TORONTO – The many gaps in the opinions of those in the music industry has finally taken on coalition form.
A number of high profile Canadian musicians, songwriters and producers have united to provide a new voice in Canadian copyright and cultural policy with the Canadian Music Creators Coalition.
The CMCC "will ensure that lobbyists for major record labels and music publishers are not the only voices heard in debates about Canada’s copyright laws and other key cultural policy issues," says the group.
The multi-million-selling membership includes such artists as: Barenaked Ladies, Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLachlan, Chantal Kreviazuk, Sum 41, Stars, Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace), Dave Bidini (Rheostatics), Billy Talent, John K. Samson (Weakerthans), Broken Social Scene, Sloan, Andrew Cash and Bob Wiseman (co-founder Blue Rodeo).
"Multinational record labels are vocal in their desire for changes to copyright laws that would facilitate lawsuits against our fans and increase their control over the enjoyment of music. To our alarm, the labels advance these demands not merely on their own behalf, but in our names as necessary for the well-being of individual Canadian musicians in the digital age," says the release.
The CMCC is united under three key principles:
* Suing fans is destructive and hypocritical
Artists do not want to sue music fans. The labels have been suing our fans against artists’ will, and laws enabling these suits cannot be justified in artists’ names
* Digital locks are risky and counterproductive
Artists do not support using digital locks to increase the labels’ control over the distribution, use and enjoyment of music or laws that prohibit circumvention of such technological measures. Consumers should be able to transfer the music they buy to other formats under a right of fair use, without having to pay twice.
* Cultural policy should support actual Canadian artists
The vast majority of new Canadian music is not promoted by major labels, which focus mostly on foreign artists. The government should use other policy tools to support actual Canadian artists and a thriving musical and cultural scene.
