The Canadian Podcasting Legal Guide was unveiled by Andy Kaplan-Myrth and Kathi Simmons at Podcasters Across Borders and is now available for download (in html and pdf) from the Creative Commons Canada site.
The presentation by Andy and Kathi will be available for download on the Canadian Podcast Buffet in the next two weeks.
I have been catching up on my blog reading over the last few days (I fell behind sometime in late 2006). I’ve made huge progress. In the process, I have been reminded why I want to have Michael Geist speak at Podcasters Across Borders. Actually, there are many reasons.
Two of the posts that I have read so far this morning should be required reading for any Canadian Podcaster who has an interest in licensing issues and/or the use of music on their shows:
Michael Geist’s blog is loaded with critical and insightful discussions on matters related to licensing and copyright.
The Podcasters Across Borders program will be announced later this month.
Last week I blogged about Steve Jobs calling for an end Digital Rights Management (Steve Jobs takes on DRM). Add Yahoo! and music giant EMI to the list.
A USA Today article (EMI in talks to dump copy protection) reports that David Goldberg, General Manager for Yahoo Music, believes online music sales would increase by 15% to 20% without DRM. The article quotes Goldberg as saying “The labels understand that DRM has to go. It’s nothing but a tax on digital consumers.”
The article also reports that EMI is in discussions with online music stores to sell its catalog free of DRM protections, and has already done so with music by Norah Jones.
Vote with your money.
Steve Jobs has published an essay — Thoughts on Music — in which he calls for an end to Digital Rights Management (DRM).
Mr. Jobs makes several very important statements in his essay. One explains that, theoretically, music buyers are locked into the supplier/technology through which they make their purchase…
Apple, Microsoft and Sony all compete with proprietary systems. Music purchased from Microsoft’s Zune store will only play on Zune players; music purchased from Sony’s Connect store will only play on Sony’s players; and music purchased from Apple’s iTunes store will only play on iPods.
The essay then explains some of the reasons why DRM is not working and suggests some alternatives. The alternative that is given the most attention is an end to DRM. The treatment begins with…
Why would the big four music companies agree to let Apple and others distribute their music without using DRM systems to protect it? The simplest answer is because DRMs haven’t worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy. Though the big four music companies require that all their music sold online be protected with DRMs, these same music companies continue to sell billions of CDs a year which contain completely unprotected music. That’s right! No DRM system was ever developed for the CD, so all the music distributed on CDs can be easily uploaded to the Internet, then (illegally) downloaded and played on any computer or player.
Stay tuned.
Daryl Cognito (Poddog Show) has brought Tariff No. 22 to my attention. It’s part of a document that was released on May 20, 2006 by the Copyright Board. Tariff No. 22 deals specifically with COMMUNICATIONS OF MUSICAL WORKS VIA THE INTERNET OR SIMILAR TRANSMISSION FACILITIES.
A quick read through suggests that there will be a minimum monthly fee of $200 for online services that allow users to “select and listen to, reproduce for later listening, or both listen to and reproduce for later listening, a musical work or part of a musical work”. The tariff appears to allow the service to play all covered musical works “as often as desired in 2007″.
In an effort to figure out more about the scope of the tariff and what it means to Podcasters, I’ve sent an email to a few experts in this area. I will keep you posted.
Michael Bell sent me an email to let me know about a BoingBoing entry by Cory Doctorow. The post suggests an urgent need to protest an impending UN anti-podcasting treaty.
Other than having read the post, I don’t know anything about it. If I find out anything, I’ll post about it.
PublicBroadcasting.ca has launched a new initiative called Shuffle. The core of the concept is that Podcasting technology is used to push new Canadian music, provided by its creators or their representatives, to those who are looking for music. As the site says, “Let music shop for you”.
Among the unique qualities of this service is its respect of the rights of music creators and copyright holders. The website clearly states “Just because a song is on shuffle, does not mean you can do as you please with it. Nothing is expressed or implied about licensing or copyright status when a song is placed on shuffle”.
While Shuffle may be the new model of consumption for music seekers, there are likely to be challenges in enforcing restrictions on the types of content supplied, and its sources. As with many new concepts, adoption by both suppliers and consumers will be the first hurdle to overcome.
New media consulting and audio productions for traditional and Internet-based distribution including narrative, interview, documentary, conference coverage and promotional programs. Our podcasting experts and new media specialists will help you take your brand and message to the world.
PAB2008, the third annual international podcasting extravaganza, will be taking place in Kingston, Ontario (Canada) on June 20-22, 2008.
I served as bass player for various, early, incarnations of the Robert Farrell Band, last performing with Robert in 1997. After a long hiaitus from music to focus on family and a career, I started working on my first CD, real, in 2004 — before I discovered Podcasting.
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