Artists Rights Symposium
Music Business Certificate Program
Terry College of Business
University of Georgia
Athens GA 30602

November 14-15th 2022
Stelling Family Study
200 Moore-Rooker Hall
600 Lumpkin Ave
Athens GA 30602
Contact Director David Barbe dbarbe <AT>uga.edu
Contact David Lowery dlowery < AT > uga.edu
Limited seating available to public. To reserve contact Allison Gilmore Allison<dot>gilmore<AT>uga.edu

UGA Artists’ Rights Symposium III: The Future of Authorship and the US Copyright Office.

The US Copyright Office wields enormous influence over the digital market for music. Via the Copyright Royalty Board the office directly sets royalties for songwriters and performers in the digital realm. The CRB also has great influence over the rule making process. The symposium will examine ways that songwriters and performers might have more input into royalty and rule making proceedings.

The Copyright Office also oversees the operations of The Music Licensing Collective which administers streaming mechanical royalties for songwriters and publishers. The MLC recently received “unmatched” songwriter royalty payments from streaming services in excess of $400 million dollars. This can largely be attributed to the failure of streaming services to collect proper songwriting metadata associated with each recording. In effect the administrative burden of matching recordings to songwriters and publishers has been shifted to the public. The symposium will examine possible solutions and best practices moving forward.

The Copyright Office administers the copyright laws that govern creation and use of books, music, film, and other media, including provisions that regulate digital copying and lending by libraries and archives which in turn affect the marketplace for e-books. It conducts studies on numerous aspects of copyright in the digital age that guide legislative decisions by Congress.

While the general public has some awareness of the low royalties paid to songwriters for streaming and other digital uses, they are generally unaware that authors of books (including sheet music and music tab) face similar problems. Specifically libraries and institutions like The Internet Archive, have recently attempted to take narrow copyright exceptions in copyright law and turn them into a broad license to copy and lend author’s books without permission or payment.

Case in point, a few months into the COVID pandemic The Internet Archive announced a so-called “National Emergency Library.” They Internet Archive unilaterally made books digitally available to the public without the permission of authors, nor payment of lending fees to authors that are common in the rest of the world. Authors quickly voiced outrage and publishers sued for copyright infringement (case pending). Media coverage of the dispute has proven woefully inadequate with major media outlets portraying this a some sort of technical dispute over “waitlists.” The symposium hopes to educate the public on dispute and explore whether The Copyright Office should take a more active role in the regulation of libraries.

The symposium is oriented towards students and faculty at UGA, but a limited number of seats have been made available to the public. Please email Allison Gilmore at the Music Business Certificate Program Office to reserve a seat (allison.gilmore<AT>uga.edu).

Nov 14th

Cash Bar and Snacks at The 40 Watt Club

6:30 to 8:30PM

Join us for snacks and a cash bar at the legendary 40 watt club. Panelists and attendees will have a chance to mingle with Terry College Music Business Certificate students, staff and faculty. There are also usually a few interesting local music celebrities that attend. The 40 Watt Club is located at 285 W. Washington St. Athens GA 30601.

Nov 15th

Coffee and Pastries, Getting Acquainted.

8:30 AM – 9:00 AM

Welcome /Opening remarks

9:00 AM -9:10 AM

David Barbe, Dean, David Lowery and TBD

Legislative Overview

9:10 AM- 9:30 AM

Mala Sharma delivers overview on Georgia legislative agenda on music.

Panel 1: Libraries vs Authors: The Internet Archive’s “Controlled Digital Lending” and Fair Renumeration for Authors.

9:35 AM- 10:50 AM

The Internet Archive started its book scanning operations in 2004, competing with other tech enterprises for access to print library collections, and in 2006 it launched the Open Library that provided free access to public domain books. It quietly introduced copyrighted books and since at least 2011 has been making available scanned in-copyright books to the public for free, without permission or remuneration to authors and publishers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet Archive launched the so-called National Emergency Library that further broadened access to copyrighted books, from one user at a time per print copy owned to unrestricted global access. In a statement on their website, Brewster Kahle, Digital Librarian at the Internet Archive, stated: “The library system, because of our national emergency, is coming to aid those that are forced to learn at home. This was our dream for the original Internet coming to life: the Library at everyone’s fingertips.”

Authors and publishers were quick to push back, noting that many of these books were already available through licensed e-lending libraries or for a fee on commercial websites. Many questioned whether this was, in fact, an opportunistic attempt to roll back copyright protection for authors by expanding the scope of fair use for e-books. The NEL has been shut down and the Internet Archive faces a major lawsuit that is poised to determine whether its library-like “controlled digital lending” program, that provides no revenue to authors or other rightsholders and is demonstrably harmful to their livelihoods, is lawful.

At the same time, across the U.S. libraries are engaged in an effort to establish state laws that set artificially lower rates for e-books sold to libraries, further destroying opportunities for authors and publishers to earn money from their works, and that impose civil and criminal penalties, including imprisonment, on book sellers for setting their own prices for e-books sold to libraries. Two of these state laws—in Maryland and New York– have failed but the effort continues.
The panel will attempt to answer some of the following questions, and more:

• Is “controlled digital lending” supported by copyright law?

Internet Archive: “The Internet Archive’s implementation of Controlled Digital Lending is fair use.”
Professors and Scholars of Copyright Law: “CDL is neither permitted by the Copyright Act nor supported by legal precedent.”
Publishers: “…[I]t is about IA’s purposeful collection of truckloads of in-copyright books to scan, reproduce, and then distribute digital bootleg versions online.”

• Is it a longstanding, established library practice, as Internet Archive claims, or “in fact a concept that IA invented as a shield for itself and its library collaborators,” as others claim?

• Is there a continuum involving “strategic litigation” by tech enterprises to incrementally undermine copyright law involving books?

• Is the Internet Archive more accurately described as an altruistic non-profit serving the public good (a universal digital library) or as an opportunistic, multi-million dollar tech enterprise?

• In what ways is the Internet Archive similar to and dissimilar to traditional libraries?

• Are there comparisons to be made between Internet Archive’s agenda and the way that Spotify and other digital music services operate and why is this relevant for artists?

• How is the state e-book legislation effort related to the Internet Archive e-book development?

Is the claim that Internet Archive lawsuit is an effort to criminalize library lending accurate?
Association of American Publishers (on state e-book bills): “…[P]ublishers will also be irreparably harmed if they continue to exercise their exclusive rights under the Copyright Act and become subject to civil or criminal liability under the Maryland Act, including up to one year’s imprisonment, for doing so. Nor should publishers be forced to cease disseminating their works altogether as a result of these conflicting laws.”

Electronic Frontier Foundation (on Internet Archive litigation): “Internet Archive has asked a federal judge to rule in our favor and end a radical lawsuit, filed by four major publishing companies, that aims to criminalize library lending.”

Panelists

Janice Pilch.  Rutgers University (She/Her)
John Degen:  Writer, Head of Writers Union Canada.
Stephen Carlisle: Copyright Officer NSU Florida
Mary Rasenberger, CEO, Authors Guild and Authors Guild Foundation.

Reading List

Court documents located at Court Listener, https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17211300/hachette-book-group-inc-v-internet-archive/?page=1

1. BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE PROFESSORS AND SCHOLARS OF COPYRIGHT LAW IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS AND IN OPPOSITION TO INTERNET ARCHIVE, filed 8/15/22, 24 p., https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17211300/163/hachette-book-group-inc-v-internet-archive/
2. Chris Castle, “The Revenge of the Internet Archive: Google and the Metashills Lead the Long March Through State Houses to Weaken Copyright for the Metaverse,” Music Technology Policy, December 10, 2021, https://musictechpolicy.com/2021/12/10/the-revenge-of-the-internet-archive-google-and-the-metashills-lead-the-long-march-through-state-houses-to-weaken-copyright/
3. David Newhoff, “Publishers’ Suit Against Internet Archive Is Pro-Author, Not Anti-Library,” The Illusion of More, July 11, 2022, https://illusionofmore.com/publishers-suit-against-internet-archive-is-pro-author-not-anti-library/
4. COMPLAINT, filed 6/1/20, 53 p., https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17211300/1/hachette-book-group-inc-v-internet-archive/
5. DEFENDANT INTERNET ARCHIVE’S ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES TO THE COMPLAINT, filed 7/28/20, 28 p., https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17211300/33/hachette-book-group-inc-v-internet-archive/
6. PLAINTIFFS’ MEMORANDUM OF LAW OF IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, filed 7/7/22, 49 p., https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17211300/99/hachette-book-group-inc-v-internet-archive/
7. REDACTED MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT INTERNET ARCHIVE’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, filed 7/7/22, 45 p., https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17211300/106/hachette-book-group-inc-v-internet-archive/
8. PLAINTIFFS’ MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN OPPOSITION TO INTERNET ARCHIVE’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, filed 9/2/22, 41 p., https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17211300/169/hachette-book-group-inc-v-internet-archive/
9. DEFENDANT INTERNET ARCHIVE’S MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT filed 9/2/22, 41 p., https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17211300/173/hachette-book-group-inc-v-internet-archive/
10. DECLARATION OF BREWSTER KAHLE IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT INTERNET ARCHIVE’S OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, filed 9/2/22, 8 p., https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17211300/171/hachette-book-group-inc-v-internet-archive/
11. David R. Hansen & Kyle K. Courtney, A White Paper on Controlled Digital Lending of Library Books (2018), https://controlleddigitallending.org/whitepaper
12. Lila Bailey, et al., Position Statement on Controlled Digital Lending by Libraries, Controlled Digital Lending by Libraries, https://controlleddigitallending.org/statement

Panel 2 Managing a longer Table at the Copyright Royalty Board

11:10 AM to 12:25 PM

Grass roots response to the “frozen mechanicals” crisis demonstrates that songwriters want to be directly involved in rulemakings that affect their future.  Unfortunately, from the perspective of the songwriter the structure of the Copyright Royalty Board proceedings favor the rich and powerful few who have done a poor job of managing this responsibility and privilege.
 
What structural changes can be made to the Copyright Royalty Board that allow for a longer table with more people at that table?

Two different solutions to the problem have been offered up. One possible solution is to modify competition and antitrust laws and regulations to allow for songwriters to form a collective bargain association (Think of this as a union, although technically its not a union as songwriters are producers of goods, not laborers.).

A second proposed solution is a songwriter ombudsman.

The U.S. federal and state governments have dozens of ombudsmen or other officials who perform similar functions (such as the Taxpayer Advocate at the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy and many state government ombudsmen https://www.usombudsman.org/about/ombudsman-websites/). The Model Ombudsman Act for State Governments provides some guidelines that we can drill down on if you want to pursue the ombudsman approach.
A songwriter ombudsman could have a limited role inside the Copyright Royalty Board and would not replace or impinge upon the authority of the Copyright Royalty Judges. There would need to be a justification for creating the office which could be that the ombudsman would represent the interests of songwriters whose copyrights are essentially taken by the federal government under the statutory license. U.S. Government takings of private property require “just compensation” under the Fifth Amendment. Indeed, the role of many of the ombudsman I found in research concerns similar issues of protecting property owner’s rights in eminent domain actions to protect property rights.

The panelist will discuss this and other topics.

Panelists
David Lowery Moderator
Rick Carnes, Songwriters Guild of America
David Turner, Penny Fractions, SoundCloud
Crispin Hunt, Songwriter, Ivors Academy

Lunch and Fireside Chat with Merck Mercuriadis

12:45- 2:00 PM

The Artists’ Rights Symposium is thrilled to host music executive, artist manager,  CEO and Founder of Hipgnosis Songs for the lunch and fireside chat.  Please join us for a thought-provoking conversation about Merck’s personal quest to change where the songwriter sits in the economic equation.  

Merck Mercuriadis is the Founder and CEO of the Hipgnosis Songs Fund,  Hipgnosis Song Management and Hipgnosis Songs Capital, a $3 billion market cap FTSE 250 Song Management Company which currently owns over 150 catalogs and over 65,000 songs including the catalogs of Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chrissie Hynde / The Pretenders, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, The RZA, Lindsey Buckingham / Christine McVie / Fleetwood Mac,  David A. Stewart / Eurythmics Chris Cornell / Soundgarden, Kenny Chesney, Mark Ronson, Richie Sambora / Bon Jovi, Shakira and Journey. As a manager, Mercuriadis has helped to guide the careers of Nile Rodgers, Elton John, Guns’N’Roses, Iron Maiden, Beyoncé, Morrissey and many others.

Panel 3 #DoubleStat: The Future of Compulsory Rates

2:20 PM – 03:35 PM

The current mechanical royalty systems literally treat all songs the same and fail to give successful songwriters a chance to capture the value of their contribution.  Should songwriters be able to charge “double stat” like session musicians can charge “double scale”?

Conversely in most markets, niche or specialized products fetch higher prices than mass market products as they have fewer transactions to spread the fixed cost across. Shouldn’t niche composers laboring away in genres like Jazz or Sludge Doom Metal have the option to charge more per stream? And wouldn’t diehard fans in these genres be willing to pay?
 
Independent record companies have proposed that U.S. mechanical royalties for physical be based on a revenue share of prices set by the label rather than the current penny rate.  What implications does this raise for controlled composition rates?
 
Streaming mechanical rate setting is a prime example of how the rich get richer due to the high transaction costs of dozens of lawyers from the largest companies in commercial history ganging up on songwriters to dictate the value of a song.  Should they be allowed to extend their market dominance and elite merger tactics over songwriters who are forced to accept a compulsory license?

Panelists

Chris Castle Moderator (Bio)
Richard Burgess, A2IM (Bio)
Helienne Lindvall, President, ECSA (Bio)
Samantha Schilling, Songtradr, IAFAR

Metadata, Matching and Claiming at the MLC

3:55 – 5:10 PM

Metadata, Matching and Claiming.

Rights managers detail their experiences with the MLC’s Matching and Claiming tools, including metadata required, limitations and strengths of the tools, methods to streamline the overall process, and suggestions for improvements to the user experience.

Panelists

Moderator Abby North, North Music Group <Bio>
Erin McAnally <Bio>
Leslie Allison, SoundExchange < Bio>
Melanie Santa Rosa, Spirit Music <Bio>

Travel Suggestions

We assume that if you are flying you will fly to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport or ATL. ATL is the busiest (by passengers) airport in the world. As a result there are an enormous number of flight options. That said ATL to Athens can be a little bit tricky.

If you want your own car, it’s pretty easy to hop on the train that goes to the rental car center (not MARTA train, but inter terminal train).  I would recommend using your premium rental car membership program as lines can often get long. If you arrive at ATL between 3-6:30PM I recommend taking I-285E to I-20E to Conyers GA, 138 to Monroe GA, 78 to Athens GA. Otherwise Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze are pretty accurate.

Most people who travel regularly from ATL to Athens book the Groome Shuttle Athens.   Choose the Springhill Suites Downtown as your Athens sub-destination. Ask anyone working at the airport where to get Groome shuttle buses. There are many different Groome shuttles. Don’t end up at Fort Benning or in Chattanooga!  It’s a 75-90 minute trip.  You must book in advance.   You don’t really need a car once you get to Athens.

https://groometransportation.com/athens/

Hotels

Panelist Hotel

Springhill Suites Downtown University
220 Hull St
Athens GA 30605
706-850-2072

If you are a panelist you will receive information on your reservations from the organizers.

Other Hotels

Hilton Garden
390 E Washington St, Athens, GA 30601
hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com
(706) 353-6800

Hyatt Place
412 N Thomas St, Athens, GA 30601
athensdowntown.place.hyatt.com
(706) 425-1800

Marriot
166 N Finley St, Athens, GA 30601
marriott.com
(706) 369-7000

Hotel Indigo

500 College Ave, Athens, GA 30601
ihg.com
(706) 546-0430

Reception

6-8PM November 14.

40 Watt Club
285 W Washington St
Athens GA

Panels

Stelling Family Study
200 Moore-Rooker Hall
600 Lumpkin Ave
Athens GA 30602

Directions: This is a little confusing so pay attention!  The new Terry College campus consists of four connected buildings around an open quad. It also slopes downhill so if you enter the complex from Lumpkin street you will be on the second floor. If you enter from Hull street, going thru the loading dock arch puts you on the 1st floor. Going up the steps from Hull Street puts you on the 2nd floor. Moore-Rooker Hall is the west side of the complex (adjacent to Hull Street.) The Stelling Family Study is only accessible from the outdoor balcony/walkway on the 2nd floor. Finally the terrain is hilly, so you might consider the shoes you wear.

The University of Georgia Terry College of Business Artists’ Rights Symposium brings together Artists; Academics; Accountants; Activists; Attorneys; Entertainment Industry Executives; Intellectual Property Experts; Local, State, Federal Government; and  Union and Trade Groups.   The focus is on how various commercial, legal,  public policy, and technological developments affect artists’ rights, freedom of expression, and revenues.  Due to the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, the symposium has been shifted to an ongoing online format.  Panels are conducted weekly or bi-monthly in front of a limited online audience.  These panels are then archived on this website and eventually summarized in a downloadable document.

 

Here is a description of this months panels, panelists and future panels:

 

May 14th, 2:00 PM. The National Emergency Library: Altruistic effort to aid public or an opportunistic attempt to undermine copyright laws?

In the face of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Internet Archive recently announced the launch of a “National Emergency Library.” Specifically, they announced they would “suspend waitlists”  essentially allowing multiple copies of a book to be electronically lent at the same time. In a statement on their website Brewster Kahle Digital Librarian at the Internet Archive stated:

“The library system, because of our national emergency, is coming to aid those that are forced to learn at home. This was our dream for the original Internet coming to life: the Library at everyone’s fingertips.”

Authors and publishers were quick to push back noting that many of these books were already freely available through licensed e-lending libraries or for a fee on commercial websites. Many questioned whether this was, in fact, an opportunistic attempt to roll back copyright protection for authors.  The panel will attempt to answer some of the following questions.

What is the National Emergency Library?

What is now different about The Internet Archive digital lending program?

What is CDL?

Is CDL supported by Copyright LawWere authors given an opportunity to opt-in or opt-out?

How does NEL “lawfully” acquire copies of its works to digitize?

Does IA have a plausible “digital first sale” argument that protects them?

How is distance learning defined?  Is IA engaged in distance learning with NEL?

Is NEL just a litigation magnet to allow Kahle to have another go at the Copyright Act?

Is NEL just a stalking horse for extending Google Books beyond snippets?

One thought leader of the library group seems to be Kyle Courtney at Harvard https://kylecourtney.com/2020/03/11/covid-19-copyright-library-superpowers-part-i/  Courtney claims librarians have a fair use “superpower” that allows librarians extraordinary powers including a safe harbor for intentional infringement under 504(c)(2).  What do we think of his argument?  Could it be trumped by notice, for example to state AG?

What exposure do state librarians have for intentional infringement?  Could state attorneys general instruct the state librarians to stop participating in the Internet Archive?  The state libraries involved that we know of are in Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Washington, New York, Indiana, Massachusetts, Florida, Minnesota, Texas, and Idaho.

Panelists

Moderator  Terrica Carrington Copyright Alliance

Anonymous Librarian.  Major Research University (She/Her)
John Degen:  Writer, Head of Writers Union Canada.
Jon Taplin:  Author, Producer, Filmmaker, Artist Manager
Robert Levine: Author, Assistant Editor Billboard Magazine

Video

 

May 21, 2:00 PM. Get in Line: Bankruptcy and Artist Compensation- Postponed

The effective bankruptcy of Pledge Music LTD left a trail of wreckage through the independent music ecosystem. Pandemic related shutdowns are expected to create a wave of bankruptcies in the music business. The panelists will examine the Pledge Music liquidation and discuss what it might tell us about the plight of artists over the next couple years.

Panelists

Chris Castle (Moderator)
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

 

June 4th, 2:00PM Discussion of Music Canada’s Study of Public Attitude to Live Music Post COVID-19

The panel will discuss the current state of live music illustrated with personal experiences.  There will be a discussion of the groundbreaking study by Music Canada of public attitudes toward live music and other proposals for opening up venues.  The most critical aspect of opening live music that is often overlooked is the safety of touring artists who will be at the mercy of the judgment of venues and a patchwork of local authorities.

Panelists are performing artists Miranda Mulholland, Blake Morgan, and David Lowery with Music Canada CEO Graham Henderson and moderated by Austin music lawyer Chris Castle.

Panelists

Chris Castle, Christian L. Castle Attorneys and editor of MusicTechPolicy and MusicTechSolutions, Austin, Texas (Moderator)

David Lowery (Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven). David has 37 years of experience in the music business as the lead singer/songwriter of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker.  He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business Music Business Certificate Program.  He is also co-author of Music Publishing: The Complete Guide  2nd Edition (Alfred Music 2019).

Miranda Mullholland, Performer, Advocate, Roaring Girl Records.

Blake Morgan Performer, East Coast Music Label CEO.  And founder of the #IRespectMusic, the largest grassroots artists rights movement in the world.

Graham Henderson  Chairman and CEO of Music Canada.

Please leave comment to get invite link if you would like to attend.

 

Artists Rights Symposium
Music Business Certificate Program
Terry College of Business
University of Georgia
Athens GA 30602

Jan 22-23
Stelling Family Study
200 Moore-Rooker Hall
600 Lumpkin Ave
Athens GA 30602
Contact David Barbe dbarbe@uga.edu
David Lowery dlowery@uga.edu

 

 

WHO YOU GONNA CALL?

An examination of resources available to music creators beyond copyright infringement lawsuits

The rapid change in the digital music industry has left music creators and music industry rights holders confused, unaware of the extent of their intellectual property rights, and often unable to enforce those rights. Traditionally music creators and rights holders have resorted to federal copyright infringement lawsuits to rectify these problems.  Unfortunately, these lawsuits are expensive, time consuming and inefficient.  The purpose of this symposium is to examine other tools that are available to enforce music creators’ rights beyond federal copyright infringement lawsuits.

For the inaugural symposium, the organizers have five main panels and areas of discussion:

What Would Satchmo Do?  Cultural Diplomacy and Importance of Artists’ Rights

Jay Raman, Director Cultural Programs, US Department of State
Dean Cheng, Senior Research Fellow, Heritage Foundation
Chris Castle, Attorney, Editor MusicTechPolicy
David Lowery, Artist Advocate, Music Business Certificate Program Terry College UGA
9:30 to 10:30 AM 

In 1965, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong embarked on a historic tour behind the Iron Curtain on behalf of the U.S. State Department, following in the footsteps of other jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck.  The program was so popular that the New Yorker ran a cartoon showing a State Department meeting: “This is a diplomatic mission of the utmost delicacy.  The question is, who’s the best man for it — John Foster Dulles or Satchmo?”  Although times have changed (along with musical tastes) the State Department is still sending American artists overseas as cultural ambassadors through programs like Arts Envoy, American Music Abroad, and the hip-hop focused Next Level.

Back in the 1960s none of Armstrong’s records were available in the Soviet Bloc – at least not legally.  But when today’s arts ambassadors travel overseas, in many cases their recordings are available locally through pirate sites and counterfeit CDs.  U.S. cultural envoys are often called upon to talk about human rights and freedom of speech, but should they also talk about the rights of artists to protect their intellectual property?  Do U.S. artists have standing to advance intellectual property rights overseas, and how do they square this with their desire to share their work in countries that limit the availability of cultural products?  How can U.S. artists and diplomats work together to protect the rights of all content creators?

Does the Antitrust Status Quo Harm Artists?

Sandra Aistars, Senior Scholar and Director of Copyright Research and Policy, Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property, Scalia School of Law, George Mason University
Kevin Erickson, Future of Music Coalition
Jonathan Taplin, Author, Manager, Producer, USC Annenberg Innovation Lab Director Emeritus
Joseph Miller, UGA Law School, Former Department of Justice Antitrust Department
10:45- 11:45 AM

Songwriters are generally unaware that most licensing of public performance rights is conducted under supervision of the DOJ antitrust department and federal courts. This supervision is commonly referred to as “The consent decrees.”   The very nature of songwriter performing rights organizations (collectively setting prices) comes into conflict with rules designed to prevent producers from fixing prices. The consent decrees were initially set up more than half a century ago when media ownership landscape in the US was very different. Specifically, ownership of radio and television stations was highly fragmented, and songwriter performing rights organizations possessed significant leverage.

With the advent of the digital age the landscape is very different. Some observers have noted that the internet “wants only one of everything” (Buskirk, 2012). Indeed Google (YouTube), Apple, Amazon and Spotify each enjoy market dominance in their respective sectors. Songwriters argue they are at a significant disadvantage in negotiating fair market rates under the consent decrees when those on the other side have escaped serious antitrust scrutiny. Songwriters are especially agitated because the DOJ recently tightened regulations on songwriters by suggesting the consent decrees require songwriter organizations issue “100% licenses” even when songwriters outside their organization are involved. This appears to be a departure from decades of fractional licensing under the consent decrees and imposes an additional administrative burden on songwriters.

From a macro perspective, antitrust enforcement exhibits a disturbing trend. The last several decades have seen US antitrust law shift from discouraging market dominance by large companies to tolerating market dominance as long as the consumer does not suffer higher prices. In view of the organizers of this conference this status quo is shortsighted and does not address the full picture, especially for music. The organizers of the conference ask these questions: Does this antitrust status quo still produce pro-competitive results? Or does it instead result in powerful monopsonies that drive down prices to song producers, putting small publishers and niche songwriters out of business or forcing them to assign their catalogues to large publishers? Certainly, in the last few years we see evidence of increased concentration of song catalogues.

There is also anecdotal evidence that popular music is becoming more uniform as songwriters have become risk averse. See 6 #1 Country Songs Played at Once and Measuring the Evolution of Contemporary Western Popular Music (Serrà, Corral, Boguñá, Haro, & Arcos, 2012). It’s not clear these trends are related, but neither of these developments would seem to be in the long-term interest of songwriter, consumers or the services that distribute music.

Lunch Keynote From Jonathan Taplin:  How Artists Can Fight the Internet Monopolies 

11:45- 1:00 PM

Jonathan Taplin’s areas of specialization are in International Communication Management and the field of digital media entertainment. He is director emeritus of the Annenberg Innovation Lab based at USC. Taplin began his entertainment career in 1969 as Tour Manager for Bob Dylan and The Band. In 1973 he produced Martin Scorsese’s first feature film, Mean Streets, which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Between 1974 and 1996, Taplin produced 26 hours of television documentaries (including The Prize and Cadillac Desert for PBS) and 12 feature films including The Last Waltz, Until The End of the World, Under Fire and To Die For. His films were nominated for Oscar and Golden Globe awards and chosen for The Cannes Film Festival seven times.  Taplin’s latest book Move Fast and Break Things is a stinging polemic that traces the destructive monopolization of the internet by Google, Facebook and Amazon, and proposes a new future for musicians, journalists, authors and filmmakers in the digital age.

Stay tuned for more information on this keynote..

Who you Gonna Call? Law Enforcement and Artists’ Rights

Amanda Williams, Songwriter, Songwriter Advocate
Detective Superintendent Peter Ratcliffe, Police IP Crime Unit City of London Police
Carlos Linares, VP Anti-Piracy Legal Affairs RIAA
Ellen Seidler, Filmmaker, Writer, Producer, Digital Citizens Alliance
Kevin Phelan,  Senior Supervisory Agent, FBI Palo Alto CA

1:15- 2:15 PM

Chris Castle of MusicTech Policy once remarked, “If someone is stealing your musical gear, it’s clear you call the police. If someone is stealing your musical catalogue, who do you call?” Most of the time the answer is “call a lawyer and file a federal copyright infringement lawsuit.” However, this presents several problems. An artist would have to track down the culprit, not an easy task when operators of website may be located in foreign countries or ownership masked by shell registrations. Second, a plaintiff must have hundreds of thousands of dollars to proceed in federal court. This is not a practical solution for most independent songwriters and musicians.

There are however other actions that artists may initiate. The federal government has several units that deal with criminal intellectual property theft that can often help. In addition, it’s entirely possible that these websites may be committing other crimes such as fraud, tax evasion and/or money laundering. Other federal units may be activated to investigate these suspicions. Similarly, these crimes may also violate state laws. Many states also have their own copyright laws, rights of publicity, false advertising and consumer protection statutes that may come into play. Some of the most surprising and effective anti-piracy law enforcement operations in recent years have come from the City of London’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit. Is it possible an artist in the US could one day call the local police?

An Overview of the State of Grassroots Artists’ Rights Advocacy

Mala Sharma, Georgia Music Partners
Blake Morgan, Performer, #IRespectMusic
Miranda Mullholland, Performer, Advocate, Roaring Girl Records
Doria Roberts, Performer, Activist
Rick Carnes, Songwriter, Songwriters Guild
2:30-3:30 PM

In addition to the organization of the grass roots advocacy groups, the panelists will discuss; messaging; effective use of social media; consumer education; constructively interacting with federal, state and local government representatives; lobbying for legislation; and discouraging companies from doing business with royalty deadbeats. Grassroots artists organizations were able to defeat the so-called Internet Radio Fairness Act as well as force major online advertising networks to stop doing business with pirate sites. Panelist may also discuss lessons learned from these successful campaigns and map them onto current problems.

State And Federal Legislation

Rep. Doug Collins, US House of Representatives
Rep. Spencer Frye, Georgia House of Representatives
David Lowery,  Artist, Lecturer, Terry College Music Business Certificate Program, University of Georgia

4:00-5:00 PM

David Lowery leads an informal discussion on potential state and federal legislation to strengthen the rights of artists. Likely to be discussed is The Music Modernization Act recently introduced to the US House by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Georgia State Representative Spencer Frye also brings his considerable expertise and background advocating on behalf of Georgia musicians at the state level.

 

Confirmed Guests

Jonathan Taplin, author, film producer and Director of the Annenberg Innovation Lab at University of Southern California has agreed to keynote the discussion and help moderate panels. Sandra Aistars directs the Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Program at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia School of Law and has also agreed moderate a panel on antitrust issues.  Sandra will be joined by Melvin Gibbs of Content Creators Coalition, Kevin Erickson, Future of Music Coalition, Joe Miller from UGA Law school.  Blake Morgan who started the #IRespectMusic campaign along with Rick Carnes of Songwriters Guild of America will discuss grassroots advocacy on a panel moderated by Mala Sharma former director of Georgia Music Partners. Noted songwriter Rick Carnes, and songwriter/performer Doria Roberts have also agreed to participate. Jay Raman, Director of Cultural Programs Division, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State has agreed to discuss Artists’ Rights and cultural diplomacy with Chris Castle and Dean Cheng. In addition Kevin Phelan, Senior Supervisory Resident Agent at Federal Bureau of Investigation Palo Alto will moderate a panel on piracy and intellectual property theft. Joining him on this panel will be independent filmmaker Ellen Seidler,  Carlos Linares from the RIAA anti-piracy unit, Songwriter Amanda Williams and Peter Ratcliffe Detective Superintendent Economic Crime Unit City of London Police.  US Representative and GOP Conference Vice Chair Doug Collins and Georgia State Representative Spencer Frye are tentatively scheduled to speak on the prospects for state and federal legislation that would address issues facing songwriters and performers.

The Symposium will take place over two days Jan 22-23, 2018. Jan 22^th will be an evening reception 7-9pm, January 23 will consist of 4 discussion sessions beginning at 9:30 AM. The symposium will take place at the Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, Athens GA 30602

Schedule Jan 22

Reception 7-9pm
40 Watt Club
285 W. Washington St
Athens GA 30601

A few blocks walk from conference hotels and University of Georgia.

Food and non-alcohol beverages
Cash bar for grown-up beverages

Schedule Jan 23

A200 Stelling Family Study
Moore-Rooker Hall
Terry College of Business
University of Georgia
610 South Lumpkin Street
Athens, GA 30602

(See map. The conference is in a series of interconnected buildings. Depending on where you are coming from access maybe easier from Amos or Correll hall).

Tentative Schedule and Panels

8:15- 9:15 AM            Conference Registration and light breakfast

9:15- 9:25 AM            Brief opening remarks David Barbe and David Lowery

9:30- 10:30 AM          Panel: What Would Satchmo Do? Cultural Diplomacy and Artists’ Rights

10:45- 11:45 AM        Panel: Does the Antitrust Status Quo Harm Artists?

11:45- 1:00 PM           Lunch and Keynote by Jonathan Taplin: How Artists Can Fight The Internet Monopolies

1:15- 2:15 PM             Panel: Who you Gonna Call? Law Enforcement and Artists’ Rights

2:30-3:30 PM             Panel: An Overview of the State of Grassroots Artists’ Rights Advocacy

4:00-5:00  PM            Panel: State and Federal Legislation.

Travel to and from Atlanta Airport

ATL to Athens can be a little bit of a bear.

If you want your own car, it’s pretty easy to hop on the train that goes to the rental car center (not MARTA train, but inter terminal train).  I would recommend using your premium rental car membership program as lines can often get long. If you arrive at ATL between 3-6:30PM I recommend taking I-285E to I-20E to Conyers GA, 138 to Monroe GA, 78 to Athens GA. Otherwise Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze are pretty accurate.

Most people who travel regularly from ATL to Athens book the Groome Shuttle Athens.   Choose the Downtown Holiday Inn Athens (not Holiday Inn Express) as your destination. Ask anyone working at the airport where to get Groome shuttle buses. There are many different Groome shuttles. Don’t end up at Fort Benning or Chattanooga!  It’s a 75-90 minute trip.  You must book in advance.   You don’t really need a car once you get to Athens.

https://groometransportation.com/athens/

Hotels

Closest Hotel

Holiday Inn Athens-University Area
197 East Broad St
Athens, Georgia
30601
1-706-549-4433

Other Hotels

Reception

40 Watt Club
285 W Washington St
Athens GA

Panels

Stelling Family Study
200 Moore-Rooker Hall
600 Lumpkin Ave
Athens GA 30602

Directions: This is a little confusing so pay attention!  The new Terry College campus consists of four connected buildings around an open quad. It also slopes downhill so if you enter the complex from Lumpkin street you will be on the second floor. If you enter from Hull street, going thru the arch puts you on the 1^st floor. Going up the steps from Hull Street puts you on the 2^nd floor. Moore-Rooker Hall is the west side of the complex (adjacent to Hull Street.) The Stelling Family Study is only accessible from the outdoor balcony/walkway on the 2^nd floor. Finally the terrain is hilly, so you might consider the shoes you wear.