The 463: Inside Tech Policy has a series of interesting posts on the music business. See Music Publishers Leave the Dark Age; The Complexities of Music; Bigger Than Grokster?; The Ringtone Money Grab; Why You Can't Find EBN-OZN.

The first is particularly interesting, on the role that the publishers have played in retarding progress toward online licensing:

So, while legitimate online music firms were doing their best to fight off P2P competition the publishers (namely the Harry Fox Agency) threw wrenches in the process by operating in a world that required companies to sift through card catalogs to find the right publisher to compensate among 40,000. They also insisted that streaming music providers pay both for the stream of a track and an "ephemeral" copy of the music on a local server. Publishers also insisted on negotiating on a case by case basis, while online music companies craved the certainty and simplicity of a blanket license.

Is there a happy ending? We'll see, but light has burst through the clouds in the form of David Israelite. Mr. Israelite is the new president of the National Music Publishers Association and he told Congress last week that his organization is now suddenly open-minded. He says, "We've come a long way in the last year. We're open to new ideas, including the concept of blanket licensing..."

posted by James DeLong @ 3:39 PM | Markets: Business, Investment & Innovation

Link to this Entry | Printer-Friendly | Email a Comment | Post a Comment(0)