Sandra Aistars: On Empowering Artists

With last weekend’s Oscars, the annual ritual of red carpets, statuettes and acceptance speeches has come to an end. Awards Season is a celebration of the accomplishments of the individual members of organizations such as The Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA, the Directors Guild, the Recording Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The glitter and glamour of the Oscars celebration, however, is far removed from the less familiar reality of most artists, creators and innovators in the U.S.

Two reports issued this month shine a spotlight on the degree to which creative work is exploited without creators’ permission. The USC Annenberg Innovation Lab released the second installment to its Advertising Transparency Report, showing that major online ad networks are still servicing pirate websites devoted almost entirely to infringing music and movies. The report also reveals that ads for major brands appear on such sites regularly. If you want to send the CEO’s of those brands a message that their financial support of these criminal enterprises is unacceptable, you can do so on the Copyright Alliance website.

Although according to the Annenberg report, several ad networks, including Google’s, show signs of reducing the number of ads placed on pirate sites after being identified in the initial report last month, a separate report released last week indicates that Google places those same sites at the top of its search rankings six months after the company announced that the worst infringing sites would be demoted to lower rankings. Even sites which Google acknowledges have been the subject of more than 100,000 infringement notices remain at the top of returned results, a problem exacerbated by the search engine’s autofill function.

It is not surprising that the companies (and their surrogates), whose business model largely consists of monetizing the stolen intellectual property of creators, are also proselytizing the virtues of “reforming” copyright. And of course it would be just these websites, ad networks, and search engines that would profit most from the types of “reforms” they suggest.

So as Awards Season now draws to a close, take a moment to consider why protection for creative works matters.

A copyright belongs to the artist from the time a work is created and recorded in some form, regardless of whether she has registered it or taken any formal action. Copyright empowers the artist. It may be the only asset the artist has in a negotiation with an online distributor or a traditional media company. It opens the door for a business deal. If you weaken copyright, you undercut the creator’s initial bargaining position, diminish the incentives for innovation and threaten the viability of large segments of the creative class.

Copyright also ensures the creator’s freedom of choice is protected. It enables her to choose how she shares her work. She can use a work in multiple ways simultaneously. She can license the use of the work commercially to support herself and new projects, while at the same time making the work available for free to a cause she believes in. She can also choose not to license her work for uses she doesn’t agree with. Limiting the creator’s freedom to choose how and when to share her work, would enslave her creatively.

Finally, copyright is about freedom. It is core to protecting freedom of expression. But it also gives authors the freedom to thrive. Copyright is a unique form of property because, unlike inherited wealth, it springs from an artist’s own imagination, hard work and talent. Under the right conditions a creator can use its protections to launch a career or build a business, regardless of the economic circumstances she came from. That fact should entitle copyright to more protection than other forms of property, not less.

The need for strong copyright protections might not be the first subject that you consider enjoying the glitz and glamour of awards shows. But the reality is that most of the thousands of creative individuals we represent at the Copyright Alliance will never be asked “who are you wearing” on a red carpet. Yet protection for their creative work is a very real concern for them. If you care about creative culture in your community, empower artists, respect their property and freedom of choice, and don’t allow parasitic businesses to exploit them.

via Sandra Aistars: On Empowering Artists.

YouTube Shares Ad Revenue With Musicians, But Does It Add Up? | Indie-Music.com

YouTube is well-known for videos, but a recent Nielsen study revealed 64 percent of teens and young adults go to it to listen to and discover music. The free website, which is owned by Google, has set up advertising deals to help musicians get compensated. But it’s not clear how they’re getting paid — or how much.

It’s a safe bet that many of San Francisco State University’s 25,000 students are music fans. Zachariah Bargouti says if there’s an Internet connection — even on the subway — there’s YouTube.

“It even works under the Transbay Tube,” he says, talking about the portion of the BART that runs underneath San Francisco Bay. “I still have 3G and I can usually listen to something on YouTube.”

That’s why Bargouti says he doesn’t really buy music anymore. Neither does Arianna Caramat. “I stopped with the downloading of artists on iTunes,” she says. “I just find that it’s easier — more convenient — to, like, listen to online radio.”

via YouTube Shares Ad Revenue With Musicians, But Does It Add Up? | Indie-Music.com.

Mi2N.com – Overall Impact Of Unlicensed P2P File-Sharing Is Negative

The majority of research undertaken shows that overall unlicensed P2P file-sharing has a negative impact on recorded music sales. Unlicensed P2P file-sharing is also a major obstacle to a thriving digital music market as it does not reward artists, creators or investors in music. Like other forms of piracy, it provides unfair competition to an enormous range of legitimate sites and services that music consumers have access to across the world.

IFPI has noted the American Assembly’s Copy Culture Survey, undertaken with “support from a research award by Google”, which has been trailed in some media outlets and could lead to some misunderstandings. The report’s author, Joe Karaganis, writes that: “US P2P users have larger collections than non-P2P users (roughly 37% more). And predictably, most of the difference comes from higher levels of ‘downloading for free’ and ‘copying from friends/family.’ But some of it also comes from significantly higher legal purchases of digital music than their non-P2P using peers-around 30% higher among US P2P users.”

While previous studies have shown that some unlicensed P2P network users also pay for music, and a few are serious fans who pay a lot, they are far outnumbered by the bulk of unlicensed P2P network users who pay little or nothing for music. Research by The NPD Group during 2010 in the US found that just 35 per cent of P2P users also paid for music downloads. P2P users spent US$42 per year on music on average, compared with US$76 among those who paid to download and US$126 among those that paid to subscribe to a music service. The overall impact of P2P use on music purchasing is negative, despite a small proportion of P2P users spending a lot on music. That finding was corroborated by a study in Europe by Jupiter Research in 2009.

A more recent review of studies on the impact of piracy, Assessing the Academic Literature Regarding the Impact of Media Piracy on Sales, by Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang of Carnegie Mellon University, concluded that the vast majority of these studies found that piracy harms media sales.

via Mi2N.com – Overall Impact Of Unlicensed P2P File-Sharing Is Negative.

Intellectual Property for Artists: Copyrights, Trademarks and Protecting What You Create | CLARK, KRAUSS & COLANERI

As an artist, whether you create music, drama, literature or art, you want your product protected. You don’t want someone else taking your work without your permission. You may be afraid of “putting it out there” for fear of it being taken and used by others.

That’s where intellectual property, or “IP,” comes in. IP comes in three forms: copyrights, trademarks and patents. Patents protect inventions, which is for another time. This article addresses copyrights and trademarks.

Protecting the products of your creativity need not be very expensive or time-consuming. This article explains what IP is and briefly illustrates how copyrights and trademarks can be used as tools to protect works within the entertainment industry.

Note: This article only briefly touches on a field of law that is very extensive and complex. It is meant to be an introduction containing general information, not legal advice. Please consult an attorney if you have specific questions about your unique situation.

Below are the basics on copyrights and trademarks: what they are and why you should care.

via Intellectual Property for Artists: Copyrights, Trademarks and Protecting What You Create | CLARK, KRAUSS & COLANERI.

Wait! Don’t post that music video on YouTube without a sync license!

Musicians getting in trouble with the law – well, that’s nothing new. What’s a good music resume without a couple of arrest reports to fill out the career dips? But what about that YouTube “take down” notice you just received for the video you posted of your band covering “Freebird?” You got a mechanical license to release the song on your CD (right?), and the video turned out awesome, so you owe it to the world to post it online. But did you get a sync license for your online videos of cover songs?

via Wait! Don’t post that music video on YouTube without a sync license!.

Tell My Friends vs. E-junkie: Can You End Piracy By Rewarding Music Buyers?

Tell My Friends is a recently launched social music and commerce platform that is designed to run a multilevel affiliate sales program for your music. It’s an interesting idea that’s being pitched as a way to combat music piracy by offering rewards to music buyers. But if rewards are the solution, then why not use a do-it-yourself service such as E-junkie?

How Tell My Friends Works

Tell My Friends is a Singapore-based combination social network and affiliate program with multilevel marketing components.  SoundCtrl gives it a thumbs up for “good intentions.”

The basic idea is that when a member buys a piece of music they then get a link to send to their friends. If their friends buy the music then they are rewarded with a percentage of the sale. If it stopped there, it would be an affiliate program but they carry it out to ten levels of reward so that makes it a form of multilevel marketing (MLM).

via Tell My Friends vs. E-junkie: Can You End Piracy By Rewarding Music Buyers? – hypebot.

Wait! Don’t post that music video on YouTube without a sync license! | Disc Makers’ Echoes – Insight for Independent Artists

Wait! Don’t post that music video on YouTube without a sync license!

by DISC MAKERS

Musicians getting in trouble with the law – well, that’s nothing new. What’s a good music resume without a couple of arrest reports to fill out the career dips? But what about that YouTube “take down” notice you just received for the video you posted of your band covering “Freebird?” You got a mechanical license to release the song on your CD (right?), and the video turned out awesome, so you owe it to the world to post it online. But did you get a sync license for your online videos of cover songs?

via Wait! Don’t post that music video on YouTube without a sync license! | Disc Makers’ Echoes – Insight for Independent Artists.

Judge Blasts Universal in Eminem Ruling | Indie-Music.com

Universal Music has just been handed an epic smackdown by the California judge presiding over a battle with producers of many hit Eminem recordings. In a decision that is sure to have tongues wagging throughout the music industry, the judge suggests that Universal has been “bamboozling” and attempting to “dupe” him into overlooking an issue that could mean substantial money for the plaintiffs in the case and perhaps musicians throughout the country. Many observers have been closely watching this lawsuit brought by FBT Productions against Universal Music for many years. The case involves whether record labels must account for digital music downloads as “licenses” instead of “sales” – a significant difference when it comes to sharing revenue with song artists. This is the case cited byother musicians bringing similar claims.

via Judge Blasts Universal in Eminem Ruling | Indie-Music.com.

Do Your Fans Really Pay for Your Music? | DIY Musician

Do Your Fans Really Pay for Your Music?

By Chris Robley

JUNE 18, 2012 226 COMMENTS AND 100 REACTIONS

Illegal Downloading. Free Music. File Sharing. Whatever you call it– the debate rages.

Emily White, an intern at NPR’s All Songs Considered who’s only purchased 15 albums in her life– despite the fact that she has 11,000 songs in her iTunes library, recently wrote a blog post called “I Never Owned Any Music to Begin With” where she probably speaks for many Millennials:

As I’ve grown up, I’ve come to realize the gravity of what file-sharing means to the musicians I love. I can’t support them with concert tickets and t-shirts alone. But I honestly don’t think my peers and I will ever pay for albums. I do think we will pay for convenience.

David Lowery (of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven) responds in his “Letter to Emily White at NPR All Songs Considered“:

I’m sorry, but what is inconvenient about iTunes and, say, iTunes match (that let’s you stream all your music to all your devices) aside from having to pay? Same with Pandora premium, MOG and a host of other legitimate services. I can’t imagine any other legal music service that is gonna be simpler than these to use. Isn’t convenience already here!?

Emily’s piece offers a glimpse into the mindset of a younger music fan who is wrestling with the implications of the free-music trend. David’s response is thorough and passionate.

via Do Your Fans Really Pay for Your Music? | DIY Musician.

Show Your Loyalty

Here’s another article worthy of reposting:

In an ongoing theme from last month when we talked about bringing humanity into the music business, this month let’s talk a bit about loyalty. Loyalty is a pretty basic concept and is really the heart of all good, long-term human relationships. It is also the key to both personal and business success. It’s a sadly lacking quality these days. If we are to fix the music industry, we’re going to need more.

In a study published last week, a California ethics institute surveyed approximately 30,000 high schoolers from across the United States and found that 65% admitted to having cheated on a test in the last year; 45% had plagiarized from the Internet; 35% had stolen physical items from a store! The conclusion of the ethics institute was that Americans are being raised with too permissive an attitude toward ethics; they are less and less able to tell what is right or wrong; or they simply see no reason to care. This mentality has a huge effect on what you’re up against as an Artist or music industry professional.

Consider your role as an Artist or professional: You too have to generate the goodwill and the connection to instill loyalty in your peeps.

How do you treat your fans? Giving them your work for free isn’t going to get you anywhere. You’ll end up with fans that don’t regard your work as valuable. Nothing free is worth much. Do you respect them? Do you give them something valuable? Do you make sure that they pay for what they get, and really, really get what they pay for? If free has no value, then Value is being so satisfied with something you paid for that you feel happy to have paid for it. And you’d do it again. That’s what you want your fans to feel. They will be loyal to the end and they will spend more money to buy your music down the road.

Just as important is how the world sees you behaving toward others. How do you show or “model” your loyalties? Consider your street teamers, publicists, managers, and booking agents. Sure, you pay them (you do, don’t you?) but you also know how hard they work for you. Do you let your fans know who they are, what they do for you, how much you appreciate their efforts? Does your web site, promo literature, EPK, album artwork feature them prominently and make it easy for fans and potential new clients to reach these professionals? Showing your loyalty to these people will only endear you to them, make them work harder for you, and as you show your fans your loyalties ­ that you are a real, caring person ­ your fans’ attachment to you will grow too.

I woke up to a local radio station PSA yesterday that said, “good music costs money”. That was it ­ simple, probably inexpensive, and yet loyal to artists and to the business. Here is a station taking action. Frankly, a radio station doesn’t make any money from record sales. Their motivation is simply promoting loyalty toward music in their audience. Of course they know that a healthy music industry is good for them too, but they profit nothing directly from this announcement. It’s just good business.

Consumers complain about “the big labels ruining music” to justify their own larcenous behavior which really robs artists of their livelihood. Artists complain about the “shark pit” of the music industry and how hard it is to get by. Certainly there is validity to both. However, the real question is what are you doing about it? As an Artist or a music professional, you can influence the future by bringing loyalty into our business and into our relationships with fans. Think about what you can do this month to improve your loyalty and generate fan loyalty as well.