Cc-uk mailing list

[Neil Leyton <nleyton AT gmail.com>]

Greetings all,

I will be relocating from Toronto to the UK for a few weeks here and
there throughout the spring and summer. As some of you already know,
our transantlantic label Fading Ways (Canada-UK) has been one of the
first music labels to utilize CC licenses, and I am looking to delve
deeper into the PRS/PPL contracts in the UK. It may be that they will
have to be challenged in court; I am looking for feedback from CC's UK
community with regards to this issue, and will be available to meet in
person with you in the coming months.

I was an invited speaker recently at a UofToronto Law School
conference on copyright ("Sound Bytes Sound Rights") and have a keen
interest in lobbying for more balanced copyright laws and a fairer
music industry on both sides of the pond.

It is clear to me from my participation at the Sound Bytes Sound
Rights conference that this issue divides people largely between age
groups, and isn't really about copyright as much as it is about a
monopoly (the major label cartel) protecting itself from new indie
competition that has been strengthened by the internet and p2p
networks. It is very unfortunate that more indie musicians and record
labels have been so slow on the uptake, and that organizations like
AIM  (Association of Independent Music) toe the major-label party line
instead of being what they claim to be:

"AIM's work is as innovative as our members' music. This ranges from
trailblazing new media licensing deals and lobbying on all fronts, to
leveraging collective strength to create new marketing and
international initiatives."

There is nothing innovative in following conservative dinosaurs...  I
look forward to spending more time in the UK this year.

Neil
 
-- 
www.fadingways.co.uk
www.fadingwaysmusic.com
www.soulrevolutionaries.org/leyton