost every important innovation in technology. It is the presumptive protector of the Internet, and the continued regulator of radio, TV and satellite communications. In the next decades, it could well become the default regulator for every new communications technology, including, and especially, fantastic new ways to use wireless technologies, which today carry television, radio, internet, and cellular phone signals through the air, and which may soon provide high-speed internet access on-the-go, something that Google cofounder Larry Page calls "wifi on steroids."" [NewsWeek]

Comments on the Commission's Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy

"This paper is a reaction to the Commission's Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy. It discusses issues concerning the three step test model licenses, digitization and orphan works, disability discrimination and access to digital content, dissemination for teaching and research, dissemination through libraries and user created content." [SSRN]

Triennial DMCA Review at US Copyright Office"The US Copyright Office is again hearing arguments for exceptions for, as the December 29 Federal Register notice puts it, “certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The purpose of this rulemaking proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumvention.”" [CopyrightAlliance]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 30/12/08

Choruss: legal file sharing on campus 11th December 2008
"The plan to provide US students with compulsory flat-fee music finally has a name, it emerged this week. Choruss LLC will provide participating universities with a replacement for their current subscription services such as Rhapsody, and has the backing of the the EFF and the tacit support of the RIAA. That alone indicates the magnitude of the initiative. When have those two lobbying groups ever agreed on music policy?

This, the worst kept secret in the music business, leaked out in April, when Jim Griffin confirmed he had been engaged by Warner Music to seek deals that would help end the litigation strategy against students, and replace it with a steady pool of income for the rights holders. (Griffin has spent a decade campaigning to "monetize the anarchy" of digital music - see our 2004 interview)." [TheRegister]

Has Boston University Left Its Safe Harbor and Become Liable for Students' Piracy? 12. 2.2008
"Defenders of the most egregious, blatant forms of online copyright piracy often suffer from what could be called Wile-E.-Coyote syndrome: They can become so fixated on throttling the roadrunner of copyright protection that they fail to notice that they have just run off a cliff and begun plunging downward.

For example, a federal judge has reportedly held that Boston University (BU) is such an incompetent internet-access provider that it cannot disclose the identities of allegedly infringing users of its network. In London-Sire Records, Inc. v. Does 1-4, Judge Gertner's recent order granted BU's "Motion to Quash" because "[BU] has adequately demonstrated that it is not able to identify the alleged infringers with a reasonable degree of technical certainty."

Continue reading Has Boston University Left Its Safe Harbor and Become Liable for Students' Piracy? . . ."

New Op-Ed December 30, 2008
"Rick Carnes and I co-wrote an op-ed on ISP music licensing (as exemplified by the Choruss operation) for Content Agenda that might be of interest.

http://www.contentagenda.com/article/CA6625534.html?industryid=45173t

Coolfer published a couple comments on the op-ed. Let it be known that I dig Glenn and Coolfer and I'm just clarifying a couple things he mentioned (also just speaking for myself here and not for my co-author).

One of the points we made is that an unlimited download service at below market rates undermines the investment that legitimate services have spent and committed. (I refuse to use "all you can eat" to describe these services as that phrase grates on me as comparing music to, let's say, a potato, which I won't do.) The point (which I made in more detail in a recent article for the ABA) is that users are already paying for the very Internet connection they use to buy their music from legitimate services. If you tell them that they only need to pay $5 a month more for all the music they want from what were once illegal "services"--well, I think you see where that goes. The idea seems to be that students could get rid of their Rhapsody accounts, which appears to make EFF very happy." [MusicTechPolicy]

Don't Make Kids Online Crooks December 29, 2008 Monday
"Seventy-five years ago, Prohibition ended. Just 13 years after launching an extraordinary experiment in social reform, the nation recognized that the battle against "intoxicating liquors" had failed. Organized crime had exploded. Civil rights had been weakened. And an enormous number of ordinary Americans had become "criminals" as they found ways to evade, and profit from the evasion of, this hopeless law.

We're about a decade into our own hopeless war of prohibition, this one against "peer-to-peer piracy." The copyright industry has used every legal means within its reach (and some that may not be so legal) to stop Internet "pirates" from "sharing" copyrighted content without permission. These "copyright wars"--what the late Jack Valenti, former head of the Motion Picture Association of America, called his own "terrorist war" in which apparently the "terrorists" are our kids--have consumed an ever growing amount of legal resources. The Recording Industry Association of America alone has sued tens of thousands of individuals. These suits allege millions of dollars in damages. And schools across the nation have adopted strict policies to block activity that the Supreme Court in 2005 declared presumptively illegal." [ContentAgenda]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 30/12/08

Music copyright extension - strings attached: Sort yourselves out, warn Burnham and McCreevy 12th December 2008
Culture Minister Andy Burnham gave clear backing to extending the copyright term for sound recordings yesterday - but called on the music business to make sure it benefits musicians, not industry fatcats.

"We want the industry to come back with good, workable ideas as to how a proposal on copyright extension might be framed that directly and predominantly benefits performers – both session and featured musicians," Burnham said." [TheRegister]

UK ignores logic, backs 20-year music copyright extension December 12, 2008
"After a UK government-led commission said that the current 50-year term for musical copyrights was fine, and the government last year publicly agreed that there was no need to extend the term, culture minister Andy Burnham yesterday made the logical follow-up announcement that yes, the government would now push for a 20-year extension on copyright. Turns out, it's the moral thing to do.

Actually, by framing the issue as a "moral case," Burnham gets to sidestep the entire issue of logic. Critics have already begun to charge that he is ignoring actual evidence and the well-regarded conclusions of the Gowers Report, not to mention previous government policy. But when the issue becomes a moral one and the livelihood of aging performers is at stake, it's suddenly easier to avoid cost/benefit analysis. Doing the right thing isn't always logical or economical." [ArsTechnica]

Are Performers A Special Case? 23rd December
"While almost every serious commentator in the field of contemporary copyright law takes the view that no case has been established for the extension of copyright term in respect of sound recordings, the case for the extension of the protection term enjoyed by performers themselves has at least one doughty advocate.

IPKat reader and copyright specialist Professor Amanda J Harcourt writes:

"While Andrew Gowers' article (Copyright Extension is Out of Tune with Reality) makes a number of useful and pithy points, it does not fairly, in my view, state the case for the performer.

While the record companies in the 1990s indubitably "missed the boat" when attempting to debate and adjust their commercial practices to accommodate the developments of the internet - and now are suffering the consequences - there are moral arguments surrounding this new development. The songwriter and performer occupy the only moral high ground in the economic environment that is the music industry. This economic model of copyright has been taken to extreme by record companies. Guy Hands's early pronouncements about executive and administrative waste soon after his purchase of EMI were on point, but an understanding of the way artists are contracted by record companies demonstrates that those at the bottom of the royalty food chain - in this case the artist - have reasons for moral outrage." [IP Kitten]

Thomas on Copyright Reform:An Injudicious Threat to Consumers and Artists
"Recently, the Court in Capitol Records, Inc. v. Thomas vacated a $222,000 verdict awarded by a jury of the peers of Defendant Jammie Thomas.1 The Court held that it committed a “manifest error of law” by instructing the jury that U.S. law gives copyright owners the “making-available right” required by nine international agreements supposedly implemented by U.S. law. But Thomas did not confine itself to an analysis of whether U.S. law provides a making-available right.

After adjudicating the motion to vacate the jury verdict, the Court appended a gratuitous final section—Section K—that used Thomas as a platform to attack the wisdom of both the jury and Congress. Section K, by casting off judicial conventions, by opining on jury questions, and by mischaracterizing the conduct of a party to a pending case—tried to present the Defendant as a poster child for an ill-conceived advisory opinion on copyright reform. In Section K, looting thus became a nonprofit avocation and deterring deceit became “oppressive.” Worse yet, these characterizations supported “reforms” that would only encourage piracy, endanger consumers, and further undermine the vitality of copyrights." [PFF]

Triennial DMCA Review at US Copyright Office December 30th, 2008
"Has it been three years already? The US Copyright Office is again hearing arguments for exceptions for, as the December 29 Federal Register notice puts it, “certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The purpose of this rulemaking proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumvention.”

In other words, when is OK to ignore the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and hack DRM? (You’ll find information on how to participate in this democratic process at the end of this post.)" [CopyrightAlliance]

EU Commission: Competition - 30/12/08

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT QUESTIONS SONYBMG APPROVALS
"The elected European Parliament has challenged the European Commission about it's speedy decision earlier this year to allow Sony Music to buy Bertelsmann out of the two companies' joint venture record company, SonyBMG, which put the second biggest music firm in the world into the ownership of one organisation, Sony Corp.

They also question the Commission's wider policy regarding allowing such big companies to be created in the music and cultural industries without safeguards to protect smaller independent firms - in essence questioning the approval of the SonyBMG merger in the first place." [CMUDaily]

Sony BMG Merger Still Under Scrutiny December 23, 2008
"The European Parliament continues to seek further scrutiny of the Sony BMG merger, although the major has since demerged and will officially be renamed Sony Music Entertainment in 2009. EC Commissioner for competition Neelie Kroes has six weeks to provide a written explanation regarding competition in the music market." [Billboard]

The standard of proof in EC merger control: the implications of the Sony BMG saga
"One of the most important developments in EC competition policy during 2006 was the Court of First Instance’s (CFI) Impala v. Commission judgment annulling the European Commission’s approval of the merger between the music units of Sony and Bertelsmann. It harshly criticized the Commission’s Decision because it found that the evidence relied on was not capable of substantiating the conclusion. This was the first time that a merger decision was annulled for not meeting the requisite legal standard for authorizing the merger. Consequently, the CFI raised fundamental questions about the standard of proof incumbent on the Commission in its merger review procedures. On July 10, 2008, the European Court of Justice overturned Impala, yet it did not resolve the fundamental question underlying the judicial review of the Sony BMG Decision; does the Commission have the necessary resources and expertise to meet the Community Court’s standard of proof? This paper addresses the wider implications of the Sony BMG saga for the Commission’s future handling of complex merger investigations. It argues that the Commission may have set itself an impossible precedent in the second approval of the merger. While the Commission has made a substantial attempt to meet the high standard of proof imposed by the Community Courts, it is doubtful that it will be able to jump the fence again in a similar fashion under normal procedural circumstances." [IES]

Pan-European Indie Label Group Attacks EC’s Decision to Allow Sony Corporation Buyout of Sony BMG (Because In Other Parts of the World, People Actually Freak Out When This Shit Happens)
"Thanks to the European Commission’s decision to let Sony Corporation gobble up Sony BMG, we’re one step closer to a multi-headed monster that will be known as Sony Music Entertainment Inc. The EC’s 2007 decision to allow the merger means that Sony Corporation of America is now free to acquire the 50% share held by Bertelsmann AG of Germany in Sony BMG. Yikes." [TinyMixTapes]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 24/12/08

Internet Piracy: No, Virginia, There Really Is No "Competing" Against Yourself for "Free"
"CNET and others report about a charming new steal-don't-buy browser extension that reminds Amazon.com shoppers that much of Amazon's legal content can be downloaded illegally "4 Free" from The Pirate Bay. If correct, such reports expose the truly self-destructive venality of Internet piracy. They also expose the vacuity of an argument favored by defenders of piracy--the claim that content creators (and law-abiding distributors) can or should "compete against free." Usually, persons spouting this claim cite the case of "bottled water" as a real-life example. For two reasons, this example refutes their vapid claim.

First, this claim understates the achievement of commercial creators of bottled water and content. They compete not only against "free"--but against competitors whose goods seem free because their production costs and risks are subsidized by non-market sources like taxation. Creators of works like movies, music, and books, like creators of bottled water, have long competed successfully against "free" tax-subsidized alternatives (like tap water). In other words, private companies produced bottled water because they concluded that if they incurred the costs and took the risks needed to create high-quality water, taxpayers who have already paid for the "free" water produced by the County Water Board would pay again to purchase higher quality water from a private source." [IPCentral]

The hitman, the Pirate Bay and the freetard prof 10th December 2008
“Since Duchamp's urinal, a great deal of modern art has been a "prank" against the art establishment. Maybe that's why now, state-funded "pranks" like the Pirates plug-in - designed to preach to the converted - feel so stale. Or it could be Cramer's own deeply conservative (and misanthropic) outlook. By design, the course ensures his students fulfill a narrow set of ideological obligations - all of which are de rigeur in modern media theory.

And that, we must conclude, is exactly what the modern state requires from its "radicals". Rather than being outside the tent pissing in, they're quite content to be on the inside, launching Firefox browser plug-ins outwards. Repressive regimes once persecuted dissidents - now they merely need give them cushy jobs on Media Theory courses to render them useless. They'll do the rest.” [TheRegister]

Hollywood wants in on ISP "graduated responses," too : December 24, 2008 - "Graduated response" isn't just for music
"Ars has learned that the Motion Picture Association of America has been having similar discussions with US ISPs for some time and has already been involved in trial projects. The results of this limited testing have been encouraging to the movie business, as they show that most people do in fact stop sharing files illegally after receiving a simple warning from their Internet provider.

The recording industry made waves last week by announcing a set of voluntary agreements with American ISPs to pass warnings (and eventually sanctions) to users accused of sharing files illegally over P2P networks. The scheme is similar in concept to the recent deals in the UK and France, but such graduated response mechanisms are actually under consideration all over the world." [ArsTechnica]

"Can I resell my MP3s?": the post-sale life of digital goods: Second time's a charm December 17, 2008
"The Castaway" is not a very good book. Published in 1908, Hallie Ermine Rives' novel opens with these deeply unpromising sentences:

"A cool breeze slipped ahead of the dawn. It blew dim the calm Greek stars, stirred the intricate branches of olive trees inlaid in the rose-pearl facade of sky, bowed the tall, coral-lipped oleanders lining the rivulets, and crisped the soft wash of the gulf-tide. It lifted the strong bronze curls on the brow of a sleeping man who lay on the sea-beach covered with a goatskin." [ArsTechnica]

UK talks mashups, DRM, CD ripping as it opens copyright overhaul December 17, 2008
"The UK's Intellectual Property Office has some odd ideas. In thinking about the "future agenda on copyright" in Britain, the agency recognizes the disconnect the law and common actions like CD ripping, feels the pain of mashup artists who have no real way to clear rights, knows that DRM can currently override statutory copyright exemptions, and wants to hear especially from creators and users. David Lammy, the minister in charge of higher education and intellectual property, even puts quote marks around "online music 'piracy'."

The occasion for all this attention do digital copyright issues is UK IPO's new "© the future: Keeping ahead of the game" consultation. The government has a wide-ranging scheme called Digital Britain that various ministries have been at work on for several months, and the chance to think about copyright's future is part of the UK plan to make Britain a hub for the digital and creative industries. Government statistics already show that the creative industries generated 8.2 percent of GDP in 2007 and are growing twice as fast as the overall economy." [ArsTechnica]

Music News Bulletin - 23/12/08

Amazon MP3 fuels indie gloom: Not exactly retail therapy 5th December 2008
"Do you remember when the internet was supposed to "empower" new businesses, sweep away cartels and monopolies, and give a voice to the little guy? Well, unless you view increasing concentrations of power as a good thing, this week has been a bad one for the music economy.

Amazon finally launched its MP3 download service in the UK on the Wednesday, stealing the headlines with cheap deals. Yet popular acts who chose to opt out of the major label system received a kick in the teeth, with the front page carved up between the majors. Best-selling acts such as The Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand (both signed to PIAS group label Domino) are nowhere to be found." [TheRegister]

Amazon launches music downloads: The online bookseller has branched out into digital music sales
"Online retail website Amazon has launched a UK music download service. Amazon MP3 will sell tracks from 59p and albums from £3. The new music store will offer more than 3 million songs that will work on any digital music player, including Apple's iPod. The move puts Amazon in direct competition with Apple for a stake in the growing market of online music sales, which in Britain alone was worth an estimated £163m in 2007." [BBC]

Rumor: Music labels want to create Hulu for music videos Dec 23rd 2008
"There's been a lot of buzz over the last few days about how all of Warner Music Group's music videos have gone missing from YouTube. Now Alley Insider reports that Warner, BMG, EMI, and Universal are talking about building their own site for music videos.

The idea would be to create a single destination where be able to find music videos from popular artists. There's some reason to think the site could work. After all, Hulu has become one of the top destination for online video by providing full length, ad-supported streaming episodes of TV shows and movies with the cooperation of several major networks and studios." [DownloadSquad]

EU Parliament Monitor - 19/12/08

European Parliament questions Sony BMG merger
"The indie sector has been given renewed hope that the Sony BMG merger story hasn’t ended following the European Parliament’s decision to ask the EC competition commissioner to justify her decision to approve the merger of the two majors in 2004.

The European Parliament has fired off three questions to Neelie Kroes challenging the Commission about competition in the music market. The questions are:

- Why did the Commission not carry out an in-depth investigation when it adopted its last approval decision?
- What is the Commission's strategy for making sure that SMEs have market access in concentrated sectors like music?
- Will the Commission adopt new rules or guidelines on how competition policy should be adapted to cultural markets such as music?

The commissioner has six weeks to provide a written explanation, although it is unclear what action Parliament can take if it doesn’t like her answers. Meanwhile, European indie organisation IMPALA is still appealing the original EC decisions allowing Sony and BMG to merge, which led to an appeal in the Court of First Instance. An IMPALA spokesman says that the move by Parliament is quite rare and it means Kroes has to justify her decision.
SonyBMG were not commenting." [MusicWeek]

European Parliament questions Sony BMG approvals
"The elected European Parliament has challenged the European Commission about it's speedy decision earlier this year to allow Sony Music to buy Bertelsmann out of the two companies' joint venture record company, SonyBMG, which put the second biggest music firm in the world into the ownership of one organisation, Sony Corp.

They also question the Commission's wider policy regarding allowing such big companies to be created in the music and cultural industries without safeguards to protect smaller independent firms - in essence questioning the approval of the SonyBMG merger in the first place.

As much previously reported, the merger of Sony Corp and Bertlesmann's respective record companies to create SonyBMG in 2004 was not without controversy. Pan-European indie label trade body IMPALA said the creation of a company as big as SonyBMG was anti-competitive and should not be approved by the Commission (who have the power to block such deals). When the Commission then OKed the merger, without conditions, IMPALA went to the European Courts who ruled in the trade body's favour, agreeing that the Commission had failed to sufficiently investigate the merger before giving it the green light and ordering them to reinvestigate the proposals. That they did, subsequently approving the merger for a second time. IMPALA are currently appealing that Commission decision too." [CMUDaily]

European Parliament challenges the Commission again about competition in the music market and the SonyBMG merger, as independents’ appeal continues without new action over Sony buy out
"The European Parliament has challenged the European Commission for the third time over SonyBMG. The EC Commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes has six weeks to provide a written explanation regarding:

1. Why the Commission did not carry out an in-depth investigation when it adopted its last approval decision?
2. What the Commission's strategy is for making sure that SMEs have market access in concentrated sectors like music?
3. Whether the Commission will adopt new rules or guidelines on how competition policy should be adapted to the specificities of cultural markets such as music?

In the meantime IMPALA will continue its initial appeal regarding SonyBMG. In September the European Commission approved the buy out by Sony of Bertelsmann's shares in the joint venture SonyBMG and IMPALA objected because no remedies were put in place and there was no detailed investigation. As IMPALA is still in litigation over the creation of SonyBMG in the first place, however, it will not launch a new appeal over the buy out. IMPALA's concerns mainly relate to the market power of SonyBMG (and the other majors) rather than who owns it. IMPALA's appeal in the European courts will be heard again by the judges next year. IMPALA also appealed the EC's second approval decision and this case is on hold while the appeal against the first approval is being dealt with." [RecordOftheDay]

Christa Prets MEP on media literacy in a digital world: MEP Christa Prets wants more "digital education"
"We all need to better understand the media we are touched by daily, especially the young, says Austrian Socialist Christa Prets. MEPs backed her report on "media literacy in a digital world" on Tuesday. In an exclusive interview Ms Prets explained to us what media literacy actually is, how we can improve it and how it can be used to teach the young." [Europa]

EU Council Monitor - 19/12/08

Czech ambassador outlines EU presidency priorities
"The Czech Republic’s top official in Brussels says that tackling ‘obstacles’ which ‘prevent Europe from fulfilling its economic potential’ will be one of the priorities of her country’s EU presidency
Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, Milena Vicenova also hopes that at the end of the six-month presidency “no-one will think that we Czechs are eurosceptic.”

The 52-year-old also pledged to “concentrate all our energy” on resolving the current impasse on the stalled Lisbon treaty. Vicenova, one of the few female ambassadors in Brussels, was outlining her country’s priorities when it takes over the EU presidency from France on 1 January.
“I know quite a few people will be asking whether the Czechs really are eurosceptic,” she said.
“There is no doubt that our presidency comes at no easy time for Europe and the rest of the world. It will be a real challenge.”

She said the presidency will focus on ‘3 E’s’ – the economy, energy and external relations.
On the economic front, she told a packed audience that the French presidency deserved praise for its “prompt, effective and efficient” response to the global financial crisis." [TheParliament]

Conclusion of the Council (11 and 12/12)
The complete conclusions. It includes:
“As regards action by the European Union, the European Council supports in particular: an increase in intervention by the European Investment Bank of EUR 30 billion in 2009/2010, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises” [Europa]

Paris ACTA meetings wrap up; we're safe until March 2009
"Negotiations on the controversial and largely secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) race ever onward, but the process isn't moving quite as fast as proponents had hoped. No deal will now happen before the end of the year, nor before a new US administration takes the reins in late January.

Another round of ACTA negotiations wrapped up yesterday in Paris, this one hosted by the EU and chaired by the French Trade Minister. Most governments involved in the process appear bent on saying almost nothing about it due the "delicate nature" of the negotiating process, but Japan's Foreign Ministry has released the barest of details from this week's meeting (and in English, no less).

The meeting description is bureaucratically bland ("Participants reaffirmed their goal to combat global infringements of IPR, particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy, by increasing international cooperation, strengthening the framework of practices that contribute to effective enforcement, and strengthening relevant IPR enforcement measures themselves." Fascinating!), but does note that countries involved shared information on "fighting IPR infringements on the Internet." It remains unclear what may come of such discussions, but it certainly sounds as though ACTA will in fact extend beyond creating a better enforcement mechanism for stopping crates of Simpsons rip-off T-shirts." [ArsTechnica]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 19/12/08

RIAA to end its “Sue The World” policy
“In a week dominated by the Leonard Cohen classic, can I just say "hallelujah". A year that began with the news all four majors had ended their kamikaze love affair with digital rights management, is ending with the news that the Recording Industry Association Of America is axing its other self-defeating, unhelpful, surely-record-company-execs-cant-be-this-dumb policy of suing individual music fans over their use of P2P file sharing technology to acquire or share unlicensed music.

From the word go the RIAA has been at the forefront of the litigious approach to tackling the piracy threat of the internet, which was good news for lawyers, but bad news for pretty much everyone else, not least the record companies who had to foot the bill for the legal campaign that was destined to fail from the word go, and which destroyed the already sagging reputation of the record industry at a time when it needed public and consumer support, partly because the labels were clearly going to have to develop direct customer relationships moving forward, and partly because it needed enough goodwill to fight for a re-evaluation of copyright systems.
The original strategy was to sue any company making P2P networking possible. But it soon became clear that suing Napster, Grokster, Kazaa et al was not effective because, even when the US courts eventually started to find in the labels' favour, the kids had always transferred their loyalties to newer P2P systems by the time older ones had been sued out of business.” [CMUDaily]

Culture announced an imminent "unpopular" measure against piracy
“Molina says that EU ministers have in their agenda actions against practices "illegitimate"

Today, Cesar Antonio Molina, the Spanish Culture Minister, announced that "not too late" there will be legislation, "which is likely to be unpopular" to regulate Internet piracy, a practice that has branded as "illegitimate" during the ‘Breakfast Briefing Europe Press’ and that, in his view, affects the whole culture.

Asked about the possibility of blinding access to Internet pirates repeat, Molina has stated that they are "exploring ways" and that "not too late there will be a regulation" this whole issue. Probably it’ll be a regulation that will be very unpopular, but what is unpopular, dilapidated and a disaster is that thousands of jobs that gives the culture will disappear by this illegal action. That can’t be allowed, he said.

Also, Molinas says that from the Ministry of Culture is struggling and acting very well" against piracy since "many fronts" and that at European ministers meetings is a "reiterative theme”, with the development of new laws and new forms of organization, to prevent piracy, "a termite that is destroying entire network of industry, to acquire such extreme shades."” [UFI]

Copyright cop wedding crashers fined by Spanish court
“The next time you have a wedding, make sure your videographer isn't a secret spy for the RIAA or similar copyright group. This real-life scenario happened to a couple in Spain thanks to the efforts of the Spanish General Society of Authors and Editors (SGAE), a rights group for musicians and artists. But although the group managed to bust the reception venue for copyright violations, SGAE itself has been fined for violating the privacy of the newlyweds.

The incident originally took place back in 2005, when SGAE snuck a private detective into the wedding reception acting as a cameraman. The group had suspected the venue—La Doma restaurant near Seville, Spain—for using music without paying royalties. Predictably, this series of events have horrified privacy advocates who argue that the couple's privacy was breached. As noted by The Sunday Times, however, the issue has come to light recently because SGAE has increased its efforts to catch venues that are avoiding royalty payments, and another, similar case is about to go to court.” [ArsTechnica]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 19/12/08

Burnham puts moral case for term extension
“Culture secretary Andy Burnham has said there has “always been” a moral case at the heart of copyright law.

Defending the Government’s decision last week to extend copyright term from 50 to 70 years, Burnham writes “If someone produces exceptional work in their 20s that is still being listened to 50 years later, it is right that their earnings from it are not suddenly cut off when they are in their 70s. The argument here is that the person who creates a work should be able to enjoy the value of that for the duration of his or her natural life.”

Responding to an article in the Financial Times by Gowers Review author Andrew Gowers, Burnham also said it is a false argument to compare musicians with other professions such as sportspeople. “No one is going to profit from someone winning the 100 metres decades on from that victory, but, in a digital world…music continues to generate revenues far into the future.”

The culture secretary puts the case that a vegan rock star should not have to put up with seeing their music used to promote burgers and asks why should performers have to watch others profiting from their talent and creativity? “So there is a very clear moral case to extend copyright,” he writes.” [MusicWeek]

Andy Burnham: A practical and moral case for extending copyright
“The length of time that sound recordings remain in copyright is a controversial subject and for the past couple of years a debate has raged on whether to extend it from the present 50 years.

Andrew Gowers - who led the Gowers review of intellectual property - suggested it should remain at 50 years but that we should review it in the light of European considerations. Charlie McCreevy, European Union commissioner, subsequently came up with a different view: that it be extended to 95 years.

In the light of that, and in view of Mr McCreevy's argument about there being a moral case for extending it, the government has been looking at the issue again. John Denham and I, as the ministers responsible, felt that 95 years would be disproportionately long. But we do feel that there is a case for extending the term to a period of something like 70 years.” [FT]

Reaction: Any extension to copyright must look forward only
Letter from Mr Andrew Gowers, Head of External Relations, London Business School.

“Sir, Andy Burnham writes (“A practical and moral case for extending copyright”, December 16) that the government is looking for a “workable compromise” on copyright that will balance the interests of musicians, the music business, and purchasers and users of music. Understanding the enormous political pressure he and ministerial colleagues have been under on this issue, may I make a constructive suggestion?

If the government must consider extending copyright protection as Mr Burnham proposes, I suggest it does so on a forward-looking basis only. That way, ministers can address musicians’ concerns and marginally enhance incentives for creation, without creating an unwarranted windfall for music companies for past productions or breaching existing implicit contracts with the public.

This approach would also have the virtue of consistency, since the government did accept without question the recommendation of my review that “the term and scope of protection for IP rights should not be altered retrospectively”.” [FT]

Reaction: Look at it from engineer’s perspective
Letter from Mr Anthony Stansfield.

“Sir, Andy Burnham (December 16) argues for an extension of copyright to provide musicians with a continuing source of income long into their retirement, perhaps arising from work that they did in their 20s. Let me provide an alternative perspective.
I am an engineer. My creative work is protected by the patent system rather than by copyright. This provides protection for 20 years – not 50, or 70, and certainly not 95 years. It is possible that my work, or that of any other engineer, could still be in use after the expiry of this period, but it is very unlikely that royalties from inventions made even in my 40s will be directly contributing to my retirement income.
Mr Burnham asks: “Why should performers have to watch others profiting from their talent and creativity?” I would suggest that the answer for them is the same as it is for me – the intellectual property system provides a limited period for us to profit directly from our creative work, after which it becomes publicly available for others to build on, and develop in ways that we haven’t thought of.
We may be able to “enjoy the [monetary] value” for only a limited period, but can enjoy the ongoing impact of our work indefinitely.” [FT]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 19/12/08

10 debut artists to receive 2009 European Border Breaker Awards (EBBAs) in Groningen, the Netherlands
“The winners of the 2009 European Union 'Border Breakers Awards' (EBBAs) have been chosen. Their awards will be presented in a show to be presented by British TV personality Jools Holland in Groningen on 15 January 2009. The show will be attended by Jan Figel', the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth and will be covered on television. In giving these awards the European Commission, in cooperation with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) wishes to reward debut artists' and groups' success in crossing national borders. At the same time the prizes highlight and promote the richness and diversity of European music, its creativity and its contribution to innovation.

This years' winners of an European Border Breakers Award are:
* Adele (UK) - “19”
* Alphabeat (DK) – “Alphabeat”
* AaRON (FR) – “Artificial Animals Riding on Neverland”
* Cinema Bizarre (DE) – “Final Attraction”
* The Dø (FR) – “A Mouthfull”
* Kraak & Smaak (NL)– “Boogie Angst”
* Ida Corr (DK) – “One”
* Lykke Li (SE) – “Youth Novels”
* The Script (IRL) – “The Script”
* The Ting Tings (UK) – “We Started Nothing”” [Europa]

Audiovisual Media Services without Frontiers: Frequently Asked Questions
“One year ago, on 19 December the Audiovisual Media Services Directive came into force (IP/07/1809). It provides a modern set of rules for Europe's audiovisual industry that covers all audiovisual media services – traditional as well as online and on-demand audiovisual content. It also makes EU rules on TV advertising less detailed and more flexible and focused on future trends to make it easier for service providers to finance their programmes and for users to recognise commercial messages.” [Europa]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 15/12/08

UK consumers, Big Content battle over three-strikes rules December 01, 2008
"Although France's "graduated response" proceedings have attracted the most attention, the UK is in the midst of a consultation of its own on how to involve both content owners and ISPs in some sort of response to P2P file-sharing. The government is pushing a co-regulatory approach that would task industry groups with hashing out the details of such a plan, while the government would make sure that any agreement is fair, competitive, and preserves privacy. With all the responses now in, the UK music industry is clearly pleased that it won't have to pursue 6.5 million copyright infringers on its own. Digital rights groups are... less excited.

The entire consultation is helmed by BERR, the UK agency that handles Business, Enterprise, & Regulatory Reform, and it stems from the famous (in certain circles, anyway) Gowers Review of intellectual property that we covered extensively back in 2006. That report, which took a top-to-bottom look at UK copyright and IP policy, was stuffed with plenty of consumer-friendly ideas, such as no new copyright term extensions. But it also contained good news for rightsholders, such as a suggestion that the government step in if ISPs and rightsholders couldn't agree on how to handle the issue of P2P file-sharing." [ArsTechnica]

Voluntary campus-wide music licenses could stop the lawsuits December 08, 2008
"It takes a special knee-jerk churliness to jackboot the music industry in the proverbial groin every time it comes up with a new idea. Sure, some of these ideas (Hi, DRM-laden CDs!) make one want to spend an afternoon banging head against desk in existential despair over the low collective intelligence of the people in this world who make decisions. But the industry isn't staffed only with fair-use hating zombies and DRM lovers; the occasional human roams the hallways, sometimes hatching new schemes that aren't wholly stupid, ridiculous, or evil. When that happens, it's worth holding one's rhetorical fire until the idea is fully developed, offering encouragement and constructive criticism.

Of course, Internet groin kicks are easier. And think of the traffic! But they're not always helpful, not when you'd like the industry to get up and walk arm-in-arm into the sunset with users rather than lie in the street and issue subpoenas from the gutter." [ArsTechnica]

Masnick on the Music Tax Dec. 15, 2008
"I’m more sympathetic to EFF-style voluntary collective licensing than Mike Masnick is, but I have to say that the case he makes here is pretty compelling. I think this is really the key point:

What you’re doing is setting up a big, centrally planned and operated bureau of music, that officially determines the business model of the recording industry, figures out who gets paid, collects the money and pays some money out. The same record industry that has fought so hard against any innovation remains in charge and will have tremendous sway in setting the “rules.” The plan leaves no room for creativity. It leaves no room for innovation. It’s basically picking the only business model and encoding it in stone. [TechLiberation]

Taxing music at the ISP level: Good idea or bad? Dec 5^th
"Warner Music Group has a proposition for U.S. universities, according to Techdirt: buy a blanket license to music downloads through file-sharing services, or be sued.Techdirt thinks that this is a bad idea, and I disagree. Techdirt's criticisms are clear." [CNet]

Lessig’s call for a “simple blanket license” in Remix 01/12/08
"Lessig Remix coverI’m finishing up Stanford Law School professor Lawrence Lessig’s latest book, Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy and wanted to make a brief comment about his call for a “simple blanket license” to solve online music piracy.

Overall, I thought Prof. Lessig made a good case regarding the benefits of “remix culture” and why copyright law should leave breathing room for the various derivative works of amateur creators. On the other hand, Lessig still too often blurs remix culture with “ripoff culture” (i.e., those who aren’t out to create anything new but instead just take something without paying a penny for it).

To solve that latter problem, Lessig again endorses a proposal that William Fisher, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and others have made for collective licensing of all online music, but he fails to drill down into the devilish details. He says, for example, that “by authorizing a simple blanket licensing procedure, whereby users could, for a low fee, buy the right to freely file-share” we could “decriminalize file sharing.” " [TechLiberation]

Techdirt's Mike Masnick On Why a Music Tax Is a Mistake December 11, 2008
"Techdirt founder Mike Masnick has followed the twists and turns of the digital music debate for more than a decade, offering some of the most prescient and lucid information and arguments on the topic anywhere. Today he tackles growing calls for a voluntary music-licensing scheme, pushed most recently by Warner Music Group to universities, that would basically allow file sharing by having ISPs impose a surcharge on all users to be paid out to copyright holders. (A version of this has been done before with blank media like tape cassettes in some markets, including Canada, but this would be a massive expansion of the idea.)

Mike's take is not the final word on the matter, but it should be required reading for anyone interested in understanding where music is today and where it is headed. It is reproduced with permission below in its entirety. As he ably argues, the future of music is often confused with the future of the music business — but they are not the same thing at all. In fact, the interests of the music business, defined primarily as the major recording labels, is arguably one of the biggest impediments to moving music itself forward." [Wired]

EU Events Monitor - 15/12/08

International Music Summit 2009
“The International Music Summit (IMS) is set to return to Ibiza on May 27-29th 2009 after swiftly establishing itself as one of the most talked about music conferences of the year. Last year’s hugely successful inaugural summit brought together 300 of the most influential players at the cutting edge of the electronic music industry, marking the successful arrival of the key business and networking event in the dance music calendar.” [RecordOfTheDay]

MIDEM’S Publishing Summit
“MIDEM, with the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP), and media partners MUSIC CONFIDENTIAL and the Music Publishers Assn.’s IMPACT, are presenting the first International Publishing Summit on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at MIDEM in Cannes.” [MusicConfidential]

Music News Bulletin - 15/12/08

Chrysalis Halts Takeover Talks
“British music company Chrysalis Plc has terminated all talks related to a possible offer for the company, but says it continues to evaluate other opportunities. Shares of the company were down 12% or 7.75 pence (11.6 cents) at 57.25 pence (85.6 cents) this afternoon.

On Sept. 17, Chrysalis said it had received very tentative approaches from a number of parties "suggesting a variety of collaborative transactions, including a possible offer for the company". The company now confirmed it was no longer deemed to be in an "offer period."” [BillBoard]

Warner expand Northern Europe Indie Distribution
“And now news of expansion in the distribution sector - because it does happen on occasion. Warner Music's independent label distribution division, the Alternative Distribution Alliance, has launched a new Nordic operation providing digital and physical distribution services for indie labels in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

The new division will be run by Jesper Thorsson, formerly of Swedish indie the Bonnier Amigo Music Group, who told reporters: "ADA Nordic has been created specifically to offer the best service and support to the region's diverse, dynamic community of indie labels. We will provide our partners and their outstanding artists with a host of new opportunities via our powerful distribution footprint, strong sales philosophy and commitment to assist in long-term artist development".” [CMUDaily]

[PIAS] UK DVD extends service
“[PIAS] UK DVD will refine its service from January 2009 to enable its labels to benefit from an improved product management, marketing and sales offering.[PIAS] UK DVD will continue to represent all labels currently on its roster, but will also offer an enhanced label management and marketing service. In addition, Lace Digital Media Sales (LDMS), the DVD sales specialists, will be employed as the sales agency for [PIAS] UK DVD distributed releases.” [RecordOfTheDay]

Music sales defy the crunch
“The doom and gloom surrounding the economy was given short shrift by record buyers last week, with sales topping the equivalent 2007 levels for the second week in a row and Take That’s new album, The Circus making a huge debut. Overcoming the fact that - like many of last week’s new releases - it isn’t available in Woolworths, The Circus by Take That nevertheless scorches to sensational first week sales of 432,490 to earn the Mancunian quartet its fifth number one, while simultaneously eclipsing the band’s own previous best first-week sales and setting a new 2008 benchmark.

Selling for as little as £5.88 on CD (Asda) and £3 as a download (Amazon) – both the lowest prices ever for a number one album in those formats - The Circus was released two years to the week after Take That’s comeback album Beautiful World, which opened at number one on sales of 168,954. Beautiful World subsequently sold 443,070 copies on its fourth week in the chart to secure the second highest one week sale by any act in the 21st century, behind the 464,471 copies that Coldplay’s X&Y sold on its first week in 2003.” [MusicWeek]

Rumor: Apple's iTunes going DRM-free starting Tuesday
“Apple is believed to be on the verge of an end-of-year push that would start by finally offering unprotected iTunes Store music from all major labels and would switch a special post-holiday campaign giving away music and videos to Europeans.

A report from last week brought to AppleInsider's attention by French technology site ElectronLibre asserts that it's now "clear" Apple will spark new interest in its music store by removing DRM from tracks published by Sony, Universal and Warner on December 9th.” [AppleInsider]

Music News Bulletin - 15/12/08

Distributor EUK Winds Down, 700 Jobs Cut
"Entertainment wholesale distributor EUK has failed to attract a buyer and the business will now be wound down by the administrators. EUK, which was part of Woolworths Group, will continue to operate with a reduced workforce of 375 employees. Seven hundred employees were made redundant today (Dec. 12) and efforts to sell the business as a going concern will be scaled down.

EUK was placed in administration - roughly equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. - on Nov. 27 along with Woolworths' retail business. The 800-plus stores launched a closing down sale yesterday (Dec. 12). EUK's customers include entertainment retailer Zavvi and mass merchants Sainsbury and Asda as well as Woolworths. However, stores were forced to seek alternative supplies when EUK failed to provide key titles by Take That and Britney Spears on Dec. 1." [BillBoard]

EUK to be wound down
"Administrators are to wind down EUK after Deloitte failed to find a buyer for the distributor. A skeleton staff of 375 employees will stay on at EUK to help with the process of winding down but the move means the immediate loss of 700 jobs.

Staff were told this morning that Deloitte had failed to find a buyer for EUK, after an interested party pulled out earlier in the week. Dan Butters, joint administrator and reorganisation services partner at Deloitte, says, “Regrettably, despite our continued efforts, we have been unable to identify a suitable buyer for the business. Whilst we will continue to consider offers for the sale of the business as a going concern, we will now focus on realising value from the company’s assets." [MusicWeek]

ERA calls for calm
"The Entertainment Retailers Association has called on labels to support music retail in the wake of the crisis at Woolworths/EUK and the ongoing problems of Zavvi.

Administrator Deloitte said last Friday that it was winding down EUK, after failing to find a buyer, while Woolworths’ stores embarked last week on a whirlwind “closing-down” sale. Meanwhile, Zavvi was forced to deny stories that its creditors had called in an emergency restructuring team.

ERA, which represents retailers of music, video, DVD and computer games, is warning that unless suppliers continue to trade on normal credit terms with the retailers caught up in these difficult situations, they could create further difficulties in the market." [MusicWeek]

AIM Lawyers Cancel Pinnacle Contracts
“Independent labels' trade body AIM's lawyers have written to the administrators of Pinnacle terminating dozens of labels' contracts with the distributor.

The independent distributor based in Sidcup, Kent went into administration - roughly equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. - on Dec. 3. AIM held an emergency meeting at is west London HQ yesterday for labels affected.

A letter has now been sent on behalf of 92 labels to the administrators BDO Stoy Hayward. The letter states that the 92 labels are terminating their agreements with Pinnacle and asks for confirmation that the labels can collect their stock from the premises.” [BillBoard]

Pinnacle Administration
“Administrators were appointed on Wednesday 3rd December in respect of Pinnacle, one of the UK’s oldest and largest independent distributors. An emergency meeting was held at AIM (The Association of Independent Music), and we have appointed Martyn Bailey from Forbes Anderson Free and barrister Philip Flower to take appropriate action.

A letter has been sent today on behalf of 92 labels to the administrators BDO Stoy Hayward terminating their agreements with Pinnacle and asking for confirmation from the administrators that the labels can collect their stock from the premises.” [RecordOfTheDay]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 15/12/08

EIB gets an extra €30bn for infrastructure projects
"Funds will be directed primarily towards into new member states. The European Investment Bank (EIB) will spend an extra €30 billion on projects over the next two years following an agreement at last week's meeting of EU finance minister to increase the bank's capital.

The bank's reserves were increased from €67bn to €232bn to allow continued funding of current projects and financing of future projects. The immediate effect will be extra money during 2009-10 for the bank's main project areas." [EuropeanVoice]

US Sues Sony Music Over Children's Online Privacy
"Sony Music Entertainment was sued on Wednesday by the U.S. government, which claimed the music company violated federal rules aimed at protecting the online privacy of children. Sony Music improperly accepted registrations on its music Web sites from users who were under 13, without obtaining consent from their parents, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan." [BillBoard]

Canadian Copyright Board Raises Tax
"The Canadian Copyright Board has announced it will raise the tax on blank compact discs to 29¢ (US$0.23), a 38% increase. Previously the tariff on blank recordable CDs was 21¢ (US$0.1679).

The tariff is collected on behalf of the Canadian Private Copying Collective, an organization formed in 1999 and created to collect money that compensates musicians and stakeholders for having their music copied by individuals. The decision leaves the rate for audio cassettes at 24¢
The board says there were two reasons for the increase.

“First, increased mechanical licence royalties, coupled with the elimination of container deductions and free goods allowances in the calculation of the performers' and makers' remuneration, greatly add to our estimation of the total remuneration per prerecorded CD," the board said in a report. "Second, the use of compression technology raises from 15 to 18.4 the average number of tracks copied on a blank CD used to copy music."" [BillBoard]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 15/12/08

UK plays term numbers game
"A 70-year copyright term is a possibility as UK offers alternative to EC’s 95 years
Europe’s delicately-balanced debate on copyright term is about to be blown out of the water, with the UK Government now poised to tell member states that it is prepared to see an extension to 70 years.

The UK, one of Europe’s biggest music producers, has steadfastly opposed the Charlie McCreevy-sponsored Directive to increase copyright term. While Germany, France and other states have broadly supported the Internal Markets Commissioner’s proposal to extend copyright term from 50 to 95 years, the UK has stuck to the findings of the 2006 Gowers Review, which did not recommend extension.

However, that position – and Gowers’ – was blown apart last Thursday when Culture Secretary Andy Burnham told a conference that he is now working with Department for Innovation Universities and Skills Secretary of state John Denham to “consider the arguments for an extension of copyright term for performers from the current 50 years. An extension to match more closely a performer’s expected lifetime, perhaps something like 70 years”. Senior executives now expect the Government to formally tell the European Council about this monumental U-turn early in the New Year. And that will undoubtedly radically shift the way the debate is progressing." [MusicWeek]

Copyright extension is out of tune with reality
"Politicians often do and say silly things when they come into contact with celebrities.
So it was last Thursday when a star-struck Andy Burnham, Britain's secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport, showed up for a speech and photo-opportunity with the former lead singer of the Undertones, a punk-pop combo of the 1970s. In addition to the usual pleasantries about Britain's creative industries, Mr Burnham set out a novel argument about the law of copyright protecting musicians' work.

There was, he said, "a moral case" for performers - who often do their best recorded work in their 20s and 30s - to benefit from it throughout their lifetime. The government would therefore consider extending copyright for recordings to 70 years from the present 50." [FT]

Copyright law 'could be extended'
"Culture minister Andy Burnham has said the government has changed its mind on allowing performers to make money from their music for 70 years. Performers currently lose the copyright to their recordings after 50 years. "It's only right that someone who created or contributed to something of real value gets to benefit for the full course of their life," he said. Sir Cliff Richard and Roger Daltrey were among those who have campaigned for copyright to be extended." [BBC]

UK ignores logic, backs 20-year music copyright extension
"After a UK government-led commission said that the current 50-year term for musical copyrights was fine, and the government last year publicly agreed that there was no need to extend the term, culture minister Andy Burnham yesterday made the logical follow-up announcement that yes, the government would now push for a 20-year extension on copyright. Turns out, it's the moral thing to do." [ArsTechnica]

EU Parliament Monitor - 15/12/08

Briefing - 15-18 December 2008 - Strasbourg plenary session
[Europa]

The Week Ahead 15-21 December 2008: Plenary Session in Strasbourg
[Europa]

Lisbon deal could change size of European Parliament
"French proposal would result in a Parliament with 754 MEPs from 2010; deal also outlines means of managing transition to new form of presidency. Part of an emerging deal triggered by efforts to convince the Irish to approve the Treaty of Lisbon by October 2009 is a plan that would leave the European Parliament with fewer MEPs than it currently has but more than currently envisaged in the Lisbon treaty.

EU leaders are today discussing the offer of a set of guarantees that it hopes will help the Irish government convince its electorate to adopt the reform treaty, but the most likely timeline for a referendum – by October 2009 – would mean that the European Parliament elections in June would be held under rules set out in the Treaty of Nice. Those stipulate that the number of MEPs should be cut from the current 785 to 736. If the Lisbon treaty were in force by then, the assembly would have 751 members." [EuropeanVoice]

EU Council Monitor - 15/12/08

December European Council
"The European Council on 11 and 12 December 2008 approved a European Economic Recovery Plan, equivalent to about 1,5 % of the GDP of the European Union (a figure amounting to around EUR 200 billion). The plan provides a common framework for the efforts made by Member States and by the European Union, with a view to ensuring consistency and maximising effectiveness.

The European Council also reached agreement on the energy/climate change package which should enable this package to be finalised with the European Parliament by the end of the year. This decisive breakthrough will enable the European Union to honour the ambitious commitments entered into in this area in 2007 to maintain its leading role in the search for an ambitious and comprehensive global agreement at Copenhagen next year.

The European Council demonstrated its intent, through concrete decisions, to give new impetus to the European Security and Defence Policy in order to meet the new security challenges.
Lastly, the European Council discussed the factors designed to respond to the concerns expressed during the Irish referendum and established an approach to enable the Treaty of Lisbon to come into force before the end of 2009." [Europa]

France to give account of presidency to Parliament
"Working-time directive and budget will feature on an agenda dominated by a review of France's presidency of the EU and of the EU summit. The European Parliament is meeting for its last plenary session of the year and the four-day session, from 15 to 18 December, will have a distinct end-of-year feel, with the French providing a review of their presidency of the EU.

On 16 December, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will present to MEPs an overall review of the French presidency as well as the specific results of the EU summit of 11-12 December, focusing on the economy, the climate-change package, and the deal struck in a bid to convince the Irish to adopt the Treaty of Lisbon.

Accounts of the French presidency will be presented to the Parliament's Economic Committee on 15 December by Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and, on 16 December, to the Constitutional Affairs Committee by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Both ministers will essentially provide a run-down of the developments in their policy fields agreed during the French presidency." [EuropeanVoice]

EU Commission Education and Training Culture and Youth - 15/12/08

Culture: the first Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Seminar on Cultural Diversity 15-16 December 2008
"The European Commission and the Vietnamese authorities are jointly organising an ASEM Seminar "Preserving and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions: sharing Asian and European experiences", which takes place in Hanoi, Vietnam on 15-16 December 2008. The aim of this event is to gather reflections on how to preserve and promote the diversity of cultural expressions, while sharing the rich Asian and European experiences in this field." [Europa]

Culture Programme Conference "Culture in Motion" 12 December 2008
"The first Conference on the EU's flagship funding programme in the area of culture, the Culture Programme 2007 – 2013, took place on Friday, 12 December. The Conference presented past and on-going project results from the current and previous EU Culture Programmes. The aim of the event was to enable an exchange of experience and good practices between cultural operators and programme beneficiaries." [Europa]

EU Commission Internal Market - 15/12/08

Speech by Commissioner McCreevy at Creators Conference organised by UK Music
11 December 2008
"Ladies and Gentlemen, It is well known that there is no place I like better than to be among innovators, entrepreneurs and business people. I usually address people involved in the more main stream industries – manufacturers of goods and suppliers of services. And while the entertainment business is far more glamorous than manufacturing widgets, at the end of the day it's all about making a living and being paid for your creativity and innovation. So it is a great pleasure for me to be here this morning to speak to such an illustrious group of artists and creators. And I would like to take this opportunity to explain why I, the Commissioner for the Internal Market – usually associated with big banks and other large financial industries – launched a proposal to obtain 'a better deal for performers'.

First and foremost, I consider copyright and the music industry to be just as important as any other part of my portfolio – not only in terms of the economic and cultural benefits it brings to the European Union, but perhaps even more importantly because of the entertainment and feel good factor music brings to our daily lives." [Europa]

McCreevy tells industry to sort out performer fund
"The success of copyright term extension could hinge on how quickly the industry agrees to divvy up the performer fund proposed by Charlie McCreevy in his Directive. The EC Internal Market commissioner, who proposed extending copyright from 50 to 95 years, in February also proposed a fund should be set aside for session musicians.

In the proposal he said that the performers would get 20% of gross revenue generated in the extended term. However, various sectors of the industry are also keen that featured artists benefit from the fund and there have been talks between the BPI, Musicians’ Union and Music Managers Forum to resolve this issue." [MusicWeek]

Music News Bulletin - 13/12/08

For the fans, by the fans...are fan driven private concerts the next big movement? December 8, 2008
"There are many entrepreneurs who are working on the next frontier of filtering great music to the world through technology. The industry is currently awaiting the release of the 'silver bullet' technology that can dissect good from great music and the relativity of that music by user group and then geographic preference. While this is bound to be on the horizon there has to be a means that every world class musician can develop a sustainable business making great music by bonding with their true fans.

Why Private Concerts? Private concerts started when music was first on the scene back in the days the Kings and Queens utilized their free time bringing in the top musicians from their town to perform private concerts for them and their friends. The best musicians back in the 1700's would be summoned to the castles to play for a group of elite socialites that the only reason to come to the castle, other then to fufil the request from the King, was to listen to the best music in that given region. After these private concerts, these musicians where considered royalty by the guests (fans) and continued to be considered, and paid, as the top entertainment of those times." [MusicThinkTank]

Live music as accessible as water...next hyper growth market?
"In the multi-billion dollar paid entertainment marketplace, live music currently makes up only 2% of total spending. In today's world of economic challenge, the entertainment pie is not going to get any bigger and it will most likely shrink. For one segment to grow, it has to take dollars away from other segments of the entertainment pie. Movies are the top magnet for entertainment dollars, for every $1 spent on live music, $7.60 is spent on trips to movie theatres. Artists should consider fan-driven-private-concerts to grow their slice of the entertainment pie."
[MusicThinkTank]

The 3 dimensions of the music Long Tail December 13, 2008
"So we're all familiar with The Long Tail, right? The idea that the internet facilitates a massive number of low selling, low impact products/services/entities to exist because of the very low cost of having a presence, which when combined make up a very significant chunk of the market.

In music it's been the shift from hundreds of artists selling millions of records to millions of artists selling hundreds of records. Or downloads. Normally, everything in the long tail is grouped together as the low-sales stuff, whether that's things that once sold a shed-load of copies but now have very little commercial traction (back catalogue material) or artists that are producing current, vital work but selling in smaller numbers." [MusicThinkTank]