The Future of Music Coalition (FMC) held its annual music policy summit earlier this month, right in our backyard at Georgetown University. The FMC is a national nonprofit organization working “to ensure a diverse musical culture where artists flourish, are compensated fairly for their work, and where fans can find the music they want.

The three-day event hosted some excellent speakers from various positions in the music industry. Bertis Downs, “fifth” member of R.E.M., as well as Mike Mills gave very interesting interviews and panel discussions. Peter Jenner, who has represented the likes of Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Clash and Billy Bragg, gave excellent commentary on copyright issues, as did Hank Shocklee of Public Enemy, and media prankster Kembrew McLeod. Ian MacKaye, and Daniel Elk from Spotify also spoke.