CNET’s Greg Sandoval recently posted a fascinating interview with Eric Garland of Big Champagne — a California-based company that collects data on filesharing and sells it to the content industry (you know, like labels and film studios). As can be imagined, a lot of what Garland tells these companies isn’t perceived as good news. But Big Champagne has been at it for a decade, during which peer-to-peer filesharing went from a “hmm, maybe we should pay attention to that,” to a “OMG — where did all of our sales go?” phenomenon.

Though the massive shifts in the production, distribution and sales of music have certainly changed the game for the mainstream biz, technological evolution has also created new opportunities for artists who are now using essentially the same tools as the biggest companies — in many instances, with more success. Which isn’t to say that rampant filesharing hasn’t also negatively impacted artists (and indie labels) — it’s just that that some have been more quick to adapt to the new terrain.

Adaptation is part of what Garland recommends to companies seeking to come out of the other end of the digital transition with something of their business intact. This hasn’t made him especially popular, but it’s important to remember that the health of Garland’s own company is tied to that of his clients — if they go bust, he doesn’t have anyone to sell his data to. Which is why Garland isn’t shy about serving up the bitter medicine. In his view, the companies that entertain his prescription have the best chance of surviving. . . read more

For this edition of FMC’s “Behind the Policy Summit” series, we’re traveling across the pond to introduce you to another fabulous speaker at Future of Music Policy Summit 2009. Today’s victim, er, subject is Brian Message — a partner in Courtyard Management (the team representing Radiohead, Supergrass and the 22-20s, among others). In addition to his high-profile management duties, Brian is also the newly appointed chairman of the Music Managers Forum in the UK. read more

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an agreement.

News broke today that “pure play” webcasting services (i.e., the bigger online broadcasters who earn the bulk of their revenue through their services) have reached an agreement with SoundExchange — the nonprofit organization that collects and distributes the digital public performance royalty on behalf of performing artists and sound copyright owners (usually the labels). read more

A recent development in the Live Nation antitrust saga hits close to home for those living here in the District of Columbia (that’s Washington, folks). I.M.P. Inc., an independent DC/Maryland concert promotion and event production company, recently filed an antitrust suit against Live Nation. Owned by Seth Hurwitz and Rich Heinecke, I.M.P. Inc., operates the famous 9:30 Club in Washington, DC and Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. read more

Back in April, FMC released the “Principles for Musician Compensation in New Business Models” (or “Artist Principles”) — a set of guidelines for ensuring creator compensation in an evolving music landscape. Here’s a podcast interview with Los Angeles-based attorney Josh Wattles, whose years in the copyright and entertainment fields have awarded him with an insider’s perspective (and no shortage of opinions). Wattles talks to FMC about what he would envision in a pro-artist document, and makes some provocative statements about what the role of a record label should be in today’s music marketplace. read more

Digital Music News ran a short item today about Spotify — a fast-growing free/subscription streaming service that’s available overseas but not yet in the US. The article is about a demo of an upcoming app for Google’s Android cellphone platform: read more