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, a unique alliance of the technology, content and creative communities, today announced that Andrew Keen, a renowned Internet pioneer and entrepreneur, has joined its coalition - effective immediately.  Keen is best known for his 2007 book, entitled CULT OF THE AMATEUR: How the Internet is killing our culture, an account which has been translated into 16 languages, and explores the interest around user-generated content, peer production, and other Web 2.0-related subject matter.
 
"Andrew's involvement in Arts+Labs is a significant event for our organization," said Mark McKinnon, co-chair of Arts+Labs.  "Andrew is a true thought leader in the industry, a published author and noted speaker and brings a tremendous amount of credibility to the content and network management arena.  This is a big step forward for Arts+Labs towards advancing our vision of a vibrant digital society, and a great way to kick off 2010." 
 
Launched in September 2008, Arts+Labs was formed to create consumer awareness around the availability and vast array of legal, safe, affordable and innovative entertainment content on the Internet,  encourage cross-industry collaborations that support enhanced and intelligent Internet infrastructure, and promote respect and recognition of copyright. Most recently, Arts+Labs has been vocal in upholding their mission by filing comments on the Federal Communication Committee's (FCC) proposed network neutrality rules, hosting a network management event that embraced both sides of the current debate, and testified at a New York City Council hearing against net neutrality and in support of antipiracy.
 
"What attracted me to Arts+Labs was a shared vision of how content companies, network organizations and the creative communities could come together to forge a new dynamic in today's marketplace.  I am looking forward to joining the team and tackling some of the thorniest issues that are on the minds of the regulators, the industry and the public," said Andrew Keen.
 
Aside from Keen's involvement in Arts+Labs, he is working on a second book entitled DIGITAL VERTIGO: Anxiety, Loneliness and Inequality in the Social Media Age. He writes regularly for many publications in America and Europe including The Daily Beast, Forbes, The London Independent, The London Daily Telegraph, Los Angeles Times, Amsterdam Volkskrant and the Directors Guild of America Quarterly, where he has recently published critical essays on Network Neutrality and Intellectual Piracy.  In addition, Keen regularly delivers keynote speeches at conferences worldwide, lectures at universities including UC Berkeley, Vanderbilt, Oxford, York, Warsaw and Amsterdam, and is interviewed frequently on leading television and radio networks such as the BBC, CNN, NPR, NBC, CBS, ABC, Sky and Al-Jazeera.
 

Rick Carnes, President of the Songwriters Guild of America, responds to Free Press over their reflexive opposition to new business models that allow creators to protect and sell their content.

In an article yesterday in the Washington Post (Monday, January 4, 2010), Free Press and other public advocacy groups called for an anti-trust probe into TV Everywhere.

For those who haven't heard, TV Everywhere is Time Warner's authentication system whereby certain premium content would be available to subscribers. In other words, you can take your home cable subscription online.

Consumers have been waiting a long time for this. Access to premium content whenever and wherever they want it has been a sort of digital Holy Grail.  To date, lack of access to some premium content has routinely been cited as an excuse for the fact that the vast amount of music and movie content is illegally downloaded using P2P services. With the advent of new and exciting services like Hulu, Vevo, and now, TV Everywhere, the chance to view and listen to the very best content legally is here. No more excuses.

That is why the protests by Free Press and others against TV Everywhere are so confounding to a Songwriter like myself. These groups allege "collusion" to "keep video content behind a subscription-based pay wall."

That 'Pay-Wall' always seems to be the problem for these groups. They want it all, they want it now, and they want it for free. But I've never written a free song. Every one cost me something: a couple of years without being able to heat my house; a future hanging by a guitar string; no health insurance; no pension; writer's block; and the occasional broken heart. I always kept coming back for more because I knew that if I put the right words and music together then I could get paid enough to make it all worthwhile.

Without that 'Pay Wall' I can't make enough to afford to keep writing. No one pays for a ticket when there are no 'Pay Walls' keeping them out of the concert. Creators should not have to ask permission to innovate and earn fair compensation by selling our work.

The public advocacy groups are so concerned about anyone becoming a content 'Gatekeeper' (even with their own content!) on the internet that they are willing to limit the freedom of creators in favor of an internet full of gate crashers.

On February 8, 2005 (commenting on the Grokster decision) in an interview for CNet, Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge wrote, "Public Knowledge believes that online content stores that are easy to use, reasonably priced, permit flexible uses and have large catalogs will win consumers' hearts and pocketbooks, and prove once again that technological development is better left to the marketplace."

Five years later, TV Everywhere sounds a lot like an attempt to create that reasonably priced, flexible use, large catalog, content delivery system.

But it isn't free, so now the Public advocacy groups are against it.

Is that 'Pay Wall' the only real problem for these Groups? If not, then they need to stop giving mere lip-service to the idea that Creators need to be compensated and make some concrete, workable proposals about how that compensation system would work for those of us in the real world.

Just saying no to everything, or Everywhere TV, isn't helping to solve the problem.

Arts+Labs has issued the following statement regarding the New York City Council Technology In Government Committee hearing on net neutrality.  Arts+Labs advisor and Songwriter's Guild President Rick Carnes spoke at today's hearing, along with songwriters/producers Gordon Chambers and Phil Galdston.

 
Arts+Labs applauds the New York City Council's Technology In Government Committee for hosting a substantive hearing to examine net neutrality.  Today's hearing makes it clear that there are many different participants in the internet ecosystem, and the free, open and fair internet works best when all of them are free to innovate, to provide more choices and services to consumers.

All participants in this debate believe that Internet users should control their own experience and be free to access legal websites and services of their choice as embodied in the FCC's existing four principles.  We do not need to make false choices between Internet freedom and openness; we can have both. 
 
Arts+Labs believes that all participants should be able to innovate without seeking permission from any third party, including government.   And, we encourage the New York City Council to embrace that principle of innovation without permission, so that all who use, operate, contribute to, or depend on  the Internet can freely collaborate on ways to make it better.
 
But we are concerned that some net neutrality proposals will prevent innovation and block the creation of new products, services, and business models that will enhance digital society for all participants.   That is a false choice, and adoption of that policy would be a tragic mistake.  Such regulations would raise costs, and slow internet deployment and adoption.  Arts+Labs asks that the New York City Council Technology in Government Committee reject regulations which would pit participants in the internet ecosystem against each other, ultimately harming consumers and creators alike.

UPDATE

Here is the testimony given at the hearing by Rick Carnes, President of the Songwriters Guild of America.

Testimony of Rick Carnes
Before the New York City Council
In Opposition to Proposed Net Neutrality Regulations
November 20, 2009

Mrs. Chairwoman and members of the Council, thank you for the opportunity to share with you the concerns of songwriters about the proposals by the FCC to impose Net Neutrality regulations on the internet.

My Name is Rick Carnes and I am a professional songwriter, and the President of the Songwriters Guild of America. The SGA is the oldest and largest national association of songwriters. We were founded right here in New York back in 1931.

I am here today speaking on behalf of the Arts & Labs coalition of which SGA is a founding members.

I will begin my remarks by saying that in order for broadband networks to be as healthy a platform of commerce as the railroads and energy utilites were in the past, the standard rules of commerce must be acknowledged and protected. These standard rules of commerce include respect for private property, the discouragement of theft of property by users of the platform, and meaningful remedies in the event that theft occurs. The internet does not
currently recognize or enforce these standard rules of commerce.

Unfortunately, the proponents of Net Neutrality principles simply ask for more of the same Internet, with perhaps even greater restrictions on the ability of network operators and users of the network to enforce the standard rules of commerce.

Of the 6 so called 'Net Neutrality' rules the FCC has put forward I will limit my comments today to only two...

One existing rule and one proposed rule.

The first existing rule states:

Consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice.

Unfortunately this rule entirely ignores the fact that internet users are also able to freely access the UNLAWFUL content of their choice.

The intent of this rule is good in that it ensures our fans will be able to have unfettered access to our music. But we see no evidence that consumers are having problems accessing legal content on the internet.

In fact there is more legal content online today than we could have even imagined ten years ago and it is available at a price of 99 cents per song or less.

So why is the FCC imposing regulation where there seems to be no problem while ignoring the MASSIVE problem of piracy that has destroyed the jobs of more than half the professional songwriters in America?

We would also like to comment on the proposed fifth rule which states:

A provider of broadband Internet access service must treat lawful content, applications, and services in a nondiscriminatory manner

Once again, this rule prohibits discrimination in lawful content only. This will force legal services to compete with pirate services on a level playing filed without being able to distinguish their legal products in ways that piracy cannot.

Far from being non-discriminatory, this rule discriminates against my rights as a songwriter to go into the marketplace and make a deal with a network service provider to deliver my music as part of a premium service that offers consumers a better, faster, safer experience than they get when they illegally download music.

For ten years the US Congress hasn't moved to end the scourge of online music piracy because they haven't wanted to stifle innovation onthe internet. Our lawmakers told us to be patient and trust that the market place would find a solution to illegal downloading. It is very confusing and dissapointing to now see the FCC intervene to propose regulations that would stifle those very innovative services that might help us compete succesfully against piracy.

The SGA believes strongly that the last best hope to fight piracy is for the networks to get smarter, faster, and more creative in the ways that they deliver our content.

In their current form both the FCC rules and Congressional bill H.R. 3458 would do more harm than good to the creative community so we respectfully ask that the Council vote not to adopt resolution Res 0712-2007.

Thank You 

Below the fold, find the testimony of songwriters/producers Gordon Chambers and Phil Galdston.

The Arts+Labs New Media, New Networks policy forum is here. (Recorded Oct. 29th, 2009)

New Media, New Networks Presented by Arts + Labs and GSPM's Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet from GSPM on Vimeo.

By Arts+Labs Co-Chairs Mike McCurry & Mark McKinnon

Late yesterday, Google and Arts+Labs member Verizon issued a joint statement ("Finding Common Ground on an Open Internet") by Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam and Google CEO Eric Schmidt.  While significant policy differences remain, Verizon and Google agreed that there is much more that unites us than separates us. AT&T, another Arts+Labs member, echoed that sentiment this afternoon suggesting that the FCC has allayed a number of its concerns in its adoption of draft rules regarding the preservation of a free and open Internet, and expressing hope that the possibility of consensus within the Internet industry on key net neutrality issues will inform the FCC's rulemaking process going forward. There are many important points throughout the Google/Verizon joint statement, but we'll highlight the central areas of agreement.

After noting that the key factors driving innovation on the web are the common programming language and private investment to improve infrastructure, Google and Verizon list their areas of agreement.

1. "[U]sers should continue to have the final say about their web experience, from the networks and software they use, to the hardware they plug in to the Internet and the services they access online."
2. "[A]dvanced and open networks are essential to the future development of the Web", as are "Policies that continue to provide incentives for investment and innovation..."
3. [T]he FCC's existing wireline broadband principles make clear that users are in charge of all aspects of their Internet experience--from access to apps and content" and the FCC should "establish that these existing principles are enforceable, and implement them on a case-by-case basis."
4. "[F]lexibility in government policy is key" and we need to avoid "overly detailed rules" that attempt "to predict every possible scenario and address every possible concern" because it "can have unintended consequences."
5. "[B]roadband network providers should have the flexibility to manage their networks to deal with issues like traffic congestion, spam, "malware" and denial of service attacks, as well as other threats that may emerge in the future -- so long as they do it reasonably, consistent with their customers' preferences, and don't unreasonably discriminate in ways that either harm users or are anti-competitive. They should also be free to offer managed network services, such as IP television."
6. "[T]ransparency is a must. Chairman Genachowski has proposed adding this principle to the FCC's guidelines, and we both support this step. All providers of broadband access, services and applications should provide their customers with clear information about their offerings."
   

Arts+Labs is enouraged to see this sign of convergence around some of the central principles we have advocated. This is clear evidence that the rhetoric that FTC Chairman Jon Leobowitz referred to as "dystopian nightmares" is now fading and being replaced with a serious, rational policy discussion among stakeholders and policymakers. In fact, Chairman Leibowitz' May 2009 remarks now seem like a good description of where we are at today.

"We believe consumers need to have notice and consent about what they are getting. So it is very, very important that these providers tell consumers now about the speed that they are getting and whether they are making any types of management decisions in terms of the network."

He added that "broadband is a deregulated product. That's good.  We like deregulation generally."

We believe this recognition by Google that we all have a critically important role to play in developing the smart, sophisticated Internet of the future is a positive sign that the FCC's existing policy framework is solid and our focus going forward should be on defining transparency, managed services and the role of wireless networks.

Arts+Labs is hopeful that we continue to see this emerging consensus around FCC guidelines that enable everybody - network, application, service and content providers - to give consumers more choices and better products. Smarter networks enable content and application providers to deliver better products and services to consumers.  Better products and applications increase the demand for better, faster and smarter networks.  These outcomes work well for consumers, providers and the public interest.

The key will be flexibility in government policymaking, as at least 3 of the key stakeholders have noted in the past 24 hours.  Rigid rules and regulation will thwart the innovation and creativity that makes the Internet so vital.  We hope the FCC will move forward in that spirit, and we similarly hope that other participants in the debate will resist any new rules that would deprive operators of the flexibility necessary for reasonable and effective network management in order to meet users' needs.
 
The role of the FCC is not to limit our ability to innovate and evolve, but to facilitate our ability to innovate and evolve together.  We welcome policies that accomplish that goal.

- Mike McCurry and Mark McKinnon

REGISTER FOR THIS TECH POLICY FORUM HERE

Arts+Labs and GWU's Institute for Politics, Democracy & The Internet are proud to sponsor a network and technology policy forum, New Media, New Networks: The Evolution of Content on the Internet, moderated by former FCC Chairman Richard Wiley. It will be held at George Washington University on Thursday, October 29th from 9am to 12noon.

You can register for the event here.

Breakfast and Welcome (9:00-9:30)

Panel #1 - Networks for the Future (9:30-10:30) - The Importance of Wired and Wireless Next Generation Networks, deployment, capacity, interactivity, consumer choice and content.  Panelists:

• Bret Swanson (Entropy Economics, WSJ Contributor)
• S. Derek Turner (Research Director, Free Press)
• Robert Curtis (FCC Director, Network Deployment)
• Christopher Yoo (Director, Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition at the University of Pennsylvania Law School)

Q&A Session (10:30-10:45)

Panel #2 - Network Management and Delivering for the Consumer (10:45-11:45) - The evolving role of the networks - better, smarter, faster. Panelists:

• Richard Bennett (Research Fellow, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation)
• Robb Topolski (Chief Technologist of the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation)
• Dave Farber (Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy at the School of Computer Science, Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University)
• Harold Feld (Legal Director of Public Knowledge)

Q&A Session (11:45 - 12:00)

At Broadcasting & Cable, Mark McKinnon and Mike McCurry write about the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for net neutrality, and particularly the barriers it could impose to digital commerce and creative rights.

The proposed bar on customized services, which are common throughout the U.S. economy, is especially puzzling given that the Commission's own Broadband Task Force has publicly observed that different Internet applications have different quality of service requirements. Some require substantial bandwidth, others are latency sensitive, and still others are dependent on speed. Increasingly, creators of applications, software and other online content are partnering with network operators in the early stages of development to better match capabilities and needs.  The proposed rules would choke off this beneficial trend.

Such rules also would effectively cripple the creative industry's ability to compete with "free" content by offering consumers a higher quality experience. The creative community is actively experimenting with new business models, including free advertising-supported content, subscription-based content, streaming content, downloaded content, and pay-per-view content, that aim to provide consumers the content they want, when they want it while also providing content creators the continued incentive to invest in new movies, new music and other types of entertainment that consumers want. However, the distribution of multimedia content over the Internet is still in its infancy. The potential rule would foreclose options by government fiat, limiting the services available to consumers and curtailing the creation of new content by eliminating potential revenue sources to fund it.

Read the whole thing here.

This past Friday, Public Knowledge's Gigi Sohn sent an email urging people to tell the FCC not to consider intellectual property/copyright (content and creative rights) issues in its broadband strategy.

[T]the FCC held a Broadband workshop last week, at which I and representatives from the MPAA and a major Hollywood studio spoke. Hollywood would like the FCC to make copyright filtering a part of the National Broadband Plan. Filtering technology is a blunt instrument that will needlessly censor lawful web traffic while compromising the privacy of all Internet users. For more on copyright filtering, just read our whitepaper or watch the latest episode of In the Know.

Hollywood already has plenty of copyright enforcement tools at its disposal. The FCC doesn't need to ask your Internet Access Provider to filter web traffic for the studios. Tell the FCC that copyright should not be a part of our National Broadband Plan by visiting Broadband.gov and submitting your feedback.

Gigi Sohn and Public Knowledge want to prevent the FCC from considering creative rights and the digital economy by pretending that this is all about "filtering".  It's not. 

Instead, this is about exactly what Gigi Sohn and Public Knowledge have said is the solution to piracy: new business models.  But simply saying "new business models" does not solve the problem.  In order to get beyond vague generalities and discover the specific new business models that actually work, we're going to have to experiment with a variety of approaches.

That's where the FCC comes in.

Content companies and network providers simply want the FCC to allow the market to experiment with a variety of solutions.  We don't want scare tactics to foreclose the possible solutions - the new business models - that may emerge. 

The FCC should take creative rights into account - not through blunt mandates, but by not interfering with the creativity and entrepreneurial nature of the internet.

Creators should not have to ask Public Knowledge's permission to innovate on the internet; the FCC should protect that right.

In response to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's remarks on Net Neutrality today, Arts+Labs released the following statement.

Arts+Labs has long supported the FCC's four principles and is encouraged by FCC Chairman Genachowski's remarks today that any net neutrality principles will be well-crafted to ensure the flexibility of content owners, networks and application providers to improve the consumer's web experience rather than limiting it.

We applaud the Chairman's recognition of the importance of protecting against the unlawful distribution of copyrighted works and are likewise encouraged by his acknowledgement that managed network services can be an important part of an innovative and robust Internet ecosystem.

We look forward to working with the FCC in the months ahead as it crafts new principles that ensure the flexibility of all Internet players to explore new ways of delivering quality legal content to consumers.