College Bands Collective Licensing Project

Goal:

A blanket download license and collection society aimed at ISPs. It would be college-oriented in that the bands and composers initially included in the society would be "college" bands, and that the ISPs initially targeted for licenses would be university ISPs. Thus, we'd be able to emphasize the communitarian and quid-pro-quo aspect of a workable digital music model. But obviously, the longer-term goal would be to expand licensors and licensees to include everyone, and make file sharing cheap and legal for all.

Strengths:

"Do nothing, and we will send you money" is a pretty powerful proposition. The hard one will be *colleges* -- "give us $0.50/month/student in exchange for a license to use music that's on MySpace" is a little harder, but the pricing is low enough, and the rights grant is expansive enough, that you could probably make a go of it -- for example, by selling it as a catalog of freely usable music into film programs, pubs, etc.

Practically every single professional artist in the world is a member of a collecting society. It is, after all, free money for simply allowing stuff that's happening already.

Envision an intermediary -- a collecting society -- that signs up bands by saying, "We are getting money from universities in exchange for their students' freedom to use your music in their school projects. Kids like you will get the right to use your music in their mixes, P2P use, etc, and you will get paid based on how popular your music is, according to statistical sampling. It's like getting paid for radio play -- if you had any! -- except you're getting paid for P2P and student projects."

The collecting society would run on principles similar to those articulated by the International Music Managers Forum in their white paper on 21st Century Collecting Societies (link).

What is right conferred? the right conferred is the right to download the music using any software, in any codec, from any source. For context, see blanket licenses on airplay or live music: the license doesn't stipulate that a radio station has to buy its CDs at TowerThey can play music from P2P. They can play music from the library. They can play it form an iPod or an 8-track. The important thing is the license on the work, not the means by which the work is acquired.


Weaknesses:

Depends on university administrators: Fundamental challenge is getting them to sign on. Still, universities already pay license, would just need one university or college to take the lead and Free Culture clubs could engage. This would be great mean to engage administration in meaningful, substantial, non-antagonistic dialogue over such an arrangement.

Complexity and Scope of Projects' Components: These are weaknesses only due to early "incubator" stage and all resolveable, but each one if mishandled could become serious weakness.

Overall: The project will require significant institutional support (we should brainstorm foundations) headed by senior project leader who will see project through "incubator" stage.

Work that would need to be done.

The legal work:

1. Incorporating the society (501(c)3?)
2. Drafting the artist/society agreement
3. Drafting the society/university license

The Music Industry work:

1. Creation of collection society (also an opportunity).opportunity): what are terms, framework?
   
2. Engage carefully selected indie music figures from broad genres
3. Once framework defined, sign up bands
   

The Launch:

1. Communication, Marketing of Society
2. Engagement with Universities to license college bands as first test
   

Opportunities:

College bands have NO meaningful collective licensing options right now. Collective licenses are typically reserved for artists who are commercially successful. This is about giving college bands a licensing stream like those reserved for the big guys, without forcing them to get involved with the major labels (or preparatory to such involvement).

Musicians and (particularly) their management LOVE collective licensing. It's evergreen money in exchange for doing nothing -- it's evergreen money for simply not trying to stop your fans from doing what they're already doing.

As far as administrations, a lot of them pay undisclosed sums for Napster or Rhapsody licenses. Retail for these services is $10+/month. These licenses DON'T confer P2P, synch, remix, iPod, or other rights to the students – only the rights to download and use DRM music that evaporates when they leave the campus, that can't play on an iPod, that can't be remixed or synched in a student film, etc.

OVERALL OPPORTUNITY

1. Sign some bands up to a non-exclusive arrangement with a new collecting society that offers extremely liberal licensing for low fees
to educational institutions (and other ISPs, eventually)

2. Pitch universities on the idea of paying $0.50/month/student for access to a catalog of music that is licensed for download (from any
source -- just as a radio station's license gives it the right to play any song in the catalog no matter that it's on a CD or an iPod or
whatever), performance, synch with films and multimedia, remix, etc. "Why are you paying $10/mo/student to Rhapsody for music from Fortune
100s that your kids can't even play on their iPods? Why not pay 1/20 of that for music from college students, for college students, that your
film and music programs can make unlimited use of?"

3. Use statistical sampling to pay out to represented acts

Threats:

RIAA. Anti-free culture campaigns/rhetoric (also opportunity to engage/challenge). Co-option by corporate music interests.