Posted in Advocacy, Events, Uncategorized by A2IM

What

NARM Entertainment Law Conference

Where

Lighthouse International, 111 East 59th Street, New York City

When

September 28, 1-5:30 PM EST

Discussion Topics & Speakers

After YouTube and Veoh: Have Courts (or Congress) Failed Creators or Struck the Right Balance?
Prominent lawyers will debate recent judicial decisions interpreting the DMCA’s notice-and-takedown safe harbor, and discuss business, enforcement and legislative options for all stakeholders.

• Rich Bengloff (A2IM)
• Tom Lane (Winston & Strawn)
• Stanley Pierre-Louis (VP, Associate GC for IP and Content Protection, Viacom)
• Ken Steinthal (Greenberg Traurig)

The Developing Storm of Copyright Termination: Who Wins, Who Loses, and How Will it Really Work?
This panel will discuss the policy rationale underlying copyright termination, the practical challenges and costs of exercising termination rights, and the business opportunities that termination creates.

• Joel Schoenfeld (Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp; former eMusic GC and RIAA GC)
• Neil Rosini (Franklin, Weinreb, Rubell & Vasallo)

The Digital First Sale Doctrine: Who Owns — or Licenses — Digital Products and Content?
This panel will debate several ongoing cases that may define whether purchasers of games, music and business software are “owners” or merely licensees, and whether the first sale doctrine has any continuing viability.

• Veronica Abreu (Director and Counsel, Intellectual Property, eBay)
• Jennifer Pariser (Sr. VP, Litigation and Legal Affairs, RIAA)
• Sandra Aistars (VP and Associate GC, IP, Time Warner)
• Seth Greenstein (Constantine Cannon)

Registration

NARM Members $249, Non-members: $299

Register at: http://musiclaw0928.eventbrite.com/

Other Notes

Application for accreditation of this course or program in New York is currently pending.
Application for accreditation of this program in New Jersey is currently pending.

Posted in Advocacy, News, Notes & Noise by A2IM

Making The World Stable For Indie Labels:

A2IM Turns Five

A2IM watchdog for independent music for the times that this place feels more like a jungle, the national NYC-based organization is on hand to help independent labels and artists of every shape and size.  When you add it up, that constituency isn’t small potatoes – indie labels represent 30% of the music industry’s market share in the U.S. (38% of digital sales).

The summer of 2010 marks five years for A2IM as a watchdog for independent music, keeping their members advocated, empowered and informed on a host of crucial components to doing business: fair trade, new technology and distribution, access to media, legislation, international, purchasing, new business development, and branding chief among them.

A2IM Vice President Jim Mahoney has a very first-hand understanding of his members. His nearly 20 years in the independent music sector include seven years as President of hip hop label/distributor Fat Beats, preceded by posts with senior posts with Roadrunner Records and Profile Records.

To read the full interview and For some major insights on what’s facing indies today click HERE

Posted in Advocacy by A2IM

In a letter dated August 18 to Google’s chairman, A2IM joined our fellow music creator community members commending Google and Verizon for spurring dialog about the important issue of maintaining an open Internet, but stated clearly our hope that we can look forward to their support for greater distinction between lawful and unlawful content in future conversations with the FCC, congress and other stakeholders. The letter underscores the value that music brings as a driver for broadband adoption and related applications and articulates that current legal and regulatory efforts are not working for our community as our businesses are being undermined, as are the hopes and dreams of artists. To read the full letter, click HERE.

Posted in Advocacy by A2IM

Our friend, SGA President Rick Carnes, had a Huffington Post article published on Thursday August 12^th where he encouraged songwriters to not give away free use of their songs but instead get compensated for their musical composition creation. As you know A2IM advocates the same policy for sound recording owners (see Stones Throw Records’ Nate Nelson’s latest “Promotion for What” article on this topic).  We need to get paid to continue to create!  Please share your thoughts on both articles below.

Posted in Advocacy, Member Services by A2IM

Our friends at the Future of Music Coalition have written a point-by-point analysis of the Verizon-Google proposal that we think A2IM members might find informative.

On Monday, August 9, 2010, Verizon and Google released a joint proposal for a legislative framework for broadband internet service. Although the proposal has no legal effect on its own, it is important to understand because it could serve as a model for future legislation or FCC rulemaking. We weighed in yesterday via a short media statement, which you can read here.

Over the past 24 hours, we realized there was a need to go through the proposal point-by-point and examine how the agreement might impact independent musicians and other creators, were it to be adopted as public policy.

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Posted in Advocacy by A2IM

A2IM is proud to join with our friends NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers; www.narm.com) in support of the “Give The Gift Of Music” campaign and the unveiling of a refreshed logo, a design used within the industry for the past 30 years to communicate to consumers that music is a particular means of personal expression, thoughtfulness and consideration when given as a gift.

The new logo was chosen by a panel of representatives from members of various music industry trade groups and marketing and design specialists from outside of the industry.

NARM’s president Jim Donio says, “We encourage the industry to use this new ‘Give The Gift Of Music’ branding on in-store promotions, on web sites, and in advertising and social media initiatives. Studies show that there continues to be extraordinary potential in the gifting of music and this is a great time to educate consumers of the ways that music products — whether physical, digital, or mobile — can be gifted.”

Currently in the process of design is a branded interactive web site that will serve as a B2B and B2C site for the Give The Gift Of Music campaign. The B2C site will have a “wish list/gift registry” function, artist testimonials, a place where consumers can share their greatest music gifting memories, etc. The web site should launch by the end of September and will coincide with a social media campaign to spread the word.

The new logo can be downloaded here