Artists' reputations are their number one
assets. Whether they earn their living by live performance fees, CD or
merchandising sales, subscription or sponsorship fees,
advertising, or a variety of other revenue-generating models, the more
artists are known and appreciated by the public, the better positioned
they are is to seek and
obtain fees for their creative services.
Now imagine a world full of musicians, all creating, exchanging ideas
and building upon the works of others -- a true artist's collective. Digital
technology makes this
possible. The revolutionary ease of copying and distribution of music
over the Internet allows musicians to reach millions of people around the
globe at minimal cost;
at the same time, the technology truly dissolves the boundaries between
who can be considered a creator and who is merely a consumer of art. Musicians
would
have the opportunity to draw upon and truly build from the works of
others like never before. DJs could wade into an increasing pool of music
to broadcast or
webcast without legal restrictions. Artists would finally have a way
to establish a direct connection with their audiences. All this is possible
through open licensing.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was founded in 1990 to protect
civil liberties like freedom of expression and privacy rights in the electronic
world. EFF
recently released the Open Audio License with terms under which artists
can choose to distribute their own songs if they wish. It is EFF's hope
that the license will
empower the artistic community and promote freedom of expression by
taking advantage of law and technology.
Original songs that artists choose to release under the Open Audio License
may be copied and shared with friends or publicly performed by anyone without
restrictions or royalties, so long as credit is provided to the artist.
The license terms strike a new deal between artists and the public, opening
up greater opportunities
for musicians worldwide who want to touch the most hearts and minds
with their message.
Open licensing allows artists to continue to profit from their music
released under the license in many of the same traditional ways they always
have, such as CD sales,
live performance revenues, merchandising, etc. Artists can also release
one track of a CD under the open license as a promotional tool to come
to the website and
buy the entire CD.
In many respects, this idea is not revolutionary. Record labels and
artists regularly release free songs for the publicity value. It should
come as no surprise that the
more an artist is heard, the better her record and concert sales are
and the more invitations to provide other musical services she receives.
One real possibility for artist revenues in an electronic age that is
compatible with the open licensing is upfront fees for musical services
such as composition. Artists'
livelihood may shift away from one of payment for music as product
to one of music as a service. The rules of the game may be changing, but
artists will adapt to a
home in the digital environment where greater opportunities await them.
Just as lawyers are paid fees for their services of drafting contracts,
artists can be commissioned to compose and record original songs to, for
example,
commemorate weddings or births, which can be further distributed to
family, friends and heirs throughout time. The industrial era for music
distribution revolved
around a model of mass production of few songs that would be sold to
all. Digital technology allows creators to cultivate the value of individual
customization of
music, something much more personal.
In the digital world, artists who wed their income solely to fees per
copies of goods sold seem to be selling themselves short. Since we are
moving toward an
environment where any intellectual creation can and will be copied
and distributed with the click of a mouse, to tie artist revenue to fees
for copies distributed also
seems to be the surest way for artists to starve.
Rather than shoe-horning an old revenue model into a new technological
environment, as "digital rights management" (copy-prevention systems) or
other digital audio
security schemes attempt, open licensing takes advantage of the properties
of digital technology, like ease of copying and distributing. Artists'
fans become their top
promoters, by passing on the music that they like to friends along
with means to connect with the artists, such as Web or e-mail addresses.
This kind of "viral
marketing" or super-distribution of artists' music provides an unprecedented
opportunity to independent artists around the world to pursue their passions.
The
challenge is now to the electronic pioneers to use these new tools
to build new business models or new twists on the old ones that sustain
and enhance artists'
livelihood in a digital world.
For more information about open licensing, including EFF's model Open
Audio License (OAL), see:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Open_licenses/
For more information about EFF's Campaign for Audviovisual Free Expression
(CAFE), see:
http://www.eff.org/cafe
* Robin D. Gross is an intellectual property attorney
with a leading cyber-liberties organization, the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
where she specializes in intellectual property policy and digital music
legal issues and serves as Director of EFF's Campaign for Audiovisual Free
Expression (CAFÉ). In addition to public interest litigation,
Ms. Gross frequently speaks and publishes on cyberspace legal issues such
as digital copyright, and the MP3 and DeCSS legal battles.