EU Public Affairs Monitor - 27/11/08

France votes for 'three strikes' filesharing law
The French senate has voted overwhelmingly in favour of Nicolas Sarkozy's anti-piracy legislation that offers illegal filesharers two warnings before cutting off their internet access

This week, as ever, it's one step forward and two steps back for the recording industry's anti-piracy legislation. Even as France seems poised to pass a new "three strikes" law against filesharers, lobbyists in Denmark have given up on the chance of passing similar legislation.

On Monday, the French senate voted 297 to 15 in favour of a law that penalises illegal filesharers by cutting off their internet access. Under the legislation, internet providers would be forced to act as watchdogs, monitoring their customers' internet traffic for signs of copyright infringement. Anyone caught illegally sharing music, movies or games would receive two warnings before having their account terminated. [Guardian]

Call for clampdown on rogue online ticket sellers October 27 2008
Ticketing websites have called on the government to crack down on rogue online operators after a spate of high-profile examples of consumers being ripped off. Andy Burnham, the culture secretary, is believed to be close to launching an industry consultation based around proposals first floated this year in response to concerns about the booming online market in tickets for concerts and sporting events. [Guardian]

Last.fm Asks UK "Hackers" To Help Extend Reach: Contest Offers £1000 Prize 2008.11.27
Last_fm Last.fm will host “Hack Day” on December 14th at Corbet Place Bar, East London. At the event which is hosted in partnership with CodePlex, Microsoft's open source project hosting web site, developers will be invited to utilize Last.fm’s free open source web services in a one-day competition to build a new Last.fm application. The winning developer will receive a grand prize of £1000, with additional prizes for the competition’s runners-up including Xbox 360s.Available since the site’s inception in 2002, Last.fm’s web services, which developers can use to extend the Last.fm experience beyond the site, have been utilized by third parties to create a host of music applications showcased at Build.Last.fm. One popular application, a mash-up titled “LastTube”, utilizes listener data from Last.fm to recommend YouTube video clips. [HypeBot]

Europe's cultural heritage goes digital 21 Nov 2008
Europe's heritage went digital on Thursday when the European Union launched an online library putting famous works such as Dante's Divine Comedy and Beethoven's 9th Symphony just a mouse click away.

Europeana gives multilingual access to two million digitised books and other items of cultural and historical significance held in more than 1,000 institutions in the 27 EU states. [ZDNet]

Music News Bulletin - 29/07/08

Will product placement tarnish music?: Tie-ins between music and brands are growing rife. Is the rise of sponsorship a necessary step, or a curse? 3rd July 2008
"A few weeks ago a press release landed in my inbox, promoting Bebo's next online drama. According to the PR, it will be set amongst the real-life workings of Universal Music UK's west London headquarters. The producers will use cameos of real life Universal artists to bring "additional authenticity" - and some well targeted promotion for the artists, no doubt - to the show.

Financing for the project follows "Bebo's proven model of brand integration". Sony Ericsson is sponsoring, so "we can expect to see some clever references that integrate the brand or its other properties in to the show - whether it's Sam blagging his way out to an Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson gig or simply winding his boss up with mobile phone-related pranks."" [Guardian]

The Future of Event Ticket Reselling: Price Caps, Taxes and Venue Control July 29, 2008
"Tickets, Baby, Tickets: that was the mantra of the ticket broker and reselling crowd at the Ticket Summit last week in Las Vegas. I was there to present on the legal and public policy issues of ticket reselling (with a focus on Internet sales).

The resale market for tickets is a great example of how markets work, because with event tickets it’s truly a case where supply and demand reigns supreme. But still, government regulation and the primary market have a large influence on how the resale secondary market operates." [TechLiberation]

Music News Bulletin - 29/07/08

Music for fuel: It's harder than ever to jam econo
"It's harder than ever to jam econo. Mike Watt of The Minutemen coined that phrase—"We jam econo"—in the '80s to mean rocking, especially on the road, in the most efficient, thrifty way possible. But as the numbers at gas pumps continue to rise without signs of improvement, several local bands and their national counterparts are trying to keep touring on the cheap. Some may not be able to keep up or, worse still, get started." [IndieWeek]

Last FM pays out - but not everyone's happy
"Last.FM has started to pay artists directly for music listened to through its website. Good news, huh? Perhaps. But not everyone is thrilled. Merlin, one of the independent label umbrella groups, has issued a grumpy statement:
“The Program announced today does not appear to offer any compensation for any past illegal use of repertoire. It is unclear to us whether or not the terms and conditions of the Program are intended to prevent master owners pursuing such compensation."" [XRRF]

Napster looking ripe for a takeover July 18
"Shares in music subscription service provider Napster Inc. [NAPS] have lost so much value that its cash assets may now be worth more than its market capitalization, meaning that the business itself would have negative value. Napster had $69.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, according to regulatory filings; the company's street value dipped as low as $50.2 million this week. Recent takeover speculation may have fueled a minor comeback, although Napster's market capitalization stands at about $65.5 million in midday trading." [TheDeal]

Will Sony pony up for BMG venture? July 29, 2008
"It's almost certain they'll blame the Internet. But it'll be hard to muster any sympathy for Bertelsmann AG when it finally sells its half of the Sony BMG music venture to its partner. After all, the German media behemoth has made billions from its online investments. Though neither Bertelsmann nor Sony Corp. will talk, both the FT and Nikkei recently have found leaks, saying the Japanese group will soon pony up as much as $1.5 billion to once again reign alone over its own label -- albeit one with one less competitor." [TheDeal]