COPYCENSE

This week’s edition of Clippings is a tad more svelte than those featured in previous weeks, but it still includes stories about “360 deals”; Mrs. Sonny Bono’s most recent foray into copyright extension; unique perspectives on the Writer’s Guild strike; and House Democrats hitting higher education with the financial death penalty.

This is Copycense.

Clippings

Emili Vesilind. Fashion Designers Take on Pirates. LATimes.com. Nov. 11, 2007. A Sunday feature article features commentary on the Design Piracy Prohibition Act (H.R. 2033), which features Mrs. Sonny Bono (recall the 1998 term extension?) as a co-sponsor. Categories: Fashion & Ornaments; Legislation & Regulation.

Jeff Leeds. The New Deal: Band as Brand. The New York Times. Nov. 11, 2007. Chronicles the increased frequency of so-called “360 deals,” in which recording labels “partner” with the musical act to “share” revenue sources such as licensing and performance revenue. Traditionally, those revenue streams have been exclusive to the recording artist, but in this brave new (commercial) world, the labels seek help from the artists. Never mind that most artists (individually or collectively) never will earn enough to plug the sieve of a business plan the labels have yet to change. And never mind the irony of the labels asking the artists to share revenue, after the aforementioned business model has depended (to a great degree) on taking money out of artists’ pockets. Given this history, is it any wonder Jay-Z has rapped “I’m charging labels double for what they did to the Cold Crush?” Categories: Business & Commerce; Licensing & Permissions; Music.

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