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Future of Music Coalition is a national nonprofit organization that works to ensure a diverse musical culture where artists flourish, are compensated fairly for their work, and where fans can find the music they want. More
FMC on Twitter
- RT @freepress: Reminder: FCC Chair Genachowski is answering questions on Digg. #netneutrality http://bit.ly/24hJCr10 hours 39 min ago
- More info on today's #netneutrality panel at @nycctechcomm : http://bit.ly/6lRZqo12 hours 1 min ago
- RT @nycctechcomm: RT @CatherinVentura: Jean Cook of @FutureofMusic up now at City Hall. Great org! #netneutrality #reso712A12 hours 53 min ago
- RT @nycctechcomm: Jean Cook of @futureofmusic: ensuring rights for creators is not at all incompatible with #netneutrality principles # ...12 hours 53 min ago
- FMC's Jean Cook kicked ass w/ her #netneutrality statements at @nycctechcomm - check 'em out here: http://bit.ly/8vVv1p13 hours 32 sec ago
FutureBlog
FMC at City Hall
Today, FMC’s Jean Cook spoke at a hearing on net neutrality that was held by the New York City Council’s Committee on Technology and Government. Jean was among several witnesses which included representatives from technology, the public interest, digital entertainment and the creative community. Her remarks, which you can read in their entirety here, demonstrated the importance of open internet structures to musicians.
The goal of the hearing was for the Committee to decide about sending a resolution to Congress in support of HR 3458 — the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009 — as well as the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on net neutrality. read more
LPFM Passes in Senate Committee!
Yesterday, we told you about an important vote in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on the Local Community Radio Act of 2009. Well, we’re happy to report that the bill passed in a unanimous floor vote and will now be taken up by the full body.
The House version of the bill has already passed out of two key committees and will hopefully come to a full vote very soon. At that point, it’s a matter of harmonizing both versions of the legislation and getting it passed into law. read more
Low Power FM Heads to the Senate
Tomorrow (November 18) at 10 AM, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will vote on the Local Community Radio Act of 2009 (S 592) — a bill that would allow for the creation of hundreds more Low Power FM (LPFM) stations in towns and cities across the country. We’re glad that the Senate has taken up the legislation, as it has already made it through two key House committees and looks to pass out of the full House very soon.
Low Power FM stations are 100-watt “micro-broadcasters” that have a range of about 5-7 miles. In today’s super-consolidated commercial radio market, these small stations can go a long way towards giving people in local communities a voice on the public airwaves. From civic debate to public safety, LPFMs provide an important platform for a range of community-oriented programming. And they’re great for local and independent musicians who probably have little chance — no matter how talented they might be — of getting played on their neighborhood commercial station. read more
Muscians & Health Insurance Op-Ed in Chicago Tribune
Midwestern readers may have already come across this Op-Ed in the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune about musicians and health insurance. The piece, authored by Nan Warshaw (co-owner of Chicago indie label Bloodshot Records) and Alex Maiolo (project coordinator for FMC’s Health Insurance Navigation Tool, or HINT), talks about how the lack of affordable insurance is having a devastating impact on the creative community.
We think the article is interesting because instead of a “pity the poor musicians” angle, it portrays artists as what they actually are: entrepreneurs who are trying to compete in an open marketplace, like Americans are encouraged to do. Yet because to the current health insurance landscape, it is exceedingly difficult for most musicians to pursue their craft. read more
This Week in News
It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these, but there’s a lot of news tidbits this week that deserve a mention. Read on for the best of the bunch. . . read more
