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  • From: Sam <sam AT musicindie.com>
  • To: <cc-uk AT lists.ibiblio.org>, <cc-uk-request AT lists.ibiblio.org>, <cc-uk-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Cc-uk] Re: "El Reg" on CC Panel Discusion
  • Date: 29 Apr 2005 10:59:12 +0000

Dear all

I organised the CC panel discussion, which I think all panelists felt was very useful.  Below is another write up of the event to compliment the piece in the register.  Intelligent contributions from all parties has helped moved the debate forward considerably.   We will publish our own transcript of the event over the next week or so, on our web site (musictank.co.uk) and I'll post a link when it's up.

best

sam

CMU daily, 28.4.05
--------------------------------------------------

UK INDUSTRY DEBATE CREATIVE COMMON MOVEMENT
Some people really like Creative Commons. Some people really hate them. Of
course, most people couldn't care less, because they are essentially a
branch of copyright law and, as we all know, the thing about copyright law
is that - while it is the very foundation on which the music business is
built - it is also very very dull. So kudos to the MusicTank team for
creating a very interesting and, at times, entertaining debate at last
night's Think Tank event - despite the fact it had the copyright principle
of Creative Commons as its theme.

Creative Commons is a new copyright philosophy which enables creators to
make their work available to the public for non-commercial use for free. The
people behind the philosophy, which was originally articulated by Stanford
University professor Lawrence Lessig, now offer young creatives template
legal documents that enable them to formally make aspects of their work
copyright free, as well as internet tools with which they can publish their
work online.  

The movement has caused some controversy in the music business because label
and music publishing executives fear that young musicians, eager to get
their work in the public domain, may be attracted to Creative Commons and
inadvertently give away the rights to their work - rights which, one day,
could be valuable.

Voicing those concerns, Emma Pike of British Music Rights, the joint body
designed to promote and protect the copyright of songwriters, told the Think
Tank: "I don't have a problem with the concept of Creative Commons. However,
I am very concerned that the people behind Creative Commons are not giving
young artists and songwriters enough information and explaining the long
term risks of giving away the copyright on even some of their original works
- especially as a Creative Commons licence is irrevocable once issued."

Defending the movement, Paula Le Dieu of the Creative Commons International
organisation, and Oxford University's Damian Tambini, who is heading up the
UK implementation of the philosophy, said they accepted the industry's
concerns and recognised that they might need to review the information they
provide to people considering granting a CC licence for their work. However,
they stressed that the Creative Commons movement was not attempting to trick
creators into giving up their copyright. Rather, they argued, they are
aiming to offer the tools that enable those people to promote and share
their work, to encourage creative collaboration, and to help increase the
value of those creators' future work.

Neil Leyton, of independent record label Fading Ways Records, also talked up
the value of Creative Commons in increasing the value of a musician's future
work. His company uses Creative Commons as a way of making some of their
artist's work available for free. That won the artists a fan base that they
would never have reached with conventional marketing channels, and, Leyton
argued, it meant more record sales in long term. Those fans appreciated the
fact the label issued Creative Common licences with their free music because
it meant that they could safely download, share and remix them without the
fear some sinister authority like the Recording Industry Association of
America would suddenly show up with a copyright violation lawsuit.

Those in the industry might argue that artists and labels are always at
liberty to give away music if they so chose, and that they don't need a
complicated new branch of copyright law to enable them to do so. However
most of those opposing the concept at the MusicTank event were willing to
concede they had no problem with the Creative Commons movement providing
they were clear and upfront about the future implications of making your
music copyright free - in essence the point with which Pike began the
debate.

Of course quite how and where Creative Commons should or will educate
creatives on the implications of their licences remains to be seen - to be
fair, and as Le Dieu pointed out - "it's not really our job to single
handedly educate everyone in copyright law". But as MusicTank chairman Keith
Harris pointed out, what young creatives might need is more a lesson in
reality than copyright law - "one thing that occurs to me," Keith pointed
out, "is that for some artists there early work is their best work. There is
a danger here that artists will give away the copyright on their first album
in order to get noticed on the basis they'll earn money on later albums. But
for some bands that first album is really it - and they might be giving away
all their future potential income".

More on Creative Commons, if you're interested, at
http://www.creativecommons.org/


--
Sam Shemtob
MusicTank
University of Westminster
T   +44 (0) 20 8357 7305


  • [Cc-uk] Re: "El Reg" on CC Panel Discusion, Sam, 04/29/2005

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