Podcast Interview with Entertainment Attorney Josh Wattles on FMC's Artist Principles

Back in April, FMC released the "Principles for Musician Compensation in New Business Models” (or “Artist Principles”) — a set of guidelines for ensuring creator compensation in an evolving music landscape. Crafted by artist advocate Ann Chaitovitz with input from over a dozen industry experts, the Principles represent a first step in ongoing discussions about musicians’ revenue streams. You can read the document (and a handy point-by-point translation) here.

One of the main reasons for drafting this item was to get a conversation going with some of the smart people in the music world about what they think are the most important issues facing artists in the digital age. While we don’t expect these principles to be embraced by everyone, we do want to makes sure those with something to add to the discussion had a forum in which to do so.

This installment is an interview with Los Angeles-based attorney Josh Wattles, whose years in the copyright and entertainment fields have awarded him with an insider's perspective (and no shortage of opinions). Wattles talks to FMC about what he would envision in a pro-artist document, and makes some provocative statements about what the role of a record label should be in today's music marketplace.

Check out the MP3 of our conversation, and stay tuned for more podcasts in this series.

SanFran MusicTech Summit: Podcast Interview With Brian Zisk

FMC co-founder and Technologies Director Brian Zisk is a fascinating guy to talk to, especially when he's gearing up for one of his SanFran MusicTech Summits, which bring together the best and brightest in the music/technology space along with musicians, media folks, industry representatives and others who contribute to the digital music ecosystem. With the next SFMTS set for Monday, May 18 at the Kabuki Hotel in San Francisco, we figured a podcast interview with Brian was in order.

We asked Brian for a sneak preview of the event, which features panel discussions on "The Future of the Music Industry," "Monetization," "The Studio of the Future." Speakers include FMC’s Jean Cook and Kristin Thomson, Terry McBride of Nettwerk Music Group, Tim Westergren of Pandora, Zahavah Levine of YouTube, Dean Hudson of Sub Pop Records, and FMC advisory board members Josh Wattles of deviantART and Jim Griffin of Choruss/Onehouse/Pho. (To name just a few.)

Once you get chatting with Brian the conversation can end up anywhere, but it's pretty much guaranteed to be interesting. Actually, we can't think of any other podcast interview we've done where both Hannah Montana and Frank Zappa were mentioned. So there you go.

Check out the interview here.

The clock's ticking to reserve your spot at SanFran Music Tech Summit (May 18 is, like, next week), so you should act now. You know Brian will be psyched to see you!

Podcast Interview with Billboard's Glenn Peoples on FMC's Artist Principles

A few weeks ago (April 2, 2009, to be exact), FMC released the Principles for Musician Compensation in New Business Models” (or “Artist Principles”) — a set of guidelines for ensuring creator compensation in an evolving music landscape. Crafted by artist advocate Ann Chaitovitz with input from over a dozen industry experts, the Principles represent an important first step in ongoing discussions about musicians’ revenue streams. You can read the document (and a handy point-by-point translation) here.

One of the main reasons for drafting this item was to get a conversation going with some of the smart people in the music world about what they think are the most important issues facing artists in the digital age. While we don’t expect these principles to be embraced by everyone, we do want to makes sure those with something to add to the discussion had a forum in which to do so.

Hence our new series of podcast conversations with leading music industry minds about the Artist Principles. The first edition features Billboard Magazine’s Senior Editorial Analyst Glenn Peoples. Glenn recently finished a five-and-a-half year run at the highly respected music industry blog Coolfer, which he founded. Now, his whip-smart industry observations can be read daily at Billboard.biz, in addition to longer features in the print version.

Glenn recently wrote an article about FMC’s Artist Principles, which you can read here. Glenn’s piece praised the principles — which put forth some broad guidelines about how artists should get paid in an evolving digital music landscape — for their call to greater transparency in accounting for revenue generated by new services. Yet he had some problems with a few of the points, especially those having to do with the relationship between artists and labels.

We asked Glenn to spend a few minutes with us to further explain how he views these complex issues at in a tricky time for the music business. Click here to listen to an MP3 of our brief chat, and stay tuned for more on this subject. . .

HINT at SXSW — Podcast Interview with Alex Maiolo

Just wanted to let all you Austin-bound peeps that Alex Maiolo, project coordinator for FMC's Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT), will be at South By Southwest this year, rocking out and spreading the word about this free service for musicians.

What's this HINT thing all about? Well, it's an information resource for musicians to learn about their health insurance options. After scheduling an appointment on the HINT website (which also contains lots of useful, musician-friendly info), artists get a call from health insurance experts Alex or Chris Stephenson, who'll go over an individual's options on case-by-case, state-by-state basis. Alex and Chris are also indie musicians — no stuffed-shirt nerditude here, just solid, (and free!) info.

So, as we were saying. . . Alex will be at SXSW this week, talking to musicians and managers about HINT. He probably won't have time to do one-on-one sessions, but if you're in Austin and want to to catch one of his informal group chats, shoot him an e-mail here.

Oh, and we almost forgot — Alex recently talked to us about HINT, why health insurance is important to musicians (even if you think you don't have time to learn about it), and why Austin during SXSW is probably the most unhealthy place in the world. Fun as hell, though. Check it out here.

Podcast Interview Series: web.illish.us

Not too long ago, we told you about web.illish.us — a series of multi-faceted music and entertainment events that take place at Silk City in Philadelphia on the third Wednesday of the month from November 19, 2008 until February 18, 2009.

The brainchild of Future of Music Coalition and realizePhiladelphia — a group that promotes social causes through musical and educational events — web.illish.us will help raise awareness about the importance of net neutrality.

Each event highlights a different aspect of the open internet. The first installment, “Level up, ppl,” is an introduction to net neutrality and will focus on the level playing field it provides to creators and musicians.

Musical acts at the November 19 show will include Black Landlord, Tuphace and DJ C Sharp. Speakers will include FMC’s Education Director Kristin Thomson, entertainment attorney and Drexel Music Industry Program Director Marcy Rauer Wagman, studio producer/engineer Robert “Taj” Walton (Fugees, Boyz 2 Men, Wyclef Jean), William Lewis of Big Bloc Entertainment and Geoff DiMasi of P'unk Avenue.

Future shows will focus on “Digital Love” (digital inclusion), “Kiss My RSS” (Participatory Democracy) and “Threads and Cred” (Creative Culture).

If you can't make the shows, don't worry — they'll all be webcast live at the web.illish.us site.

FMC recently had the opportunity to speak with realizePhiladelphia's Dejha Mascellino and Drew Kramer about how they came up with the web.illish.us concept, what people can expect from the events, and why the open internet is important to them. You can listen to it here (right click or option click to download; single click to stream).

We also contributed a post to the web.illish.us blog that explains the connection between net neutrality and musicians. For more information on this issue, visit Rock the Net.

So mark your calendars and bookmark web.illish.us, because these events are gonna be awesome!

Kronos Quartet's Sidney Chen on Net Neutrality

Kronos Quartet

We recently spoke with Sidney Chen, Artistic Administrator for avant-classical ensemble Kronos Quartet, about why net neutrality needs to be preserved. With an ecelctic repertoire ranging from film soundtracks to chamber interpretations of Bartók and Jimi Hendrix, Kronos aren't your typical mainstream band. The open internet allows them to reach potential audiences in a way that conventional media — with its gatekeepers and middlemen — cannot. That's why they're founding members of FMC's Rock the Net campaign, which raises awareness about the importance of net neutrality to the music community.

But how about we let Sidney explain it in his own words?

Rock the Net Podcast with Sidney Chen

If you haven't already picked up your copy of our brand-new compilation CD, Rock the Net: Musicians for Net Neutrality, you should get on it! the CD, which features tracks by Wilco, Aimee Mann, Bright Eyes, The Wrens and more, is available at your favorite CD store, or online from iTunes, Amazon (MP3 store) and eMusic.

SanFran MusicTech Summit 2!

Attention, West Coasters (or those of you with lots of frequent flyer miles):

FMC co-founder, serial entrepreneur and music/technology expert Brian Zisk is about to pull back the curtain on the second SanFran MusicTech Summit, which takes place on May 8 at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco.

The first event took place last February, and brought together the sharpest minds in the music and technology world(s) to discuss where all this stuff might be heading. The May 8 Summit promises further opportunities for musicians, entrepreneurs and technologists to interact and explore new possibilities and solutions. Click here for the full list of speakers, which includes representatives from SeeqPod, SomaFM, RockYou! CDBaby, Songza, Project Opus, Geek Entertainment TV, the Consumer Electronics Association, Rhapsody and more. But as Brian says, the guests are almost as impressive as the panelists.

For more information (and to purchase tickets), visit SanFranMusicTech.com. Check out video from the previous SFMT here.

And be sure to check out our chat with Brian Zisk — part of FMC's ongoing Podcast Interview Series.

Podcast Interview Series: Peter Jenner

"We forget that copyright is a reflection of an underlying principle — that we the public enjoy and want to stimulate creativity. And we have to find a way of rewarding that creative work, or else [the artist] can't afford to be creative and develop in their skills and so on." — Peter Jenner

The latest installment of FMC's Podcast Interview Series features Peter Jenner, Secretary General of the International Music Managers Forum. In the course of a storied career, Jenner spearheaded London's legendary Hyde Park concerts and managed such acts as Pink Floyd, Marc Bolan of T. Rex and The Clash. He currently represents artist-activist Billy Bragg, whose recent Opinion piece in the New York Times inspired lively online debate.

Jenner is an impassioned advocate for artist rights and the importance of protecting musicians' revenue streams. He spoke to us about why artists need to be paid for recorded works in order to keep creating the music we love (and some take for granted).

Click here to listen to the entire conversation. (Warning: there are a couple of F-bombs, but they're delivered in an awesome British accent, if that helps.)

FMC's Podcast Interview Series: Brian Zisk

"I think that fans like supporting musicians, and if you can find ways to more directly connect them, you'll find a way that works." — Brian Zisk on new technologies in music.

Welcome to the second installment of our ongoing Online Interview Series, in which we chat with experts in music, technology, policy and law. This episode features FMC founding board member, Technologies Director and "serial entrepreneur" Brian Zisk, whose SanFran MusicTech Summit takes place at the Kabuki Hotel in San Francisco on Monday, February 25.

Brian spoke with us about his reasons for putting together the conference, and waxed philosophical about the tricky issues at the intersection of music, technology, law and policy. Listen to a full MP3 of the conversation here.

Podcast Interview Series: Tim Quirk of Rhapsody

Tim Quirk [r] at FMC's 2007 Policy Summit. Photo by Caroline Deutermann

“The market has spoken: people have said they want their music digitally. It’s a completely mainstream way of accessing music these days — it’s not just hacker college kids.” — Tim Quirk, on modern music distribution.

Have you ever checked out the folks that make up FMC’s advisory board? There are some very diverse and accomplished people in tune with our work, and we’re always thrilled to have them offer their perspectives. In fact, we’ve long wanted to share their views and opinions with you, as our advisory board represents a ton of music-related knowledge and experience.

Recently, we were finally able to do so. Our first victim, er, interviewee, was none other than Tim Quirk, the VP of Music Programming for Rhapsody — a music service with millions of songs available for subscription or purchase.

But Quirk isn’t just a music technologist; he’s also a musician. He spent ten years as the singer and lyricist for Too Much Joy, and currently performs and records as one-half of the electro-pop outfit Wonderlick. In the years between his touring adventures and his duties with Rhapsody, Quirk worked as a music journalist.

Given the recent shifts in how major labels approach doing business in the digital age, we figured Quirk would be a great person to talk to about the “future of music.” And we were right: throughout our interview, Quirk answered questions about emerging technology, consumer confidence in an ailing industry and the impact new models of accessing music could have on your average, independently-oriented musician.

Here’s an MP3 of the full conversation for your listening pleasure.

Stay tuned for more chats with some of the music world’s most intriguing and informed players, who also happen to be FMC supporters.