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Music Piracy: How Fans Are Part Of The Solution

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In this latest installment of "Conversations in Advocacy," explore how fans can be a key factor in the whack-a-mole game of music piracy
Renée Fabian
Advocacy
Dec 1, 2017 - 3:15 pm

Guess what? Fans are not only an integral part of the lifeblood of the music industry, they are a great tool in the fight against music piracy.  

"With the notice and takedown system so broken, we need all the help we can get keeping music accessible to real fans. It's great to see true fans be part of the solution, looking out for the artists and songwriters they love." — Conversations in Advocacy #1

Taylor Swift's latest album, Reputation, released Nov. 10, sold more than 1.2 million copies in its first week. According to industry insiders, the incidents of album pirating were comparatively low.

While torrent-based album ripping tended to be the primary means of music piracy in the past, more recently there has been in a shift in how music gets shared illegally. Nowadays, music is prone to circulate illegally on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, as well as via stream-ripping, which is one of the more dominant forms of piracy worldwide.

To battle piracy, it takes an army — artists, managers, record labels, and industry trade groups — and, increasingly, legions of fans, who have taken to reporting violations as well. In the case of Swift, for example, when the track list for Reputation was released online, Swifities themselves flagged and reported the parties who posted the track list.

With a notice and takedown process that is labor intensive and a lot like playing whack-a-mole as illegal content proliferates across the internet, assistance from music fans is welcome. Instead of ripping music for free, fan communities are now becoming a huge asset to ensure artists get properly paid for their work.

"Fan armies care deeply about their favorite artists and actively monitor for instances of a song or album illegally posted," a spokesperson for the RIAA told Billboard. "Our 'report piracy' inboxes and Twitter feed are often flooded with emails and tips. It's not only helpful, it's a hopeful sign about the mind-set of modern fans and their respect for artists."

Read more about how fans are impacting the fight against music piracy here.

"Conversations in Advocacy" is your weekend digital tip sheet on music advocacy and the policies that affect music makers and their craft. New installments post every Friday.

Conversations in Advocacy #3

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House Judiciary Ranking Member: The Most Important Congressional Race?

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In this latest installment of "Conversations in Advocacy," explore both sides of the race for top Democrat of the House Judiciary Committee
Philip Merrill
Advocacy
Dec 15, 2017 - 11:21 am

"The Congressional race nobody is talking about is maybe the most important for music creators. Who will be the top Democrat on Judiciary?" — Conversations in Advocacy #3

On Nov. 29 Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) stepped into the role of Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee in an acting capacity, but Democrats will soon make a final choice on who will be the permanent Ranking Member. Also in consideration is Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who has been uniquely aligned with the policy interests of the big technology companies that dominate her Silicon Valley congressional district.

Writers at The Intercept recently took a dim view of what they considered Lofgren's unfailing allegiance to tech giants like Google, even in the face of recent controversies. As far as matters affecting creators and copyright law, Nadler has taken a much more pragmatic view, as evidenced by his sponsoring legislation such as the Fair Play Fair Pay Act of 2017.

Both lawmakers say they believe in protections for artists, but Lofgren's tech-centric point-of-view may not always align with the interests of music creators. For example, The Intercept noted that in 2009 she sanctioned Google's plan to digitize millions of books from libraries without approval from the actual copyright holders.

It is an especially crucial time for the House Judiciary Committee given the prospect of major copyright reform legislation in 2018. Modernization is overdue and it is in crafting the details of such a long-awaited update that Nadler could potentially best demonstrate his bill-making abilities.

It all adds up to why the music community should keep a close eye on who will ultimately be chosen to lead the effort to update copyright law as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

"Conversations in Advocacy" is your weekend digital tip sheet on music advocacy and the policies that affect music makers and their craft. New installments post every Friday.

 

Conversations In Advocacy

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Cryptocurrencies: How Will They Disrupt — And Improve — Music Royalties?

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In this latest installment of "Conversations in Advocacy," explore how cryptocurrencies and other digital transaction services are shaking up the way musicians collect royalties
Nate Hertweck
Advocacy
Dec 8, 2017 - 3:10 pm

Cryptocurrency's prospective influence on the music industry is as exciting as it is mysterious. So what will these blossoming digital formats mean for royalties when it gets down to brass tacks?

"Tech has already revolutionized how music is made, discovered and consumed. I think the next disruption is going to be with royalties, and how musicians will be able to get more direct, and better, pay through cryptocurrencies and other digital transaction services." — Conversations in Advocacy #2

While the concept of cryptocurrencies may be new to some, there is no shortage of entrepreneurs who have been paying close attention to the movement and devoting time and resources to building music platforms that can utilize the technology.

Choon, one new service coming in spring 2018, promises to implement the Ethereum blockchain technology to ensure royalties are immediate and accurate.

Choon is essentially a streaming service that will allow fans to purchase music using NOTES, a proprietary cryptocurrency that can be collected and distributed fluidly from fan to artist, returning 80 percent of revenue to the copyright holder(s) to be divvied up based on a "smart record contract" set up ahead of time.

At launch, NOTES will cost the listener 5 cents each and can also be earned by creating popular playlists, listening to promoted songs, and providing useful feedback, according to Billboard.

"There's this common misconception that there's no money in music, and that the only way you can make a living is touring, but that’s not really correct," said Choon co-founder Gareth Emery. "It's a $16 billion industry. What I realized though, was that the money is going to all the wrong people: intermediaries and middlemen who don't really need to be there. Choon is our attempt to fix these problems, cut out these people, and provide a much better deal for artists."

Another service shaking things up is Monero, an open-source cryptocurrency launched in 2014 that boasts a music catalog of more than 30 artists, including G-Eazy, Weezer, Motörhead, Kaskade, and Fall Out Boy.

"Unlike many cryptocurrencies that are derivatives of Bitcoin, Monero is a unique protocol," Hypebot said of the service, while adding that it "focuses on privacy, decentralization, and scalability."

With buy-in from major artists and a major holiday initiative dubbed "The Coral Reef Project" teed up to raise awareness of Monero, the service is pushing hard against the floodgates, hoping music consumers will open their minds and wallets to this new way of supporting bands and artists they love.

These two examples represent real-world implementation of the technology primed for disrupting an industry already in flux, and the best part is that artists, musicians and songwriters stand to reap the rewards.

"Conversations in Advocacy" is your weekend digital tip sheet on music advocacy and the policies that affect music makers and their craft. New installments post every Friday.

Conversations In Advocacy #36

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Music Modernization Act Takes Huge Step Forward: What's Next?

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As the MMA passes the Senate, we look at the champions behind the historic bill, its promise for a better system and the work left to be done
Nate Hertweck
Advocacy
Sep 21, 2018 - 12:41 pm

"As the music community rejoices around the Senate passing of the MMA, the collective efforts of the bill's many devoted champions are making all the difference – but there is still some work to be done…” –Conversations In Advocacy #36

The Music Modernization Act's latest victory of being passed by the U.S. Senate was hard won. Music creators, industry professionals, music tech, and politicians from both sides of the party line have united in support of the bill. Some of the MMA's more high profile supporters include the likes of Adam Levine, Maren Morris, Booker T. Jones, and Little Big Town, but the music community at large at large can celebrate leaping over this major hurdle on the path toward comprehensive music licensing reform.

Now formally titled The Orrin G. Hatch Music Modernization Act, the bill promises to have significant impact on the livelihood of the music creators by ensuring fairer and more accurate royalty rates for songwriters, copyright protection for producers and engineers, and proper compensation for artists.

The Recording Academy has been relentlessly instrumental in generating and sustaining a groundswell of support for the bill. Through constant advocacy efforts, its flagship GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards And Advocacy Day in Washington D.C. – which honored Little Big Town earlier this year – and the sprawling national grassroots District Advocate program, the Academy has engaged a mass of music creators to share their stories with lawmakers. The results are powerful. Harvey Mason Jr., GRAMMY-nominated songwriter/producer and Recording Academy National Advocacy Committee Co-Chair, called the MMA's passage by Senate, "a huge turning point."

But before the celebration can begin, the fight must continue. Now that the MMA has moved through the House of Representatives and the Senate, it will need to go back to the House one last time before it becomes law. This vote could come as early as next week.

As this historic copyright reform effort moves a giant step closer to the finish line, the music community must continue to rally, push and speak up on behalf of the MMA. While it is remarkable how far the bill has come, we cannot rest until we complete the job of enacting a better system for all.

Contact Your Representatives: Tell Them To Support Comprehensive Music Reform 

"Conversations in Advocacy" is your weekend digital tip sheet on music advocacy and the policies that affect music makers and their craft. New installments post every Friday.

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Copyright Conditions Hazy For Preliminary U.S.–Mexico Trade Agreement

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While trade negotiations have been fruitful, preliminary "in principle" conditions for copyright need a closer look
Philip Merrill
Advocacy
Aug 31, 2018 - 9:57 am

“It’s great to see some progress made on trade negotiations to modernize NAFTA. But I hope policy makers keep in mind that intellectual property – like music – is one of our most important exports and must be protected.” — Conversations In Advocacy #33

On Aug. 27, the United States and Mexico announced, in principle, revised trade agreement conditions, sparking many reactions from stakeholders, including the music community. Concerned with provisions affecting copyright, the music community responded with an immediate response asking for the Safe Harbor provisions of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act to be revised, not extended — because the last 20 years of experience demonstrate the difference between neutral internet hosting and the way certain content platforms, like YouTube, abuse Safe Harbor protections. Let's dig a little deeper as negotiations on this work-in-progress continue.

The U.S. Trade Representative provided details of the terms agreed to in principle, including many specifically related to intellectual property. While seeking to provide a strong and firm foundation for the future, both for physical goods as well as online, a few deserve scrutiny as the terms proceed to be finalized. For example, the agreement to limit the liability of internet platforms that host or process third-party content. When in reality many platforms, like YouTube and Facebook, that are hands-on content publishers have abused similar such provisions as contained in the language of the 1998 DMCA Safe Harbor protections. Although other terms of the pact address this indirectly — ensuring the effectiveness of rights management technologies and notice-and-takedown provisions, IP owners have learned through real hardship that this is a loophole abusers love to exploit.

To raise concern to this potential provision in the U.S.-Mexico deal, the Recording Academy joined with 19 other leading music organizations — including A2IM, ASCAP, AFM, BMI, NMPA, SESAC, RIAA and SoundExchange — to state the problem, and their concern, in clear terms.

"We are deeply concerned by the efforts of some to use the agreement to lock in flawed interpretations of pre-Internet 'safe harbors' perpetuating the theft of American music, creating safe havens preventing successful enforcement efforts within our trading partner nations, and severely harming our country's creators and their contributions to U.S. growth, jobs and surplus," read the statement in part.

This goal of finding the right balance so as not to "reward those seeking to profit unjustly from American creators" will ensure that future disruptions caused by internet innovations build a reliable marketplace for licensed goods as well as ideas. This is especially vital to indies trying to build livelihoods without backing because most creators begin as small businesses, trying to make ends meet and juggle countless real pressures. A stable distribution environment will also help larger firms represent the interests of their artists and clients, providing just the sort of "firm foundation" for innovation envisioned by the agreement in principle.

Known abuses of Safe Harbor provisions should inform the debate as future details to protect U.S. trade and innovation are negotiated. The American music industry was cut in half by the imperfect, early visions for internet innovation. Movies, television and live sports have also been severely hurt. The ingredients that are needed appear in the Administration's current plans, but how they are mixed together and put into practice should profit from lessons learned.

Contact Your Senators: Tell Them To Support Comprehensive Music Reform

"Conversations in Advocacy" is your weekend digital tip sheet on music advocacy and the policies that affect music makers and their craft. New installments post every Friday.