4/23: Digital Media – How did we get here and where are we going?

Lauren Gelman — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:44:59 -0700

Start: Apr 23 2007 - 12:30pm

End: Apr 23 2007 - 1:30pm

Name of Speaker:

Matt Burrows

Speaker's Bio:

Matt Burrows is Senior Counsel for the iTunes division of Apple Inc. where he is responsible for negotiating and structuring various agreements for music, television and motion picture content distributed on the iTunes Store.

Prior to joining Apple, Mr. Burrows was Of Counsel to Lapidus & Haft, LLP, an entertainment law firm in Santa Monica, California, focusing on the representation of major record labels, artists, and producers. He was also previously Head of Music Business Affairs at the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills, California where he was responsible for matters concerning The Eagles, Whitney Houston and the Lollapalooza concert tours.

Mr. Burrows is currently a Non-resident Fellow at the Stanford Law School, Center for Internet and Society where he is focusing on fair use issues.

Mr. Burrows received his B.A. in Rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987, and his J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 1991.

Topic Description:

The digitization of media allowed the analog world to be morphed into bits – able to be transferred first to CD’s and then to MP3’s and other files. Devices that enabled this included the CD player followed by the personal computer, the iPod and, most recently, Apple TV. Once those bits were initially unleashed, they took two paths. Some went the underground peer-to-peer file sharing route (and battled with the RIAA along the way) while others went the so-called legitimate route by negotiating and entering into agreements with rights holders.

As the digital revolution is unfolding, the press frequently depicts the sky falling on the traditional brick and mortar music business. Still, consumers are listening to and viewing more media than ever before. How to monetize and grow the revolution is a challenge to all players in the industry. Survival of the fittest is now more true than ever for the entertainment business.

This talk will explain some of the key legal and business elements which brought about the digital revolution and what challenges can be anticipated in order for the revolution to fulfill its potential. Issues to be discussed include content agreements with rights owners (both on the production and distribution side), music publishing, formats, as well as the devices and business models that allow all of this to happen.

The talk will represent the speaker’s own personal views and not that of his employer.

DRM-free music from Apple & Microsoft

Christian Laux — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:47:23 -0700

Apple has announced it would offer DRM-free music through iTunes. The offer is limited to the music catalog of one of the Major Labels, EMI.

Customers still can get the DRM-protected songs at the old price. The DRM-free songs are available for an extra price of 30%. In exchange, the consumer (also) gets better file quality.

Apple says No to DRM? Maybe, if it only could…

Zohar Efroni — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:27:49 -0800

Steve Jobs published on Tuesday this article on Apple’s website. It definitely deserves a comment.

apple

4/23: Digital Media – How did we get here and where are we going?

DRM-free music from Apple & Microsoft

Apple says No to DRM? Maybe, if it only could…