“Having very frequent, more positive and hopefully collaborative conversations with startups who want to use their catalog, having those conversations much,  much earlier on, and building out a long-term where they’re proactively pursuing those collaborations with mutually favorable terms, as opposed to ending up in a position where they have to be purely reactive and suing companies and people which definitely is not a good place to be in financially but also in terms of public perception.”

– Cherie Hu, Water & Music

Guest: Cherie Hu, Founder, Water & Music

How is the way the music industry and musicians are compensated similar to and different from the way publishers are compensated? What lessons has the music industry learned to help them better protect against unauthorized use of their content? How could web3/blockchain play a role in compensation models for the music and publishing industries? What are the potential roles AI could play in music creation and/or distribution? 

In this episode of News Take, Cherie Hu, founder of music collaboration and research firm Water & Music, joins News Take host Rebecca Frank for a fascinating discussion about how the music industry has navigated changes to the ways music is distributed and consumed. Hu draws parallels, as well as distinctions, between how musical content is protected and compensated, and those same aspects of publishing. She shares insights on how emerging technologies, including web3/blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged by content creators now and possibly down the road, and breaks down the two camps of AI users from a philosophical and business perspective. Finally, she touches on the work Water & Music is doing to bring new industry innovators together, as well as her take on trends in music innovation that translate to the publishing world.

Listen or download the audio file to listen offline:

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Speaker bio:

Cherie Hu is the founder of Water & Music, a research network focused on analyzing music and tech trends. Previously, Cherie penned hundreds of articles on music and tech as a freelance writer for publications including Billboard, Forbes, Pitchfork and Variety. She has spoken as an expert commentator on CNBC and SiriusXM Volume; as a guest lecturer at institutions such as Harvard University, NYU, Northeastern, and Berklee College of Music in Valencia; and spoken at over 30 conferences around the world.

Related links:

Water & Music

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Send your suggestions for future News Take guests to Alliance VP, Research & Insights Rebecca Frank at rebecca@newsmediaalliance.org.

News Take Production Team:

Host and Executive Producer: Rebecca Frank, VP, Research & Insights, News/Media Alliance

Production Support, Editing & Distribution:

Georgi-Ann Clarke, Social Media & Content Manager, News/Media Alliance
Rachel Fox, Manager, Membership & Events, News/Media Alliance
Lindsey Loving, Director, Communications, News/Media Alliance

Audio & Video Engineer: Current Media Group

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The post News Take Episode 204: Navigating the Digital Media Transition: Lessons from the Music Industry appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

“We applaud today’s overwhelming House passage of H.R. 1695, the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act, which – if passed by the Senate – would, within the Copyright Office, establish a Copyright Register who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.  The bill would stabilize the role of Register by setting a term of 10 years for the position. The Copyright Register impacts the production of our members’ news media content, which must be protected by copyright laws that are enacted by Congress and implemented by the Copyright Office.  As recognized by our U.S. Constitution, copyright protections are intended to provide a return on the creative process, including the enormous cost that goes into developing high-quality journalism.  We believe this is the first step in a shift towards recognizing creators’ value and the news media industry that sustains an informed and democratic society.  We strongly support this legislation and we urge the Senate to swiftly consider this bill and move it to the President’s desk.”

The post House Passes Register of Copyrights Selection & Accountability Act appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

There is an inarguable need to preserve our nation’s historical record, and The Library of Congress helps our industry do just that by cataloging our editions and maintaining our nation’s history. However, the Library still requires 405 newspapers to submit their editions in microfilm, a preservation format that few use today.

Not only is microfilm an outdated 20^th century technology, there are new digital formats that are easier and less expensive to produce. Unfortunately, the Library of Congress continues to require that newspapers submit their editions on microfilm, even when the marketplace is full of digital formats that are significantly more time- and cost-efficient. This requirement is all the more surprising given that everyone these days retrieves data in digital formats that utilize the latest technology, and on the devices and platforms used to view them. Let’s be real: Who has a microfilm projector lying around their home or office? No one! But, most do have computers, tablets, mobile devices, or a combination of these devices at the ready.

In 2009, the Library recognized that microfilm was becoming unworkable as a format for preserving the historical record—costs were increasing and vendors were dwindling. As a result, the Library developed a technical pilot program to explore the deposit of news content in a digital format. When the pilot program concluded in 2012, the Library identified a preferred version of PDF (PDF/A) as an alternative format to microfilm.

Problem solved, right? Not exactly. It is unclear why the pilot did not transition into a permanent process. However, the Library recently expressed an interest in revisiting the pilot program outcome and determining whether a path forward exists for PDFs to replace microfilm. The answer seems clear to us that the world – and the historical record – can survive without microfilm.

We believe we can find a balance between preserving history, and saving time and money—resources that are scarce in our industry today.

The News Media Alliance continues to meet with the Library of Congress, the Copyright Office, and interested Members of Congress on this important issue for our members.

The post The Library of Congress’ Transition to Digital Newspaper Records appeared first on News/Media Alliance.