jam young

Recently I got a mail on the Austrian mailing list about an event that was looking at the music business, from the CC perspective, i went along to the event. My second Creative Commons event so far, other than the the first event i went to in Croatia.

It seems mostly a closed shop to the commons for those without a university education, intellectuals funded via universities are the ones that are putting together the jigsaw in their own “free time”.

Often it also seems about research topics and presenting topics to the EU, to keep their world rocking and not rock from rocking. Ask someone funded through a project that relates to the commons about putting an article they might make in regard to the commons, out and about under a CC licenses, and you’ll get an inverted explosive blank look, yet these guys get the invitations to all the gigs, even though they not using the licenses. Ultimatly if they did use the licensse, they might not publish to journals, just as the artist that wants to be a rock star best not use a CC license. Then again this blog does not have a CC license on it.

The event in Vienna I went to was funded by bunch of corporations and yet mostly sponsored by the telecommunications company, free beer was available to get the attention of those around, yet not the real http://www.freebeer.org

The night started out with Stephan Dorfmeister from G-stone. He was talking about the way that funds are digested by the industry and then handed back out. Stephan’s main concern was reform of the redistribution of funds collection via these organizations.

G-stone seemed insistent that AKM (rights organizations in Austria) was not responsible for problems that relate to issues of self publishing. My view is fully opposite that, G-stone’s knowledge of the CC licenese’s and their application seemed kind of limited.

I explained how i thought that it was not fair that the live venues in Austria are paying for the use of live songs, where as when an artists based in Austria (with AKM) that uploaded content to a server based in the US, the content be free to that server. A server based in Europe has to pay for streaming of content, its also difficult also as rights organizations in Europe don’t list who their members are.

This creates a kind of paralel universe that ultimatley empowers a US business model, and often means that web services in Eruope are partly subsidized. maybe?

Stephan seemed insistent that a service called Merlin would solve any trouble that the indie artist had. Again and again using the word Merlin, explaining that Merlin would collect any revenues that the rights organizations could not scoop, from myspace or youtube, any US based web service that was not paying for use of content. The reason why these services don’t pay in many instances for the use of content is that the artist contracts for the use of rights is a non-exclusive contract.

What is interesting is that Merlin an NGO based in UK. My understanding is that as BBC had so much content used on youtube, the BBC were able to insist that all artists that were members of UK rights organizations based in the UK be paid when their content is used on youtube/online mediums.

In effect what has happend is that IODA (US based company) and their pool of indie content is able finds a back door to get paid for all use of content via BBC/uk/rights admin/law. Maybe? Is this fair? What about rights organizations in conjunction with mechanical organizations in each territory being able to do their job, why is only the BBC able to flex its muscles? Is this legal, or am i confused? Or is it illegal and i’m also confused? or is it just fine that the publisher/label always gets paid no matter what terms or conditions they agree to?

I checked out Merlins website. The mission of Merlin… “Merlin is a non-profit organisation charged with representing independent music companies in enhancing the commercial exploitation of their copyrights on a global basis.”

Merlin does not represent artists it only represents companies. It has the same face as the regular rights organizations, yet these guys have left the artists out of the loop. Look at the board of directors. So this is a bunch of independent music companies going in for the kill with smaller vacum cleaners, armed with copyright law and innovative lawyers.

What is most interesting about Merlin is that it says this… “Merlin reserves the right to refuse membership to any company whose membership the supervisory board of Merlin reasonably believes would be incompatible with the achievement of Merlin’s objectives.” I reckon its safe to say that artists that set up their own company and go in for representation with Merlin that use a creative commons license are not going to be allowed in.

Its interesting that Kevin Arnold, IODA, company based in San Francisco representing independent labels for distribution of MP3’s is the power house for content within the Merlin network. IODA is the key to a massive pool of indie content, the idea is that all the labels shall be paid for all uses that are not able to be collected. Its interesting that artists that agree to the terms and conditions that allow their content to be used freely are now going be paid for the use of their content. Maybe?

This possibly means that services like youtube and myspace are going to be forced to serve up published content, so they can pay their bills. For sure its going to make it harder for artists to self publish their works to their community. IODA/merlin is locking down the net, for the sake of a couple of dollars for larger indie labels/publishers.

My experience with IODA as an artist that was falsely represented by them, is simple. If your an artist without a lawyer, we don’t care for your rights. Itsaboutmusic a street label represented my tunes through the IODA distribution network without my consent. A street label to my mind is a label that takes any content for a price and pools it into a larger network, they get paid for doing nothing, the deal is non-exclusive, yet few artists do a reverse turn. IODA do not list IAM as a label and ItsAboutMusic don’t list IODA as their distributor. What’s worse is that IAM infer that they do direct business with all of IODA’s content distributors. I contacted IODA 6 months ago asking them to include itsaboutmusic within their label search, and that IAM show IODA on as their distributing partner. No change so far.

Anyway.. it seems part vampire to the left of me fully vicious vampire to the right. Without a lawyer ,an accountant, with a company set up, what chance does the self publishing artist have to get any revenue through the centralized media? Keep the artist hungry, don’t let them know their rights and pool what the self publishing artist make to your friends labels.

I’m not a lawyer, so maybe i have all this mixed up, little snake… big snake though, what’s the difference. The rules of the corporate media must be obeyed to at all times, regardless of how stupid or backward they might be. I reckon i’m defending the right for the artist to make her/ his own choice. Or maybe i’m just throwing it out and about.

Content poolers are using every means they can to shut down freedoms, to get access to a shrinking pie. How to make a non-exclusive an exclusive, to a non-exclusive and always get paid. Artists deserve the right to choose. AKM is wrong, Merlin is wrong, monopolies that control rights to songs on any exclusive basis that are not published songs, need to be shut out of the system. Let the art flow, de-regulate. No wizards in this game, just a new layer of corruption to re-hedge the same thing in a different suit with the same set of shoes.

What happens when that 10 percent of the world can’t afford your indie content, are you not shooting your artists in the foot, with the lie of Merlin?

I heard that 10 percent of the worlds population can afford copyright content. If you work at Merlin, keep this in mind. You do have the right to take your label out of Merlin’s network and build bridges that help the art in your community, well i hope you do. Don’t support the independent global music sweat shop. Its not really independent, its another loose loose device that the major label/publisher is using to lock those lower down the scale out of the game. I reckon it starts with the artist that you have met. Doing business with art in these big pools seems so impersonal and can’t be what the “songs” want, if the song had choice.

At the home page of Merlin, it says why Merlin exists.

“Merlin also does not operate in the space occupied by Collecting Societies, rather Merlin aims to address the gap between what these societies are able to offer their members and what labels and aggregators can achieve individually.”

The reason why Merlin exists is because media like myspae and youtube pay the large publishers/labels yet not the small publishers/labels. Rather than Merlin going with the future, they have run with herd of dinosaurs that are consuming each other in a war on rights ,rather than looking at the real picture.

Consider that it is the job of rights organizations to look after all their members on equal terms as far as collecting royalties, they don’t do this, yet that is their job. When independent labels and publishers agree to terms and conditions that give their media away freely, yet then want to get paid as well, yet not get paid through their own territory, yet via agreements in the UK, where all use of media is payed for. What is the end result?

Ultimately the territory that protects those rights is empowered and the self publishing artists in all territories are pushed aside. Consider that the younger generation on a general level have less interest in music than the generation of 35 plus. New game technology and technology that allows people to create and interact is what has eroded the media, not just that reality that every household in the developed world has a copy machine.

Independent labels/publishers best look at the dynamic from the self publishers point of view rather than that of the major labels and publishers. That is if the concept behind your label is to connect whats around you to the community around you.

Consider what your trying to achieve with artists in your community, not with what major label/publisher dinosaurs. Ultimately Merlin is the wizard that is going to put your content out of business, the problem seems that small labels/publishers are being sucked in by the illusion of a forced regulation. Even if the Internet was dissolved and shelved, i don’t reckon the music business would revert back to what it was. Distributors like IODA that don’t have any transparency within their system ,that allows artist’s within their pool to have assurance and security about the use of what they create, are not the way.

IODA/merlin might remove you (”you” being the company that signs up) from the community, might even wax your legs with the same spell that the major label/publishers have been tarnished with via the public’s perspective. I can’t see how any train can do a hard right turn and stay on track, its strange to see the indies flock to the de-railed wastelands. Do other ways exist to innovate? What does independent mean in all this? What of the rights of the future generation? Is the Merlin blanket going to be the box around your organization that you get burned in, not even leaving a tomb “stone” behind ? What did the last artist that you signed and gave an advance 2 have 2 say about the word free ?!