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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.

Capitol Records building

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How Equity Shares Are Emerging As A Fair And Just Business Model For Artists

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Learn why shared equity in digital innovation opens up intriguing directions for artist-label rights deals
Philip Merrill
Advocacy
Nov 28, 2018 - 2:34 pm

At the Recording Academy, our members have championed the financial interests of music creators for generations. But with digital platforms, new dimensions are emerging in label-artist relations that could provide new streams of compensation.

Enter Taylor Swift's recent UMG deal, which stipulates that all UMG artists — not just herself — will receive shares of any future Spotify payouts resulting from the label’s sale of its equity in the streaming giant, marking a major step forward in artist-label relations.

"As part of my new contract with Universal Music Group, I asked that any sale of their Spotify shares result in a distribution of money to their artist, non-recoupable," Swift wrote on Instagram. "They have generously agreed to this, at what they believe will be much better terms than paid out previously by other major labels."

While the particulars of the deal have not been revealed, the deal goes far to accomplish Swift's stated goal of "positive change for creators," but as Reed Smith attorney Gregor Pryor noted, this trend goes beyond the details of how one major distributes proceeds from its sales of Spotify stock. In an interview with The Guardian, Pryor said, "The world is changing very quickly, and part of that is artists taking control of their own business interests."

The creation of Tidal by Jay-Z is another example of how the next steps in digital disruption might include rights deals where artists have each other's backs.

Once upon a time, it was considered revolutionary for artists to administer their own publishing or control their master recordings. Artists were isolated, and the deals they reached with music labels were strictly individual. It remains true that sales are a vital way to repay advances and that even successful artists face financial challenges impacting their ability to create. But in 2018, an artist’s work with a label can take many forms including personal imprints, creative control, and business arrangements where artists benefit from greater ownership. Given the way music is leading the growth of high-tech tie-ins, the time could be ripe for new deals embracing the business end of label-artist creative partnerships.

Many of the developing topics we track point to this new dimension of artist-business crossover due to music's starring role. Music is what engages social media users most. The most common activity for early adopters of voice-navigated smart speakers is music streaming. In-car powerhouse SiriusXM acquired Pandora Media, reaching outside the car. Even with the uncertainty surrounding competition between internet platforms, their investment was directed toward future tech-based innovation. They could have focused their dollars in the automotive sector instead. Even business-to-business music licensing is an area where fresh possibilities, powered by the internet, point to new dimensions and platforms ahead.

Audio art and entertainment has long provided the soundtrack of our lives, but 24/7 engagement online is opening up new spaces for how our lives and dollars will be spent. Rights-deals and artist-label relations are not just trailing behind these developments. Equity shares in developing high-tech businesses offer a new frontier where artists and labels can pursue their common interests together.

The intersection of art and business has always been an edge-space where new things can happen, and Swift's big "positive change for creators" could lead to investments in innovation that open up new types of remuneration for artists in our ever-evolving music ecosystem,

Celebrating District Advocate Day Engagement & Looking Ahead

Conversations In Advocacy #41

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Celebrating District Advocate Day Engagement & Looking Ahead

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Follow the story of this year's remarkable day of activism and see what lies ahead
Philip Merrill
Advocacy
Oct 26, 2018 - 12:50 pm

District Advocate day 2018 on Oct. 24 was an unprecedented coast-to-coast gathering for more than 1,500 Recording Academy members, their lawmakers and Congressional staff sharing ideas about the recent unanimous passage of the Music Modernization Act, now signed into law, as well as what issues matter most to the music community, looking ahead.

With coverage in Billboard and MusicRow, record-setting social activity on Instagram and Twitter, and many special messages for the day delivered via online video or on television, the level of engagement by the music community and elected representatives alike heralds an exciting future for what can be accomplished, thanks to the Recording Academy's political activism.

Local news interviews added another dimension of outreach by letting the public know that Recording Academy members are active and involved in creators' rights. "It's really about getting the support that we need to keep making great stuff," said producer Matt Squire to Washington, D.C.'s local news team on WUSA-TV 9.

"We all need to join together," Emily Estefan explained to Miami's NBC "6 In The Mix" hosts about the day's local rally. "This is just the beginning."

Among issues affecting music creators includes efforts to negotiate and establish a terrestrial radio performance right for performers and artists. The U.S. is alone among major nations in its legal stance that radio play is so automatically valuable for performers that no financial compensation whatsoever is necessary. Foreign artists receiving compensation abroad are also cut out from receiving royalties by this, and reciprocally, foreign royalties that are collected for the recorded performances of U.S. artists remain in special accounts instead of being distributed to Americans.

Modernization of the U.S. Copyright Office for the 21st century is another lively issue with tremendous implications for the years ahead. While federal computing infrastructure is due for an upgrade in many agencies, the Copyright Office is midway along this challenging learning curve. The Office has special needs, and so do the creators who rely on it, so progress must be spurred to create systems worthy of the innovations in America's new music marketplace and ecosystem. Our livelihoods rest on the foundation of copyright law and ultimately the Office's infrastructure must bear the load of its vital responsibilities. Being aware of this issue is the first step in fighting for overdue upgrades, and our elected officials need to know that we care.

A conversation connected to U.S. Copyright Office modernization has long been the goal of allowing independent creators to protect their copyrights by means of some form of small claims process. Artists with major labels can assume aspects of protection are handled by professionals within the company, but indies don't have that luxury. Although this comes up with filing notices of infringement, it can also arise in much more straightforward examples of infringing uses. Just because a creator lacks access to thousands of dollars for attorneys or specialized music-law staff shouldn't leave them helpless to protect their work. Years of thought have gone into investigating this need and a practical answer should be put in place.

One of the outstanding benefits of the unity on display through our District Advocate day is the ability to work together to enact meaningful change. There are other issues growing become hot-ticket items. Trade deals and negotiations are one area where this can come up at unexpected times and the creator community always needs to be informed and active when their voices are needed to make a critical push.

Another recurring issue that comes up on schedule with the federal budget is arts funding and particularly for the National Endowment of the Arts and music education programs. We've made a difference in preventing damaging reductions in funding, but this battle continues. Too many times, hoping to cut costs, lawmakers lose track of or do not realize the differences funding for the arts achieves in our national life.

On these issues and other matters ahead, we will build together on the unity and engagement of District Advocate day 2018 to make a real difference. Kudos and thanks to all who participated.

Thank Your Lawmakers For The Unanimous Passage Of Copyright Modernization

"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.