Andrew Orlowski

Collected Journalism

Tag: music business

  • An interview with Keith Harris

    by

    Andrew Orlowski

    –

    Keith Harris was general manager of Motown, has managed Stevie Wonder for 30 years, is currently director of performer affairs at collecting society the PPL and chairman of the MusicTank network at the University of Westminster. Were you disappointed there wasn’t more public support for extending copyright on sound recordings? When the issue was raised,…

    Continue reading »

  • Universal exec – say goodbye to the old record co.

    by

    Andrew Orlowski

    –

    An RIAA board member and executive from the world’s biggest record company has said the old way of doing business has gone forever now. Larry Kenswil, president of Universal Music Group’s eLabs, might not speak for all of Universal Music, but he does speak for an important part of it. Kenswil today said labels could…

    Continue reading »

  • Peter Jenner: Big labels are fucked, and DRM is dead

    by

    Andrew Orlowski

    –

    Few people know the music industry better than Peter Jenner. Pink Floyd’s first manager, who subsequently managed Syd Barrett’s solo career, Jenner has also looked after T.Rex, The Clash, Ian Dury, Disposable Heroes and Billy Bragg – who he manages today. He’s also secretary general of the International Music Managers Forum. And he doesn’t pull…

    Continue reading »

  • “The EFF has handed the RIAA an arsenal of legal arguments for opposing blanket licenses”

    by

    Andrew Orlowski

    –

    Should a miracle occur, and the opposing parties in the P2P war sit down and adopt the EFF’s “Voluntary Collective Licensing” proposal, then the enabling legislation would look a lot like HR.5553. Which suggests this isn’t just a tactical goof, but a strategic error – the consequence of not thinking really hard about the future.…

    Continue reading »

  • RIAA, EFF unite to sabotage digital reform

    by

    Andrew Orlowski

    –

    Sometimes, you just can’t win. A proposal to speed up the clearance of mechanical copyright for broadcasters and digital media services has been met with hysteria from lobby groups who complain that copyright clearance today is too cumbersome and slow. It’s an issue that’s been intensely discussed since it was first proposed two years ago…

    Continue reading »

  • Blanket digital licence fails in France

    by

    Andrew Orlowski

    –

    Under heavy pressure from the French government, the country’s parliament has voted against introducing the world’s first blanket licence for sharing digital media. A section that would have permitted internet users to freely exchange copyrighted material, effectively legitimizing file sharing, and hastening the demise of digital rights management (DRM) software, had passed an earlier reading…

    Continue reading »