FMC | Policy Summit 2006

Thanks for a Spectacular Policy Summit!

Since 2001, FMC has organized five Policy Summits in Washington, DC, each bringing together a spectacular mixture of technologists, attorneys, musicians, managers and industry leaders for discussions about the most compelling music/technology/policy matters.

In October 2006 we organized the event in Montreal, in partnership with McGill University's Schulich School of Music and Pop Montreal where, over the course of three days, 120 panelists debated the issues that are emerging as music promotion and distribution moves to a global, digital platform.

During the Summit, over 550 participants witnessed engaging panel discussions about international copyright issues, digital music licensing, DRM/interoperability, the effect of government funding on artists' careers, how orchestras are navigating change, and the Québécois music industry. Participants also attended special sessions on audio fidelity and compression, preservation and storage, recommendation engines, international touring/visas, visual remixing, and music in games/Second Life. We also worked with Pop Montreal to program musician-focused sessions on the changing definition of "indie", independent media, DIY online distribution, and publishing for artists.

Webcasts and Podcast

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Event Demographics

factoids about the Summit
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Super Cool Programming Features

David Byrne photo © Mark Johann, 2005	Taped Interview with Kent Nagano photo © Rory Carnegie
Multimedia presentation by musician/artist/ composer extraordinare David Byrne called Record Companies: Who Needs Them? Details	Taped interview with Maestro Kent Nagano Music Director, Montreal Symphony Orchestra Details
EDP: Supergroup	Bob Ezrin
EDP Supergroup. A conversation with uber-producers Bob Ezrin, Don DeVito and Sandy Pearlman. Among them they produced Kiss, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Dictators and The Clash, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan, including Dylan's last album to go #1, Desire, made by DeVito exactly 30 years ago in 1976. It's fair to say EDP can be held responsible for Goth, Heavy Metal, Art Rock, Progressive Rock and Punk. What's the matter with music? What's right with music? Maybe they know. Details	Recording demonstration by legendary producer Bob Ezrin. Bob Ezrin has produced, mixed and played on legendary albums for some of the world's leading artists including: Alice Cooper, KISS, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Roberta Flack, Peter Gabriel, Rod Stewart, Hanoi Rocks, Nine Inch Nails, The Jayhawks, Kurupt, Jane’s Addiction and The Darkness. One of his most noteworthy productions is Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” a seminal masterpiece that is often credited as one of the greatest albums of all time. On Saturday, Ezrin worked with the McGill Symphony Orchestra to give a live demonstration of recording string sections.
Michael Petricone
Friday, October 6 Special conversation with Consumer Electronics Association's Michael Petricone Details	Pop & Policy Special musician-focused sessions were programmed in collaboration with Pop Montreal on the changing definition of "indie", independent media, DIY online distribution, and publishing for artists. Single tickets to these sessions were only $5! Details

Over 120 Spectacular Panelists, including...

Kevin Arnold Founder/CEO, IODA
Michel Arpin Vice-Chairman of Broadcasting, CRTC
Eric Baptiste Director General, CISAC
David Basskin President, Canadian Music Reproduction Rights Agency
Raymond Bisha Radio Promotions Manager, Naxos North America
Laura Brownell Symphonic Services Division, American Federation of Musicians
Mario Bouchard General Counsel, Canadian Copyright Board
Brian Camelio Owner, ArtistShare
Ann Chaitovitz Attorney-Advisor, US Patent and Trademark Office
Terryl Brown Clemons Assistant Deputy Attorney General, NYS Office of the Attorney General
Shannon Coulter Magnatune
Brian Current Composer
Jeremy DeBeer Professor of Law, University of Ottawa
Nick Diamonds Musician, Islands
Bertis Downs Advisor, R.E.M.
Matthew Dunn CEO, MusicIP
David Fewer Staff Counsel, Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic
William Terry Fisher Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Harvard University
Dave Frey Silent Partner Management
Michael Geist Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, University of Ottawa
Sandra Gibson President and CEO, Association of Performing Arts Presenters
Graham Henderson President, Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)
Paul Hoffert, C.M. Professor, Harvard/York Univ.
Peter Jenner Manager, Sincere Management/Secretary General, IMMF
Joseph Kluger Orchestras Consultant, AEA Consulting
Bob Kohn Chairman and CEO, RoyaltyShare, Inc.
Nathaniel Krenkel Label Head, Team Love Records
Daniel Levitin Professor, McGill University

Lindsay Lynch Operations Manager, Maple Music
Mac McCaughan Merge Records/Portastatic
Mike McGuire VP Mobile Devices and Consumer Services, Gartner G2 Media
Alistair Mitchell CEO, Puretracks
Stacey Mitsopulos Lawyer, Taylor Mitsopulos Burshtein Entertainment Lawyers
Glenn O'Farrell President, Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB)
Heather Ostertag, C.M. President and CEO, FACTOR
Sandy Pearlman Visiting Professor, McGill University, Producer Blue Oyster Cult and the Clash
Michael Petricone VP of Technology Policy, Consumer Electronics Association
Richard Pfohl General Counsel, Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)
Tina Piper Professor, McGill University
Simon Pressey Technical & Artistic Director Audio, Ubisoft
Tim Quirk GM, Music Content and Programming, RealNetworks
Jeff Remedios Arts and Crafts Records
Laurent Saulnier VP of Programming, Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
Margo Saulnier Assistant Director of Artistic Planning, Boston Pops
Catharine Saxberg Executive Director, Canadian Music Publishers Association
Patti Schmidt Producer, CBC Radio's Brave New Waves
Ryan Schreiber Editor and Founder, Pitchfork
Keith Serry Communications Director, Canadian Music Creators Coalition
Steve Skrzyniarz CEO, Soundflavor
Paul Spurgeon Vice President, Legal Services and General Counsel, SOCAN
Chris Taylor Owner/Lawyer, Taylor Mitsopulos Burshtein
Willem Wanrooij Head of Public Affairs, Buma/Stemra
Jeff Waye Label Owner, Ninja Tune/Big Dada//Counter/Third Side Music

...and dozens more! Check out the list of panelists

Musicians' Scholarships

Every year, FMC offers scholarships to make sure that musicians are not left out of the music/technology debate. Thanks to some generous contributions from foundations, technology companies, sponsors, and musician advocacy groups, 100 musicians were able to attend this Policy Summit for free.