3:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Track I:
P2P – Voice of Artists and Content Creators: Film, TV & Music
In the controversial period since the introduction of P2P in the late 90s, the voice of the artist in the file sharing debate has generally cut in two directions, indicating a conflict of interests. It is clear that the primary concerns of the artist surround independence, creative freedom and control of their art and their generally uneasy relationship with corporate culture color their position toward file sharing. While the libertarian strain of the artist would indicate a support for the basic free-content anti-establishment instincts of the consumer, as industry revenue declined, the concern of the artist to maintain a secure financial base and maintain copyright and integrity of artistic property became a larger concern. In the current state of the controversy, technology is rearing its head once again, creating new and better alternatives to file sharing, perhaps even making the future of P2P palatable to all sides.
Neil Portnow, President, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
Jay Cooper, Shareholder, Chair, L.A. Entertainment Practice, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Steve Lukather, Lead Guitarist, Toto
Curt Marvis, CEO, CinemaNow
Derek Sivers, President and Programmer, CD Baby
Justin Goldberg, CEO, indie 911
Scott Page, tenor saxophonist, Pink Floyd and Supertramp, Moderator
Derek Sivers, President and Programmer, CD Baby: Derek Sivers is founder, president, and programmer of CDBaby and HostBaby. A professional musician since 1987, Derek started CD Baby by accident in 1998, when he was selling his own CD on his web site, and offered to let his fellow musicians use his service, too. As this hobby grew, he refused all investors and advertising, choosing to grow slowly and quietly during the dot-com boom and bust. Now CD Baby is the largest seller of independent CDs on the web, with over $10M in sales for over 70,000 musician clients. (Note that while the rest of the industry moans about piracy, CD Baby's sales have doubled every year.) Esquire Magazine's annual "Best and Brightest" cover story said, "Derek Sivers is changing the way music is bought and sold... one of the last music-business folk heroes." Sivers is Winner of the 2003 World Technology
Award.
Jay Cooper, Shareholder, Chair, L.A. Entertainment Practice, Greenberg Tr
aurig, LLP: Jay Cooper's practice focuses on music industry, motion picture, television, multimedia and intellectual property issues. He represents individuals and companies on intellectual property matters including recording and publishing agreements for individual artists and composers; actor, director, producer and writer agreements in film and television; executive employment agreements; complex acquisitions and sales of entertainment catalogs; production agreements on behalf of music, television and motion picture companies, and all entertainment issues relative to the Internet. Jay has guest lectured at Harvard Law School, UCLA Law School, USC Law School, USC Music School, Stanford Law School, Boalt Hall, Tulane Law School, the Florida Bar Association, the Texas Bar Association, the Practicing Law Institute, the California Copyright Conference, MIDEM, the American Film Market, the Cannes Film Festival, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the U.S. Copyright Society, and the American Bar Association. He is also a former adjunct professor of Entertainment Law at Loyola Law School.Neil Portnow, President, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences: During the course of his 30-year career, Neil Portnow has become a leading figure in the music and recording industry relating both to music makers and marketers. He was appointed President of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences® (the Recording Academy®) in December of 2002. As President, Portnow works closely with the Board of Trustees and its Chairperson, local Academy Chapter boards and officers, as well as the Academy's senior management team to advance the Academy's goals and purpose — including the creative and strategic vision, and the operations of the Academy and its related entities (the GRAMMY® Awards, Member Services, the Producers & Engineers Wing, and other programs). Also benefiting from his experience and vision are the MusiCares® Foundation and the GRAMMY® Foundation, both of which he also serves as President. Additionally, Portnow represents the Academy to its constituents and partners; serves as an industry leader on issues relating to the music industry — including participation in national caucuses, seminars and similar events; and with key domestic and international industry-related organizations. In keeping with the Academy's position as an advocate for its constituents, Portnow develops and manages strategic advocacy positions at the national, state and local levels — both governmental and within the music industry. Born in Manhattan, New York, Portnow is a professional musician who has played with various bands and has worked as a studio sideman, playing bass and guitar. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from George Washington University, where he served as Cultural Affairs Director booking concerts for the university, and later was elected to an unprecedented two-year term as Student Body President. In 1971, Portnow formed his own firm, Portnow-Miller Company, Inc., where he served as President. His client list included RCA Records, The Entertainment Company, Babylon Records, and Playboy Records. Portnow's services incorporated radio promotion, marketing and creative services, music publishing, and record production. The Screen Gems Publishing Group, later acquired by EMI, named him Manager, Talent Acquisitions and Development in 1972. He established the record production division for the company, working with the industry's premier producers, arrangers, musicians and songs from writer/artists including Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, Melissa Manchester, and Cat Stevens. Portnow also negotiated domestic and international agreements in both recording and music publishing areas. A staff producer for RCA Records, Portnow was promoted to the post of Executive Producer in 1977. He was transferred from New York to West Coast operations in the newly created position of Division Vice President, Artist and Repertoire. He was responsible for negotiations that included a distribution arrangement for Elton John's Rocket Records. In March 1982, Portnow was named Vice President, Artists and Repertoire, West Coast for Arista Records by Clive Davis. As the principal West Coast executive, he was responsible for all West Coast activity and he functioned as General Manager for the company. He also worked on the stunning debut album for Whitney Houston in addition to projects involving many of Arista's top acts such as Barry Manilow, Billy Ocean, The Thompson Twins and Dionne Warwick. Just prior to becoming President of the Recording Academy, Portnow served as Senior Vice President, West Coast Operations for the Zomba Group of Companies, which includes Jive Records, Volcano, Verity and Silvertone Records, Zomba Music Publishing, as well as Zomba's Film and Television Music operations. Zomba, the world's largest and leading independent music company, was sold to Bertlesman in late 2002 for a historic $2.7 billion. Portnow also served an unprecedented three-year term as President of the Music and Entertainment Industry chapter of the City Of Hope from 2000–2002, raising significant funds for the world-renowned cancer treatment and research center. In October 2003, the City Of Hope presented Portnow with its top philanthropy honor, The Spirit of Life Award, at a gala event that raised more than $2.3 million to benefit research and treatment efforts.
Justin Goldberg, CEO, indie 911: Justin Goldberg is a 15-year veteran of the music industry and has held executive positions with Sony, Tonos, Riffage, Laundry Room, and even Donald Trump. The author of the critically acclaimed "Ultimate Survival Guide to the NEW Music Industry – Handbook for Hell," he is a well-known advocate for independent artists, he has worked with such varied artists as Martin Sexton, Dee Dee Ramone, Dave Grohl and Willie Nelson. Justin is founder & CEO of indie911.com, a leading network for independent music. Largely via word-of-mouth, Indie911 has quickly evolved into one of the most popular independent music destinations on the Internet. Thousands of music listeners are discovering great new music every day with a FREE and LEGAL system that doesn’t involve file sharing and illegal downloading.
Scott Page, CEO and Co-founder NewMBC: Mr Page is a veteran of the media industry. As former saxophone and guitarist for such musical acts as Pink Floyd, Supertramp and Toto, he has more than 35 years of experience in the music and entertainment industry. For the last 13 years he has been pioneering new entertainment technologies in digital media. Currently he is CEO and Co-founder of NewMBC, a Multimedia communications company that is reinventing the communication experience, by offering a compelling new way to create and share media on network enable desktops and mobile devices. Prior to NewMBC, Mr Page was Co-Founder of 7th Level, a publicly traded interactive entertainment company. As EVP he was in charge of creative for the company’s award wining entertainment and educational products. As a producer he co-produced Tune Land, staring Howie Mandel, which was the worlds first interactive musical cartoon and the highly acclaimed Monty Pythons interactive series. Mr Page serves as guest lecturer and panelist at numerous new media conferences and was profiled as one of the top 100 multimedia producers by Multimedia Magazine and one of the 50 Innovators in Pioneer’s publication. "Multimedia Frontier"