Canadian Copyright Content

Don's horning in on my Canadian content! (Such as it is.) He found an editorial from Barenaked Ladies vocalist and guitarist Steven Page about the formation of the Canadian Music Creators Coalition that's worth repeating. The list of CMCC members on its Website includes names we all know (even if we don't buy all their CDs): Barenaked Ladies, Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLachlan, Sum 41, Broken Social Scene, Sloan, and others. Although the initial thrust is about copyright, the group has indicated that it is also interested in issues surrounding the creation and distribution of Canadian music.

Here are some intriguing quotes from Page's piece in The National Post:

Much of their [record companies'] lobbying, however, is not about protecting artists or promoting Canadian culture. It is about propping up business models in the recording industry that are quickly becoming obsolete and unsustainable. It is about preserving foreign-based power structures and further entrenching the labels' role as industry gatekeepers. Their lobbying efforts are focused on passing laws that restrict artists' ability to take control of their own music, reach their fans in more direct ways and earn a decent living from music without sacrificing their autonomy.

. . .
[W]e believe that suing our fans is destructive and hypocritical. We do not want to sue music fans, and we do not want to distort the law to coerce fans into conforming to a rigid digital market artificially constructed by the major labels.

. . .
The "products of the mind" for which the record labels claim to seek protection are the products of our minds. The legislative proposals that would facilitate lawsuits against our fans or increase the labels' control over the enjoyment of music are not made in our names.

This is an intriguing coalition, and it seems to be collecting quite the swath of powerful heavy hitters within the Canadian music industry. It'll be interesting to see where it goes and what kind of clout they can pull together.