(Nearly) Live Blog - SF Music Tech 2008

Two things you learn early on at an event with over 50 panelists: first, you will have to make decisions about which events to attend (I'm still torn between the 10:30am presentations of "Artists, Copyrights & Technologies" and "Issues in Music - Tech Licensing"); and secondly, anyone who seems overly friendly at the reception breakfast is probably going to hand you a glossy pamphlet introducing their business after about 2 minutes of idle chatter (and will be off to the next target before the 5 minute mark). Click here for the Twitter feed.

Session 1: Recommendation and Discovery

The central topic of this first panel was the question of how to discover new music in an era of almost overwhelming choices, a discussion quickly framed as a battle of “man vs. machine.” On one side, there were the techies in search of that magical formula that would make the process of collaborative filtering on the internet more accurate and useful for the end user. On the other side were the humanists who lamented the digitization and automation of subjective musical tastes.

I have a friend who recommends good music to me almost weekly, and we joke that my responses to her selections will be entered into her algorithm for future picks. So far, so good. I’ve found myself exposed to an increasingly diverse and sometimes challenging palate of music, with only a few misses here and there.

The real issue of recommendation seems to be one of trust—regardless of whether you are inclined to listen to a computer or human algorithm for selecting “good” music, there must be a high level of credibility from the source. Personally, I’ve had enough off the wall recommendations from amazon.com that my policy is to never take advice from any machine that wants to sell me something. Besides, my human recommender burns me the songs I want for free. (Note for our friends out there at Sony BMG, EMI, Universal, Warner, ASCAP and BMI...I'm just kidding!! Sheesh...take a joke, will you?)

Session 2 – Licensing (or, "How To Slice the Royalty Pie Into 1000 Worthless Pieces")

Listening to representatives from Real Networks and Sony Computer Entertainment lament the difficulties of licensing and computing royalty payments for digital downloads, on-demand streams and internet radio did not immediately evoke my sympathies. After all, it’s supposed to be difficult. They’re applying 20th century business metrics to 21st century technologies.

In most cases, the copyright owners and distribution companies have tenuous agreements not to sue each other until the CRB finally makes a determination of the appropriate royalty rates for new technologies. Originally, the determination was set to come out in 2001, but has been delayed indefinitely as more and more special interests enter the discussion of who is to be paid what, and when. Of course, there is one group of people that has been cut out of the debate entirely: the artist.

Apparently, the best way to slice the royalty pie is by inviting too many cooks in the kitchen.

Session 3 - The History of Everything - John Perry Barlow

The highlight of my day so far was definitely shaking hands with John Perry Barlow and telling him that his discussion was a breath of fresh air. His response was too colorful for print, but here are some of the most quoteworthy highlights from his presentation:

On becoming a songwriter:

“You just have to find yourself in the middle of an argument at the right time.”

On the value of recorded music:

“If I have a diamond the size of a softball, it is no less valuable if nobody knows about it. But if I have a song that is the equivalent of a softball-sized diamond, it is valueless unless other people know about it.”

On bootleg taping of live shows:

“It’s bad for your karma to be mean to a Deadhead.”

On the value of art:

“The value lies in the relationship between the creator and the audience. Art for me is a verb, not a noun.”

On co-founding the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

“At this stage, I’m like John the Baptist. In the beginning Mitch and I didn’t think we needed an organization at all, but we didn’t realize that in cyberspace the first amendment was a local ordinance.“

On the value of copyright:

“The first thing that we have to get rid of is this idea that we own ideas.”

On change:

“Most of the people who feel the same way about these things are younger than me. Most of the people who disagree with me are about my age. And some day, the people my age will die. That’s pretty much how change happens.”