January 2013

1. We, the independents, will work to grow the value of music and the music business. We want equal market access and parity of terms with Universal, Warner andSony, and will work with them in areas where we have a common goal. We will work to ensure that all companies in our sector are best equipped to maximize the value of their rights.

2. We support creators’ freedom to decide how their music may be used commercially, and we will encourage individual artists and labels to speak out directly against unauthorized uses of music as well as commercial uses of music that stifle that freedom. We support creators’ right to earn a living from their work, which should be respected as a basic human right.

3. We support independent music labels that treat their artists as partners and who work with them on reasonable commercial terms, noting that labels are investors who deserve a fair return alongside their artists.

4. We promote transparency in the digital music market; artists and companies are entitled to clarity on commercial terms.

5. We oppose further consolidation in the recorded music, publishing and radio sectors since this is bad for independent music companies, their artists and fans, as it reduces market access and consumer choice.

6. We support initiatives which confront market abuse, and which aim to adapt competition laws to promote independent market access and foster collective responses by independents to potentially anti-competitive conduct by large operators.

7. We recognize that all independent music businesses contribute to local culture, diversity, jobs and export opportunities, and multiply the economic success of related industries. We will ask governments to promote and support the independent music sector in securing access to finance and tax credits, and to local and international markets.

8. We hold that collecting society revenues must be allocated and distributed accurately and transparently. This includes distribution of unclaimed money that logically belongs to the independents. We will push for the independent sector to be formally represented in the governance of collecting societies, with trade associations being eligible for board seats.

9. We support the creation of a worldwide track-level sound recording rights database, subject to neutral governance and ownership, to ensure accurate distribution of rights revenues to their rightful owners.

10. The independents will, as always, actively encourage and support new commercial opportunities for music, and will continue to support and develop new, legitimate business structures and partnerships.

Props to HDD & AlLindstrom

That’s according to an academic study just released by Northwestern University School of Law, which found that a vast majority of artists are not motivated by copyright protections, and frequently not benefiting from them.  Instead, the slim prospect of widescale popularity, fame, and recognition may be far stronger lures.

Even among those working in the real world, a large number of successful artists generate revenue from areas that are onlyindirectly linked to copyright protections, if at all, including live performance, session gigging, merchandising, or instruction.  Only those at the top are reaping large benefits from copyright (and therefore, care about it).

“Rather than providing marginal incentives to create to all musicians at all times, copyright law mostly affects the revenue of the highest­‐income musiciansin a direct fashion.

This is not a surprise, given the prevalence of winner‐take-all markets in the entertainment industry.”

The study, conducted by Northwestern assistant professor Peter DiCola, used a previously-released survey of 5,000 musicians (through the Future of Music Coalition), primarily to determine the actual sources of income.  The intent was to find out (a) where musicians are making their money these days, and (b) how important copyright is to those revenue sources.

Here’s a breakdown of where musician incomes are derived.

The harder question is how much musician behaviors and choices would change if copyright protections were strengthened (or respected more).  Indeed, this is an area the researchers discussed, noting that musicians are often adaptable creatures that shift depending on revenue prospects (conducting to teaching, composing to session gigging, etc.)

Beyond that, there’s the very real possibility that better copyright is better for all musicians and creative companies, directly or indirectly.  Indeed, there’s a very defensible argument that the entire ecosystem is now suffering.  ”For instance, better enforcement could help record labels’ bottom lines to an extent that the labels could begin offering larger advances and greater support to artists again,” DiCola concedes. “Nothing in the [Future of Music] survey, which focused on the money that reaches musicians’ bank accounts, can confirm or deny this story. [DigitalMusicNews]

“Thus, it is important to remain open to the possibility that copyright enforcement might indirectly benefit musicians by strengthening the system in which they work.”