Future of Music Coalition

Did you know that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the FCC to review its ownership rules every four years and “determine whether any of such rules are necessary in the public interest as the result of competition?”

Yep, it’s true. Remember the movie Groundhog Day? Some DC policy stuff definitely feels like deja-vu all over again. That’s cool — we’re still honored to be a part of an FCC’s Media Ownership Workshop which takes place at 9 AM tomorrow (Tuesday, November 3). Our very own Education Director, Kristin Thomson, will talk to the Commission’s Media Bureau about the importance of data collection and analysis in determining the framework for the FCC’s 2010 ownership proceedings. Also participating are Ken Ferree (Senior Fellow, The Progress and Freedom Foundation), Cheryl Leanza (Policy Director, The Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ), Andy Schwartzman (President and CEO, Media Access Project, on behalf of Prometheus Radio Project) and S. Derek Turner (Research Director), Free Press. You can watch it live right here. read more

If you’ve been paying any attention to music biz news this week, you’ve no doubt stumbled across an item (or ten) about Google OneBox — the web search company’s bold foray into the world of on-demand music. While many of the reports focus on what this new service means for fans hungry to hear tunes with one-click, they don’t often drill down into what this might mean for artists and songwriters.

OneBox has already launched, so you could just go try it out right now. Or, you could read what our vigorous research revealed about the new venture. OK, it wasn’t really that vigorous — we simply entered a band into the Google search bar to see what happened next.

Being that it’s so close to Halloween, we figured we’d search for Slayer’s classic thrash album, Reign in Blood. Lo and behold, a handful of track titles popped up, with a little “play” icon next to each. We clicked on the title track and were instantly slammed by axe aggression. Neat! read more

Earlier today, FMC joined a conference call with Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) and bloggers on the subject of net neutrality. The purpose of the conversation was twofold: to thank online scribes for their work in raising awareness about the issue over the last few years, and also to talk about what can be done to preserve the open internet for everyone.

“For years, a handful of consumer groups have pushed this issue, warning of the threat to the internet,” Markey said. Then a few years ago, I turned to you — the bloggers and internet advocates who have a huge stake in keeping the internet open and free… you are the Paul Reveres, sounding the alarm: ‘the big telcos are coming! The big telcos are coming!’”

Historical comparisons aside, there’s no doubt that bloggers (and lets not forget musician-bloggers!) have had a huge hand in demonstrating why the open internet is crucial to innovation, entrepreneurship, free speech and creativity online. read more

Today’s post is by Brian McTear, co-founder of Philadelphia’s Weathervane Music Organization – a nonprofit community that works with independent musicians to support and advance their careers. Weathervane’s efforts revolve around a program called the Weathervane Music Project Series: a curated series of audio and video recordings featuring the artists, their music and artfully produced video of the actual recording sessions.

When some people think about the lives of musicians, they may still imagine wild parties and fancy sports cars. There may be a party from time to time, but for most musicians, pursuing their art isn’t exactly the fast track to a life of luxury. With the traditional music industry in a state of what could safely be called disarray, there isn’t a ready-made recipe for sustainable careers. The good news is that people still put their hearts and souls into making music, and there are still plenty of fans out there that want to support creators. But what’s the best way to do so?

With so many things in flux, it’s not always easy to know which method of fan support will have the biggest impact. That’s why we figured it might be useful to take a look at some of the ways you can support your favorite artists and how it can positively impact those musicians’ bottom lines — directly or indirectly. read more