A2IM: American Association of Independent Music

Posted in News by A2IM

To: Independent Music Creator Organizations:

• As you may have read in the press or A2IM roundup previously, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”), the international organization that regulates Internet Top Level  Domain (TLD’s) Names including .com, .biz, .org, etc. has opened up a process to grant new TLD’s and received 2,000 applications covering 800 proposed TLD’s such as .song, .audio, .tune and, as detailed below, .music.
• Eight applicants have applied for the .music TLD including two applications (Far Further and music.us) which have varying degrees of music community support. Others who have submitted proposals to control the .music TLD include Amazon and Google.
• Our goal as a music industry is simple:

-First we would like a group supported by the music community to be granted control of the .music TLD outside of any bidding process so that we have greater control of the granting of uses to ensure that the new .music TLD is only granted to legitimate users and is not used for piracy. For example:

* During the “Sunrise” period of granting .music names the most appropriate users of the names should get that usage. For example MuteRecords.music and M83.music seem like appropriate usages that deserve preference during the Sunrise period.

*After the “Sunrise” period is over the “Landrush” period starts when anyone can apply for a .music license. We ned to ensure there is a proper vetting and monitoring process with good corporate governance so that these usages are used for legitimate licensed promotion and commerce only and not unauthorized usages.

-Second, if one of the community groups is not granted “music community status” and control of the TLD, we want to ensure that the winning bidder complies with best practices.

Along those lines we hope all trade organization will complete the attached letter (PDF) OR attached letter in WORD DOC format and encourage your members to complete and return to you the attached letter which will then be submitted to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). Please submit these letters to Sheryl Cohen at Sheryl@a2im.org by February 15^th.

Posted in News by A2IM

Last week at Midem Billboard honored A2IM board member and Beggar’s Group founder Martin Mills with the Industry Icon award. We were so taken by Martin’s call for government action in support of creative industries we felt compelled to share it with all of our members.

Martin noted that “Creative industries are built upon strong and defendable intellectual property rights, and without that they will inevitably wither and fail. It is impossible to make the investments to produce new creative goods without the security that ownership of them is protected. Yet governments are seduced daily by elements of the new technology industry into diluting and compromising that security, often in the name of the importance of those industries to today’s economies, often in the name of open Internet philosophy. But all of these arguments are aimed self-interestedly at compromising the value and the integrity of creative goods. These creative works are a priceless national cultural and economic asset, which should be treasured, not dumped.” The full text of Martin’s award acceptance speech is here.

Posted in News by A2IM

As you know A2IM supports proposed Congressional legislation (SOPA and Protect IP) that would reduce U.S, consumer access to overseas websites that traffic in unlicensed music distribution like MegaUpload and Rapidshare. Russian President Medvedev recently published an open letter to the G-20 economic group world leaders calling on the G-20 to renegotiate the entire existing legal framework for internet copyright protection. President Medvedev  proposed a default system where copyright owners will be legally presumed to permit all uses on the internet unless they specifically notify the user, similar to the DMCA laws in the U.S. that have not been preventing unauthorized use. Last week we joined our creator colleagues in sending a letter to President Medvedev suggesting a different approach to encourage governments to ensure that their legislation prevents companies from building businesses or maintaining services based on providing access to infringing materials.

Posted in News by A2IM

During November the creator community, led by the Copyright Alliance, of which A2IM is a member, has continued its support of the proposed Protect IP and SOPA legislations in Congress.  Here is a recent Copyright Alliance Op-ed with includes A2IM board member Bruce Iglauer as one of the examples of the challenges entrepreneur creators face as a result of rogue websites that these proposed legislations hope to curb. A2IM will continue its advocacy effort and keep you informed.

Posted in Advocacy, News by A2IM

Have you seen your music available for free on websites you haven’t licensed?

Have you ever tried to get your music taken down from those websites and found that they are based in Russia or China or some other country outside of the U.S.?

Do you know that currently, U.S. law provides no realistic method for labels and artists to get their music taken down from such infringing websites?

If this is a problem for your business A2IM urges you to write your elected representatives in Washington D.C. to ask them to help get PROTECT IP (S.986 in the Senate) passed.

Letters from our collective community helped get the support of the U.S. Chamber of Congress for PROTECT IP and it has unanimously passed out of committee in the Senate. Now we need your help to get it passed by Congress and made into U.S. law.

A2IM has been a supporter of PROTECT IP and we’ve written you previously about this bill’s progress but now Congress needs to hear from small and medium sized businesses that create IP and employ people in their districts. Please write today and also please forward this to your staff, your friends, your artists and their managers and attorneys.

PROTECT IP, if passed, would give U.S. law enforcement the ability to cut foreign based rogue websites “dedicated to infringing activities” from having access to the American market.

Posted in News by A2IM

In the two days since A2IM posted a Call-To-Action in response to the looting and subsequent fire in London which destroyed the PIAS warehouse, A2IM has received numerous inquires about additional ways members can get involved and offer help.  Today, our AIM colleagues in the UK, in coordination with PIAS, have announced  the creation of a fund to help independents affected by the catastrophe.

Information about the fund including where to send donations AND information about how to receive assistance if you are one of the many affected labels is HERE.