I don’t pretend to be a journalist, so I guess it’s okay for me to simply cut and paste a press release. Just so you know, that’s what this is.
Dear Andrew Dubber,
I think you and your readers may be interested in the Seventh Annual Policy Summit the Future of Music Coalition is organizing this fall.
The Future of Music Coalition is a national nonprofit that works on the issues at the intersection of music, law, technology and policy. Before FMC, the founders Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson co-ran the indie label Simple Machines and played in the band Tsunami.
If you are able to attend our Policy Summit you will hear firsthand from musicians, the music industry, intellectual property lawyers and the government about what issues the music industry is facing and what is being done both in law and technology that will have major impacts on music’s future.
Additionally, you will become part of the conversation developing innovative solutions to the most critical issues at the intersection of music, law, technology and policy.
To ensure that the people most affected by these debates are not left out of the discussion, the Future of Music Coalition offers scholarships for working musicians.
Our scholarship information is available here:
http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit07/scholarshipinfo.cfm
In the meantime, please sign up for our newsletters and add our blog to your reader to stay up to date on activities leading up to Summit and new keynote speakers and panelists as they’re announced.
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7th Annual Future of Music Policy Summit
September 17-18, 2007
GWU Betts Theatre, Washington, DC
http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit07/
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“The first clue that the Future of Music Policy Conference wasn’t going to be your average tech gathering: no exhibit hall, no booths, no free tins of mints imprinted with the name of some new online music start-up. This conference was less about hype, business plans, or “the next killer app,” and more about understanding how the Internet has impacted the music business and how digital-music policies, businesses, and artist roles might change (for better or worse) in the future.” — Chicago Tribune, 2001
“On the last morning of the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit, I was talking with the better half of the D.C. power couple who were lending me a couch, and tried to explain– in a nutshell– what the Summit was
actually about. After rambling about “technology” and “copyright law” and laughing about how Melissa Ferrick and the guy from Magnatunes almost came to blows at the second panel, I stopped, took a breath and said: “You know the time between when a record leaves the artist’s hands and before it gets to listener’s ears? The Summit covers everything that happens in between.” — Pitchfork, 2005
“The Future of Music Coalition’s annual policy summits are where chain links meet cuff links as musicians and songwriters press the issues – and the flesh — with the political powerbrokers who help determine their future. [...] The style clash reflected the summit’s reputation as a kind of Geneva where all sides in any number of contentious music industry fights can get together and play nice for a few days. Even more importantly, it offers pinstriped Washingtonians a rare opportunity to hear musicians articulate their concerns in person instead of relying on competing lobbying groups that claim to espouse their interests.” — Washington Post, 2004
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Personally, I’d love to be there myself, but those are two of the most non-negotiable days of my job as a degree leader at the university. Induction week for the new intake is that week, and September 17th is what we affectionately refer to as The Day of the Locusts.
Since I don’t think they’re likely to reschedule just because I have important responsibilities on those particular days, I’d like to propose an alternative solution.
If you’re in the DC area (or can travel there), are able to string a half-decent sentence together and would like to cover this for New Music Strategies, I’m happy to work with you to secure press credentials.
I won’t pay you any money, but you never know – they might have free stuff. We could split it. 70/30?
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4 Comments
It’s ok Andrew, I trust you. It’s ok when you do it.
I have been a member of the Future of Music Coalition since day one, and attended a FMC conference in Georgetown a few years back. Though I had a “working musicians scholarship”, I personally paid to get to DC from Chicago, as well as for my lodging…because I deemed it necessary to know just how I would continue to be a working professional musician in the, well, future. I learned a lot, and it became a lot clearer over the course of three days what the future was (is). Especially notable was a lawyer from the EFF, who took on some DRM fanatic (it was a while ago) exec’s from the majors. EFF 1/Music Execs 0. Russ Feingold gave a great speech (I was hoping he would run for president in ’08) and along with Congressman Waxman, later helped spearhead the defeat of the disgusting takeover that was happening in the media all across the Land of Cheney. (which, as you may recall, was being aided and abetted by the Republican majority FCC. I thought they could have gone after Clear Channel under anti-trust laws, but they never went that far.)
There were only a handful of musicians present, probably because of the expense to get to and stay in DC. The only other person attending from Chicago (metro population: 10 million) was an expense account assisted writer for a major daily. There were podcasts of the proceedings..but…the importance of these meetings is to be there and participate in the give and take, the discourse..and network with people you’d never meet in the course of being a “professional working musician”.
So, Andy, I am going this time, on my own dime as we say here in Brickolopolis, and though I write like a professional working musician, which is to say I dance like an architect, I will gladly report back and try to string together a sentence or six.
Now when are YOU, sir, coming to Chicago so I can arrange to attend a seminar like the ones you are doing in the UK..I was just there (working professional musician that I am)in June and missed out, as I was working in Liverpool and London.
Yo’ byline generator in the USA,
John
I am in Baltimore, Maryland, a stone’s throw (well, a bit more) from DC. I’d be interested in going and covering the event, if you’d like to do a joint New Music Strategies/Any Given Tuesday type of coverage. I’m a lawyer by day, so it would be a great practical experience for me, plus something we can share the press on!
Well, this is a little bit overwhelming — I now have three official New Music Strategies cub reporters who will be attending the Future of Music Coalition Summit in Washington DC and reporting right here on the blog.
I’m hopeful there’ll be audio — maybe even a snippet of video — and some interesting stories from the event. I’m absolutely stoked and incredibly grateful.