Off the grid

Just a note to wish you and your families a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I have made an executive decision not to post to this weblog for the next couple of weeks unless something amazing happens between now and then. I have a had a big year that among many other activities has included two international conferences, attending an Australian conference, and I am teaching Intellectual Property Law at the moment (summer semester). Thank you for reading my site and your support, I hope you have found it interesting, informative and on the odd occasion a little entertaining. Best wishes for the holiday season and I hope you will return next year to follow more of the major developments in the music/internet scene.

Sal

Dan Bull - Dear Mandy

Here is a recent clip from Dan Bull in relation to proposed legislative changes to copyright law in the UK which may well see the introduction of a three strikes policy. This is a great clip in which Bull reflects on the stupidity of many of the changes due to be introduced by the Digital Economy Bill.



Further Reading
TechDirt, Dear Peter Mandelson... Dan Bull Sings His Opposition To Kicking People Off The Internet (30 November 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091130/0445237119.shtml> at 9 December 2009

TechDirt, UK Record Label Boss Resigns From BPI/IFPI Committees Due To Mandelson's Digital Economy Bill (4 December 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091204/1128277207.shtml> at 8 December 2009

TechDirt, UK Politicians Pushing Back On Mandelson's Digital Economy Bill (3 December 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091203/0906507179.shtml> at 8 December 2009

BBC News, Web giants unite against Digital Britain copyright plan (2 December 2009) <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8390623.stm> at 8 December 2009

ArsTechnica, UK "Pirate Finder General" law innocuous now, could get ugly (22 November 2009) <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/11/uk-pirate-finder-general-law-innocuous-now-could-get-ugly.ars> at 2 December 2009

ArsTechnica, Queen: We sank the Armada, we can sink some P2P pirates! (19 November 2009) <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/11/queen-we-sank-the-armada-we-can-sink-some-p2p-pirates.ars> at 21 November 2009

TechDirt, UK Digital Economy Bill As Bad As Expected; Digital Britain Minister Flat Out Lies About ISP Support (20 November 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091120/1137337023.shtml> at 21 November 2009

guardian.co.uk, Mandelson seeks to amend copyright law in new crackdown on filesharing (19 November 2009) <http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/nov/19/mandelson-copyright-filesharing-murdoch-google> at 21 November 2009

The Register, Ofcom talks to spook firm on filesharing snoop plan (19 November 2009) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/19/ofcom_detica/page2.html> at 21 November 2009

TechDirt, UK Gov't Official: Innocent People Won't Get Kicked Off The Internet; Trust Us (12 November 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091111/1412276902.shtml> at 14 November 2009

The Register, UK.gov denies innocent will be hit by filesharing regime (10 November 2009) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/10/simon_filesharing/> at 12 November 2009

The Register, EU block to Mandelson's filesharing laws removed (5 November 2009) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/05/telecoms_package/> at 7 November 2009

Electronic Frontier Foundation, UK and Three Strikes: What Not to Do in an Election Year (28 October 2009) <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/10/uk-and-three-strikes-what-not-do-election-year> at 1 November 2009

Digital Music News, British Legislators Soon Voting on Three-Strikes... (29 October 2009)
<http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/102809uk> at 1 November 2009

guardian.co.uk, TalkTalk threatens legal action over Mandelson's filesharing plan (29 October 2009) <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/29/talktalk-threatens-legal-action-mandelson> at 1 November 2009

TechDirt, As Expected, Mandelson To Introduce Plan To Kick File Sharers Off The Internet
(28 October 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091028/0501446707.shtml> at 28 October 2009

The Register, Mandy declares 'three strikes' war on illegal file sharers (28 October 2009) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/28/mandelson_three_strikes_file_sharing_clamp_down/> at 29 October 2009

IASPM ANZ – Day 3

Yesterday was the third and final day of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music conference (Australia/New Zealand) in Auckland NZ.

I attended a number of presentations today which were fantastic, in fact I had a hard time selecting what to see because there were so many good ones to choose from.

Andrew Whelan – Free Music and Trash Culture: the reconfiguration of musical value online

Andrew spoke at length about the impact of the digital environment on music. He considered the loss of economic value and suggestions that this leads to a loss in aesthetic and affective value. Furthermore he discussed the over abundance of music and perspectives that suggest that this results in transient, adhoc and frivolous interactions with music and inturn reduces the worth of music.

Andrew also considered the potential benefits of the democratisation of music and Attali's perspective that the ability to remove art from the constraints of capitalism and ability of listeners to select their own soundscape as being a step forward.

He also went on to outline the additional consequences of free online distribution with particular reference MySpace profiles, netlabels, 'cracked' software and the quantity of material available to sample. He discussed how open licensing has in fact resulted in musical subcultures that are thriving in what many others consider to be a difficult environment.

He played examples of 'counter music' such as DJ Lovechoad who sampled and remixed Gnarles Barkley. Other examples included Butress and O'Kneel who have remixed Enya on the album Mash Up Your Ass as well as remixes of the Ass of Bass by Alex Tune. Andrew later discussed mashups generally, stating that they are essentially a redemption activity that seeks to recycle the old and reuse it in a way that enables a form of revival.

Andrew also referred to the abundance of music available on the internet through music blogs such as http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com; http://rhhb.blogspot.com and http://progotfrong.com/blogpost.com. He also noted the Mega Super Mammoth mp3 Bloglist which lists all of the weblogs devoted to mp3s as a further illustration of the mass of music available on the internet. While initially much of this music was located on peer to peer networks, the development of bit torrent and weblogs has seen a steady transition onto the world wide web, enabling the music to become more accessible than it used to be. In debating the free cost of this music Andrew noted that the fact that it is free is sometimes used to depict it as being of poor quality and yet the labels in the genre that he is referring to are well respected despite the lack of cost associated with the music.

Cathrin Jaeger – The Digital Revolution and Its Beneficial Effects on New Zealand Independent Record Labels

This was a great paper that considered the reaction of independent record labels in New Zealand to the challenges of the digital environment. Interviews were conducted with seven labels who were questioned about their use of web 2.0 applications. It was found that while the independent labels retained the role as talent spotters but they are also increasingly taking on the role of the major record labels in bringing music to an international audience (distribution and marketing).

The independent labels interviewed clearly recognised the benefits of cost-free word-of-mouth promotion by fans and have embraced the use of social networking sites where news about new bands and songs can be easily accessed. This in turn results in audiences having a much broader range of music to select from and enjoy far greater exposure to a diversity of genres which assists the unique New Zealand musical sound.

She made an interesting point about MySpace being a musical encyclopaedia but also noted the increased use of Facebook. Independent labels are using Facebook to enable both communication with fans and marketing as well as market research. She stated that this architecture facilitates the building of a large number of fans in a short amount of time and that a large fan community can in turn help to attract external sponsors.

Steven Knopoff (and Graham Strahle) - What Happened to High Fidelity? Portable music, the Internet and the changed culture of listening

Steven Knopoff (and Graham Strahle) presented a paper titled 'What Happened to High Fidelity? Portable Music, the Internet and the Changed Culture of Listening' that concerned sonic realism and the changes in technology which have in fact seen a reduction in sound quality and compromises made to ensure digital files remain easily transferrable. In turn there has been an acceptance of a poorer quality product by consumers and the loss of sound quality has largely been ignored. Even CDs are seen as being of reduced sound quality despite the noise reduction this has been furthered by mp3 compression. One example can be found here: http://mastering-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/metallica-death-magnetic-sounds-better.html

Steven also noted that some music manufacturers are also doing what tv advertisers have done for a long time in increasing the volume of the songs when recorded/mixed in order to try to out do each other in capturing the attention of listeners. Increasingly the expectation of listeners is one of stylised naturalism for sound quality even in live performances.

The limited sound quality of iPods is not new but the portability of the songs has made a strong contribution to changes in listening behaviour (which initially began with the portable radio and then the walkman). He noted that there are a greater number of playback technologies now than ever before, however most listeners gravitate to one type (the iPod) due to social and commerce related factors rather than sound quality. The basic parameters of an acceptable mp3 player include large storage capacity, low cost as well as speakers and headphone that are good, small and cheap.

He concluded that while there remain niche pockets of people that retain the desire of high fidelity, there has been a gradual dissolution and replacement of sound goals with technological advances.  

There were many other great papers that I attended both on the final day of the proceedings and throughout the past few days that I haven't had a chance to write about. All that attended agreed that it had been a very successful conference with the diversity of disciplines and the topics of the papers, not to mention the fantastic people, being the cornerstones of a wonderful association an enjoyable and productive exchange of ideas. The discussions after each session I attended were indicative of the provocative nature of the contributors as well as the benefits of having the chance to share time with people in the same field and related areas. The next IASPM ANZ will be in Melbourne in 2010.  

IASPM ANZ – Day 2

Today was the second day of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music conference (Australia/New Zealand) in Auckland NZ.

Liz Giuffre - Trivial Music: a preliminary study of the resurgence and value of music quiz programs on Australian television.
I attended a number of presentations today which were fantastic including Liz’ Giuffre’s paper on the resurgence and value of music quiz programs on Australian television (Spicks and Specs; and Rockwiz). Liz noted in particular the lack of research of these programs compared with the extensive coverage of Australian Idol and questioned both why it is that these programs have not been explored in detail as well as their emergence on public broadcasters rather than commercial television. Both shows enjoy continued success with Spics and Specs in particular being a very high rating show.

Katelyn Barney - Songs of Hope, Healing and Forgiveness: musical responses to the National apology to the Stolen Generation.
I also attended an excellent presentation by Katelyn Barney on the ‘Songs of Hope, Healing and Forgiveness: musical responses to the National apology to the Stolen Generation’. She started by showing the ‘It’s Time’ clip which is a collaborative effort between Russell James and Will i am along the lines of the ‘Yes We Can’ Obama clip. The song/video uses aspects of the apology to the Stolen Generation by Kevin Rudd (13 February 2008) as well as singing by Clifton Bieundurry (an Indigenous man from the Walmajarri people of the North West Kimberley). The clip is available here and is well worth watching.

Katelyn also spoke at length about songs by indigenous artists: Les Collins – Great Moments and Emma Donovan – Ngarranga. She also spoke about musical responses from non indigenous Australians including the new verse to Kerry Fletcher’s - Sorry Song and Susie Keynes – Sorry Song.

This was a very interesting presentation which I enjoyed a lot.

There audience questioned the accessibility and effect of these songs on both indigenous and non indigenous people. In particular there was a suggestion of a co-ordinated effort to increase the number of YouTube hits of these songs and how to spread the word (viral marketing seems like too crude a term here) through other indigenous communities to ensure that these songs reach a wider audience. I asked Katelyn why she hadn’t mentioned the new version of Paul Kelly’s ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ - she indicated that while this was one of the most well known musical responses to the Stolen Generation apology, that she had spoken about it on an earlier occasion and was simply exploring other artists responses for the purposes of this paper.

Sally Hawkins - Contemporary Australian Political Musicians: authenticity and the integration of culture and activism.

Naturally I also attended my own presentation today... I spoke about the comparative authenticity of four contemporary Australian artists: John Butler Trio, Blue King Brown, The Herd and the Hilltop Hoods and in particular the suitability of the term ‘political artists’ with respect to these bands. I considered authenticity of genre, use and ethos by examining recent political songs released by these artists, the frequency of political releases over time, the percentage of political songs on an album by album basis as well as the use of the internet – the artists websites, Facebook and MySpace profiles - to demonstrate a personal commitment and involvement in current political issues. Particular points worth noting include the very high percentage of political releases by Blue King Brown, the increase of political releases by The Herd over the course of their career and the drop off in the frequency of political releases by the John Butler Trio in recent years (does not include the single ‘One Way Road’ due out early December 2009 or the new album April Uprising). Furthermore the very effective use of Blue King Brown’s website and MySpace profile and the John Butler Trio’s use of their website, Facebook and MySpace profiles for political activism, was an important part of this paper. I was really pleased with the way my presentation went and was given very positive feedback afterwards.

Pictures from IASPM Day 1

A warm Pacific welcome.

Dr. Kirsten Zemke

IASPM ANZ – Day 1

Today was the first day of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music conference (Australia/New Zealand) in sunny Auckland NZ. The conference started with a warm Pacific Welcome which included some traditional music and dancing.

Dr. Melenaite Taumoefolua from the Centre for Pacific Studies, Dr. Gregory D. Booth an Ethnomusicologist from the University of Auckland, Dr. Shelley Brunt the Chair of Aus/NZ IASPM and Dr. Kirsten Zemke, conference convener and ethnomusicologist at the University of Auckland, opened the conference.

I attended a number of fascinating papers today all worth mentioning however given time and space constraints will restrict this post to just a couple.

Adrian Renzo – Seamless: re-evaluating medley records of the 1980’s
This was an excellent presentation which considered the place of medleys from the 1980’s as part of the origins of the modern day mashup. Medley’s such as Stars on 45 were seen as a cheap recycling venture of record labels and took a particular place in Disco culture. Renzo discussed the arbitrary nature of the transition between songs and how in the 1980’s the merger of songs was undertaken with a clean cut and instant move to the next song. He noted that in the 1990’s, with developments in technology, there was a change in the way that songs were put together. From this time there was a far greater tendency to layer the tracks over each other in the transition from one track to another. Seg-ways became much more important with Renzo noting that a single facet of one song enabled the movement from one to another. He noted that the narrative logic or the textual ideas of the songs were unimportant to the transition between them. An important distinction between the medley’s of the 1980’s and 1990’s compared with the mashups of today was the involvement of the original artists – these days it is highly unlikely that original material is contributed to mashups nor are the original recording artists usually involved. This was an excellent presentation – both entertaining and very educational.

John Egenes – Remix Culture: the folk process in the 21st century
John Egenes from the University of Otago presented a paper on how the internet and technology are responsible for the blurring of the line between the performer and audience (creator and consumer). He noted that consumers of music are increasingly the producers of music which in turn results in changes to notions of creativity, individuality and intellectual property. The division between creator and consumer is no longer clear but for a very long time the separation has been taken for granted. There is a steady transformation from a top down culture to a bottom up one.

In addition to the democratisation of creativity, those artists that remain identifiable and separate must also contend with alterations to the environment in which they work. Open access is now given to artists through the internet with fans demanding communication with artists and direct feedback to the creators. Furthermore, with open access to music, the artist has lost control over when, where and how consumers interact with their art.

He stated that young people don’t listen to albums anymore instead they download single songs and create their own playlists. An album is more commonly seen as something to be broken down into its individual components. Likewise, with the aid of technology, individual components of a song are remixed together to create new songs. He stated that remix signals a fundamental shift from music as a commodity or product, to a process.

While initially an aural culture, Egenes stated that for the past couple of hundred years society has been focused on visual culture which emerged with text and focuses largely on individual creativity. He stated that the aural culture of society is remerging with computers augmenting the folk process. He noted that the financial worth of music is also being replaced with the value of online reputation. He considers online reputation as increasingly becoming a very important personal currency.

Henry Johnson – Chordophones, Aerophones and iPhones: the value of interactive mobile applications in the mediatization of music performance.
Henry Johnson spoke about the use of touch screen mobile phones such as the iPhone and how this has created instant access to music as well as new forms of production. He linked these new innovative features to the mediatization, globalization and consumption of music.

In particular he discussed iPhone apps such as the iKoto, iShauhachi and ecShamisen which are digital versions of traditional Japanese instruments.

The iShauhachi, attempts to emulate a bamboo flute which is 55cm long with four finger holes. The app emulates the finger holes (4 for the basic user and 5 for an advanced user). The player must blow into the microphone on the iPhone to create the dynamics of the wind instrument. Henry stated that while the app did go someway toward creating a digital version of the original instrument, the quality of the sound sample used in the app is not very good. For an example of the iShauhachi in use see: http://www.youtbube.com/watch?v=K36fMLIFUVg

The iKoto is a traditional 13 string Japanese instrument. The iPhone tries to recreate this instrument through an app which has the same number of strings. Given the size of the phone, the spacing between the strings creates some difficulties but nonetheless basic compositions are possible. Henry suggested that while the sample sound of the app is very close to the original, there is no way for the player to change the dynamics of the string plucking, limiting the digital replication of the instrument.

There are currently two ecShamisen apps available for the iPhone. The digital version of this instrument has greater dexterity than the real instrument, however again, there is no way for the player to change the dynamics of the string plucking. Uses of this app include practising or learning how to play the original instrument.

Primarily Henry sees these apps as gadgets rather than instruments. However, he suggests that they could have a real use despite the size limitations of the device. For those with no experience with the traditional instruments, these apps may provide an opportunity for use and production that would not have been possible otherwise. Experiential learning and cultural exposure are enhanced by their existence. However he does not consider that they will ever replace the real instruments.

Henry noted that the mobility of the device enables it to be used in many environments and is not dependent on a tv screen, computer and/or mouse. While the player is restricted by the physical limitations of the size of the device, it nonetheless transforms music production and performance in terms of availability and ease of use. This enables a type of musical tourism with musicians able to use instruments that in the past were only available in specific geographical locations. However there remain some geographical restrictions, for example, Apple has not yet made the Taiko available for purchase by New Zealand iPhone users.

This talk was excellent and provoked a lot of discussion about the use, function and value of mobile touch screen interactive musical instruments.

Overall this was an excellent start to the IASPM ANZ conference. The people, as always, make the conference and combined with papers of a very high standard which are both educational and interesting it has been a fantastic day.

IASPM ANZ

This week I am traveling to Auckland in New Zealand to present a paper at the Australia/New Zealand branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music's conference - "What's It Worth". My paper is titled 'Contemporary Australian Political Musicians: The Integration of Culture and Activism'. I will be discussing the comparative authenticity of four Australian bands and whether they can be considered 'political' artists (it is an interesting study but perhaps more useful for my PhD than wider society).

The conference is being held at the University of Auckland on Friday 27th November to Sunday 29th November inclusive - you can read more about it here.

Some of the other presentations I am particularly interested in seeing include:

• Egenes - Remix Culture: The Folk Process in the 21st Century
• Johnson H - Chordophones, Aerophones and iPhones: The Value of Interactive Mobile Applications in the Mediatization of Music Performance
• Griffiths - Weapons of Mass Resistance? Radical Musical Responses to 9/11 and the War on Terror
• Giuffre - Trivial Music: A Preliminary Study of the Resurgence and Value of Music Quiz Programs on Australian Television
• Milicevis (presented by Borota) - Cyberspace and Music
• Jaeger - The Digital Revolution and Its Beneficial Effects on New Zealand Independent Record Labels
• Knopoff - What Happened to High Fidelity? Portable Music, the Internet and the Changed Culture of Listening
• Novak - Digital Music in Everyday Life
• Borschke - Archival Auteurs: MP3 Blogs and the Aesthetics of Social Distribution
• Strong - The Triple J Hottest 100 of all time 2009 and the Social Construction of MVsical value

These all look like excellent presentations and I can't wait to hear the papers. If you are around Auckland contact the conference organisers about coming along to see some papers! Otherwise, I hope to be blogging about some of the presentations while I am there. I am also hoping to get some other academics/PhD students together to see if anyone is interested in starting an organisation like FMC/Creative Freedom - hopefully a senior academic will volunteer to chair a working party to get something like this established.

Sally

ACTA

This is a presentation from Michael Geist published on his website and BoingBoing yesterday. Here Geist outlines the history and current state of negotiations on the ACTA Treaty.

The treaty was initiated by the USA in 2004 as a response to counterfit copyright products with a focus on the importation and cross border movement of pirated goods. Negotiations moved forward in 2006 with Australia joining the process in 2007. Since this time the scope of the Treaty has expanded dramatically. Furthermore serious concerns have emerged with respect to how this process undermines WIPO, has been conducted behind closed doors without sufficient transparency and consultation, and the potential need for dramatic changes to domestic copyright regimes in many countries. Some have suggested that this is in effect corporate interests dictating international copyright policy and the globalisation of protectionist copyright standards in order to protect economic interests.

Specific areas of focus for this treaty include border measures to reduce illegal imports, the internet, as well as the enforcement of intellectual property rights through civil and criminal penalties. The treaty relates to commercial infringement and significant wilful non-commercial infringement (ie. is not dependent on financial gain).

Aside from the substantive issues with respect to the content of the treaty the most significant concern is how the negotiations have been conducted. A number of countries including Canada and the EU have sought greater transparency with those outside of the content industry (including academics and the public) being deliberatly excluded from the consultation process. In the United States the Electronic Frontier Foundation made an application for disclosure of docuemtns relating to the treaty under their Freedom of Information laws however access was denied on the basis that it would be contray to national security. At this stage it is anticiapted that the treaty will be publically available in its finalised form in 2011.

While it is being negotiated in secret there are little opportunities to challenge its substantive content. What should be taking place on a global, domestic and local level is grass roots action against the lack of disclosure and consulation. If there are likeminded people around the globe that care about the direction this treaty appears to be heading, hopefully they are able to mobilse locally and then coordinate with others to bring this to the attention of the citizens and law makers of their countries. I am on my way now to check for the Anti ACTA Facebook page...

Further Reading
Michael Geist, The ACTA Threat: My Talk on Everything You Need To Know About ACTA, But Didn't Know To Ask (12 November 2009) <http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4530/125/> at 13 November 2009

BoingBoing, Everything you want to know about the scary, secret copyright treaty (12 November 2009) <http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/12/everything-you-want.html> at 13 November 2009

Michael Geist, ACTA Posts <http://www.michaelgeist.ca/index.php?option=com_tags&task=view&tag=acta&Itemid=408> at 13 November 2009

WikiLeaks, ACTA <http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=ACTA> at 13 November 209

EFF, Anti Counterfitting Trade Agreement <http://www.eff.org/issues/acta> at 13 November 2009

EFF, Government Blocks Release of Documents on Secret IP Enforcement Treaty (29 January 2009) <http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/01/29> at 13 November 2009

National Business Review, NZ should not sign international piracy agreement (9 November 2009) <http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nz-should-not-sign-international-piracy-agreement-114686> at 12 November 2009

TechDirt, More ACTA Details Leak: It's An Entertainment Industry Wishlist (3 November 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091103/1308526784.shtml> at 9 November 2009

ZeroPaid, Anti-Piracy Treaty: Global DMCA, “Three-Strikes” (6 November 2009) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/87211/anti-piracy-treaty-global-dmca-three-strikes/> at 8 November 2009

ArsTechnica, Secret ACTA treaty can't be shown to public, just 42 lawyers (15 October 2009) <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/these-42-people-are-shaping-us-internet-enforcement-policy.ars> at 29 October 2009

TechDirt, ACTA Negotiations Back On... White House Shows Small Group Proposed Text Under NDA (14 October 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091013/1854546514.shtml> at 24 October 2009

Digital Music News, USTR: We Can't Be Open About ACTA Because We Promised We Wouldn't Be (*Lobbyists Not Included) (28 September 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090925/0801256322.shtml> at 5 October 2009

ArsTechnica, EFF, libraries: Keep your ACTA out of our Internet! (19 July 2009) <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/07/acta-no-internet.ars> at 26 July 2009

ArsTechnica, Transatlantic coalition calls for "halt" to ACTA talks (23 June 2009) <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/06/transatlantic-coalition-calls-for-halt-to-acta-talks.ars> at 30 June 2009

TechDirt, Consumer Group Wants ACTA Discussions Stopped Until Consumer Rights Are Represented In Negotiations (29 June 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090628/1640555388.shtml> at 30 June 2009

ZeroPaid, Consumer Groups Want to Halt ACTA Negotiations (25 June 2009) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/86492/consumer-groups-want-to-halt-acta-negotiations/> at 25 June 2009

TechDirt, EFF, Public Knowledge Drop ACTA Lawsuit, Realizing 'National Secrets' Claim Will Block Them (18 June 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090617/1918145270.shtml> at 19 June 2009

TechDirt, Obama Administration Reiterates Its Support Of Secretive, Industry Written ACTA (15 June 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090614/1819325224.shtml> at 19 June 2009

ArsTechnica, ACTA transparency: can shame work where lawsuits fail? (7 May 2009) <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/05/acta-can-shame-work-where-lawsuits-fail.ars> at 15 May 2009

Electronic Frontier Foundation, Government Still Blocking Information on Secret IP Enforcement Treaty (6 May 2009) <http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/05/06> at 10 May 2009

PC World, Groups Complain of Continued Secrecy About Trade Pact (7 May 2009) <http://www.pcworld.com/article/164472/groups_complain_of_continued_secrecy_about_trade_pact.html> at 10 May 2009

TorrentFreak, Leaked ACTA Draft: More Power to the RIAA (14 April 2009) <http://torrentfreak.com/leaked-acta-draft-more-power-to-the-riaa-090414/comment-page-4/#comment-548998> at 26 April 2009

TechDirt, Remember How ACTA Wasn't Supposed To Be A 'Major' Change To Copyright Laws? (15 April 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090414/1750504513.shtml> at 19 April 2009

Intellectual Property Watch, The ACTA Threat To The Future Of WIPO (14 April 2009) <http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/04/14/the-acta-threat-to-the-future-of-wipo/> at 19 April 2009

ArsTechnica, Obama adminstration pledges "transparency" on ACTA (6 April 2009) <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/obama-adminstration-pledges-transparency-on-acta.ars> at 11 April 2009

ChannelRegister, US outlines secretive international piracy deal (9 April 2009) <http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2009/04/09/international_anti_piracy_deal/> at 11 April 2009

PC World, US Trade Office Releases Information on Secret Piracy Pact (8 April 2009) <http://www.pcworld.com/article/162716/us_trade_office_releases_information_on_secret_piracy_pact.html> at 11 April 2009

The Star, Anti-counterfeiting treaty talks heat up (30 March 2009) <http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/610257> at 3 April 2009

ArsTechnica, Obama administration won't release secret ACTA docs either (13 March 2009) <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/03/were-not-releasing-acta-docs-says-us-again.ars> at 23 March 2009

BoingBoing, Partial list of corporate lickspittles who are allowed to know what's in the secret copyright treaty the Obama administration claims is a matter of "national security" (14 March 2009) <http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/14/partial-list-of-corp.html> at 22 March 2009

Australian Bureau of Statistics: Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2009

I was reading with interest the recent report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics concerning arts and culture in Australia. The data provided in the report while addressing a number of different aspects of the participation and purchase of music nonetheless is a collection of data from different periods in time, lacks any real cohesive character and is for the most part incapable of providing a basis on which an overall assessment or analysis can be undertaken. What follows is a summary of some of the main areas the report addresses however it is worth noting that the data is very dated and unrepresentative of the present day situation.

Attendance at Concerts
The following graph notes that popular music concerts in 2005-2006 were the most popular form of entertainment with 25% of people interviewed stating that they had attended a concert in the previous 12 month period. Over 39% of concert goers attended more than one event in a year.

12.1 ATTENDANCE RATES FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS(a) - 2005-06


Forty percent of respondents that attended a popular music concert were within the 18-24 year age group. This reduced gradually with each age group with fewer that 7% of those aged 75 years and over attending a concert.

Wholesale of Music
Disappointingly the ABS have chosen to reproduce the wholesale music statistics provided by the Australian Recording Industry Association for the year 2008-2009. I have written about these statistics before here . Notably however, these statistics do not represent all music sold in Australia rather just those that are members of ARIA.

Household Expenditure on Music
The Australian Bureau of Statistics report that pre-recorded CDs and records are at best in the mid range for items on which Australians spend their household income. Overall Australians spent 4% of the income in the 2003-2004 period on cultural experiences.

3.1 AVERAGE WEEKLY HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE ON CULTURE(a) - 2003-04


Notably this data does not appear to include digital sales however on average Australians spent $1.60 per week on pre recorded CDs and records and $0.05 per week on cassettes and tapes in 2003-2004. On a yearly basis Australians spent $646m per year on CDs and records and $19m on cassettes and tapes.

Factoring in inflation over the period between 1984 and 2003-2004 there was a gradual increase in the amount of money the average household spent on music followed by a drop. In 1984 Australians spent $0.68 cents per week on music, in 1988-1989 this rose to $1.21 per week. In 1993-1994 this rose again to $1.29 per week, and again in 1998-1999 to $2.07 per week. In 2003-2004 average weekly expenditure on music dropped to $1.65 per household.

Output of Cultural Industries
The output of the Australian cultural industries is quantified through reference to the Australian National Accounts and an earlier report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics titled Australian Industry, Catalogue No. 81550.

The Australian National Accounts indicate that in 2004-2005 pre-recorded audio and video tapes, disks and records that were either manufactured of published amounted to $1.723m or made up 4.1% of all cultural goods and services.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics report Australian Industry, Catalogue No. 81550 further demonstrates the output of cultural industries. Comparing 2006-2007 to 2007-2008, the report provides detailed data with respect to motion picture and sound recording activities breaking the analysis into the following categories: Printing (including the reproduction of recorded media), Publishing (except internet and music publishing), Motion picture and sound recording activities, Broadcasting (except internet), Internet publishing and broadcasting, Library and other information services, Heritage activities and Creative and performing arts activities.


In conclusion the Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2009 report is a cobbled together collection of outdated data with a distinct lack of consistency with respect to its collection and analysis. Whilst perhaps useful as independent components this report does little to provide a holistic or useful depiction of Australians involvement in music. This report whilst indicative of the level of production, exposure and consumption of arts in Australia appears to be the only one ever prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and without a history of statistical analysis of these aspects of Australian society and our interaction with the arts it is not possible to make a comparative analysis or establish trends over time. A more useful approach would be a survey addressing each of these issues in turn at the one time with ongoing repetition enabling a far clearer understanding to be gained as to the experiences of Australians with the arts.

Further Information
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4172.0 - Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2009 (21 October 2009) <http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4172.0Main%20Features12009?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4172.0&issue=2009&num=&view=> at 31 October 2009

Career Suicide in Progress - A Poem For the Brilliant

By Sally J Hawkins
(this is an email I sent today to Larry Brilliant who remains an advisor to Google despite is more recent redeployment to Skoll)

Larry is a brilliant man with talent of depths unknown
He rides the skies of making dreams and seems a wonderful type of guy
There is a young lady sad and lost with many a dream that dies
She needs some help to find her way and therefore in hope she writes

A long and difficult tale goes here but there is simply just not time
To tell the troubles that she has faced and to explain in depth just why
The hand she needs is to relocate to a land where her talent can thrive
And to do just that there is but one last thing to for her to try

A busy parent in a country town in Australia way down south
Is not the place that she needs to be rather Berklee in Boston now
Part way through a PhD in IP/Internet Law
With political music the central focus she hopes to find a new door

A fellowship program, scholarship, a supervisor and a new life
Would only be possible with the help of another like the man to whom she writes
Aspiring for a career that dances to Hammond’s Song of the Unicorn
Challenging the basis of regulation, in Boston she can’t go wrong

In the long term the Future of Music Coalition or academia is for me
But the laws and changes that need to take place are not in my coun-t-ry
The spark within me will never die and I will never quit
A chance from you would mean the world and to make my mark on it

With a smile and a wink this poem is penned (or typed more accurately)
Please write back and let me know if there is any chance you might help me
I have not approached David Kusek but you might if you wish
He is VP of Online Ed and the author of a book not to be missed

Thanks for taking the time to read my plea and listen to what I have said
If it would help my CV can be sent and you can find me on the web
My blog address is listed below and my email on the header
To meet with you or have the chance to talk would also be pleasure.

Yours sincerely

Sally J Hawkins


http://www.ocarr.blogspot.com
http://www.ocaustralia.blogspot.com

Lily Allen's Bull

Just thought to post a link to this great YouTube clip in which Dan Bull comments on Lily Allen's recent statements regarding file sharing and the music industry. Allen has stated in recent weeks that there should be far greater regulation of music sharing. Lily initially supported the introduction of a Graduated Response Scheme in the UK with the ultimate sanction of disconnection. In response, many have suggested that Allen was misinformed about the impact of file sharing on the music industry. Allen has altered her position to support a Graduated Response Scheme that does not include disconnections but rather uses throttling to deter internet users from breaking copyright law. I have written in the past about how even the lesser offense of throttling is a poor policy choice, restricting the ability of users to access legal music just as much as it does illegal music.

The fantastic musical letter from Dan Bull can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL9-esIM2CY

More information:
TechDirt, A Song For Lily Allen... And A Little Conversation (28 September 2009) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090927/1825076330.shtml> at 5 October 2009

Digital Music News, The Allen Factor: Suddenly, the Artist Message Gets Modified... (28 September 2009) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/092509allen> at 5 October 2009

ZeroPaid, Lily Allen Deletes Anti-P2P Blog, Quits Music for Acting (25 September 2009) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/87061/lily-allen-deletes-anti-p2p-blog-quits-music-for-acting/> at 1 October 2009

TimesOnline, Blow for music industry as Lily Allen says Peter Mandelson's plans too draconian (25 September 2009) <http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6848502.ece> at 1 October 2009

Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit

The FMC are holding a policy summit between the 4th and the 6th October 2009 at Georgetown University in Washington titled “Music, Technology, Policy and Law Go Back to the Future”.

Panel topics will include
• Visionary presentations on the music-tech space
• Ten years after Napster
• Practical tips for musicians
• New business models
• Future of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act
• Intellectual property, privacy & network rights
• Possible remedies to the challenges of the sample license clearance process
• Screening of Copyright Criminals documentary

For those unable to attend, selected portions of the Summit will be webcast on Monday, Oct. 5 and Tuesday, Oct. 6. Video and audio archives will be made available after the event.

More information can be found here and here.

Post/cards/email/screen savers/statements from the Rainbow Region.

There are very few guarantees in life however when people pull together as a community and set out to achieve common goals they can indeed change the world. Music can often be part of the catalyst for change with anthems developing a sense of belonging and helping to reiterate messages of solidarity, and narratives telling stories and educating people about events that have taken place. But the reception and use of these messages are dependent on exposure to them.

Music concerts are one forum in which music and community combine to create an environment and atmosphere where shared identity and purpose become paramount. The most famous of these was Woodstock held in the United States in 1969. This year has seen ongoing celebrations commemorating this festival. Forty years later it seems timely to ask what the ripple effect has been with some suggesting that little in the world has in fact changed for the better.

As a general observation it seems that society has long forgotten the messages of 1969. Artists and music that speak out about injustice, war, poverty, sexism and many other forms of political speech have drifted away from the forefront of our culture into the underground with the majority of the populous having little opportunity to access them. So was that sense of community merely a moment in time in which people felt the need to pull together?

The answer is No. In pockets of the world there remain people dedicated to the causes that were important at that time. While I have not had the pleasure of spending a lot of time in San Francisco, my understanding is that this is one place in which the values of Woodstock remain. I am very fortunate to reside in the Northern Rives region of NSW, Australia, where a similar perspective is taken

One local town, Nimbin, is in fact a sister city to Woodstock. Here, as in many other parts of the region, you will commonly find VW Combies (or the modern equivalent, the Subaru) with bumper stickers such as: “Think Globally, Act Locally”, “Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Beauty” and “Magic Happens”.

I was reading in my local community newspaper (The Northern Rivers Echo) yesterday that a photo documentary on the alternative culture of the Northern Rivers, commonly referred to as the Rainbow Region, is being sent to the United States as part of the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. This cultural exchange is taking place to help illustrate the ripple effect of the festival in other parts of the world.

Complete with rainbow flags, colourful clothes and long hair, there is a spirit here that never dies. The community care for the environment, are passionate about art, speak out against injustice, look out for each other and mobilise at a moments notice when there is action to be taken. There are many vegans, vegetarians and a diverse range of religions and cultural practices. Some people live in Multiple Occupancies (Communes) where the sense of community is even stronger. Many of the services offered here are done by community groups who seek out opportunities for grants to provide them for the towns.

There is art everywhere with the local markets teeming with hand made creations and a sea of local musicians that often busk to support themselves. My local market, The Channon Market, is one such example - when you go in the gates, if you are lucky you will be given a free buskers token to place in the case of your favourite performer who can then exchange that for money from the market committee. If you haven’t eaten Jan’s Lemon Myrtle ice cream (not turtle), then you haven’t lived.*

There are number of small villages scattered around. My town has 400 beautiful people. I once thought to myself that the people that live here do so because they don’t fit in anywhere else. Here it is a collection of ‘others’ in the most magnificent sense. We are unique individuals where non conformity with the mainstream takes pride of place.

There are rolling green hills, sub tropical rainforest (albeit not as much old growth as we would have liked to keep), waterfalls, and pristine beaches. I have two waterfalls near my house – Whian Whian falls where we like to swim in summer (tragedy of the commons when the tourist bus visits though) and Protestors Falls, the site of a massive environmental protest. There are rock formations that tell the ancient history of the Bunjalung people, the local indigenous community, with Nimbin Rocks and Mount Warning (the names given by white settlers) just two examples of the land that they hold in their hearts. A postcard tells a million stories.

I climbed Mount Warning once. It is the highest most easterly point in Australia – the very first place in the country to see sunrise. From there you can see all around with breath taking views of the coastline (including Byron Bay, one of the most famous beaches where you can watch whales at the lighthouse but only at the right time of the year) and the hills that stretch almost all the way to the horizon. I was pretty unfit at the time and I struggled to get up to the top – the last part consists of a chain where you must pull yourself up with all your strength. Ironically enough though walking down, whilst significantly easier, still had some impact with sore knees and wobbly legs (combining with my natural lack of coordination) making the journey difficult at times.

In recent years I have thought a lot about leaving. It has proven to be one of the most difficult decisions I have never been allowed to make. While I don’t consider myself to be of the status of ‘community icon’ (we have a lot of those) it takes at least ten years to be considered a ‘local’ (I grew up in Melbourne and sea changers don’t count for a long time) – if I leave I may never get back in.

But it has been achingly obvious to me for some time that while I share many things with the magnificent people that live here, there are some things that are very important to me that I cannot share. Some of the freest thinkers, some of the smartest most connected people live here but for the things that I think about there are largely only analogies and there are little opportunities for conversations on a detailed or conceptual level. For a person that speaks in symbolism, living literally at a dead end proves to be a visionary challenge. The knowledge here is on wheels. Not motorcycles as such but the local library is in a ‘bus’ that travels around to the local public schools and towns. Although I have a network here, academics in my field don’t seem to stay long. The isolation is physical as well as mental.

In the past I have referred to Lismore, the largest town in the area, as a gold fish bowl – it is in the bottom of a volcanic crater. It is safe and secure but at times very limiting. Once I sent someone a groovy card with a picture of a goldfish with snorkel and goggles on it and its head stuck out of the bowl. A family friend showed it to me when I was in Los Angeles (on my way to Northern California) and I said: “ohhh.... that’s me.” (I wrote on the left of it). I was out of the bowl for that briefest moment in time and it reflects the way I like to think.

I actually love living here just as much as I get frustrated by it. It is the tyranny of the tangible.

A common phrase around here, part of the eco tourism scene, is leave nothing but foot prints and take nothing but pictures. Making the great leap forward for me however would mean taking everything this region has given me and propagating it for the future. Perhaps life is not too short to do somethings twice and if I go it will be with the will to return for my restful years when relaxing is much more of a priority.

As we here in the Northern Rivers reflect on the ripple effect of Woodstock we can only think of how to make it happen again in the size of a Tsunami for if the world were more like the people and the environment around here it would be a much better place. I hope to be at the Centre of Everything to make sure that happens. But the weather remains to be seen.

IASPM ANZ

The Australia/New Zealand branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music is holding its annual conference in November in Auckland. The title this year is WHAT'S IT WORTH? with the theme of ‘Value’ and Popular Music. It will be held from 27-29 November 2009 in the Fale Pasifika Complex, Faculty of Arts at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. The organisers state:

The theme of this year's conference seeks to generate discussion and debate around the ‘value’ we ascribe to popular music(s). ‘Value’ relates to music as commodity and economic project, but social, cultural and aesthetic perspectives profoundly inform any measures or contentions of ‘value’. This theme is particularly timely given recent technological developments that are radically re-shaping the ways in which music is produced, distributed and consumed.

I will be attending and would recommend anyone else interested in this field to go as well. Papers will cover a whole range of topics including new technologies, copyright law, music in every day life including communities, subculture and politics as well as artistic and aesthetic value, authenticity, performance and many other areas.

You can find out more information about the conference here and here.

The Chinese Ministry of Cultural Censorship.

I was reading with despondency today an article by Digital Music News which states that the Chinese government is going to require that all music hosted off shore but accessible from within China be approved by the Chinese Ministry of Culture before beign digitally distributed.

According to MacWorld (quoting the Wall Street Journal): "Online music providers will have to submit to the Ministry of Culture the lyrics of each foreign song, translated into Chinese, along with evidence proving they have permission from the copyright owners to sell and distribute the songs..."

This does not reconcile well with USA calls for strong piracy controls from within the country and indeed smells a lot like using piracy as an opportunity to further control the messages conveyed to the people.

Whilst one cannot second guess what criteria will be applied in determining the suitability of songs, it may be questioned that such a scheme could be used to prevent the reception of songs with overt political characteristics. Other songs may nonetheless be used in a political way but songs with clear political sentiments may be directly at risk.

In August last year, the Art of Peace Foundation released an album titled Songs of Tibet with its release coinciding with the Beijing Olympic Games. The Chinese government responded by blocking access to iTunes for a short period of time.

Similarly, it was reported in March 2008 that following a Bjork concert in which she made a direct link between her song ‘Declare Independence’ and the struggle for freedom in Tibet, Chinese officials suggested that in the future all foreign artists would be screened prior to gaining entry to the country.

This essentially opens the door to the further regulation of free speech in China. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression, whilst not exactly the same, are arguably so closely related as to come within the ambit of the same fundamental human right. Expression concerns not that which is simply spoken but that which is expressed in other ways – in this case music – but in other examples recognised by western legal systems, expression has been seen to encompass a wide range of communicative activities including those taking a physical form.

In Levy v Victoria [1997] HCA 31 Brennan CJ stated (at page 5):

Speech is the chief vehicle by which ideas about government and political are communicated. Hence it is natural to regard the freedom of communication about government and political implied in the constitution as a freedom of speech. But actions as well as words can communicate ideas. In the United States where “freedom of speech” is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, non-verbal activity which expresses ideas may be protected as a form of speech. Thus a “protest by silent and reproachful presence” or by a burning of the flag of the United States have been held to be protected by the First Amendment....

The freedom of discussion implied in the Constitution of the Commonwealth, unlike the subject of protection under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, does not require consideration of the connotation of “speech” or of the conduct which might be thought to constitute a form of speech. The implication denies legislative or executive power to restrict the freedom of communication about the government or politics of the Commonwealth, whatever be the form of communication, unless the restriction is imposed to fulfil a legitimate purpose and the restriction is appropriate and adapted to the fulfilment of that purpose. In principle, therefore, non-verbal conduct which is capable of communicating an idea about the government or politics of the Commonwealth and which is intended to do so may be immune from legislative or executive restriction so far as that immunity is needed to preserve the system of representative and responsible government that the Constitution prescribes.

Music with overt political characteristics is clearly a form of speech or expression that comes within the globally recognised standard of human rights and yet in this case the Chinese government appear to be restricting the opportunities for its reception by attempting to control what comes into the country. Music of this nature has the ability to empower, educate and mobilise citizens often to address injustices and to create awareness of the potential for, and prevent, future disasters. However, here the Chinese government is seeking to restrict access to music, under the guise of piracy prevention, for its own political purposes which include restricting the access of its citizens to information about current events.

As I wrote in the paper I presented to the International Association for the Study of Popular Music in Liverpool earlier this year, ‘moral progress is a part of social progress and refers to changing attitudes to concepts such as freedom, equality, justice and truth. Social and moral progress depend heavily on knowledge and are affected (and effected) by the production and reception of information.’ (Bierstedt, 282). If China censors music by limiting the messages that citizens can receive, there will inevitably be a restriction to social progress and perhaps even retrogression.

Further Reading
Digital Music News, Instead of Anti-Piracy, China Offers Music Censorship... (9 September 2009) <http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/090809china> at 10 September 2009

MacWorldUK, China tightens rules for online music providers (7 September 2009) <http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/index.cfm?newsid=27099> at 10 September 2009

The Register, iTunes, and Sting, banned from China (22 August 2008) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/22/itunes_blocked_china_tibet/> at 28 August 2008

The Register, China pardons iTunes (but not Sting) (26 August 2008) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/26/china_pardons_itunes/> at 28 August 2008

TechDirt, China Realizes It Doesn't Need To Block All Of iTunes (26 August 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080825/2219562089.shtml> at 28 August 2008

Digital Music News, iTunes Reinstated In China... Tibet Album Now Included (27 August 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/082608ituneschina> at 28 August 2008

TechDirt, China Blocks iTunes After Olympic Athletes Download Pro-Tibetan Music (21 August 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080821/0312442052.shtml> at 25 August 2008

guardian.co.uk, China blocks iTunes music store (21 August 2008) <http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/aug/21/china.blocks.itunes> at 25 August 2008

Digital Music News, Will the Ban Boost Sales? Tibet Album Pushes Past 10,000 (22 August 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/082108tibet> at 25 August 2008

Digital Music News, Great Firewall Growls: China Blocks iTunes Access (21 August 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/082008itunes> at 22 August 2008

The Age, iTunes blocked in China after protest stunt (21 August 2008) <http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/itunes-blocked-in-china-after-protest-stunt/2008/08/20/1219262358153.html> at 22 August 2008

OpenContentAustralia, Bjork in China (11 March 2008) http://ocarr.blogspot.com/2008/03/bjork-in-china.html> at 10 September 2009

Bierstedt, Robert. 1974. Power and Progress McGraw Hill, New York

The Age: The Herd

Just a note to suggest that you check out this recent article by the Melbourne newspaper, The Age. The article writes about the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock, the lack of protest music today and the changes in technology that effect/affect they way that political messages are presented and received. Interesting article and well worth taking a look at:

The Age, Spirit of Protest is Alive, Just Different (15 August 2009) <http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/spirit-of-protest-is-alive-just-different-20090814-el5e.html> 2 September 2009

Absence

Hi just a note to say that due to the illness of a family member I have been unable to post to his page - sorry for the interruption and any inconvenience. I hope to be able to post again soon and thank you for your understanding.

GetUp are increasing the pressure on the Australian Government in an attempt to prevent the introduction of a widespread censorship program - from their latest email:

A decision on the Government's internet censorship filter could be just weeks away. It's crunch time for our campaign.

Live trials are nearly complete on the filter technology which will allow the government of the day to add any 'unwanted' site to a secret blacklist. This isn't China, Saudi Arabia or Iran - we could see a mandatory filter of all internet traffic right here in Australia as early as this year.

The Government could yet put the internet filter where it belongs: in the bin. But that will only happen if politicians feel the heat in their home electorates.

At this crucial time, can you contact your local MP about internet censorship?

Yes - I will request a meeting
Yes - I will send a message

103,564 Australians. That's how many of us have fought together to uphold our democratic principles.

Now let's make sure our politicians see how passionate (and how many) we are.

Picture the scene in your local politician's electorate office. The fax machine is running out of paper - it has a pile of messages every morning. Staffers have received dozens of meeting requests and the telephone message-bank is full. Voters have made it clear: draconian and unaccountable internet censorship is unacceptable in Australia.

Can you make it happen before politicians return Canberra in a fortnight?

Yes - I will request a meeting
Yes - I will send a message

Since we started this campaign in May, it has been revealed that the Government's secret blacklist includes everything from euthanasia and abortion sites to local dentists and tuckshops. It's easy to see how this filter would be open to abuse. We all want our children to be safe online, but the proposed internet filter will miss the vast majority of unwanted content while limiting our online freedoms and holding back the digital economy.

Now is the time to put this internet censorship plan to rest. Thanks for being part of the campaign.

In hope,
The GetUp team.

PS - A decision on the Government's plan to censor the internet may be only weeks away. Fax your local representative today or request a meeting with them to stop internet censorship and protect our democratic values.

Sal

Off The Grid

Just a note to let you know that I will be away for the next week and will not be posting to this site.

Sally

RIP: A Remix Manifesto

I have been a little slow to write about the film RIP: A Remix Manifesto - it has been available to stream for a short time now but I wanted to get a copy of the film that I could keep before deciding whether or not it might be included in my research.

After some delay in gaining access to the film - Australian's cannot download from iTunes USA nor is it available outside the USA from the official website - I finally got a copy off eBay. (It was advertised as a Region 1 DVD but it turns out it has no region coding at all. I have an old DVD player which I was guessing/gambling would have played the Region 1 DVD anyway).

This is a great film which discusses remix culture and the incredible imposition of copyright law. It primarily focuses on the music remix artist Girl Talk however also discusses mashups of other forms of culture as well as the more open attitude to culture taken in countries such as Brazil. With a number of similarities to the movie GoodCopyBadCopy, this film differs largley in the way that is is made - it itself in parts is a mashup of culture, some old and some new.

Indeed, there are a number of curious aspects to the way the film has been put together. At first I wondered whether these would amount to embarrassing errors - for example, it is specifically stated that this film is about a war over ideas however it is an elementary error to say that copyright law regulates ideas. Copyright law in fact regulates expression and is expressly differentiated from laws that regulate ideas. Other intellectual property law such as patents regulate ideas.

In addition to this, the movie characterises Napster1 as being a decentralised file sharing network when of course it is well known that Napster1 was in fact a centralised file sharing network - it required a centralised server in order to index and pass files from one user to another.

Why would this film state two obvious errors? (perhaps there are more that musicians or remix artists would find that are not obvious to me).

It is my view that this is done deliberately to act as an illustration. By including errors in the film, this film serves as the perfect example as to why we should be entitled to remix. Culture of the past is often imperfect, can be added to, altered or changed in a way that makes it more relevant, useful and (in this case for those of us with a background in law) more enjoyable. It is my belief that the errors in this film are intended to invite discussion as well as corrections. If so, I consider this to be a brave tactical decision and one which enables further promotion of the film, increased relevance in the future, as well as aiding in the wider dissemination of the central messages of the film through ensuring people discuss it. [I also wondered whether it might be to bait IP lawyers to remix it in case the creator is sued and he needs some back up.... :-) ]

Just as music mashed up by GirlTalk in part gains its popularity through the ability of people to relate to the samples of songs they already know, any adaptation of this film would refer to the original at the same time as serving as a new creation. In fact in parts of the film, remixes of this very film are used. Completely displacing the notion that the purchased copy is a finished product, the creator has allowed all of the footage of the film to be uploaded to the internet and openly invites others to remix it.

Indeed the very fact that I was unable to purchase this film except via eBay and only then if it would work in my DVD player serves as a further example of the impossibility of the staggered releases of record labels and other media organisations, as well as the impediments of DRM. Of course I would try to purchase the film from eBay (as I am sure many other people have). The creator appears to be very cleverly demonstrating the futility of trying to close culture when the internet is always on and will always allow people to connect and share regardless of the attempts to prevent this. At present it is not even possible to purchase the film for private use in Australia - I could only view the copy I have because of what American's call the First Sale Doctrine. Had this copy been Region 1 encoded and had I not had an old DVD player my rights would have been lost altogether.

OR MAYBE there are no errors in the film at all and this is a lesson in not buying from the authorised supplier? How do I know I have the 'official' copy? perhaps it is a mashed up pirate version... I doubt it, I checked the sellers reputation and store but it is an interesting aspect to the experience of trying to get a copy of this film and the nature of its subject.

I am in the process of trying to organise a non commercial use license to show this film at the Southern Cross University Mixed Up Reels Flim Club night on 8th September 2009 (I am told the licesend copy of the film will arrive next Monday so ...fingers crossed... )

If you're not nearby - stream it, go along to see it at one of the other screenings, or buy it. You will be impressed by the creativity of the footage, the clarity of the message as well as be inspired to become a creator. Great flick!

FridgyDidge

I just love this photo of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's fridge - it's cool! (pun intended).

Licensed under: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Generic 2.0 License
Quinnums PhotoStream Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinn/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Recent Developments

Two things have occurred this week that are worth a brief mention.

The first is a campaign by Get Up to challenge donations to political parties. Urging Australians to sign a petition to stop corporate and third party political donations as well as cap the amount of money individuals donate to campaigns their email states:

Politicians are elected to work for their employers - the Australian people. But someone else is writing their cheques: to the tune of millions of dollars. Will you join us in calling for an end to corporate and third-party political donations?

Developers given unfettered access to public land; mining companies' rights trumping traditional owners'; childcare services next to poker machines - we may get to vote every few years, but can we match the influence of large corporate donors?

Who's going to change it? The political parties addicted to big dollar corporate sponsorship? This change has to come from those who have a legitimate say over how the country is run: the Australian people. And we need to seize this rare opportunity, while the issue is in the headlines.

I have written previously about Public Choice Theory and how powerful corporate actors in essence dictate policy with respect to intellectual property law here. I refer to the disablement of public governance structures through political campaigns and financial pressure as in effect creating conditions of Private Governance which is perpetuated throughout the world through international treaties and free trade agreements.

Those interested in reading more about the campaign and signing the petition should visit:
www.getup.org.au/campaign/TheBucksStopHere


The second development worth mentioning is the handing down of a preliminary decision in the case of Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd v EMI Songs Australia Pty Limited [2009] FCA 799. This case concerns allegations of copyright infringement against EMI and the composers of the famous Australian song ‘Down Under’ who are alleged to have used a substantial portion of the song ‘Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree’. While Jacobson J does not consider the substantive copyright argument in the preliminary decision, he has determined that copyright does vest with Larrikin Music Publishing and that the copyright claim can proceed.

Plagiarism was initially raised as an issue on the popular Australian music quiz show Spicks and Specks two years ago. If copyright infringement is established the award of damages is likely to be very high given the popularity of the ‘Down Under’ song.

Australia’s Digital Economy: Future Directions

I wrote recently about a report released by the Australian Government called: Australia’s Digital Economy: Future Directions and how the Government is considering the positive and negative impacts of three strikes policies. I wrote to Senator Conroy this week outlining the nature and aims of these proposals, provided a summary of the current state of three strikes programs around the world, outlined the reasons as to why this is a counter productive and unnecessary approach and discussed the most appropriate alternative that should be employed instead – a voluntary or compulsory licensing scheme.

Here’s what I wrote about viable alternatives:

The fact remains that there are far better alternatives available to the government and the music industry to ensure that financial rewards remain for the production of content. These include voluntary collective licensing or the blanket licensing of music. Differing primarily in whether consumers and copyright holders are forced to participate, these schemes enable users to pay a flat monthly fee for the unlimited access to music, use technology to track the downloading of songs and use the collected funds to compensate artists for the use of their works. Whilst requiring some development to be introduced, such a scheme would enable the unrestricted exploration of culture, increase competition in the creative sector by providing an even playing field that does not operate in favour of strong media corporations and address all of the concerns raised above.

Proposals have been developed in the United States by the likes of Professor Fisher, Professor Netanel and the Electronic Frontiers Foundations. At present in the United States, Choruss, a corporation set up with connections to Warner Music, are trialling licensing schemes of this nature in colleges. Trails have also been undertaken by Professor Fisher at Harvard University in other countries.

There is real potential to implement a licensing system in Australia. ABS data as at December 2008 states that there are 6,680,000 Australian non dial up subscribers. Applying a monthly tax to these subscribers of $5.31 per month would recoup the entire sales of the Australian Recording Industry Association for 2008 - $425,638,008. Over a 12month period each non dial up connection would go up $63.72. While on the face of it this appears to be a fairly minor increase, other options are also available - this simply represents the maximum cost placed on the maximum number of people.

A broadband levy or licence could also be scaled to accommodate only the loss of income to the record industry. Taking the peak of 2001 where total sales were $647,620,000 and relating this to the total sales for 2008 of $425,638,008 shows a total drop in sales of $221,981,992. To simply recoup the difference, broadband subscriptions would rise by only $2.77 per month. The levy could be adjusted annually to accommodate the changes in lost income and the number of subscribers. As the number of broadband subscribers increases the monthly levy would be reduced.

Another option would be to spread the levy to include dial up services as well and implement a tiered structure. In this scenario, dial up services would increase by as little as $1 per month, reducing the impact on broadband subscribers. While all internet users would be supporting the music industry, those with the faster connections and greater capacity to download music would pay more of the costs.

Creative Commons and the Curse of Verification

I am a huge fan of Creative Commons. Many people do not know that I was actually the one that initiated the development of the Australian Creative Commons Licenses. I attended the internet law program at Stanford University in 2003 where Lawrence Lessig lectured on internet regulation and the Creative Commons project. I told Professor Brian Fitzgerald at the Queensland University of Technology about it and he agreed to supervise my independent research project the next semester on this area. I mention this as a prelude to what I am writing about today because I want to be clear that I support this organisation and am very much in agreement with their goals and ethics (note that both of my blogs are licensed under Creative Commons Licenses).

It is with some concern that I have read that the new licence verification system introduced to Google Image Search which is designed to assist users to find and use images which are openly licensed, is proving to be less than successful. Many people have licensed works incorrectly and as such the technology is reported to be producing a number of false positives – that is - listing files that are in fact under copyright.

A few years ago, over the course of a year (2006), I attempted a statistical analysis of Creative Commons Licenses in Limewire and much the same took place. The Limewire software, in co-operation with Creative Commons, enables people to tag files as being openly licensed and allows users to verify the existence of these licenses. Right clicking on a file gives the user the option of ‘viewing the file’ and when viewing the file the user has the option of 'verifying the file'. By clicking on the verification link the software automatically goes to the web page that the uploader has given and checks that the license is on the given page.

More times that I care to state this technology was faulty. Many times uploaders incorrectly tagged files as being openly licensed when they were not. Other times the verification link would link to a page that had a Creative Commons license but was not the correct page for that file. These results, while highly disruptive and very very annoying, can be attributed to uploaders being ignorant or deliberaltely doing the wrong thing. However in other circumstances, the verification link would report that the file could not be verified and yet when one went to the web page that was listed with the file, there was in fact a Creative Commons license on the page and it was for the correct artist.

Reading today about these similar problems with image verification brought back the intense frustration I felt at the time of doing that statistical analysis. What I was trying to establish (with, as it turned out, less than perfect research design) was that there was a growing trend of correctly licensed Creative Commons files. My results did in fact show an increasing trend, however the process or method involved in verifying each license was exhausting and time consuming because I could not rely at all on what the technology told me. Before writing this blog post I went into Limewire to see if it had changed but it hasn’t. There were many files which were clearly uploaded and tagged incorrectly and others that did not verify that should have – Brad Sucks is on Jamendo and is openly licensed but the verification process in Limewire will tell you that it can't be verified.

Many a time I sat there and questioned the effectiveness of this technology.

And yet here again a similar mechanism has been put in place and the system is reported to be achieving the same results.

My concern here is two fold.

Firstly I worry about the artists that are genuinely trying to use open licensing and file sharing networks as part of their business or communication model. This mechanism does little to make the process of negotiating a file sharing network like Limewire much easier. While it is good to have the search mechanism in place the results are far too inconsistent to suggest that it is sufficiently effective.

Secondly I worry about Creative Commons. From my view these imperfect technologies open the organisation up to a secondary copyright liability claim. Just as file sharing networks state that it is up to the public to use their technology lawfully and that they are not responsible for the illegality that takes place, so too Creative Commons appear to distance themselves from responsibility. However there is scope in my mind to suggest that knowingly producing and promoting technology that has the potential to ‘induce’ or mislead a user into thinking something is licensed when it is not, is a dangerous game to play.

Just as the likes of Lawrence Lessig (and myself) advocate for the registration of copyrights, so too should Creative Commons be doing more to ensure that works are correctly licensed. While I understand the logistics of this are immense and the costs prohibitive, the answer does not lie in releasing technology that works, at best, once in a while. I appreciate the need for these search mechanisms and they are in some ways better than nothing but the risk here is that the whole organisation could be held liable for secondary copyright infringement. It would be an unpopular lawsuit but the disclaimers are simply not enough.

In the USA Grokster case and in the Kazaa case in Australia the same arguments were made – that the users were responsible, that it was not the primary purpose of the technology, and that they disclaimed liability; and this was not enough. I hope that those at Creative Commons have better arguments than these otherwise there could be trouble ahead.

I am a huge supporter of this organisation please don’t mistake this criticism as anything other than genuine concern. This litigious environment has had many casualties and I would hate to see this organisation on that list.

Further Reading
The Register, The tragedy of the Creative Commons (16 July 2009) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/16/creative_commons_fail/> at 22 July 2009