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Recording Academy Press Release Index
THE RECORDING ACADEMY®'S
PRODUCERS & ENGINEERS WING BRINGS NEW DIMENSIONS TO HOT TOPICS AT
AES
- GRAMMY® SoundTable at AES Convention Continues to Explore New
Music Industry Paradigms, Shifting Music Business Models, New Markets
and Strategies, and What Makes Music Matter -
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Oct. 24, 2005) — The Producers
& Engineers Wing of The Recording Academy® proved once again
that it brings a unique and practical perspective to the big issues
facing the entire music industry with the GRAMMY® SoundTable panel
"Death Of The Record Business? Rebirth Of The Music Business: Part
II" at the AES Convention at New York's Javits Center on Oct. 7.
(Part I took place during a Nashville Chapter event earlier this year.)
The summit brought together a panel of award-winning experts from diverse
music business disciplines to offer insight into the far-reaching digital
revolution currently transforming the global music industry. Panelists
included: Billboard Legal & Music Publishing Editor Susan Butler,
Or Music President and Co-Founder Michael Caplan, Crush Music Media
Management President Jonathan Daniel, Nonesuch Records President Robert
Hurwitz, and self-described "compassionate technologist" and
GRAMMY-winning engineer George Massenburg,
The discussion was led by Dave Adelson, Senior Producer/Music
Correspondent for "E! News Live" and Executive Producer of
WireImage Video, who opened the proceedings with an assessment of how
the old-school music industry continues to decline and the urgent need
for new business models to replace it and reinvigorate the industry.
The next two hours covered a wide range of topics, including
digital downloading, digital rights management (DRM), the iPod, file-sharing
via P2P networks, and innovative models for distribution and management
of music. Caplan pointed out the fact that not every element in the
industry is necessarily moving toward the same goal. "The major
labels are still trying to stamp out [downloading] but the genie is
way out of the bottle," he told a standing-room-only crowd. Butler
tackled some of the thornier legal issues that this shift has brought
to the forefront, including the fact that, as she explained it, "under
copyright law, if you put a copy on your iTunes and you get rid of the
disc you no longer have the legal right to the copy on iTunes. You only
have a right to make a copy and keep it as long as you have the physical
disc. So my iTunes [are] illegal now."
There was also substantial give-and-take between the audience
and the panel. When one attendee commented that DRM acts as a roadblock
to accessing music, Hurwitz responded by saying, "Artists and composers…work
really hard. Without them there are no record labels. They [artists
and composers] are our first responsibility."
At The Recording Academy's booth on the Convention floor,
key members of the industry's technical infrastructure were present
throughout the conference to continue these types of discussions and
to explore how technology can be harnessed to move the business forward
for everyone involved. Among those at the booth over the four days of
the show were Elliot Scheiner, Ed Cherney, Al Schmitt, Chuck Ainlay,
Jimmy Douglass, Tony Maserati, Eric Schilling, John Alagia and Bob Ludwig.
A good example of how the Producers &Engineers Wing members advanced
the cause of the music industry at AES was Ludwig's participation in
two days of panel discussions, sponsored by Dolby Labs, that examined
the roles that next-generation media formats Blu-ray and HD DVD will
play in music.
"Producers & Engineer Wing members bring an enormous
amount of practical experience and wisdom to the table, and they do
so at a critical point in the history of the music business," observes
Producers & Engineers Wing Executive Director Maureen Droney. "Whether
on formal panels or just talking informally at our booth, the P&E
Wing worked to advance the evolution of the music business at AES."
Photo Caption:
The Producers & Engineers Wing of The Recording Academy® presented
the GRAMMY® SoundTable panel "Death Of The Record Business?
Rebirth Of The Music Business: Part II" at the AES Convention at
New York's Javits Center on Oct. 7.
Shown L-R: Moderator Dave Adelson and panelists Michael Caplan, Susan
Butler, Jonathan Daniel, Robert Hurwitz and George Massenburg
Photo Credit:
Courtesy of The Recording Academy®
Photograph by Stephen Lovekin/WireImage ©2005
# # #
Currently, 6,000 professionals comprise the Producers
& Engineers Wing, which was established for producers, engineers,
remixers, manufacturers, technologists, and other related creative and
technical professionals in the recording community. This organized voice
for the creative and technical recording community addresses issues
that affect the craft of recorded music, while ensuring its role in
the development of new technologies, recording and mastering recommendations,
and archiving and preservation initiatives. The Wing builds on the existing
regional professional development activities of The Recording Academy,
which include workshops, forums and panel discussions, and other recording
technology-related events, all occurring locally and nationally throughout
the year. For more information, please visit www.grammy.com/pe_wing.
Established in 1957, the National Academy of Recording
Arts & Sciences, Inc., also known as The Recording Academy, is an
organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals
that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of
life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY
Awards, The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional
development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services
programs — including the creation of the national public education
campaign What's The Download™ (www.WhatsTheDownload.com).
For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com.
Other company and product names may be trademarks of the
respective companies with which they are associated.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Robbie Clyne
Neilson/Clyne, Inc.
615.662.1616 rclyne@neilsonclyne.com
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Barb Dehgan
The Recording Academy
310.392.3777 |
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