2010
In March 2010 A2IM filed comments with the FCC related to Net Neutrality, perhaps the biggest issue facing our community. Our statement highlighted the unique economic needs of the independent music community and the need to balance access versus the need to eliminate illegal acquisition of music.
In August Google and Verizon issued a joint statement which proposed two exceptions from net neutrality, the first related to “specialized services” that would be delivered via a separate internet pipe/service and the second related to mobile wireless internet access.
On October 12th A2IM filed revised comments in response to the Google/Verizon proposed exceptions noting that “we fear that the creation of these two exceptions from net neutrality could cause entrepreneurs and innovators, among which independent music labels must be counted, and the technology services that provide distribution services to our music label members to be foreclosed from competitive internet access, either by being priced out of the most desirable delivery mechanisms or by being squeezed out due to a drain on capacity in a “public pipe.”
We continued to note that “Independent music labels must have the ability to participate in a legitimate digital music marketplace as it continues its evolution. Yet the combination of these two net neutrality exceptions could result in new barriers and an anticompetitive situation for our music label members in terms of reaching consumers for the promotion of both music and commerce. Furthermore, the marketplace itself would be injured by not being able to benefit from the innovations that will ultimately help it reach its full commercial and cultural potential, with vital and ongoing contributions from our community of creators and innovators.”
Below is our A2IM filing with the FCC.
We seek your feedback and any questions you may have about Net Neutrality or the A2IM statement.
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Tags: Advocacy, FCC, net neutrality
