CAN VIDEO RESCUE THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY?

BEN CAMERON is a live arts theatre director and a featured speaker on the entertainment section of TED.com. Demonstrating his fervor for the performing arts, he spoke passionately and articulately about the evolution of performance arts in the face of intense media competition. Whether quoting the Judge Judy court program on television, or, assuring the audience of his familiarity with iPod, DVDs or television programs like Law & Order, his entire lecture was laced with humor.  Highlighting the benefits and adversity that technological advancements in entertainment can bring, he pointed out that an aspiring artist must face between 3,000 to 5,000 advertising messages aimed at the average consumer each day; moreover, the average college student spends over 20,000 hours on the internet and 10,000 playing video games.  He also discussed how the closing of the super retail store - Tower records – had made performing arts and other entertainment industries shutter in their worries about being the next industry to fold as a result of technology’s impact on the entertainment industry.  Although the performing arts were facing the challenges with technology, he compared the arts industry challenges of internal fractioning and realignment with religious groups during the reformation periods of history; ultimately, concluding that the performing arts movement will also survive.  The quality of work from professional amateurs (Pro-ams), as well as, a world defined by media participation instead of media consumption will enhance the publics experience with performance arts.  Social activist oriented artists who share their talents for the sake of a social concern instead of mere financial gain would also enrich the performance arts through the use of inter net media.  He also reasoned that an optimistic view of the future for performance arts was extends form its ability to provide emotional intelligence for business assessment.  Ultimately, by articulating his views and insight about technology’s impact on the performance arts, my awareness was improved about how video usage on the inter net can be an indispensable tool for sharing ideas – and for the “salvation” of the entertainment business. Perhaps, unlike real tones, time will tell whether the video will succeed in redeeming or enhancing the music business.

REFERENCES:

1) Ben Cameron speech; www.TED.com 

2) Silvio Pietroluongo and Keith Caufield; Billboard Magazine, December 16, 2010; http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/michael-jackson-cracks-top-10-of-social-1004134786.story

A PRECEDENT FOR PROTECTING PROFITS

The RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America – has spend decades combating piracy in the recording industry.  Pursuing legal action, establishing legislative standards, and representing the creative and trade interest of creative trade members are at the core of their mission.

A recent U.S. appellate court victory in the copyright infringement case against file sharing piracy is an example of the type of legal precedents that are vital for establishing and protecting the copyright interest, as well as, trade profiting methods of legit creative businesses in the U.S.

Despite the existence of file sharing companies which encourage “pirating” music, the participation in not paying for the creative works of others has led to waves of layoffs at record companies, the increased unemployment of songwriters, and more difficulties for those artists aspiring a record contract or breakthrough into the industry.  Global piracy creates over 12 billion dollars in loss profit, over 71,000 loss jobs in the U.S., over 2 billion dollars in employee’s earnings, and millions of losses in personal income plus corporate income taxes, according to a report from the Institute for Policy Innovation.

A combination of awareness activities, trade creativity, and policy enforcement are some of the creative trade methods being conducted by the RIAA.

Furthering their anti-piracy initiatives, the RIAA has formally announced its support of the establishment of the Kores-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.  The potential for protecting the rights of intellectual property, reducing international trade barriers, and countering illegal digital business are reasons for the support from the Recording Industry Association of America. 

While digital technology has proven to be a double edged sword for the recording industry – an innovation for legit business and a tool for illegal music piracy – the potentials of establishing legal precedents for expanding trade business, setting up legislative standards for international and American trade activities, and fostering legitimate electronic commerce are the beneficial ways of supporting our recording music trade.  The efforts to establish profit protecting legal precedents of the Recording Industry Association of America and other trade groups, unions, and companies in unison with supporting the U.S.-South Korean Free Trade Agreement plus other legal trade activities are vital to the success of our music recording industry.