Monday, 10 January 2011
Welcome to Minegolia
For the first time in as long as anyone can seem to remember, there have been traffic jams in Ulan Bator -- a place previously known mainly either as the answer to a trivia question (Which capital city has the coldest average temperature?) or as a historical curiosity: Asia's Timbuktu, the fabled homeland of Genghis Khan. Until recently, the Mongolian capital had more horses than cars.
No longer. Mongolia is in the middle of an epic gold rush -- think San Francisco in 1849 -- but it's copper and coal that have enticed businessmen, investment bankers, and miners from London, Dallas, and Toronto by the planeload. Today, Ulan Bator is abuzz with talk of options and percentages, yields and initial public offerings. Not since the 13th century, when Genghis Khan consolidated the nomadic tribes of these remote steppes and established an empire that eventually spanned from Eastern Europe to Vietnam, has Mongolia seen so much action. The country's stock exchange (though still the world's smallest) rose 125 percent last year, and the IMF forecasts double-digit GDP growth rates for years to come. Others aren't nearly so pessimistic: Renaissance Capital -- an investment bank that specializes in emerging markets, one of many that have recently set up shop in Mongolia -- notes that overall economic output could quadruple by 2013.
"Mongolia is about to boom. Of that, there is no longer any doubt," says John P. Finigan, the Irish CEO of one of Mongolia's largest banks. A veteran of developing markets in scores of countries, he says the only comparable growth potential he has seen has been in the Persian Gulf oil states...
No longer. Mongolia is in the middle of an epic gold rush -- think San Francisco in 1849 -- but it's copper and coal that have enticed businessmen, investment bankers, and miners from London, Dallas, and Toronto by the planeload. Today, Ulan Bator is abuzz with talk of options and percentages, yields and initial public offerings. Not since the 13th century, when Genghis Khan consolidated the nomadic tribes of these remote steppes and established an empire that eventually spanned from Eastern Europe to Vietnam, has Mongolia seen so much action. The country's stock exchange (though still the world's smallest) rose 125 percent last year, and the IMF forecasts double-digit GDP growth rates for years to come. Others aren't nearly so pessimistic: Renaissance Capital -- an investment bank that specializes in emerging markets, one of many that have recently set up shop in Mongolia -- notes that overall economic output could quadruple by 2013.
"Mongolia is about to boom. Of that, there is no longer any doubt," says John P. Finigan, the Irish CEO of one of Mongolia's largest banks. A veteran of developing markets in scores of countries, he says the only comparable growth potential he has seen has been in the Persian Gulf oil states...
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Ron Gluckman @'FP'
When does that PR firm start working for you Julian?
iankatz1000 ian katz
Julian Assange: electronic tag he is required to wear under bail conditions is "like a chastity belt" http://bit.ly/g4echH (via @GregMitch)
Mark Kennedy: A journey from undercover cop to 'bona fide' activist
He turned up with long hair, tattoos and an insatiable appetite for climbing trees. Few people suspected anything odd of the man who introduced himself as Mark Stone on a dairy farm turned spiritual sanctuary in North Yorkshire.
He had come alone on 12 August 2003, in the middle of a heatwave, for a gathering of environmental activists known as Earth First.
Apart from the fact that "Stone" was apparently well-paid and ate meat, he appeared no different from the hundreds of other activists who gathered under marquees to smoke weed, play guitars and plan protests.
What no one could have known was that, despite appearances, the 33-year-old "freelance climber" was actually PC Mark Kennedy, an undercover police officer beginning an audacious operation to live deep undercover among environmental activists.
The Guardian can reveal just how successful – and controversial – the operation was.
From that day Kennedy would live a remarkable double life lasting more than seven years. So embedded in the protest community did he become that about 200 people turned up for a joint celebration of his 40th birthday, described as a "three-day bender" on a farm.
All were, of course, oblivious that Kennedy was feeding back detailed reports to his police commanders as he participated in, and sometimes even organised, some of the most high-profile demonstrations of the past decade...
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birgittaj Birgitta Jónsdóttir
heading for the airport - have to travel to Canada from Iceland via London instead of USA.
Journalism WikiLeaks Style
Yet the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has maintained a stony silence on the prospects for such a prosecution and has only stated that it is investigating the matter. Indeed, it is more than likely that no such prosecution will occur. This is in direct contrast to the fate of the original leaker, Pfc. Bradley Manning. Manning, whether under § 793(e) or other related charges, will likely spend the remainder of his life in a military prison.
What differentiates the destinies of Manning, the leaker, and Assange, the publisher, under the Espionage Act? The result is explained by the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by the attorney general...
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James Ching @'The National Law Journal'
German CSU wants to ban 'Four Lions'
"Such a British jihadists instead of infidel enemies beyond either sheep or innocent people own microwaves in the air..." (Google translate I love you LOL!)
Original German
(Thanx HerrB!)
Bobby Robinson RIP
He was 93 and had been ill for several years - though he regularly went to work at his shop until it was forced to close in January 2008.
Impeccably dressed, well-spoken and ambitious to make his mark in the entertainment business, Robinson opened Bobby's Happy House in 1946.
His shop was the first black-owned business on 125th St., and within five years he used it to launch a series of record labels.
Sometimes working with his brother Danny, who also had an office on 125th St., Robinson recorded hundreds of artists from Gladys Knight and the Pips to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
Knight's first hit, "Every Beat of My Heart," was released on Robinson's Fury label.
Robinson, a South Carolina native, had a No. 1 national hit in 1959 with Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City" - and said years later that a hit of that magnitude crippled his business because he had to press so many copies he couldn't promote any other artists.
But his Red Robin, Whirlin' Disc, Fire, Fury and Enjoy labels became legendary in the rhythm and blues world, and his releases by artists like the Channels, Teenchords and Scarlets helped define the sound of the New York streets through the 1950s.
Robinson ultimately recorded a wide range of artists that included the great bluesman Elmore James, whom Robinson inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In the late 1970s, Robinson became one of the first label owners to record rap music, cutting artists like Flash, Doug E. Fresh and Spoonie Gee.
Robinson eventually had to move the shop around the corner in the late 1990s, and he closed for good on Jan. 21, 2008, when his new landlord decided to raze the building for a development.
"I've seen 125th St. at its best and worst," Robinson said in late 2007. "And I'll tell you, there's no more exciting place in the world."
Mary Anne Hobbs - Dubstep Warz
January 9th &;10th 2011 is the 5th anniversary of the notorious Dubstep Warz transmission on my BBC Radio1 Breezeblock show. This show marked the global tipping point for the dubstep sound. Mala, Skream, Kode 9 & The Spaceape, Vex'd, Hatcha & Crazy D, Loefah & Sgt Pokes and Distance changed the world of global dance music forever. Dubstep Warz still sounds as vital, as primal and as thrilling as the night we threw it down.. it brings tears to my eyes. If, as a broadcaster, you can deliver one show with the cultural & historical impact of this one in a lifetime.. it's a miracle
Tracklist:
D1 – Untitled (white)
Mala (Digital Mystikz)
Digital Mystikz – ‘10 Dread Commandments VIP’ (white)
Digital Mystikz – ‘Haunted’ (white)
Digital Mystikz – ‘Left Leg Out’ (white)
Skream – ‘Request Line’ Mala remix (white)
Digital Mystikz – ‘All Of A Sudden’ (white)
Digital Mystikz – ‘Anti-War Dub’ (white)
Skream – ‘Midnight Request Line’ (Tempa)
Skream – ‘Tapped’ (Tempa)
Sunship and Warrior Queen – ‘Almighty Father’ Skream remix (white)
Skream – ‘Glamma’ (Tempa)
Skream – ‘Deep Concentration’ (Tempa)
Skream – ‘Rottan’ (Tempa)
Digital Mystikz – ‘Ancient Memories’ Skream remix (white)
Horsepower – ‘Egypt’ (Skream remix) (white)
Skream – ‘Music 2 Make Us Stagga’ (white)
Benny Ill, Kode9 & the Culprit – ‘Fat Larry Skank’ Kode 9 remix (white)
Kode 9 and Space Ape – ‘9 Samurai’ (Hyperdub)
Kode 9 and Space Ape – ‘Backward’ (Hyperdub)
Kode 9 and Space Ape – ‘Kingston Dub’ (Hyperdub)
Burial and Space Ape – ‘Space Ape’ (White)
Vex’d – ‘Saturn’ (white)
Vex’d – ‘3rd Choice’ (white)
Vex’d – ‘Wavescape Remix’ (white)
Vex’d – ‘Killing Floor’ (white)
Benga – Untitled (white)
Benga – Untitled (white)
Coki – Untitled (white)
Coki – Untitled (white)
Coki – Untitled (white)
Skream – ‘Request Line’ Remix (white)
Benga – Untitled (white)
Benga – Untitled (white)
Benga – Untitled (white)
Digital Mystikz – ‘Ancient Memories’ Skream remix (white)
Loefah – ‘Mud’ (white)
Loefah – ‘Ruffage’ (white)
Loefah – ‘Sukkah’ (white)
Loefah – ‘System’ (white)
Loefah – ‘Root’ (DMZ)
Distance – ‘My Demons’ (white)
Distance – ‘Fallen’ (white)
Distance – ‘Tuning’ (white)
Distance – ‘Cella’ (white)
Distance – ‘Cyclops’ (white)
Distance – ‘Night Vision’ (white)
Distance – ‘Traffic’ (white)
DJ Pinch – ‘Qawwali’ (white)
DOWNLOAD
Sunday, 9 January 2011
We Come in Peace - CCC 27C3 Spezial (2010-12-29)
Interviews with Anne Roth (in German; 3:00)
Nicholas Merrill (in English; 15:35)
& Rop Gonggrijp (in English; 37:10)
during the 27th Chaos Communication Congress
Nicholas Merrill founded Calyx Internet Access Corporation in 1995. Calyx Internet Access was one of the first commercial Internet service providers operating in New York City. Calyx pursued relationships with and worked with many activist groups on a pro bono or low-cost basis, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Independent Media Center (Indymedia.org) and the Drug Policy Foundation.
In 2004, after a receiving a “National Security Letter” from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a subsequent request from the U.S. Secret Service, Calyx became involved with the ACLU and in using the legal system and the media to resist illegal government requests for information on Internet users. For six and a half years, Merrill and the ACLU tirelessly challenged the orders contained in the letter, resulting in the establishment of two key legal precedents overturning aspects of the national security letter program.
http://www.calyx.net/
Internet pioneer Rop Gonggrijp is a hacker from day one and still active today. In a discussion with Diana McCarty he explains the background of netzpolitics, activism, prozac and the meaning of the hacker movement.
http://rop.gonggri.jp/
DOWNLOAD
Nine killed in Tunisia riots
Six people were killed in the city of Tala, 200km southwest of the capital Tunis, on Saturday, after security forces opened fire on protestors.
Another three people were killed in similar clashes in the Kasserine region.
Six protestors in Tala were seriously wounded, according to witnesses.
Belgacem Sayhi, a teacher and trade union activist, told the AFP news agency that the victims in Tala were between 17 and 30 years old, and were killed when the police opened fire on the crowd.
An employee at a hospital in Tala told Reuters news agency that several people had been admitted to the hospital after the clashes, and other witnesses said that the six people who were in critical condition have been moved to the regional capital, Kasserine.
Witnesses said police fired their weapons after using water cannons to try to disperse a crowd which had set fire to a government building. The crowd has also thrown stones and petrol bombs at police.
There had already been unrest in Tala on Friday, with protesters attacking a bank and official buildings, and setting them on fire, Sadok Mahmoudi, a union leader, told AFP news agency.
The authorities in Tunisia refused to confirm either the deaths or details of the clashes.
Troop deployment
On Saturday, troops were deployed to the area for the first time since the start of the recent wave of unrest which has been in protest at high levels of youth unemployment.
 |
Protests sparked by high youth unemployment have spread from the central town of Sidi Bouzid to other parts chiefly in the north African country's interior, which lags behind the more prosperous coastal areas.
On Saturday, the Tunisian General Union of Labour (UGTT), the country's main union, condemned the authorities for their heavy-handed response to protestors.
Several hundred UGTT members gathered in the capital of Tunis to observe a minute's silence for those who have died since protests began.
"We support the demands of the people in Sidi Bouzid and interior regions," said Abid Brigui, deputy general secretary of the union, which is considered to be close to the government.
Last week, a 26-year-old Tunisian man who set off a wave of protests after attempting to commit suicide by setting himself on fire last month died of third-degree burns in hospital.
Zine al Abidine Ben Ali , the Tunisian president, has said the violent protests are unacceptable and could harm the country's interests by discouraging investors and tourists who provide a large part of the country's revenues.
Protests traditionally have been rare in Tunisia, which has had only two presidents since independence from France 55 years ago.
The country has in the past been praised by Western allies as a model of stability and prosperity in the Arab world.
@'Aljazeera'
HA!
Suspicious fire on Mona Street
Hmmm! Why didn't someone tell me sooner?
I am hot and skanky and tired and cranky though!
I am hot and skanky and tired and cranky though!
Crazy Talk
Shortly after Jared Lee Loughner had been identified as the alleged shooter of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, online sleuths turned up pages of rambling text and videos he had created. A wave of amateur diagnoses soon followed, most of which concluded that Loughner was not so much a political extremist as a man suffering from "paranoid schizophrenia."
For many, the investigation will stop there. No need to explore personal motives, out-of-control grievances or distorted political anger. The mere mention of mental illness is explanation enough. This presumed link between psychiatric disorders and violence has become so entrenched in the public consciousness that the entire weight of the medical evidence is unable to shift it. Severe mental illness, on its own, is not an explanation for violence, but don't expect to hear that from the media in the coming weeks.
Seena Fazel is an Oxford University psychiatrist who has led the most extensive scientific studies to date of the links between violence and two of the most serious psychiatric diagnoses—schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, either of which can lead to delusions, hallucinations, or some other loss of contact with reality. Rather than looking at individual cases, or even single studies, Fazel's team analyzed all the scientific findings they could find. As a result, they can say with confidence that psychiatric diagnoses tell us next to nothing about someone's propensity or motive for violence...
For many, the investigation will stop there. No need to explore personal motives, out-of-control grievances or distorted political anger. The mere mention of mental illness is explanation enough. This presumed link between psychiatric disorders and violence has become so entrenched in the public consciousness that the entire weight of the medical evidence is unable to shift it. Severe mental illness, on its own, is not an explanation for violence, but don't expect to hear that from the media in the coming weeks.
Seena Fazel is an Oxford University psychiatrist who has led the most extensive scientific studies to date of the links between violence and two of the most serious psychiatric diagnoses—schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, either of which can lead to delusions, hallucinations, or some other loss of contact with reality. Rather than looking at individual cases, or even single studies, Fazel's team analyzed all the scientific findings they could find. As a result, they can say with confidence that psychiatric diagnoses tell us next to nothing about someone's propensity or motive for violence...
Continue reading
Vaughn Bell @'Slate'
JPBarlow John Perry Barlow
RT @wikileaks: All 637,000 of our followers are target of DOJ subpoena against Twitter, Sec. 2. B http://is.gd/koZIA
Special Report: Music Industry’s Lavish Lobby Campaign For Digital Rights
The music industry has spent tens of millions of dollars to lobby government officials worldwide during the past decade, but whether or not the initiative has helped to shape a viable legal and commercial framework is a subject of debate.
According to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis based on data collected from the United States Secretary of the Senate Office of Public Records (SOPR), the recorded music industry and the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) have spent over $90 million in lobbying efforts in the United States alone since 2000.
The total represents money spent after CD sales began to see steep declines in revenue as file sharing became more common. The music industry spent $4.0 million in lobbying in 2000, a figure which rose significantly to $17.5 million in 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The industry also has actively lobbied officials with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and affiliated organisations, although data indicating how much it spent for these groups is not readily available.
The sum spent on lobbying efforts to enforce copyright protections reflects an effort to thwart file sharing that is more ambitious in scale compared to other media industry groups in the United States. The motion picture industry, for example, spent less than half of what the music industry invested in lobbying during the 2000-2010 period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ statistics. The RIAA and recording industry players have also spent over $50 million in legal fees for the industry’s lawsuit campaign intended to thwart illegal file sharing, according to tax filings and estimates by attorneys involved in the litigation.
“The music industry is spending more than other media groups,” said Dave Levinthal, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics. “They have accelerated their spending to a much bigger degree.” There are some industries, such as health and pharmaceuticals, or automobiles, that have spent more on lobbying during that time but the music industry’s investment is unprecedented in media.
The music industry has also actively lobbied legislators in Europe to help influence digital file protection laws, although it is difficult to determine its total spending there since the information is not as publicly available as it is in the United States. Legislators in France and United Kingdom, where recording companies Vivendi and Virgin are based, respectively, have sought aggressive enforcement policies intended to limit or ban user accounts that are allegedly used for illegal file sharing.
Under the pending legislative groundwork for a graduated response initiative in the UK, alleged infringers would receive warning letters and could see disruptions in their internet access. Under France’s Hadopi law, a government organisation has reportedly begun to contact customers warning them that their internet access could be suspended if their ISP accounts are used to share media files without authorisation.
Lobbying has taken many different forms in the United States, while rules and ethical mandates represent a complex legal framework to work through, which is the case for other industries in the United States.
“I think that ethics reforms should prevent too much direct wining and dining,” says Sherwin Siy, deputy legal director, and a Kahle/Austin Promise Fellow at Public Knowledge. “A lot of that money goes into salaries, ad buys, travel, and the occasional party or event where some of that wining and dining takes place on a more distributed level, though again, ethics rules restrictions apply.”
While such far-reaching legislation such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the Copyright Term Extension Act were drafted prior to 2000 in the United States, laws and mandates advocated by the music industry have become stricter since then, Siy said.
“There’s been a steady push for increased penalties for infringement, as well as presumptions built into the law to make it easier to win cases against alleged infringers,” Siy said. “New causes of action [for plaintiffs in US courts] have been passed, too, including an anti-camcording statute built into federal law.”
The US Higher Education Opportunity Act passed in 2008, for example, mandates that colleges and universities actively take measures to monitor for and limit file sharing by students as a condition to receive federal aid money, Siy noted.
“So there’s probably a fair bit that’s gone on even in the absence of something quite as flashy as some of the better-known efforts [such as the DMCA and the Copyright Term Extension Act],” Siy said.
New laws intended to protect and enforce digital music copyright as well as the music industry’s high-profile litigation campaign receive considerable attention and have generated significant controversy, yet the measures are but one part of an initiative to help the music industry make the transition to the digital age, proponents say.
“The music industry is responding to the digital environment in three basic ways: licensing repertoire in new ways that respond to what the consumer wants, public education to explain copyright laws and highlight legal services, and copyright enforcement to protect our rights,” said Adrian Strain, director of communications for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
“All three of these strategies are crucial, and it’s safe to say that we wouldn’t even have a digital business or be able to offer an answer to piracy if we hadn’t responded with all three,” Strain said. “However, none of these strategies can solve the problem of digital piracy by itself.”
New business models the music industry has developed during the past few years include new subscription models and access to digital music that is free for consumers, Strain said.
“Our digital business is way ahead of other creative industries, with 30 percent of music sales coming from digital channels,” Strain said. “But none of this commercial activity and innovation can succeed unless there is proper protection of music rights and effective intellectual property enforcement.”
However, copyright laws that enforce protections on a global scale are still necessary, but in parallel, more viable alternative business models need to be developed to collect royalties, said David Stopps, director of copyright and related rights for the Music Managers Forum UK.
“The music industry has moved too slowly in its attempt to create new business models,” Stopps said. “We need to make it much easier for new business models to get off the ground and to prove themselves.”
Major record companies licence digital services, but the terms involved are difficult to build a viable business model around, especially for startups, Stopps said. “You have to have a lot of money to do it and you have to have a lot of time. You would need a couple of years to license [the songs] and a couple of million in the bank,” he said.
“New startup businesses should be able to access all content under a compulsory licence for a period of, say, six months,” he added. “We have to make it easier for new business models to get access to content.”
Meanwhile, for some digital rights proponents, any kind of heavy-handed legal enforcement intended to limit content sharing between consumers is destined to fail, while alternative business models have been more than inadequate.
“The very first time a major music industry executive heard about Napster and got nervous, they turned left and went down and talked to their lawyers instead of walking out of their office and turning right and heading down to the business section,” said Corynne McSherry, intellectual property director [corrected] for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “That was the fundamental mistake.”
Bruce Gain - ip-watch.org
According to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis based on data collected from the United States Secretary of the Senate Office of Public Records (SOPR), the recorded music industry and the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) have spent over $90 million in lobbying efforts in the United States alone since 2000.
The total represents money spent after CD sales began to see steep declines in revenue as file sharing became more common. The music industry spent $4.0 million in lobbying in 2000, a figure which rose significantly to $17.5 million in 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The industry also has actively lobbied officials with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and affiliated organisations, although data indicating how much it spent for these groups is not readily available.
The sum spent on lobbying efforts to enforce copyright protections reflects an effort to thwart file sharing that is more ambitious in scale compared to other media industry groups in the United States. The motion picture industry, for example, spent less than half of what the music industry invested in lobbying during the 2000-2010 period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ statistics. The RIAA and recording industry players have also spent over $50 million in legal fees for the industry’s lawsuit campaign intended to thwart illegal file sharing, according to tax filings and estimates by attorneys involved in the litigation.
“The music industry is spending more than other media groups,” said Dave Levinthal, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics. “They have accelerated their spending to a much bigger degree.” There are some industries, such as health and pharmaceuticals, or automobiles, that have spent more on lobbying during that time but the music industry’s investment is unprecedented in media.
The music industry has also actively lobbied legislators in Europe to help influence digital file protection laws, although it is difficult to determine its total spending there since the information is not as publicly available as it is in the United States. Legislators in France and United Kingdom, where recording companies Vivendi and Virgin are based, respectively, have sought aggressive enforcement policies intended to limit or ban user accounts that are allegedly used for illegal file sharing.
Under the pending legislative groundwork for a graduated response initiative in the UK, alleged infringers would receive warning letters and could see disruptions in their internet access. Under France’s Hadopi law, a government organisation has reportedly begun to contact customers warning them that their internet access could be suspended if their ISP accounts are used to share media files without authorisation.
Lobbying has taken many different forms in the United States, while rules and ethical mandates represent a complex legal framework to work through, which is the case for other industries in the United States.
“I think that ethics reforms should prevent too much direct wining and dining,” says Sherwin Siy, deputy legal director, and a Kahle/Austin Promise Fellow at Public Knowledge. “A lot of that money goes into salaries, ad buys, travel, and the occasional party or event where some of that wining and dining takes place on a more distributed level, though again, ethics rules restrictions apply.”
While such far-reaching legislation such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the Copyright Term Extension Act were drafted prior to 2000 in the United States, laws and mandates advocated by the music industry have become stricter since then, Siy said.
“There’s been a steady push for increased penalties for infringement, as well as presumptions built into the law to make it easier to win cases against alleged infringers,” Siy said. “New causes of action [for plaintiffs in US courts] have been passed, too, including an anti-camcording statute built into federal law.”
The US Higher Education Opportunity Act passed in 2008, for example, mandates that colleges and universities actively take measures to monitor for and limit file sharing by students as a condition to receive federal aid money, Siy noted.
“So there’s probably a fair bit that’s gone on even in the absence of something quite as flashy as some of the better-known efforts [such as the DMCA and the Copyright Term Extension Act],” Siy said.
New laws intended to protect and enforce digital music copyright as well as the music industry’s high-profile litigation campaign receive considerable attention and have generated significant controversy, yet the measures are but one part of an initiative to help the music industry make the transition to the digital age, proponents say.
“The music industry is responding to the digital environment in three basic ways: licensing repertoire in new ways that respond to what the consumer wants, public education to explain copyright laws and highlight legal services, and copyright enforcement to protect our rights,” said Adrian Strain, director of communications for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
“All three of these strategies are crucial, and it’s safe to say that we wouldn’t even have a digital business or be able to offer an answer to piracy if we hadn’t responded with all three,” Strain said. “However, none of these strategies can solve the problem of digital piracy by itself.”
New business models the music industry has developed during the past few years include new subscription models and access to digital music that is free for consumers, Strain said.
“Our digital business is way ahead of other creative industries, with 30 percent of music sales coming from digital channels,” Strain said. “But none of this commercial activity and innovation can succeed unless there is proper protection of music rights and effective intellectual property enforcement.”
However, copyright laws that enforce protections on a global scale are still necessary, but in parallel, more viable alternative business models need to be developed to collect royalties, said David Stopps, director of copyright and related rights for the Music Managers Forum UK.
“The music industry has moved too slowly in its attempt to create new business models,” Stopps said. “We need to make it much easier for new business models to get off the ground and to prove themselves.”
Major record companies licence digital services, but the terms involved are difficult to build a viable business model around, especially for startups, Stopps said. “You have to have a lot of money to do it and you have to have a lot of time. You would need a couple of years to license [the songs] and a couple of million in the bank,” he said.
“New startup businesses should be able to access all content under a compulsory licence for a period of, say, six months,” he added. “We have to make it easier for new business models to get access to content.”
Meanwhile, for some digital rights proponents, any kind of heavy-handed legal enforcement intended to limit content sharing between consumers is destined to fail, while alternative business models have been more than inadequate.
“The very first time a major music industry executive heard about Napster and got nervous, they turned left and went down and talked to their lawyers instead of walking out of their office and turning right and heading down to the business section,” said Corynne McSherry, intellectual property director [corrected] for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “That was the fundamental mistake.”
Bruce Gain - ip-watch.org
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