Roadshow v iiNet

For those that havent yet caught up the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has determined that iiNet are not responsible for the infringement on their networks. In a strong statement for ISP independence in this country the court held that simply providing the infrastructure of the internet does not mean that ISPs are liable for the actions of their users. The court writes [Emmett J at 257]:

...while the evidence supports a conclusion that iiNet demonstrated a dismissive and, indeed, contumelious, attitude to the complaints of infringement by the use of its services, its conduct did not amount to authorisation of the primary acts of infringement on the part of iiNet users. Before the failure by iiNet to suspend or terminate its customers’ accounts would constitute authorisation of future acts of infringement, the Copyright Owners would be required to show that at least the following circumstances exist:

• iiNet has been provided with unequivocal and cogent evidence of the alleged primary acts of infringement by use of the iiNet service in question. Mere assertion by an entity such as AFACT, with whatever particulars of the assertion may be provided, would not, of itself, constitute unequivocal and cogent evidence of the doing of acts of infringement. Information as to the way in which the material supporting the allegations was derived, that was adequate to enable iiNet to verify the accuracy of the allegations, may suffice. Verification on oath as to the precise steps that were adopted in order to obtain or discern the relevant information may suffice but may not be necessary.
• The Copyright Owners have undertaken:
  • to reimburse iiNet for the reasonable cost of verifying the particulars of the primary acts of infringement alleged and of establishing and maintaining a regime to monitor the use of the iiNet service to determine whether further acts of infringements occur, and
  • to indemnify iiNet in respect of any liability reasonably incurred by iiNet as a consequence of mistakenly suspending or terminating a service on the basis of allegations made by the Copyright Owner.

This is not a unanimous decision and is likely to be appealed - in particular there was much discussion as to whether iiNet had actually implemented its policy with respect to infringing activity and dispute as to whether the safe harbour applied. Stay tuned for the next episode.

Further Reading
Roadshow Films Pty Limited v iiNet Limited [2011] FCAFC 23 (24 February 2011) < http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FCAFC/2011/23.html > at 25 February 2011

Acting in Concert Part 1

The most recent book I have read (yes I am in a reading phase at the moment) is a text called ‘Acting in Concert: Music, Community and Political Action’ by Mark Mattern. Of particular relevance to my thesis, Mattern covers some important ground with respect to the meaning of democratic community and by examining its link to popular music and how it builds bridges between individuals by acting as a medium of communication that overrides societal boundaries [pg 7]. This will be a multi post review with the notion of community considered first.

Community represents a theoretical and practical means through which disparate individuals come to recognize and act upon common concerns and interests, negotiate differences, and assert themselves in public arenas. The communities that musicians have helped to form and sustain provide the social basis for political action that would be difficult or impossible among individuals who are not tied together thin this way [pg 4-5]... I argue that popular music can be the social glue for creating and maintaining diverse communities; that these communities support several distinct forms of collective political action including intracommuncal disagreement and debate as well as assertion in external public arenas and that music can increase the capacity, or power, of relatively marginalized people to choose and determine their own fate. [pg 6]

Chapter 1: Popular Music and Community
In the first chapter Mattern seeks to answer the questions: What is Community? How is it tied to popular music? [pg 9] Of particular interest to him is Democratic Community that has freedom and equality as its basic principles [pg 10 & 12].

He starts by noting that there are many different types of community and many differing justifications for it [pg 6]. In establishing what community is, it is necessary to look beyond mere commonalities but it can be very difficult to establish in the abstract [pg 9]. He writes:

[C]ommunities are defined by specific common traits of political identity, political commitment, memory, history tradition, and culture; by variations in their degree of openness; and in their size and scope... I am interested in a specifically democratic concept of community that is consistent with diversity, supports collective political action and a strong form of democracy, and potentially encompasses extensive populations and geographical regions as well as local settings. [pg 9-10]

Here, he writes, community is justified on the basis of the need to take political action and disagreements are worked out in a democratic fashion rather than enabling the pursuit of self interest as a priority [pg 10-11]:

A political conception of community links community to collective action by providing a framework for recognising and acting upon shared interests and for negotiating and contesting divergent interests. Community is here conceived of as a social basis for political action but not as political action per se. It is an “overlapping and intermediate realm between personal and public environments”... The actual work of politics builds upon, but is not the same as, communal life. The Key challenge lies in finding or creating some semblance of unity in diversity that, however temporary, uneven, and slight enables individuals to engage in collective political action to address shared interests and to negotiate divergent ones...[pg 11]

So, community depends on finding common ground from which political action can take place [pg 11]. For a democratic community to be formed there needs to be commitment to freedom and equality, as well as a common political identity, civic skills and disposition that includes a sense of personal and shared responsibility, a common appreciation of their own as well as others rights, self government skills and a desire to serve others as well as themselves [pg 13].

In response to criticism he writes:

Some critics allege that community is only possible in local neighbourhood settings. Implicitly or explicitly, these critics argue that community requires intimate, face-to-face relations to sustain the common bonds of community. Even some defenders of community make this claim. But this view is a mistake that hinges on an implicit assumption about the nature of communication that brings community into being and sustains it... Most political theorists mistakenly reduce communication to speech, while some theorists and critics of community mistakenly reduce the term even further to speech among neighbours... Even local community need not rely entirely on direct personal interactions, given the many forms of communication possible today: not only traditional print and broadcast media such as newspapers and network television but also burgeoning alternative forms such as electronic mail, the Internet, and cable television market tied closely to distinct neighbourhoods, communities, and cities [pg 14].

Further Reading
Mark Mattern, Acting in Concert: Music, Community and Political Action (1998) < http://www.amazon.com/Acting-Concert-Community-Political-Action/dp/0813524849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1298511593&sr=8-1 > at 24 February 2011

Radio Berkman - Rethink Music Podcast Series I, II & III

I've spent today catching up on some podcasts from Radio Berkman which are being released as a Rethink Music series.

The first of theses was an outline of the Rethink Music conference to be held in Boston later in the year and being run by the Berkman Centre and Berklee Music. Allen Bargfrede, a digital music lawyer and Assistant Professor in the Music Business Department at Berklee, and Chris Bavitz, Assistant Director of the Berkman Center’s Cyberlaw Clinic and Clinical Instructor and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School discuss the nature of the conference as being solutions oriented. They talk about how digital distribution is becoming the default for the music industry, and note that the decision to be a musician these days is very different to what it used to be with the need to be committed to engaging with fans and developing an online community. They note that in the past ten years there has been around 120 music start ups on the web with only 5 of these currently being profitable. As such the conference and the associated competitions for a new business model and policy proposals seek to establish the road for musicians in the future and this is what sets them apart from the other conferences that are run in this field.

The second podcast was an interview with two artists, Amanda Palmer and Donald Glover. Palmer outlines her past with the Dresden Dolls and reveals that their signing to a major label was never seen as being financially beneficial but rather opened opportunities to develop a wider audience through promotions. She notes that these days as a solo artist she gives away her music for free because viral marketing leads to more people at her concerts. She states that musicians need to be realistic about making money and does not believe they can demand payment - she says that downloading her music is not a negative thing and it does not cost her any time and energy. When she released an album of Radiohead cover songs she charged 84c for the album - 54c of this went to Radiohead with the other 30c covering paypal transaction charges. She sees success as being able to support herself without a day job rather than the superstar lifestyle and encourages other artists to define their goals in this way. Donald Glover also releases music for free having released 11 albums without charge. He states that he is just happy to get his music out there for others to hear and does not believe there is any money to be made from selling music but rather that live concert performances are the best option for this. He believes information is fluid and comments on the reuse of music as being a positive, cyclical thing.

The third podcast is an interview with Nancy Baym of the University of Kansas on building genuine relationships with fans and the development on online communities. This is an interesting interview which explores participatory models where fans are encouraged to part take in decisions with respect to various musicians. Baym states that these days musicians are expected to be technologically literate and enabled and must be good at socialising online. She states that while there is no easy formulaic model for transforming an online community into something that can be monetised that it can be achieved in some cases. She would like to see further developments in online communities in the future - in particular the acceptance of decentralisation in the music industry enabling more remixes of songs, downloads, competitions for alternative videos for songs, fan fiction and fan based merchandising.

These were three great podcasts and worth the short time to listen to them - below are the addresses for each of the podcasts.

Further Listening
Radio Berkman 168, Rethinking Music, Part I – Creativity, Commerce, and Policy (19 November 2010) < http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mediaberkman/2010/11/19/radio-berkman-168-rethinking-music-part-i-creativity-commerce-and-policy/ > at 17 February 2011

Radio Berkman 173, The Portrait of the Self-Published Artist (Rethinking Music II) < http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/podcasts/radioberkman173 > at 17 February 2011

Radio Berkman 174, Radio Berkman 174: The Neverending Concert (Rethink Music III) < http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/podcasts/radioberkman174 > at 17 February 2011

The cHook

I dont know where to start with this article - I hate people who characterise the internet as something 'new'. Its been around for donkeys years already and massive changes to the way music is experienced has been around for more than ten years. Its disappointing that this article didnt give a voice to those with the opposite view point - and there are many. This attempt at discussing the value of music is nothing if not repetitive of out dated arguments and a narrow view of the music industry. I do appreciate the suggestion at the end that collection societies may have a greater role in the future but suggestions of 'theft' and analogies to road safety are ridiculous. Take a look if you can be bothered.

Further Reading
The Music Network, 'The Hook: Do we need to accept that music should be free?' (15 February 2011) < http://www.themusicnetwork.com/music-features/industry/2011/02/15/the-hook-do-we-need-to-accept-that-music-should-be-free/ > at 15 February 2011

The Seed

Applications are now being accepted for The Seed - an arts grant program in Australia initially begun by John Butler but now being supported by a number of Australian artists. The categories for this year are:

• Management Workshop - 25x
• Publicise It - 3x grants of up to $5000
• Art for the Public - 1x grant of up to $5000
• SkinnyFish - $18,750 in performance fees for remote Indigenous musicians

If you are interested in any of these grants you can read more about applying here and here. Applications close Friday 8th April 2011 with successful applicants being notified by the 16th May 2011.

While I am at it I should also mention that there is only one week left to apply for the Hilltop Hoods grant program that I wrote about late last year.

Rockin' The Boat

I have been reading a book titled "Rockin' the Boat: Mass Music and Mass Movements" edited by Reebee Garofalo. I am researching further into the history of protest music and found two parts of this text worthy of further mention - one being Indigenous Australians and their use of political song and the other being the history of women's music.

1. Indigenous Australians and political song
Writing with respect to the Stolen Generation, Marcus Breen writes about the Indigenous artist Archie Roach:

Roach reinforced the agony of enforced isolation from the black family with 'Took the Children Away', which unequivocally articulated black Australian's pain; while challenging white assumptions about black rights and progress toward equality. 'Took the Children Away' almost reached the Top 40 charts in Australia in late 1990, opening up a new era of involvement within the mainstream music establishment. That Roach himself had experienced this appalling government policy, surviving to sing about it, made the song more poignant still..."[pg 150]

Breen also notes the impact of public radio in ensuring that independent artists could be heard.[pg 158] He notes that in the mid to late 1970s more Indigenous artists were played on radio opening up new audiences and influencing white Australians. Furthermore, in 1983 with the election of the Hawke Labour Government Indigenous issues were transformed from a focus on land rights to a plethora of other areas of activism [pg 159]:

The floodgates were opened and music was the bearer of the news and the means of articulating ideas and issues that needed to find a concentrated form [pg 159]... In the 1980s, the vast and mostly unhappy history of Aboriginal people began to appear in music [pg 160]

Breen goes on to note the part played by two Indigenous bands, Us Mob and No Fixed Address in bring Indigenous issues to a broader audience with both appearing in the film Wrong Side of the Road [pg 161]. The establishment of Indigenous Media by CAAMA (Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association) and the birth of the Indigenous radio station led to the need to record more Indigenous artists [pg 162-164].

2. The History of Women's Music
In documenting the history or women's music and discussing the relationship between women's music of the 1970s and the flow on effects to the new wave of women's music in the 1980s and 1990s with artists such as Tracy Chapman and Michelle Shocked and k.d. lang, Cynthia M. Lont writes:

Women's music was originally defined as music by women, for women, about women, and financially controlled by women. By this definition, a song written by women, about women, and for women would not be considered a part of women's music if it were recorded on a major label. This alternative music industry was originally called lesbian music because many felt the music was started by lesbians for lesbians. Others believed the music was started by heterosexual feminists and taken over by lesbian-feminists when they broke away from the women's liberation movement in the early 1970s. [pg 242]

Women's music grew out of the left counterculture movements with fragments from the students movement and the Civil Rights movement [pg 243]. Lont writes:

The existence of women's music (the lyrics, the music, and its support structure) directly opposed the patriarchal culture in which mainstream popular music existed... The absence of positive women's images within popular music paralleled a lack of opportunities for female performers [pg 243].

Artists such as Lavender Jane were ground breakers in this field [pg 244]. This was furthered by the creation of a women's music record label, Olivia Records [pg 245]. In the late 1970s a distribution network was also established. Called WILD (Women's Independent Labels Distributors) relied heavily on volunteers to distribute new music [pg 246]. This coincided with the beginning of women's music festivals such as The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival in 1976 [pg 246]. By the 1980s the women's music market was saturated with albums [pg 247]. This led to a move towards the mainstream by Olivia Records with others in the field working more closely with other social movements to try to stay afloat financially. WILD started to include non women's music within the distribution network and female artists started to be signed by the major record labels with this now being seen as a positive move to ensure a larger audience were exposed to the messages within the music [pg 249 - 251]. Some of the key elements of the women's music movement were lost:

As one reads about the new breed, one also reads about their managers, men; the musicians with whom they work, men; the distributors of their albums, men. From this perspective little has changed [pg 252].

The second wave of women's music was more heavily dependent on major record labels and lost some of its veracity:

Though mainstream female performers from Tina Turner to Laurie Anderson chipped away at the stale stereotyped male image of the female performer, the mainstream success of Susan Vega's sons "Luka"... created avenues for a new breed of pop women... Tracy Chapman, Phranc, Ferron, Melissa Etheridge and Michelle Shocked, got their first boost from women's msuic audiences. Other performers, like k.d. lang, resemble the lesbian images women's music has always protrayed [pg 249 - 250].

In some cases these artists do not openly acknowledge their sexuality unless they are speaking directly with the gay and lesbian press [pg 250 - 251].

Overall Lont concludes;

It is already obvious that women's music has changed as economics and politics have changed. The movement toward mainstream or other politically left groups seems to broadened women's music. The days of complete separateness from other subculture groups is over.

Further Reading
Ed. Reebee Garofalo, Rockin' the Boat: Mass Music and Mass Movements (1992) < http://www.amazon.com/Rockin-Boat-Mass-Music-Movements/dp/0896084272/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297567122&sr=8-1 > at 13 February 2011

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recently launched a new website hosting research on creative industries around the world. Some of the papers are a little old but it is good to see some attempts at collating the information into one space. You can access the site here.

FMC Artists Revenue Research

The Future of Music Coalition is undertaking research into changes in revenue streams for US based artists over the past 10 years. Suggesting that much of the academic work done to date has not had a strong basis in quantitative data, the research seeks to analyse the financial records of selected artists to form a complete picture on what is taking place with respect to the comparative sources of revenue for artists. If you think you would like to take part you can read more about the project on their website.

Further Reading
Future of Music Coalition, FMC Launches Artist Revenue Streams Project (31 January 2011) <http://futureofmusic.org/blog/2011/01/31/fmc-launches-artist-revenue-streams-project > at 7 February 2011

Future of Music Coalition, The 29 Streams (14 October 2009) < http://futureofmusic.org/blog/2009/10/14/29-streams > at 7 February 2011

Future of Music Coalition, Artist Revenue Streams (28 October 2010) < http://futureofmusic.org/article/research/artist-revenue-streams > at 7 February 2011

Future of Music Coalition, Artist Revenue Streams: interview FAQ (undated) < http://futureofmusic.org/article/research/artist-revenue-streams-FAQ > at 7 February 2011

Axis of Awesome

This is a brilliant song by a comedy group in Australia called Axis of Awesome. Some people note that the likelihood of inadvertent plagiarism is complicated by the fact that there are only 12 notes with which to compose with. This band reckon that most popular songs are based on only four chords and demonstrate this - take a look its really funny!



Their YouTube channel is here.

Rouge Sounds David Weir Pt2

As I posted yesterday I have been reading an Exegesis by a former Southern Cross University student, David Weir. The exegesis is titled ‘Mashing Power: Music Re-imaginings of Post 9/11 Political Rhetoric.’ The exegesis is available here and the songs are available on MySpace here. This is an interesting read and worth the effort so take a look for yourself.

Political mashups build on the past
One of the points Weir makes is that political mashups grew out of changes in technology and society. He provides a solid background to protest music and acknowledges prior social movements as the basis for today’s creations. He writes:

[P]olitical mashup is a distinctly contemporary expression in terms of the technologies it deploys and the sensibilities it applies. The practice nonetheless owes much to what has gone before it. As a form of resistance to power it rests upon foundations that are deeply rooted in the soil of past struggles.[pg12]

He writes that the two main historical considerations are that of protest music and cultural activism. [pg12] A detailed discussion with respect to the history of protest music is provided in Chapter 2. Furthermore this chapter sets out the developments in technology that also form the basis for this contemporary art form – namely the use of twin turntables to effect cross fading, scratching and sampling. [pg 25]

What are political mashups?
In chapter 3 Weir discusses the present nature of political mashups, stating:

Political mashup in its post 9/11 form is an oppositional expression arising from the convergence of three separate but intermingled phenomena. First, political developments surrounding the ‘war on terror’, second the proliferation of (slanted) media coverage of the war, and third the dramatic developments in digital technologies that have led to more affordable access to computers, fast internet, peer to peer networks over which music and software can be easily shared, and vast and ever-extending global telecommunications networks.[pg 38]

He goes on to note how technology enables this practice and how it grew out of a fascination and desire to experiment with new technology. [pg 42]

Weir discuses the use of copyright to try to restrict the sampling of sounds and notes that in this instance parody is an important part of the creation of this form of music. [pg 51] He also notes that major record labels that signed rappers often projected an image of violence and sexism as part of their marketing strategy. [pg 51] This aspect was pertinent to Weirs overall goal of practising non violent protest. [pg 56]

Chapter 4 provides a meaningful discussion on how sounds and samples signify. Weir notes Leonard Meyer’s view that signification can be absolute or referential.[pg 65] As a form of quoting, samples provide direct meaning while their recontextualisation provides the new context from which inferences can be made.[pg 68 - 70]

Weir explains his motivations to create tracks that did not draw on the violence of ‘Empire’ [pg 47] nor to create personal attacks against world leaders like Bush, Blair or Howard [pg 79] but rather to create songs that imagined them in a new way.

Distribution
Weir also explains his use of MySpace as his primary distribution tool and notes the importance of this as a technology platform in enabling artists such as himself to reach new audiences. [pg 177] He notes Benkler’s view that the internet has the capacity to enable the development of a ‘new folk culture’ in which individuals have a far greater opportunity to engage in the creative process. [pg 187]

Weir notes the corporate censorship that followed 9/11 with the ‘do not play lists’ circulated through radio stations as well as their consolidated ownership and control .With this he notes that the internet has been a fundamental player in the distribution of politically charged music.[pg 29]

The remainder of the exegesis is not relevant to my research but goes into detail on the source of his samples, the equipment he used, and the process he undertook in producing the works.

Further Reading
Weir, D 2010, 'Mashing power: musical re-imaginings of post-9/11 political rhetoric', PhD thesis, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW. <http://epubs.scu.edu.au/theses/120/> at 2 February 2011

MySpace, David Weir <http://www.myspace.com/davidjweir> at 2 February 2011

Rouge Sounds David Weir

I am reading a thesis by David Weir about post 9/11 political mashups and thought you might like to check out some of his music before I post about it (I've nearly read it all) - check out The Redemption of George W and Howard Repents in particular - his MySpace profile is here.

The Redemption of George W

Find more artists like RogueSounds at Myspace Music

Howard Repents

Find more artists like RogueSounds at Myspace Music