The Sports and Entertainment Law Section of The Bar Association of San Francisco presents:
"How Soon is Now?: Cutting Edge Issues for the Digital Music Revolution"
Scheduled Panelists:
Chuck D, Founder, Public Enemy
David Samuel, C.E.O., Spinner.com
Matt Oppenheim, Associate Counsel, R.I.A.A.
Arnold E. Brown, C.E.O., Audio Explosion, Inc.
Ron Sobel, Asst. V.P of Repertory, A.S.C.A.P.
Jeff Patterson, C.E.O., I.U.M.A.
Anthony R. Berman, Attorney, Idell, Berman, & Seitel, A Law Association
Thursday, March 4, 1999
Thanks to the Internet, the music industry is ripe for a revolution. Technologies such as MP3, which enable instant copying and transmission of music to thousands around the globe with a click of a mouse, threaten the virtual monopoly the established recording industry has enjoyed over the distribution of music since its inception. The growing number of Web sites offering musical content, both licensed and otherwise, hastens the need to explore the implications inherent in this latest transformation.
Some fear music's value will inevitably diminish as artists and rights holders lose control and protection over their copyrights, receiving no royalties for their songs. While others believe the Internet promises to provide the ultimate delivery infrastructure, allowing musicians to connect directly with consumers, micro-marketing on a macro-scale. All agree the Internet presents both real challenges and amazing opportunities in a new era of online entertainment delivery.
Cutting-edge issues such as cyberspace music licensing, the creation of a new model for music delivery via e-commerce in a global marketplace, and technological transformations enabling instant access to unlimited entertainment content will be the featured topics on a panel discussion entitled "How Soon Is Now?: Cutting Edge Issues for the Digital Music Revolution" sponsored by the Entertainment and Sports Law Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco <http://www.sfbar.org/>. The panel will consist of a 2-hour discussion among artists planning to sell music on the Internet, experts on the protection of intellectual property in cyberspace, developers of technology enabling the digital distribution of music on the Internet, representatives from copyright holders societies, and successful online music entrepreneurs.
Panelists include rap artist Chuck D, leader and co-founder of Public Enemy, the first major recording group to leave its major record label in favor of releasing its music independently via digital distribution on the Internet. After Public Enemy's label ordered it to remove the band's unreleased remix album, "Bring The Noise 2000," from the group's Web site <http://www.public-enemy.com/> in early December, Chuck D has been an outspoken supporter of digital distribution of music citing the technological leveling effect and unprecedented opportunity cyberspace promises independent artists. Public Enemy's latest single, "Swindler's Lust," a song critical of the traditional power structure in the music industry was released on the Internet using the MP4 format and the group plans to release a "digital" album online this spring.
Online music industry pioneer, David Samuel, founder and C.E.O. of
Spinner.com, the preeminent Web site for music delivery on the Internet
<http://www.spinner.com> will also take part in the discussion. One of
first individuals to realize the enormous potential the Internet
provides for music delivery, Samuel began making music available on the
Web over three years ago. With more than 110 unique music channels,
listeners can hear 140,000 entire songs, click for artist and CD
information, rate the music, and purchase CDs. Spinner.com receives
nearly 700,000 unique listeners and nearly 40 million impressions per
month.
Matt Oppenheim, Associate Counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.), <http://www.riaa.com/>, the trade group who represents the U.S. recording industry, will also be a featured panelist at the event. The R.I.A.A. consists of over 250 member companies and is currently responsible for creating, manufacturing, and/or distributing 90 percent of all sound recordings sold in the United States. Last year, the R.I.A.A. initiated legal action against the manufacturer of a portable device designed to play and store MP3 music downloaded from the Internet. Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. v. R.I.A.A. Most recently the R.I.A.A. announced it intends to support its own secure music delivery system for the Internet, called the Secure Digital Music Initiative (S.D.M.I.) by Christmas 1999.
Arnold E. Brown II, President and C.E.O. of San Francisco based Internet start-up Audio Explosion, Inc. will also participate on the panel. <http://www.audioexplosion.com/> Audio Explosion's free software application, Mjuice Media Player, allows consumers to acquire high quality digital songs securely on the Internet and play them back on a personal computer or transfer them to a portable device. Prior to founding Audio Explosion, Brown was an attorney at Venture Law Group and has provided legal advice to high-tech Silicon Valley start-ups since the early 90's.
Ron Sobel, the Assistant Vice President of Repertory at the American
Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (A.S.C.A.P.)
<http://www.ascap.com/> is also scheduled to participate at the forum.
A.S.C.A.P. represents over 80,000 composers, songwriters, lyricists,
and music publishers and works to protect the rights of its members by
licensing and paying royalties for the public performances of their
copyrighted works. Aimed at increasing the authorized use of music on
the web, A.S.C.A.P. offers Web site operators a license which allows
them to legally perform music on the Internet.
President and founder of the Internet Underground Music Archive, (I.U.M.A.), Jeff Patterson, will also take part in the discussion. One of the oldest and largest online music providers, I.U.M.A. led the charge in the Internet music industry in 1993 with a vision to democratize the business of music distribution before the World Wide Web was even developed <http://www.iuma.com/>. Over 2700 independent musicians now use the I.U.M.A. Web site to distribute their recordings, where visitors can listen to and then purchase the music they like. Newsweek listed Patterson as one of the "50 For the Future" and Websight named him one of the100 most influential people on the Web. In 1998 he co-authored, "Audio on the Web: The Official IUMA Guide."
The panel will be moderated by Anthony R. Berman, a multimedia and entertainment law attorney in San Francisco with the firm Idell, Berman & Seitel, A Law Association. Berman is the Chair of the Sports and Entertainment Law Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Multimedia & Entertainment Law Online News (M.E.L.O.N.) Web site <http://www.degrees.com/melon/>. His clients include Internet music companies, record labels, Web site developers, Web casters, artists, performers, and music industry executives.
For registration information, please telephone Raquel Morata, (415) 782-8918. The price for admission to the forum is $40 for Section Members, $45 BASF Members, and $50 for all others. Two hours of MCLE credit may be earned for attending this event.
Event's Location:
Bar Association of San Francisco Auditorium
465 California Street, 12th Floor
San Francisco, California
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.-March 4th, 1999
Posted by:
Anthony R. Berman
<arberman[_at_]nbn.com>
Received on Mon Feb 15 1999 - 21:48:02 GMT
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