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In the almost ten years that Future of Music Coalition has existed, we've seen tremendous changes in the way musicians go about reaching and cultivating fans. Perhaps the biggest development in our decade on the scene is in how artists are using the internet.

It's safe to say that nearly all of the exciting things that have gone down online are the result of net neutrality — the principle that protects the open internet. read more

Recap: Future Of Music Summit 2009

By Glenn Peoples

Billboard

October 8, 2009

This year’s Future of Music Summit, held from Sunday to Tuesday in Washington, D.C., had its usual mix of intelligence and meaningful discourse. The appearance of Senator Al Franken, who once drew a map of the lower 48 in under two minutes on Letterman, seemed to have piqued reporters’ interest in the annual event and received the most media coverage. But other speakers and topics received coverage as well, and here are some places you can go to read and hear what was said. If you missed the conference, you may have caught its webcast from the Future of Music Web site. Even busy people who only occasionally tuned into the webcast were treated to great commentary from political and business leaders.

Paths Converged at 2009 Future of Music Policy Summit

October 8, 2009

Washington, D.C.— From fascinating keynotes by Senator Al Franken and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to special conversations between artists, managers, journalists and policymakers, the eighth Future of Music Policy Summit illuminated key issues in music, media and public policy, while offering practical advice to musicians seeking to learn new ways to amplify and sustain their careers. Nearly five hundred people attended the three-day event, and nearly 9,000 more watched the live interactive webcast. read more

FCC Chairman Uses Springsteen Titles to Explain Internet Policy

Rolling Stone

October 6, 2009

Later in his Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit speech, which you can download in its entirety over at FCC.gov, Genachowski talked about Merge Records? ability, thanks to the Internet, to make top acts out of artists like Arcade Fire and Spoon with very little help of terrestrial radio play. ?I want to salute the many artists who have already signed up to publicly lend their voice in support of Net Neutrality ? including artists from R.E.M., Pearl Jam, OK Go, Wilco, and many, many more,? he said in closing. read more

Kickass Kickoff for Future of Music Policy Summit!

It's on.

Musicians, artist advocates, policymakers, journalists, technologists and industry reps have descended upon the lovely Georgetown University campus in Washington, DC for the 2009 Future of Music Policy Summit.

It's been INCREDIBLE so far. We've heard a kickass keynote from Senator Al Franken, who then sat down for a rather moving chat with Mike Mills of R.E.M. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski got "played onstage" by New Orleans brass band Bonerama before his stellar keynote. read more

Keeping the Internet Open (Even for Those Who Would Prefer it Closed)

The anti-Net Neutrality brigade is at it again. Some may have seen the recent opinion piece at NPR.com by Scott Cleland, which offers a litany of reasons why net neutrality — which makes the internet go vroom! — should be done away with to fill the coffers of a few powerful Internet Service Providers (ISPs). We've heard Cleland's views on the issue many times, but we couldn't disagree more with his position.

In the article, Cleland claims that net neutrality principles are damaging to free speech and business. Actually, it's kind of the opposite. read more

Future of Music Coalition on FCC/Free Speech Matters

Read My Back

September 28, 2009

Here’s a good/short read on the Future of Music Coalition’s recent action in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the FCC’s perplexing and wildly inconsistent indecency policy.

As someone who’s been putting together weekly radio shows for getting on 20 years now, the constant wondering if some expletive’s variant exceeds these cryptic “standards” is something I’ve grown quite weary of. (And is perhaps part of the reason I’ve packed up the broadcast version of my radio program for the wild west of the internet.) Here are two popular examples of the bewildering topics I’ve had to consider vis-Ã -vis so-called “indecency” in the broadcast environment… read more

The Good Kind of Feedback (Musicians and Speech, Pt. II)

Yesterday, we told you a little bit about FMC's fight for artists' free speech and right to creative expression via a legal brief on the FCC's indecency policy. Well, we're at it again — this time in the form of FCC reply comments to a MusicFIRST petition originally filed with the Commission back in August. read more

FMC Reply Comments in MusicFIRST's Petition to the FCC

Future of Music Coalition (FMC) respectfully submits these Reply Comments in the above captioned proceeding regarding MusicFIRST?s Petition for a Declaratory Ruling Regarding the Actions of Certain Radio Broadcasters in Opposition to the Performance Rights Act.1 FMC has a long history of supporting the passage of legislation that would establish a public performance right for sound recordings that would ensure that performers are compensated when their work is played over the air, but more importantly we are especially troubled by allegations that artists have been threatened with a loss of airplay as a result of their willingness to engage in a public policy debate. We appreciate the Commission?s attention to this important matter.

Standing Up for Net Neutrality

Recap: Future Of Music Summit 2009

Paths Converged at 2009 Future of Music Policy Summit

And, We're Back… From the Future of Music Policy Summit!

FCC Chairman Uses Springsteen Titles to Explain Internet Policy

Kickass Kickoff for Future of Music Policy Summit!

Keeping the Internet Open (Even for Those Who Would Prefer it Closed)

Future of Music Coalition on FCC/Free Speech Matters

The Good Kind of Feedback (Musicians and Speech, Pt. II)

FMC Reply Comments in MusicFIRST's Petition to the FCC

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