"The Digital Economy: Threats and Opportunities" at the 2011 Media Summit in New York. on March 10th, moderated by Arts + Labs advisor Andrew Keen.

Speakers:

Brian Napack, President, Macmillan Publishing
Channing Dawson, SVP of Emerging Media, Scripps
Rick Cotton, EVP & General Counsel, NBCU
Jeff Turner, Founder & CTO, Interstream
C. Lincoln Hoewing, Vice President of Internet and Technology Policy, Verizon

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Rick Carnes opines on the National Broadband Plan:

"The new National Broadband Plan just rolled out by the Federal Communications Commission paints a stunning picture of future opportunities to be delivered by broadband. From education to health care, for environmental sustainability and smarter consumption of energy, and for the opportunity for creative artists to reach audiences around the world, the plan lays out a future of breathtaking possibility.

Faster connections to every American home? I'm all for it. What could be more exciting to songwriters in Nashville than the idea of 100-megabit networks piping music directly into every home in America?

A recent study by the Country Music Association revealed that fully half of country music fans live in areas without broadband access. We applaud the effort to get faster connections for digital music to our fans. Except there's a gaping hole in the FCC plan. I can't find any meaningful ideas for shutting down the digital theft of music and other artistic content that has become a routine and damaging part of life in the Internet age."

Read the entire article here

Today, Arts+Labs submitted comments to the IPEC in regard to the delvelopment of a joint strategic plan:

"Arts+Labs, an alliance of the technology, content and creative communities, appreciates the opportunity to comment on the development of a strategic plan for aggressive enforcement of the intellectual property of U.S. rights holders.  Arts+Labs' goal is a strong information economy, based on innovation, creativity and respect for the rights of all participants...   
 
...Even in a world of "bits" and "bytes," the continued development of content is contingent on respect for creators' intellectual  property.  Authors, musicians, filmmakers, inventors, software writers, game developers, journalists and others who earn a living by creating content are entitled to control the use of their work and to a genuine opportunity to earn fair and adequate remuneration.  Absent those assurances, the professional creators on which so much of our economy is based will be discouraged from new creative work.  The result will be diminution in the volume and quality of online content and the loss of the general economic benefits that flow from this work."

 

Full document

Rick Carnes, president of the Songwriters Guild of America defends his record as an advocate of artist's rights.

"In a recent article in The Hill Public Knowledge's Gigi Sohn questioned why I have taken a position on Net Neutrality "so at odds with individual artists and so in line with Big Media".

I would simply reply that my record in fighting for songwriters and artists is, pardon the expression, public knowledge. I have fought in every major battle for creators' rights since joining the board of the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) back in 1985.

As SGA vice president I fought alongside the Writers Guild of America, the Directors Guild, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the American Federation of Musicians to get the Bono Copyright extension passed. Public Knowledge opposed us"

Read the entire article at The Huffington Post.

Part 2   Part 3

Please see part 2 here.

Francine Hardaway of FastCompany writes:

Andrew is a highly educated dude who spoke without notes, slides, or external props. He actually used his brain in his talk. No Prezi, no Powerpoint. And he provoked much thought inside me on the nature of innovation.

Read the entire Article here.

Arts + Labs advisor Andrew Keen Spoke at SXSW 2010 on the "fairness of innovation".

"Innovation doesn't lead to justice and fairness. I'd argue there is a more dramatic inequality now then there ever was during the industrial revolution. We have fetishized change, but we are unfettered. If anything, the new media is less transparent and less accountable...I don't have a problem with Twitter or new media, my problem is that digital utopians have dressed up their ideology to sound like democracy...Google has become the master of seeming like an altruistic and public company and yet laughing all the way to the bank."

Read a recap of his presentation at ReadWriteWeb

Songwriters Guild of America president Rick Carnes takes on Free Press:

"The fact is that Free Press and its founder Bob McChensney have been long and consistent advocates for taking the private creativity and innovation of others and either arguing it should be controlled by the government or dismissing its appropriation by others without regard for compensating the creators. When it comes to matters of intellectual property they are more about 'Free Lunch' than 'Free Press'..."

Read the entire Op-Ed at The Huffington Post

Songwriters Guild of America president Rock Carnes speaks out against digital theft at The Hill.

Those who devalue intellectual property seem to want a world in which all online content is "free" - even if you have to steal it.   As consumers, we all like a bargain.  But one wonders where the content will come from or who will pay the creator when everything is free.   Even 1970s revolutionary Abbie Hoffman charged $1.95 for his best seller "Steal This Book," and if you took it from a bookstore without paying we called it shoplifting."

Read the entire Op-Ed here.

Arts + Labs advisor Andrew Keen appears on Play it 4-Ward with Paul Hochman, Chris Kelly, John Salley and MC Hammer to discuss the pros and cons of teaching tech to kids.

Watch the video here.

On Thursday, President Obama made a commitment to defending intellectual property in America.  During a speech at the Export-Import Bank's annual conference in Washington, D.C., Obama said the following:

"We're going to aggressively protect our intellectual property.  Our single greatest asset is the innovation and the ingenuity and creativity of the American people...It is essential to our prosperity and it will only become more so in this century. But it's only a competitive advantage if our companies know that someone else can't just steal that idea and duplicate it with cheaper inputs and labor.  There's nothing wrong with other people using our technologies, we welcome it.  We just want to make sure that it's licensed and that American businesses are getting paid appropriately. That's why the (U.S. Trade Representative) is using the full arsenal of tools available to crack down on practices that blatantly harm our businesses, and that includes negotiating proper protections and enforcing our existing agreements, and moving forward on new agreements, including the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). "

See video of the entire speech here.

Arts + Labs is very pleased to see the President acknowledge the impact of intellectual property theft on the economy, and we welcome his support for technological innovators and content creators.

Arts + Labs will be hosting a themed dinner, "The Digital Economy: Treats and Opportunities" at the 2010 Media Summit in New York. on March 10th.  The event will be moderated by Arts + Labs advisor Andrew Keen.

• Brian Napack, President, Macmillan Publishing
• Channing Dawson, SVP of Emerging Media, Scripps
• Rick Cotton, EVP & General Counsel, NBCU
• Jeff Turner, Founder & CTO, Interstream
• C. Lincoln Hoewing, Vice President of Internet and Technology Policy, Verizon

Mr. Keen will also be participating in a panel discussion, "Defending the News and Media Industries: Restructuring, Recovery and Technology - the Role of the Media Industry, Wall Street, Government and Non-Profits" on  March 11 with the following speakers:

• Timothy Karr, Campaign Director, Free Press
• Steven Waldman, Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, FCC
• Michael Wolff, founder, Newser and Columnist, Vanity Fair
• Jane Mago, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, National Association of Broadcasters
• George Mahoney, Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel of Media General, Inc.
• Anne M. Swanson, Member, Dow Lohnes, Moderator

See full details here.

Arts + Labs will be hosting a themed dinner, "The Digital Economy: Treats and Opportunities" at the 2010 Media Summit in New York. on March 10th.  The event will be moderated by Arts + Labs advisor Andrew Keen.

Brian Napack, President, Macmillan Publishing
Channing Dawson, SVP of Emerging Media, Scripps
Rick Cotton, EVP & General Counsel, NBCU
Jeff Turner, Founder & CTO, Interstream
C. Lincoln Hoewing, Vice President of Internet and Technology Policy, Verizon

Mr. Keen will also be participating in a panel discussion, "Defending the News and Media Industries: Restructuring, Recovery and Technology - the Role of the Media Industry, Wall Street, Government and Non-Profits" on  March 11 with the following speakers:

Timothy Karr, Campaign Director, Free Press
Steven Waldman, Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, FCC
Michael Wolff, founder, Newser and Columnist, Vanity Fair
Jane Mago, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, National Association of Broadcasters
George Mahoney, Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel of Media General, Inc.
Anne M. Swanson, Member, Dow Lohnes, Moderator

See full details here.