Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies offers up his guide to copyright reform in a National Post op-ed today. Noting that the "products of the mind" for which the record labels claim to seek protection are the products of artists' minds, Page outlines the three principles articulated by the CMCC, including an end to P2P lawsuits, no support for DRM and the WIPO Internet treaties, and government assistance focused on Canadian artists. Page also notes the growing interest in the CMCC, with artists such as Randy Bachman, Sam Roberts, Feist, and Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo jumping on board.
Update: There is an enormous amount of media coverage of today's CMCC press conference including TV coverage from CTV, radio coverage from CBC, and print coverage from Canadian Press.
Well, at least he’s educating himself
It was not too long ago that Page was on record for saying he was concerned file sharing woould force him to take a job at Tim Hortons (CBC Sunday April 2004).
I’m glad he’s educated himself on the horrors of letting corporate interests rewrite copyright law, but for years his band, like many, ignored the real issues.
This may, in fact, be the reason for his urgency!
at last, voices of reason
I was wondering how long it would be before canadian artists realized suing customers for liking music is, er, well, rather silly. I think project opus (http://projectopus.com)
is on the right track when it comes to new ways to sell and distribute music legally. Let any artist who wants to upload their music do so, and the fans decide what is good. Sales are split 50-50,the artist retains total control of their music and no one gets sued.
Reply
Would like to know more about CMCC.
For outsourcing voice, chat, email or back-office support, visit the website of Aumenta Call Center, India.
http://www.aumenta.cc
Share and Control your intellectual prop
The internet is a tool as any other, if you can’t beat them, join them and innovate the tools.
To attempt to stop the progression of this technology is akin to closing the barn door after the horses get out!
Art in all formats, especially musical expression can’t be appreciated if no one can easily access it. For musical artists to make it harder to access their “product” seems short sighted and detrimental to the cause- nothing ventured, nothing gained.
In all fairness, the law reforms should concentrate on ensuring the original creaters of the music benefit BEFORE anyone else. If legal file sharing enables the artist to be the recipient of a majority of the monetary gains in addition to creative control, I say “More power to the CMCC.”