Complement - Re: [A2k] Iceland to become a model for freedom of communication

[Philippe Aigrain (perso)]

Dear Peter and Federico,

If I may try to reconcile your apparently contradictory statements:

- There is documented evidence that internet and in particular true P2P
file sharing does increase diversity of attention and favours attention
to (a significant number of) new artists

- However, it is also true that this increased attention does not
materialise in most cases in sufficient income. The reason for it is
simply that the people who control the income channels (concert tours
and programming for concert halls, radio, collective management in
particular for neighbouring rights and levies redistribution, record
publishing, promotion for download and streaming platforms) have no
interest in creating diversity in revenues. Even today, the profit per
album of a CD published the majors has never stopped increasing, but
that's at the cost of ever more concentrated promotion. The collective
management societies are controlled by an alliance of heirs of rights, a
few established artists and some special interest groups. Concentration
in concerts is a hugely problematic competition problem.

So Federico, yes, a mutualised (among all internet users) funding for
the reward to artists and funding of production (for media where it is
needed) of works used over the Internet makes sense. And Peter, it is
better argued for not in terms of overall income but in terms of
providing support to creative activity by a much larger group of
artists. Further more, it will fail to reach this target if the overall
market is not made more open for all income channels, if collective
management is not drastically democratized in favour of living, not
established and voluntarily sharing artists, and if we keep speaking of
"right holders" instead of speaking of people who contribute and serve
creative works.

Philippe

Philippe

Peter Jenner a =E9crit :
> Fede
>
> Both live music and recorded music is increasingly dominated by old 'heri=
tage' acts and TV promoted 'pop idols'.
> Fewer new artists are being signed and many medium sized artists are bein=
g squeezed out.
> Recorded music is vital as a marketing and promotional tool to let people=
 know what is happening in music outside of their own immediate environment=
. Consequently it is becoming harder and harder for new artists to come thr=
ough , and for older artists to continue with their chosen career
> Let me also say that the revenues derived from digital go overwhelmingly =
to the record companies, and I suspect that you and I agree that they are t=
he major problem.
> If you want to say that musicians don't 'need' to become millionaires I c=
annot disagree, but I suspect that some have to become millionaires for man=
y more to make a living.
> I wish we could meet to discuss this issue, as it applies to music now , =
but soon it will apply to many other creative activities. Without the shoe =
shop there is no market for shoe designers, or shoe makers. Without Sony an=
d Microsoft and Dell and Google there would be no broadband all over the pl=
ace, and nowhere for free software to go.  Without music there would be a l=
ot fewer people with broadband. If you want it you have to pay for it, or f=
ind someone to pay for it for you.
> I could, and do , go on !
>
> Peter
>
>
> On 18/02/2010 17:46, "Frederico Heinz" <fheinz@vialibre.org.ar> wrote:
>
> On 18/02/2010, Peter Jenner wrote:
>> the fact that internet distribution has had a bad effect on creators inc=
omes
>> and is a cause for much anxiety.
>
> Peter, you keep exaggerating: Internet distribution has had a bad effect =
on the
> income of *some* artists. At the same time, it has had a good effect on t=
he
> income of others, and it would seeem to me that the positively affected
> outnumber the negatively affected ones, as you would expect when income g=
ets
> distributed more evenly.
>
> I'm sure you are familiar with this Times Online article that makes exact=
ly
> this point, using data from the music industry itself:
>
>     <http://labs.timesonline.co.uk/blog/2009/11/12/do-music-artists-do-be=
tter-in-a-world-with-illegal-file-sharing/>
>
>         Fede
>
>