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c&binet forum - summary of discussions from the first morning

C&binet | 27 Oct 2009, 13:39

A call to unleash the full extent of Europe’s creative potential ended this morning’s session – one that began by addressing as unproductive the ‘deafness and shouting’ around piracy that has dominated discussion up to now.

Creative Industries minister Siôn Simon, Dame Gail Rebuck of Random House and Chris Clarke of Sapient Nitro debated the shades of grey between the polarised opinion, with a consensus emerging on the necessity of moving forward on a range of fronts – new business models, acceptance of consumer’s mindsets, and proportionate action to protect rights holders.

Vivendi’s Jean-Bernard Levy, interviewed by Amanda Andrews, set out how his company is successfully straddling the content production and distribution worlds, declared the album not dead and dropped a teaser for things to come – gaming guitar heroes exchanging virtual axes for virtual decks with DJ Hero.

Wired’s David Rowan then drew out visions for the near future from the Creative Infrastructure panel – all-seeing, all-knowing TV that responds like a Wii, protective walls around creative businesses coming crashing down, and sexed-up meta data.

The rights issue returned, with Ashley Highfield contrasting the easy march of technological progress against the complexity of liberating content for future exploitation. That before David Rowan asked if piracy isn’t dead in the face of the opportunities opening up for creative leaders prepared to take risks and sail into choppy waters.

As a curtain-raiser for Lord Mandelson’s speech tomorrow, intellectual property minister David Lammy had a dream of a clear, fair and reasonable future where ‘freedom of access is not the same as access for free.’

Odile Quintin, the EU Director General for Education and Culture closed this morning’s session with a call for greater partnerships between the creative industries and educators to unleash the full extent of Europe’s creative potential.

The response so far to the event from the online community has been tremendous, with #cabinetforum trending at one point during the session.

Many thanks. Stay with us for Elio Leoni-Scetifrom EMI Music restarting proceedings before discussions on Free Content and Scale, Risk and Investment.

C&binet forum opening night discussion roundup

Andrew | 26 Oct 2009, 20:47

C&binet forum 2009 opened with a discussion led by Newsweek’s Stryker McGuire, who interviewed a panel consisting of Secretary of State Ben Bradshaw MP, Wired UK editor David Rowan and c&binet ambassador Professor Phil Redmond about the state of the creative economy.

The Secretary of State revealed that the growth of the UK’s creative economy endured the recession, despite some of the problems caused by a shrinking advertising market and defended the role of government spending on culture, arguing that a £1 investment by the DCMS delivers a £5 return in terms of economic activity stimulated. David Rowan echoed this positive outlook by arguing that the UK punches above his weight in every area of the creative sector but he suggested that SMEs have too little access to government (something that c&binet can play a role in remedying), which was a theme he carried through to his presentation of the Creative Economy in 2010 exhibition. Rowan also pointed out that copyright issues were not the only issue which government needs to address, referring to the risk of creative brain drain and arguing that the industry needed to move on from discussions about copyright. The Secretary of State replied that it was only possible to move on once some sort of solution had been reached.

Phil Redmond argued that the digital age represents a unique opportunity for creatives to engage with their consumers directly, which he believes every creative business person is excited about. He also tried to put the current disruption in an historical context, suggesting that the media industry had always struggled against restrictive practices and regulatory regimes. David Rowan said the recent use of Twitter to overturn legal injunctions against the Guardian newspaper’s attempts to report Parliamentary questions showed that technology couldn’t be tamed. The same would hold true for the copyright challenge, he said. Stryker McGuire concluded by speaking up for the performance of Britain’s creative entrepreneurs, who he said had exploded the myth that Britain doesn’t do entrepreneurialism.

Following on from the opening discussion was a debate on illegal file sharing, moderated by Tim Suter. 

This was not a panel of extreme views.  It was a discussion that started with a universal belief that artists should receive re-numeration for their content. The point was made that the genie was out of the bottle and that technical measures could only ever amount to “speed bumps” in the fight against illegal filesharing.  There was some recognition of this with panelists seeing technical measures as the legislative backdrop which would encourage consumers to move back towards rewarding creators for their products.  ISPs had a role to play in this, working with the industry to develop new business models and then encouraging users to take advantage of them.  There was though a view that many of those that illegally fileshared did so because they saw a rich and indulgent content industry that did not need the extra money that their legal purchase would provide.  The music industry in particular needed to better connect with their consumers to show that illegal filesharing did real harm to up and coming artists.

Clare Reddington, who’s talking at c&binet on Wednesday, has written about the first day on her blog.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcome message to c&binet forum

C&binet | 26 Oct 2009, 20:16

The Prime Minister welcomes delegates and the online community to c&binet forum:

Creative Industries lead Iceland recovery

Valerie | 25 Sep 2009, 14:55

Iceland’s creative industries are vital to re-building the country’s economy, Iceland’s minister for Industry has told delegates in a welcome address at the country’s You Are In Control conference.

Now in its third year, YAIC explores the latest digital business developments and investment available in music, media and the arts, focusing on new business models, the impact of the digital revolution on in the creative industries and how today’s creatives can work together – all key areas that will be addressed at the c&binet forum next month.

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OLED) Iceland’s economy is set for a slow but nascent recovery early next year. The OLED projects Iceland’s economic contraction at around 7 percent this year and has forecast a 0.8 percent contraction in GDP for 2010.

Having faced its deepest recession in decades and the complete collapse of its banking system, it is welcome news and demonstrates the economic potential of creative industries both in Iceland and in countries such as China and the UK, where creative sectors have become engines for regional economic development.

Iceland has long been famed for its natural beauty and in recent years its unusual landscape has attracted Hollywood movies and seen its profile grow in the international film industry, aided by films such as Stardust, Batman Begins and James Bond: Die Another Day, whilst the achievements of Björk and Sigur Ros have put Iceland firmly on the map of International Music.

Concluding his address, Katrín Júlíusdóttir, the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism said:

“We must get the message across that we are more than geysers, volcanos, waterfalls - and now fallen banks. Here you will also find creative people, culture and modern industries.
“... the government hopes (to) join forces with creative industries, the tourist industry and other important players to reshape the way we approach international marketing of Iceland as the source of culture, goods and services, as a destination and as a country to operate and invest in.”

Ben Bradshaw’s speech to the Royal Television Society

Andrew | 17 Sep 2009, 14:52

C&binet comment: Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

I delivered the keynote speech to open the Royal Television Society’s biennial conference in Cambridge last night.

I argued yesterday the future of the BBC is closely tied up with the future of our broadcasting sector, and our broadcasting sector is central to the success of our creative industries as a whole. As a Government we are pushing ahead on a range of fronts — such as peer-to-peer file sharing, rolling out next generation broadband, and a consultation on allowing product placement — to ensure that the media industry can come out stronger than ever from the current global downturn.

I also spoke about how the BBC has used the digital revolution to grow over the past decade, and what that means for the private sector side of the mixed broadcasting economy in Britain that has swept up awards and revenue from around the world. James Murdoch has recently argued for state sponsorship of broadcasting to be cut right back. My view is that the BBC has probably expanded enough — but I offer that as the start, not an end, of what I hope will be a national conversation about the future of a national institution.

Whatever its exact size, the BBC is going to remain central to the future success not just of our broadcasting industries but our creative sector as a whole. Fresh from one gathering of creative minds, I am looking forward to the next, and to seeing progress on creative rights, new business models, securing finance and finding talent when we meet at the c&binet forum next month.

File sharing crackdown divides music industry

Valerie | 16 Sep 2009, 16:50

The reaction to government proposals laid out last month to clamp down on unlawful filesharing has highlighted some disagreement within the music industry, with musicians such as Billy Bragg and Annie Lennox pitted against record labels and the Musicians’ Union.

According to the Observer, a coalition of artists including Lennox, Bragg and Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason argue such laws would alienate their audience and risk criminalising music fans. The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) also argues that the planned crackdown fails to recognise “evidence that repeat file- sharers of music are also repeat purchasers of music”.

This week, music managers behind artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Pink Floyd have publicly voiced their opposition to the FAC position. Paul Loasby, whose clients include David Gilmour and Jools Holland, argued that it will lead to “complete destruction” of new artists’ careers, whilst Colin Lester, manager for artists such as the Arctic Monkeys called the comments of the FAC “outrageous”, citing it was easy for established, high-earning artists to take this view and that the big stars are neglecting the low-earning session musicians and lesser-known bands. Lily Allen also took a stand against internet piracy in a blog post in which she criticized established acts such as Radiohead for opposing the government plans.

Writing on her MySpace page, she said:

“It probably is fine for them. They do sell-out arena tours and have the biggest Ferrari collections in the world. For new talent though, file sharing is a disaster as it’s making it harder and harder for new acts to emerge.”

Writing in the Times, Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus asks how songwriters and artists of the future will be able to support their creativity in the “era of free”:

“It must be possible to design a modern copyright environment that works with the internet without demanding surveillance that eats away at integrity. The UK Government is trying to address the problem and deserves support for having the courage to do so. We have to find a way of funding our future and not pretend that new revenue models are magically going to rescue us as the world of recorded music is destroyed by piracy.”

With the government deadline for comments in its illegal filesharing consultation approaching, industry pressure continues to mount, as illustrated by the latest news that indie trade body Pact and broadcasting union Bectu are backing a campaign to clamp down on illegal peer-to-peer file sharing on the internet.

Equity general secretary Christine Payne said:

“The fact that so many jobs are under threat is seriously alarming. There has never been a more critical time to take bold action against those who are threatening the livelihoods of everyone working in the entertainment sector.”