Think Tank 3 – Coalition of the Billing November 18, 2008

Let's Sell Recorded Music!
Illegally downloaded any music recently? Given that nearly two thirds of all internet traffic is made up of P2P activity these days, if you haven't, then most young people you know are. Since Napster first reared its head in the late nineties, the recorded music business has tried in vain to put the genie back in the bottle; the result some pr blunders and an estimated 20:1 illegal download rate.

For music fans it's been a golden age where hard to find and out of print releases have been readily available alongside the latest hits of the day, but with no way of monetising these streams the record labels have been forced to watch their profits dwindle while the world's been moving online.

The government has taken notice and is overseeing a three-pronged initiative aimed at educating and developing awareness, dealing with the most serious infringers and facilitating legitimate offerings.

This series will focus on that third prong: effective legitimate alternatives. Over the course of the four events we will review what people want, where technology is heading, what the most plausible new models are and how they might be licensed.

Think Tank 3 – Coalition of the Billing Tues 18th Nov
What's the best way to license these new services?

Labels are now ready to license as widely and flexibly as possible yet understandably wish to control the value they place over their rights, especially when ISP music services may one day provide their major income stream for recorded music.

Might collective licensing through a mandated body enable the widest range of music to be legally available, from finished studio recordings to live bootlegs, radio sessions and mash-ups? Or is that incompatible with the business needs of rightsholders, leaving such content doomed to continue to exist unlicensed?

How will future licensing vary between streams, on-demand streams and downloads when technology is increasingly causing the three to converge?

How can we streamline and simplify the process for licensees, is it desirable or possible to create one-stop joint 'master and composition' licenses to make everything easier?

Will labels increasingly extend vertically into the businesses they are licensing, such as MySpace, and how will monies track back to artists?

Official Website: http://www.musictank.co.uk