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c&binet hits the headlines

Valerie | 09 Nov 2009, 16:17

It’s only been two weeks since the inaugural c&binet forum and the widespread media coverage generated in the build up, during and post event indicates that interest has certainly not died down. 

Although much of the media spotlight was on Lord Mandelson’s announcement in which he introduced tough new measures to combat persistent illegal filesharing, there were a number of other themes that also came through in the numerous pieces of print, online and blog coverage and indeed, via the live Twitterfeed, where, at one stage, #cabinetforum trended at number three in the top 10 most popular Twitter tags.

Media headlines from Government committed to upholding copyright laws to “c&binet conference: Advertising the key” and “c@binet Forum showed that the UK games industry is leading the way in creativity and in business innovation” illustrate the diversity of discussions that took place during the three days, which ranged from the IP and copyright debate to the future of TV and new business models.

There was overriding consensus on the exciting opportunities afforded by the shifting landscape in which “content is king” and “consumers are in control” in this new digital world. As the Guardian reported, Simon Fuller argued that there is still room for many players in the emerging digital media market, whilst Ariadne Capital’s Julie Meyer proclaimed that “content is the new software”, a welcome message surely for many.

The #cabinetforum twitter feed is perhaps even more revealing in understanding reaction to the event and the issues discussed from the audience and those following in cyberspace. Feedback ranged from “c&binet: looks like the place to be today” to “user/audience generated content - live. Interesting to hear” and “c&binet, an historic event, one we need 2 build on - internationalising the big challenge & big opportunity”. It was also good to hear that “Twitter was a great part of #cabinetforum” – it hopefully provided a platform for enabling open and honest discussion in addition to the live updates from the event, enabling people from as far afield as Vietnam and India to listen and participate in the event.

To quote Gamesbrief, c&binet was certainly an excellent start at getting the creative industries to talk to each other about new ways of collaborating and the lessons learned will no doubt pave the way for further discussion about the future of c&binet and its evolving agenda.

Media & blog coverage:

Two weeks until the ‘Cabinet Forum’...
Creative Times, published 15.10.09
http://www.creativetimes.co.uk/news/two-weeks-until-the-cabinet-forum

Coutts backs C&binet
Music Week, published: 20.10.09
http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1038969&c=1

Strike one to c&binet proposals
Music Week, published 07.11.09
http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1039067

c&binet conference: Advertising the key, says Highfield
Media Week, published: 27.10.09 – 1:23pm
http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/948573/C-binet-conference-Advertising-key-says-Highfield/

C&binet Conference: Government committed to upholding copyright laws
Media Week, published: 27.10.09 – 2:45pm
http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/News/MostEmailed/948588/C-binet-conference-Government-committed-upholding-copyright-laws/

@ c&binet: Creative Industries So Far Divided On The Way Ahead
PaidContent, published: 27.10.09 – 6.15 am
http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-cbinet-creative-industries-so-far-divided-on-the-way-ahead/

@c&binet: Free Content Must Pack a Paid Punch
PaidContent, published: 27.10.09 – 8:29pm
http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-cbinet-free-content-must-pack-a-paid-punch/

@ c&binet: Vivendi Wants UK ‘Three-Strikes’, Mandelson Announcement Due Wednesday
PaidContent, published: 27.10.09 – 2:45pm
http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-cabinet-vivendi-wants-uk-three-strikes-mandelson-announcement-due-wedn/

Consider charging for iPlayer, says ex-BBC executive Ashley Highfield
Guardian, published: 27.10.09 – 1:56pm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/27/charge-iplayer-ex-bbc-man

David Lammy calls for pan-European approach to copyright protection
Guardian, published: 27.10.09 – 4:50pm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/27/david-lammy-copyright-piracy-europe

EMI’s Leoni-Sceti Calls For ‘Three Strikes’ Law
Billboard, published: 27.10.09
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3icf13d4806aba58dec4e5c162c3a49ff1

Government calls on Europe to clear up copyright
Music Week, published: 27.10.09 - 10:10am
http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1039020&c=1

The promise of Creative Britain
Wired UK, published: 27.10.09
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-10/27/the-promise-of-creative-britain.aspx

Vivendi head calls for ‘three-strikes’ rule to tackle UK filesharers
Guardian,published: 27.10.09 - 12:07pm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/27/vivendi-file-sharing-levy

Vivendi CEO says IPO an option for NBC Universal
Reuters, published: 27.10.09 – 7:19pm BJT
http://cn.reuters.com/article/companyNewsEng/idCNLR40433320091027

c&binet conference: Mandelson reveals ‘three strikes’ rule on illegal downloading
Media Week, published: 28.10.09
http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/News/MostEmailed/948962/C-binet-conference-Mandelson-reveals-three-strikes-rule-illegal-downloading/

Cabinet Forum showed that the UK games industry is leading the way in creativity and in business innovation
Games Brief, published: 28.10.09
http://www.gamesbrief.com/2009/10/cabinet-forum-showed-that-the-uk-games-industry-is-leading-the-way-in-creativity-and-particularly-in-business-innovation/

Content is king in digital age, says Simon Fuller
Guardian, published: 28.10.09 – 07:21 am
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/28/simon-fuller

Costs would exceed savings on Mandelson plan, ISPs say - and streaming companies not eager either
Guardian – Technology Blog, published: 28.10.09
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/oct/28/costs-piracy-filesharing-mandelson

Julie Meyer: “Content is the New Software”
Real Business, published: 28.10.09
http://www.realbusiness.co.uk/news/finance-and-banking/5711591/julie-meyer-content-is-the-new-software.thtml

Mandelson puts ‘three strikes’ internet plan in motion
ZD Net, published: 28.10.09 – 05:38 pm
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39843951,00.htm

Music boss: Mandelson is wrong on internet pirates
Times Online, published: 28.10.09
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6894090.ece

Net Pirates to be ‘disconnected’
BBC, published: 28.10.09
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8328820.stm

TV of the future ‘will predict what you want to watch’
Telegraph, published: 28.10.09 – 8:00 am
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/microsoft/6447391/TV-of-the-future-will-predict-what-you-want-to-watch.html

UK Will Urge EC To Legalise Mashups, Format-Shifting, Content Sharing
PaidContent, published: 28.10.09 – 12.48 pm
http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-uk-will-urge-ec-to-legalise-mashups-format-shifting-content-sharing/

Cost of Mandelson plan would come to more than savings
Broadband Expert, published: 29.10.09
http://www.broadband-expert.co.uk/blog/broadband-news/cost-of-mandelson-plan-would-come-to-more-than-savings/775021

Government to protect ‘creative’ contractors
Brookson, published: 29.10.09
http://www.brookson.co.uk/news-and-press/19432518/government-to-protect-creative-contractors.aspx

Illegal downloaders face web ban
Press Association, published: 29.10.09
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iKGD0NALk_5SbufCB4iVJZ7ItQaQ

Is the internet heading for a midlife crisis as it hits its 40th birthday?SC Magazine
SC Magazine, published: 29.10.09
http://www.scmagazineuk.com/Is-the-internet-heading-for-a-midlife-crisis-as-it-hits-its-40th-birthday/article/156440/

JP Rangaswami on Lord Mandelson’s piracy plans
Telegraph, published: 29.10.09
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/shanerichmond/100004091/jp-rangaswami-on-lord-mandelsons-piracy-plans/

Mandelson delivers on three-strikes warning. But will it make Pirates pay, or drive them underground?
Daily Mail, published: 29.10.09
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/28333/mandelson-delivers-three-strikes-warning

Peter Mandelson goes to war on web pirates
Daily Mail, published: 29.10.09
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1223718/Peter-Mandelson-goes-war-web-pirates.html

Saving local journalism: some thoughts ahead of C&binet
Onlinejournalism Blog, published: 29.10.09
http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/10/29/saving-local-journalism-some-thoughts-ahead-of-cbinet/

TalkTalk Threatens Legal Action Over Mandelson’s File-Sharing Strategy
eWeek Europe, published: 29.10.09
http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/talktalk-threatens-legal-action-over-mandelson-s-file-sharing-strategy-2272

C&binet fever
Nameless Freerange Creatives, published: 26.10.09
http://blog.nameless.co.uk/

C&binet Commentary
Nameless Freerange Creatives, published: 26.10.09
http://blog.nameless.co.uk/

C&binet Creative Infrastructure Thoughts
Nameless Freerange Creatives, published: 26.10.09
http://blog.nameless.co.uk/

Disruption and curiosity: #outofthecloset unconference
Pervasive Media Studio, published: 28.10.09
http://www.pmstudio.co.uk/news/2009/10/28/disruption-and-curiosity-outofthecloset-unconference

A c&binet unconference
Nameless Freerange Creatives, published: 29.10.09
http://blog.nameless.co.uk/

The c&binet ‘unconference’

Nick | 06 Nov 2009, 11:16

One of the most difficult aspects of creating c&binet forum was the need for a programme that would unite a broad range of people from across the creative spectrum. C&binet’s diversity (though not always manifesting itself on the main stage) was its greatest strength and its biggest challenge.

Complementing the main sessions was a series of fringe events, to allow us to introduce a wider range of topics for discussion and help attendees make best use of their time. We asked ourselves every day whether we’d done enough to ensure c&binet suited all tastes and requirements.

The answer is that we hadn’t, but in one sense, it didn’t matter. C&binet forum ended up providing a practical demonstration of the diminished role of the content gatekeeper in the digital age.
While on-stage, people were discussing the power of the internet to mobilise communities to create their own content and find their own audiences, off-stage, delegates were using Twitter to do just that. Towards the end of the second day, using the hashtag #outofthecloset, an “unconference” sprang-up in the foyer, for some of the delegates to debate what issues mattered most to them.

Most of the unconference attendees represented smaller companies, for whom the debate about IP protection taking place in the main hall was perhaps less relevant (although part of the discussion at c&binet was about how to streamline the copyright system, so that start-ups could license the use of content more quickly and easily) or design companies, for whom this year’s theme of “nurturing creative content in the digital age” had relatively little to offer. It was a fascinating and lively discussion and impressively organised, with the group quickly split in to subgroups to address two key questions: ‘what do we want from government?’ and ‘what do we want from c&binet?’ The emphasis was placed on practical solutions, such as early-stage legal advice on the copyright system for start-ups.

You can read summaries of the discussions by Jaya Chakrabarti from Nameless here and Claire Reddington from Pervasive Media Studio here.

An undoubted highlight of c&binet 2009, the unconference underlined the potential of the creative industries to work together to shape the future of the creative economy. The c&binet team will now investigate how we can reflect the issues highlighted in the future c&binet programme.

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.

TV content growth brings urgency to IP protection

Valerie | 08 Oct 2009, 20:43

While the global recession is hitting the TV industry hard, the format business appears to be faring well, with new research unveiled by FRAPA  (Format Recognition and Protection Assn)  at the MIPCOM event in Cannes revealing that the volume of production on the back of traded formats has exploded into a €9.3bn industry from 2006-2008.

In total, 445 global original formats were exported from 2006 to 2008, with British formats accounting for 146 of these. The survey of the world’s 14 biggest format exporting countries identified the U.S., Denmark, Norway and Sweden as the biggest format exporters after the UK, driven by such formats as “Big Brother,“ “Hole in the Wall” and “Got Talent.“

Against a broader backdrop of significant structural changes, as the TV industry grapples with the challenge of convincing consumers to pay for new services, content production is expected to stay relatively stable. The US, currently ranked as the leading content producing nation today will retain this position over the next five years despite strong growth from UK and India, according to a separate international content trend survey by Global Media Consult.

As IPTV and internet-enabled devices start challenging the dominance of the traditional broadcast business model, an opportunity will be available for all players that are ready to act flexibly, creatively and to anticipate – and respond – to consumer demand. And the need for intellectual property protection will become all the clearer and greater.

UK online ad spend overtakes TV for the first time

Valerie | 02 Oct 2009, 16:46

The latest figures published by media agency Carat indicates that the UK ad market is not expected to recover until 2010.

Carat has significantly revised its March forecasts, which predicted a 7.1 per cent drop for the UK and a 5.8 per cent fall globally. The new forecast now predicts a decline of almost 12%. TV advertising will fall by 12% this year; radio by 12.6%; outdoor by 12.2%; and the newspaper and magazine sectors by 20% and 16% respectively.

This follows the news this week that the UK has become the first major economy where advertisers spend more on internet advertising than on television advertising, with a record £1.75bn online spend in the first six months of the year.

Whilst this may mark a milestone for the “embattled TV industry” as the leading ad medium in the UK for almost half a century, critics have pointed out that it is inaccurate to collate all the figures as if it is one single medium.

Despite the gloomy picture for the UK, Carat said it expects growth of 1% in 2010, driven by more stable conditions in the West and a recovery in developing markets, particularly China.  France, Canada and the U.K. Russia, and Japan were also cited as countries that will see a return to growth in advertising expenditure next year.

As the Wall Street Journal indicates, opinions vary among advertising executives as to when and to what extent growth will return to the advertising industry.

As E-consultancy notes, these are interesting times for advertisers, agencies and publishers/media companies, highlighting the questions that now remain about just how far online advertising can go and the main opportunities for growth going forwards – key issues for the future of the creative economy that will be addressed at the c&binet forum next month.