music as culture

Well, the Digital Economy Bill passed. One of the stupidest yet most potentially catastrophic bits of legislation ever forced through in the Wash-Up (the last couple of days of a Parliament before an election.

I opposed it, I still oppose it and I will continue to oppose any legislation about the internet written by people who don’t understand the internet or, in this case, the music industries and the role that music plays in our culture.

I’m particularly ashamed that the Musicians Union – a Union of which I am a member, was a proud member, and have supported by paying double what I should’ve been paying for the last two years – supported this insane bill, to the detriment of musicians everywhere.

I made this public, and got an email of their ‘official position’ this morning, which is: Continue reading “My letter to the Musicians Union About the Digital Economy Bill”

This is my live blog of the ‘Music As Culture’ session at Unconvention in Manchester – it was a discussion hosted by Andrew Dubber and Jez Collins of Birmingham School Of Media. It was a great discussion, and my precis of it is here:

[6:00]Featured Artist’s Coalition (FAC) – policy decisions driving by people with the loudest voices. BPI/big music etc.
FAC says thereâ€™s another agenda here – that of the artists. Important for Policy.
The problem is that theyâ€™re all coming at it from the point of view that â€˜music is something through which money is madeâ€

We asked â€˜is there a way of engaging with people who do things with music as culture rather than commerce? do they have a voice?â€™ â€˜is there a will – partic. with indies, to say that culture is important.â€™
Deleting music – because thereâ€™s no imperative to release back catalogue, 90% isnâ€™t currently available. No-one even knows who owns it.
problem with blanket extension of copyright is that that legacy music gets left to rot in the archives.
So letâ€™s have a conversation about it. Continue reading “Music As Culture, at UnConvention”