DECEMBER 2005

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MUSIC - Selling Christian music without selling out by Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post 29dec05 -- Looking at row after row of Christian music CDs in the Fredericksburg, Va., Wal-Mart, Clint Clifton glimpses the seeds of something grand -- a golden period for Christian artists that could rival 12th-century France or 15th-century England. The Christian selections fill about one-eighth of the megastore's music department. Having spent the past three years promoting and training young Christian musicians, Clifton can't help but smile; he is living in a boom time. But the goateed 26-year-old sees other things on the wire shelves, too. He picks up a CD by the teenage band Jump 5 and tsks. The group doesn't write most of its songs, and Clifton suspects that it began as a moneymaking "concept" in a music company's marketing department, not as a divinely inspired prayer, as Christian music should. He flips over a top-selling CD and marvels at the name of the label: Time-Life. "Seeing Time-Life on a Christian CD is still pretty weird," said Clifton, who lives in Stafford, Va., and is pastor at Pillar Church in Dumfries, Va. "It's a good thing as a whole, but I don't necessarily think being bigger is always a good thing. It's a fine line." For musicians of what's broadly called "contemporary Christian" -- a category that includes pop, folk and hard rock -- these are heady times. Sales have increased 80 percent since 1995, according to the Gospel Music Association. The growth has prompted Christian musicians who in the past would have been happy just to sing at their own church to venture into a landscape of major record labels, thriving Christian radio stations and music publishers capable of sending songs to megachurches from Los Angeles to Orlando. But many of these artists find built-in conflicts. How do you focus on what sells without selling out that original listener, God? How do you make sure the music remains a vehicle for praising God and not the singer? "Sometimes I'm singing and performing and 10 minutes go by and I realize: I haven't thought about the God I'm talking about," said Chris Joyner, 31, a Fairfax, Va., pastor and musician who has put out three CDs. "I might be thinking about: How does the music sound? What's going on outside? How does this look? "I know I have pride, I have selfishness. And it's then I say: 'Jesus, teach me ways to root it out. Keep me humble.'" When contemporary Christian music took off in the 1990s, some artists feared that the purchase of independent religious labels by such mainstream companies as the EMI Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment would result in secularized lyrics. Industry experts say that hasn't happened. In fact, the most prominent trend in contemporary Christian music is "praise and worship," a style of songwriting in which the lyrics are overtly pious and the singer talks directly to God. But regardless of whether God is mentioned, nascent Christian songwriters say the popularity of Christian music has created pressure to follow certain formulas and conventions. That, along with the widening prospects of celebrity, has blurred the lines between faith and business. Feelings of ambivalence are on display at the songwriting workshop run by Clifton's Stafford-based company, God-Song. Lecturers at the sessions emphasize to participants that they should not use earthly standards to judge whether they are "making it" in their musical career. "The fact that you are using your God-given talents to communicate God's message to the churched and unchurched is, in God's eyes, the true sign of 'making it,'" Randy Motz regularly tells participants who hear his "Declaration of Independence" speech. "Be satisfied with always being an independent artist; a major-label deal is a bonus," Motz, a producer who has lectured at the workshops, says in the speech. But Clifton also advises participants not to get too specific about religious doctrine in their lyrics, even as he worries that the industry might be trying too hard to be nonconfrontational. "There are many types of churches, and how they interpret the Bible is different. Like, for example, we don't want to put out a song that all Baptists will hate," he said in an interview. "I don't think you'd see someone do a cover about abortion, because 10 percent of Christians believe in choice." With lyrics that speak directly to God, praise and worship music lends itself to being sung by congregations during worship services, and several industry experts say that helps explain why it is so popular and marketable. Services at large, nondenominational churches have become increasingly multimedia, and performing a song in that setting -- or simply having it played there -- can be as financially lucrative as being booked at a popular nightclub. "Churches are the new radio," said John Styll, president of the Gospel Music Association, which represents all Christian music styles. "You have a kind of music here that engages tens of millions of people every Sunday."

VIDEO GAMES - Is it illegal to rent or sell certain types of violent video games ? by LA Times, December 28, 2005 -- When it comes to regulating violent video games, lawmakers are like slow-fingered players who never find the key to the next level. Last week, a federal judge in San Jose placed a temporary hold on a new California law that would make it illegal to rent or sell certain types of violent video games to minors.The courts have been unanimous on the issue, with U.S. District Judge Ronald M. Whyte's ruling being the sixth to find such laws unconstitutional. The issue is free speech. Courts have said consistently that manufacturers can be as violent as they want in their video games without fear of being restricted by the state.The law's sponsor, Assemblyman Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), got points from Whyte for crafting a bill that was not unconstitutionally vague — a common problem when lawmakers try to regulate speech. Yee's measure applied only to games that depicted killing, rape or maiming in a way that's patently offensive or "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel" — a standard clear enough in Whyte's view for the industry to know which products would be regulated.Nevertheless, Whyte granted a preliminary injunction against the California law because violence is different from sex, at least where the courts are concerned. The Supreme Court ruled in 1968 that states had a "rational basis" for barring shopkeepers from selling sexually explicit magazines to minors, regardless of the 1st Amendment. But the courts have never applied the same rationale to explicit depictions of violence.The standard for laws against violent movies, lyrics or games is much higher: States must demonstrate that they have a compelling interest in limiting violent expressions, and that they're using the least restrictive means to do the job. States cannot ban game sales to minors unless they can show a strong link between game playing and violent behavior, which has yet to be done to any judge's satisfaction.Why sex and violence are held to different standards is mystifying (although it may have something to do with the relative ease — or difficulty — of defining the two terms). Given the courts' approach, however, it's time for lawmakers and game manufacturers to find another way to address the issue. The industry has a more detailed ratings system than Hollywood's, as well as agreements with numerous retailers to enforce those ratings. And the next generation of game consoles will enable parents to use the ratings to limit which games their kids can play. Ultimately, it is a parent's duty to keep children away from inappropriate video games. Lawmakers who have tried to shift that duty to store clerks are now 0 for 6, and their average isn't likely to improve — no matter how many times they swing.

MUSIC - Over 50s set to join download revolutions by Manchester Entertainment 27th December 2005 -- The music download revolution is poised to be boosted by the power of the "grey pound", said industry experts. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the UK record industry's trade association, said new research showed that the over-50s were already having a massive impact on the UK charts. But with more than a fifth (23%) of those who do not already own a digital music player saying that they intend to buy one, their music muscle is set to increase. Only 4% of over-50s currently own an MP3 player but the British record industry has seen digital sales increase by 400% in the last year. The report, carried out together with Age Concern, found that the over-50s made a quarter (24%) of all album purchases in 2004. More than half (59%) had bought an album in the previous three months. A fifth (20%) bought six or more CDs a year, and two thirds bought at least one a year. More than half (59%) of respondents stated that music was "an important part of their lives". Classical music was the most popular genre, with easy listening and country close behind, while 64% said they also like rock music. BPI spokesman Matt Phillips said: "Legal music downloads may have taken off in a big way in 2005, but these figures underline the huge potential that still remains in digital music, particularly amongst older music fans. "Album sales continue to grow in the UK, and older music buyers are clearly responsible for much of that growth. "Nearly a quarter of all albums sold are bought by older music fans - and that percentage is set to grow as the UK population ages." Radio 2 was named the most popular station in the research. Favourite Artists amongst the Over-50s - 1. Il Divo 2. Rod Stewart 3. Tony Christie 4. Katherine Jenkins 5. G4 6. Ronan Keating 7. Phil Collins 8. Elvis Presley 9. Abba 10. Westlife

MUSIC TRADEMARK - Twista Dumps 'Chi-Rock' in Trademark Dispute by KGET 23dec05 -- Chicago rapper Twista has agreed to let go of the name “Chi-Rock” in a trademark dispute with Faheem Shabazz, president of the city’s Chi-Rock Hip-Hop Nation founded in 1985. According to published reports, Twista’s attorney David Gold wrote in a letter: “Please be advised that our client has not released any products under the 'Chi-Roc' mark. Chi-Roc Entertainment has already been dissolved and the registration of the URL 'Chi-Roc.com' has expired. We are in the process of abandoning the trademark application." A giddy Shabazz said in response: "I hope the world can see the truth now that we've won the battle. He can't use the term ‘Chi-Rock’ ever again without being sued. …There were a lot of angry Chi-Rock members that are now ready to celebrate our victory. I wasn't after his money or fame even though I was bashed by his supporters in the streets, in news articles and on the internet as being a liar and an opportunist." Twista has said that he used the “Chi-Rock” moniker for his ventures as a way of paying tribute to the long-standing rap collective.

COPYRIGHT - Canada: IP Year In Review – Intellectual Property & Copyright by Antonio Turco, 20 December 2005 -- 2005 was another interesting year for copyright law in Canada. The year brought the promise of proposed amendments to the Copyright Act and a decision of the Federal Court of Appeal related to music file sharing. As well, the Supreme Court of Canada is hearing an appeal in a case involving electronic publishing. Legislative Developments Bill C-60. In June, the Federal government introduced Bill C-60, under the title An Act to Amend the Copyright Act. Bill C-60 embodied many of the proposed amendments identified in the Government Statement on Proposals for Copyright Reform and claims to fulfill the Canadian Government’s commitment to address short-term copyright reform issues. Bill C-60 is the first in what is likely to be a series of bills amending and updating the Copyright Act (the Act). The last time the Act underwent significant amendment was in 1997, a time when rapid changes in technologies made clear directions difficult, if not impossible, to predict. With the dissolution of Parliament, Bill C-60 died on the order paper. A federal election will take place in January. At this time, it is impossible to predict the effect the outcome of the election will have on the future of copyright law reform in Canada. In a 2002 report, the Government itemized short, medium and long-term issues on its copyright agenda. Medium term issues included remedies, rights in visual and audio-visual works, Crown copyright, collective rights management, term, the ephemeral recording exception and the private copying regime. Longer term issues included traditional knowledge, database protection, audio-visual performers’ rights, and signal rights for broadcasters. Bill C-60, dealing with most of the short term issues, is seen as an attempt to reflect the Government’s commitment to balance and account for the public interest in access to and use of creative works. Also central to Bill C-60 are two World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties: the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, which address copyright issues and the Internet. The treaties establish copyright protections for authors, sound recording makers, and performers of audio works. Canada signed the treaties in 1997, but cannot ratify them without amendments to the Act. Portions of Bill C-60 were intended to address the challenges of digital technology by implementing the provisions of the WIPO treaties. In particular, rights holders would be given a variety of new rights. Many rights holders would have the sole right to control the making available of their copyrighted material on the Internet. Bill C-60 also placed an express limitation on the scope of the private copying exemption, by providing that private copies of sound recordings cannot be uploaded to the Internet or further distributed. Bill C-60 also introduced provisions dealing with the circumvention of technological protection measures (TPMs), such as encryption, and the alteration or removal of rights management information (RMI), which identifies content protected by copyright, or its author/maker, and the terms and conditions of its use. However, these acts would only attract liability when done to further or to conceal copyright infringement. Bill C-60 would exempt Internet service providers (ISPs) from liability for copyright material circulating on their networks for which they act purely as intermediaries. In addition, caching of electronic information by ISPs, done for efficiency purposes, would not itself constitute infringement. These provisions incorporate the conclusions of the Supreme Court of Canada in its 2004 SOCAN decision. Liability would remain with those persons, including ISPs, who post or transmit copyrighted material without authorization. ISPs would potentially play a significant role in curbing infringing activities by virtue of the proposed “notice and notice” regime, under which an ISP would be required to forward any notice it receives from a copyright owner to a subscriber who is alleged to be engaged in infringing activities online. The ISP would also be required to retain, for a period of up to six months, information sufficient to identify the subscriber in question. This is in contrast to the “notice and takedown” regime implemented in the United States under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Additionally, Bill C-60 aims to facilitate the use of digital technologies for educational and research purposes. Specifically, educational institutions would be permitted to use the Internet to deliver certain copyright protected material, for example, lectures and licensed teaching material, electronically, provided that appropriate safeguards are in place to prevent the unauthorized transmission of works. Performers would also be given additional rights, such as rights over fixation, communication by telecommunication, public performance, and rental. Moral rights protection would be extended to performers’ performances. The copyright bundle of rights would be expanded by the inclusion of a “first sale” right over any tangible, material form of a work. Photographs have historically been treated quite differently from other copyright works. Ownership of copyright resides in the person commissioning (for valuable consideration) the original, rather than the author, even without a written assignment. The term of protection is a fixed time running from creation (rather than from the death of the author), for photographs owned by any corporation in which the author does not have voting control. Bill C-60 would eliminate these distinctions. While Bill C-60 proposed a number of amendments to the Act, it is significant to note that it did not address several key issues that were covered in the government’s May 2004 report. The government had planned to release a consultation paper to deal with the issues that were not covered in Bill C-60. Significant Decisions Music File Sharing. In BMG Canada Inc. v. John Doe, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned a decision of the Federal Court which had served as a legal barrier to lawsuits proposed by members of the Canadian Recording Industry Association related to the peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted music. The issue before the Court was a motion by the plaintiffs for an order requiring certain ISPs to disclose the identity of their customers alleged to be liable for copyright infringement. The plaintiffs could not continue with their action because they could not identify the alleged infringers, who operated under pseudonyms on the Internet. In his decision, the motions judge made four crucial findings that the Court of Appeal was required to consider: One. Existing Canadian copyright law was insufficient to permit the recording industry to sue the alleged infringers. Two. The privacy rights of the alleged infringers trumped any copyright interest of the part of the copyright owners. Three. The recording industry was required to establish a prima facie case of copyright infringement. Four. Certain key pieces of evidence were hearsay and, therefore, inadmissible. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by the plaintiffs, finding that the evidence on the record was defective. However, it did so without prejudice to the plaintiffs' right to commence a further application for disclosure of the identity of the alleged infringers and effectively set out a road map for the plaintiffs to follow to do so. In rendering its decision, the Court of Appeal expressly addressed the conclusions of the motions judge related to substantive copyright law. The motions judge held that, with reference to subsection 80(1) of the Act, downloading a song for personal use does not amount to infringement. He also said that placing personal copies of songs onto shared directories, such that the songs were accessible by other computer users over the Internet, did not amount to authorization or distribution contrary to the Act. He found no difference between the activities of the alleged infringers placing a copy of a song in a shared directory linked to a peer-to-peer service and a library placing a photocopier in a room with copyrighted material. The motions judge felt that the mere act of placing a copy of a song on a shared directory, without some other positive act, did not amount to distribution. Such acts, in his view, did not result in secondary infringement unless there was evidence of knowledge on the part of the alleged infringer. The Court of Appeal said that conclusions related to copyright infringement should not be reached at a preliminary stage of an action, without the benefit of a full evidentiary record. The Court of Appeal held that the danger in reaching such conclusions at the preliminary stages of an action without the availability of evidence, nor consideration of all applicable legal principles, are obvious. For example, the motions judge did not consider all the requirements of the private copying exception. Similarly, he did not consider whether the users' act of copying songs onto their shared directory could constitute authorization because it invited and permitted other persons with Internet access to have the musical works communicated to them and be copied by them. Having noted the dangers of rendering legal conclusions at the preliminary stage, the Court of Appeal made it clear that, were this case to proceed further, it should be done on the basis that no findings on the issue of infringement have been made to date. Future Decisions in the Supreme Court of Canada - Electronic Publishing. The Supreme Court of Canada is scheduled to hear an appeal from the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Heather Robertson v. The Thomson Corporation. Ms Robertson is a freelancer who wrote two articles that were published in a national newspaper. One, a book excerpt, was the subject of a written agreement between the newspaper and her publisher; the other, a book review, was written under an oral agreement. Copyright was not addressed in either agreement. The newspaper publisher placed the articles in online databases. Ms Robertson argues that, by doing so, the newspaper infringed her copyright. The action was certified as a class action, with the class consisting of all freelance contributors to the newspaper other than those who died on or before December 31, 1942. Ms Robertson brought a motion for partial summary judgment and an injunction restraining the use of her works in the databases, on the basis that the reproduction of her articles in the databases did not fall within the newspaper’s copyright in the collective work and infringed her copyright. The application for partial summary judgment was dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, which found that genuine issues remained for trial. The Court of Appeal dismissed both an appeal and a cross-appeal. The Supreme Court of Canada will now decide the issue. -- The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. This article was originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Intellectual Property, December 2005.

MUSIC - press link to view article titled: Michael Jackson in battle over Beatles catalogue

MERCHANDISING - A Wave of Media Merchandising by Julie Bosman 20dec05 -- MEDIA companies like Time Warner and XM Satellite Radio have jumped into the holiday sales fray in a big way this year, pitching an array of merchandise to consumers as holiday gifts. In a bid to pump up its subscriber numbers, Time Warner is trying to make it easier to give magazine subscriptions as gifts, with a marketing push for its new product, Giftscriptions. Stores like Barnes & Noble, Borders and Best Buy are selling the product, a box about the size of a paperback that lets recipients choose a subscription from among 50 magazines. Deede Dickson, the vice president of business development for Time Direct Ventures, a unit of Time Warner, said that the company had been trying for five years to figure out a good way to sell magazine subscriptions in retail stores but had not been able to come up with the right packaging. The design selected for Giftscriptions is a red-and-white box featuring covers from an array of magazines. "This way, the recipient gets to choose," Ms. Dickson said. "So you don't have to guess if your father-in-law wants Golf when he instead he wants Cooking Light." Time Warner shipped 75,000 to 100,000 units to retailers. "Nobody wants to give a piece of paper or a card - they want to give a box," said Janet Wootten of Rubenstein Communications, which represents Time Direct Ventures. "It's substantive." Ms. Dickson said sales so far had been "very encouraging." A week after its introduction, Giftscriptions ranked second on the list of the 50 best-selling gifts on Barnes & Noble's Web site. It has since fallen off that list, but it still ranks second on the site's list of recommended gifts. Meanwhile, Time Warner's HBO division has been pushing its merchandise especially hard this season, particularly DVD's. An advertising campaign heavy on print and online elements began in early November with a print insert in Entertainment Weekly and television ads promoting the miniseries "Band of Brothers" and the shows "Deadwood" and "The Sopranos." One print ad, created by the independent agency G&M Plumbing in Manhattan Beach, Calif., tells gift-givers in a Sopranos-style tone to "keep your homemade ornaments to yourself." Consumers can choose from gifts like a shot glass with the logo from the show "Entourage," the complete fifth season of "The Sopranos" or the complete "Sex and the City". Although HBO's ads steer consumers to its Web site to buy the merchandise, some of the goods are available elsewhere - sometimes at better prices. Cynthia Rhea, the senior vice president and general manager for HBO Video, said that sales of DVD's had grown significantly since the HBO Web site began offering them. As much as 40 percent of HBO's DVD sales take place in the fourth quarter, she said. "We tried to use a little bit of the tone of the shows we're advertising" in the advertisements themselves, Ms. Rhea said. Indeed, all the television networks' Web sites are offering bumper crops of show-related merchandise. The holiday gift department on NBC's Web site features more than 100 items, including tree ornaments stamped with the "Friends" logo, a "Today" show cookbook and a "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" T-shirt. ABC's Web site has dozens of "Lost"-related items as well as clothing and accessories seen on episodes of "Desperate Housewives." The fourth quarter has historically reeled in the most customers for XM Satellite Radio, which is seeking to add to its five million subscribers while trying to deflect attention from its main competitor, Sirius Satellite Radio. In the last three months of 2004, more than 700,000 people signed up for subscriptions to XM. Last year on Christmas, more than 50,000 people activated their subscriptions, making it the biggest day ever for XM's subscription activation. This year, XM introduced an advertising campaign in mid-November. The campaign, composed of print, radio, television and billboard advertising, was created by Mullen in Wenham, Mass., part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. It stars such celebrities as Ellen DeGeneres, Snoop Dogg and Derek Jeter and uses the tagline "Listen Large" to emphasize the diversity of XM offerings. "XM has always had an enormous push during the holiday season, but this holiday campaign is our biggest holiday marketing push yet," said David Butler, a spokesman for XM Radio. "This is a marketing campaign aimed directly at holiday shoppers."

MUSIC - press link to view article titled: Beatles Sue EMI for Millions

FILM _- Software to Predict Movie Success by Techtree News Staff Dec 15, 2005 -- A US-based Indian scientist, Prof. Ramesh Sharda, has developed a software capable of helping film producers decide whether their movies will be a hit or a miss at the box office. Prof. Sharda, information scientist, Oklahoma State University, says that his software is based on looking at content in the context of past movies. The innovative software was reportedly used to analyze over 800 movies, released from 1998 to 2002. Sharda then came-up with a "neural recognition" program comprising 7 parameters, to judge the films viewed. Sharda said his criteria are; strength of the cast, film's censor rating, competition at the time of release, genre, special effects, whether the film is a sequel, and number of theatres it opens in. On the basis of the analysis, Sharda was able to place the movies in categories one to nine, ranging from "flop" (total takings less than $1 million) to "blockbuster" (over $200 million). With regard to the result, the software is apparently pretty close to correct 75 percent of the time; and 35 per cent of this - it's spot-on. According to sources these results will be published in the "Expert Systems With Applications" journal, sometime in 2006. Prof Sharda, a graduate from Udaipur University, is said to be working on the software with a major Hollywood studio besides expanding the system to include DVD sales. He is also said to be developing a Web site, wherein users can read a movie's forecast by entering its key parameters.

TV - Europe to OK product placement in TV shows? by Reuters December 13, 2005 -- The European Commission proposed new rules to oversee the content of programs screened on television and over the Web, ushering in a key change to how productions can be financed. The "television without frontiers" proposals will need the approval of the European Parliament and European Union member states to become law. The rules will oversee "moving images" in whatever way they are delivered, bringing Web-based or pay-per-view cable television under EU remit, which has hitherto been limited to traditional, scheduled television channels. "It would be a distortion of competition if we were to just regulate one and not all," EU Information Commissioner Viviane Reding told reporters. She described the new proposals as offering a "light regulatory touch" in a multichannel, multimedia age. Current rules of no more than 12 minutes of advertising per hour will stay, but nonfactual programs will be allowed to use branded products on set to raise cash, a device known as product placement. Product placement is widely used in the United States to help fund productions, but it's banned in many EU states. Many producers have called for it as new technology such as personal video recorders makes it possible for viewers to easily skip traditional advertisements. Reding's news conference was delayed due to the commission taking longer than expected to approve the proposals, with some commissioners feeling they were too liberal. "There was quite a lively and long-winded debate in the commission," Reding said, but she added that no major changes were made to her text. Some EU lawmakers are expected to say it is too easy on advertisers and not strong enough in defending European culture against its American counterpart. Traditional broadcasters complain that the proposed new rules suggest a lighter regulatory regime for the new pay-per-view services where viewers can choose what to watch. In the proposals, the definition of television is ditched in favor of "moving image," with or without sound and distributed by electronic networks, so that moving images over the Internet are also covered. The new rules also reaffirm that only one member state will have regulatory oversight of a media company, known as the "country of origin" rule.

FILM - American Film Institute picks best of 2005 by RTE Guide 13 December 2005 -- 'Crash', 'King Kong' and 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' have been named among the American Film Institute's ten best films of 2005. The official selections for top films and TV programs were announced after two days of deliberations by two juries of industry professionals, scholars, critics and AFI trustees. The AFI Awards honour film and television creative ensembles, both in front of and behind the camera. In the film category they also chose 'Brokeback Mountain', 'Capote', 'Good Night, and Good Luck', 'A History of Violence', 'Munich', 'The Squid and the Whale' and 'Syriana'. The ten TV programs chosen were: '24', 'Battlestar Galactica', 'Deadwood', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'House', 'Lost', 'Rescue Me', 'Sleeper Cell', 'Sometimes in April' and 'Veronica Mars.'

FILM - Paramount to buy Dreamworks - December 12, 2005 The Guardian -- Dreamworks, the film studio co-founded a decade ago by Steven Spielberg, is about to be sold to rival Hollywood film-maker Paramount Pictures, according to weekend reports. Paramount, owned by the Viacom media conglomerate, is said to be paying $1.5bn (£850m) in a mixture of cash and assumed debt. It was able to strike a deal after sale talks between Dreamworks and General Electric-owned NBC Universal, which had dragged on for months, finally collapsed. Dreamworks has enjoyed a run of highly acclaimed releases, such as Saving Private Ryan, and boasts a back catalogue of about 60 films. It has struggled recently, however, following a series of flops such as The Island, released this year. The company is separate from Dreamworks Animation, the maker of computer-generated smash hits such as Shrek, which is separately listed on Wall Street. There is still an important distribution deal in place between the two film businesses, which Paramount will now inherit. Viacom is soon to be split in two, demerging its Paramount film and MTV cable television businesses from its more mature broadcasting divisions, including TV network CBS and the Infinity radio franchise. The Wall Street Journal said a deal had been "forged" on Friday, while other reports suggested Paramount would bring in institutional money to foot part of the bill. These indicated that about two thirds of the total cost would be met by new outside investors. Dreamworks entered exclusive talks with NBC earlier this year, but discussions broke down in September - partly because of NBC's worries about Spielberg's future commitment to the studio. Meanwhile, NBC and Paramount this year decided to abandon their long-running international distribution joint venture, UIP. Both have since been racing to establish a new international network.

MUSIC - Canadian Folk Music Awards 2005 by D. Armstrong Ottawa Sun -- Both Miles and Nathan took home two awards each last night at the new celebration of acoustic music, held for the first time at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Miles won for Best English Songwriter and Best Contemporary Singer for Love, Sweet Love. Nathan's Keri Latimer and Shelley Marshall picked up Best Contemporary Album and Best Vocal Group awards for Jimson Weed. In the traditional category, winners were Le Vent du Nord for Best Traditional Album for Les Amants du Saint Laurents and Ian Robb who won Best Singer for Jiig. Alpha Yaya Diallo won Best Solo World Artist for Djama, Genticorum won Best Ensemble for Malins Plaisirs, Harry Manx was named Best Solo Artist for West Eats Meet, Beyond The Pale's Consensus took the Best Instrumental Group prize and J.P. Cormier's X8 A Mandolin Collection was named Best Solo Instrumental. Anderson best new artist Rounding out the night's winners were Karla Anderson, who took Best New Artist for The Embassy Sessions, Creaking Tree String Quartet won the Pushing The Boundaries nod for Side Two and Steve Dawson and Jordy Sharp shared Best Producer laurels, while James Keelaghan, Ember Swift, David Francey and Mary Jane Lamond and others entertained. Organizers hope the Folk Awards will become an annual event and give acoustic music a higher profile with mainstream media. "Folk music is one of the most popular musics in Canada, and for some reason, it flies beneath the media's radar," said founding director and Ottawa Folklore Centre's Arthur MacGregor. "Folk is huge all over Canada. This award, we hope, will make people sit up and take notice of impressive talent." Edmonton will host the Canadian Folk Music Awards gala in 2006.

BOOKS - 2006 Global Book Display Opportunities
Amer. Lib. Assn. Midwinter (National) January 20-23
London Book Fair (International) March 5-7
Michigan Reading Assn. (Regional) March 18-22
Public Library Assn. (National) March 20-25
Florida Library Assn. (Regional) April 17-20
Texas Library Assn. (Regional) April 25-28
New Jersey Library Assn. (Regional) April 25-26
Pennsylvania School Lib. Assn. (Regional) May 4-6
Connecticut Library Assn. (Regional) May 9-10
BookExpo America (National) May 18-21
American Lib. Assn. Annual (National) June 25-28
Beijing Book Fair (International) Aug.30-Sep. 2
Illinois Library Assn. (Regional) Oct.3-5
Frankfurt Book Fair (International) Oct.4-9
Librarians of Color Conference (National) Oct.12-14
New England Library Assn. (Regional) Oct.22-24
New York Library Assn. (Regional) Nov.1-4
Ohio Library Council (Regional) Nov.3-7
California Library Assn. (Regional) Nov.11-13
Pennsylvania Library Assn. (Regional) Nov.15-18

RADIO - CHUM founder built nationwide media group by Wojtek Dabrowski, National Post, December 05, 2005 - Allan Waters, the Canadian broadcasting pioneer who founded CHUM Ltd., died this weekend at age 84. Mr. Waters was Toronto-based CHUM's president and chairman until late 2002. His sons, Jim and Ron, succeeded him as chairman and vice-chairman respectively. He retired from the company's board this October, ending a decades-long career in broadcasting, and was named an honorary director. Speaking of his father yesterday, Jim Waters said, "First of all, he was a wonderful dad. Secondly, he was obviously my mentor. I think he taught my brother and I about treating the people well and that they were the most important asset that we had at CHUM, and he never wavered on that." Mr. Waters' involvement in the industry was hardly limited to the corporation he founded. He also served as president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, president of the Central Canada Broadcasters Association, founding chairman of the Radio Sales Bureau and director of CTV Television Network. He also received a series of honours recognizing his contribution, including the Ted Rogers Sr.-Velma Rogers Graham Award, the Radio-Television News Directors' Association's President's Award and the CAB's Gold Ribbon Award for Broadcast Excellence. Mr. Waters, who died in Toronto, was also the first broadcaster to be honoured with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award for contributions to the Canadian music industry and was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. Mr. Waters also fostered philanthropy within the company with the founding of the CHUM Charitable Foundation, which provides funding to various charities and social services agencies. Mr. Waters laid the groundwork for taking CHUM from a small company to a nationwide media group with radio and television stations across the country. The company got its start in 1954, when it purchased Toronto radio station CHUM-AM, known as 1050 CHUM. The station was originally launched in 1945. About three years after the purchase, the station was reformatted and made into Canada's first Top-40, 24-hour rock station, according to the company's Web site. "I think switching it to Top-40 was a milestone in Canadian radio certainly," Jim Waters said yesterday, adding his father "believed that there was something here and he stuck with it, and it worked." The company's prominence continued to grow in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the period during which it purchased Citytv and launched MuchMusic, Canada's first 24-hour music specialty TV station. Today, CHUM is one of the country's leading media companies, with about 3,000 employees. It owns and operates 33 radio stations, 12 local television stations and 21 specialty channels, including Bravo!, CablePulse24 and Space. Through international licences and program sales, CHUM's content is seen in more than 130 countries around the world. Mr. Waters was born on Aug. 11, 1921, served in the Second World War as a wireless radar mechanic and worked in the pharmaceutical industry before buying his first radio station. In recalling what he learned from his father, Jim Waters also said, "He taught me to be a gentleman. He taught me to care about my family, because that was number one for him always. And you know what? If someone can leave you with a few things like that, then that's pretty special." Mr. Waters is survived by his wife, Marjorie, his two sons and a daughter, Sherry Bourne. A private funeral service will be held for the family and a public memorial will be held on Wednesday in Toronto, the company said.

TV & FILM - Jennifer Aniston Attorneys Slap Paparazzo With Lawsuit by Jack Ryan Dec 6, 2005 -- A lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that photographer Peter Brandt must have observed Jennifer Aniston "from a great distance through invasive, intrusive and unlawful measures." The photos he has in his possesion "could have been taken only by means of trespass" Aniston, 36, star of the former NBC television hit "Friends" and movies including "Bruce Almighty, "Derailed" and "Along Came Polly," is seeking monetary damages and a court order to stop Brandt and anyone else from making money off the photos. Lawyers for the sexy starlet have warned publications that they will face an invasion of privacy lawsuit if they print any topless photos of the actress. "If you are approached and offered the right to acquire and publish (any) of the photographs," reads the letter from Aniston attorney John Lavely, "please inform the undersigned of the name and contact information of any person or persons who are offering to sell or license any of the photographs," and warns that the publications will be "held liable for the embarrassment and emotional distress caused to Ms. Aniston by such publication." In 2002, the Aniston settled a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court against a men's magazine publisher that ran photos of her sunbathing topless in her backyard.Francois Navarre, owner of the biggest Los Angeles paparazzi agency, X-17, paid the actress $550,000 two years ago to settle an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit but admitted no wrongdoing. Jen reportedly sued Man's World Publications and Crescent Publishing Group in 2000, claiming the publishers had no right to run a photo of her "reclining topless in her backyard, wearing only her panties,". Aniston's latest lawsuit comes as the Los Angeles County district attorney's office is investigating whether increasingly aggressive celebrity photographers are initiating confrontations to capture lucrative photos.Actresses including Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and Lindsay Lohan have had alleged run-ins with paparazzi in recent months.

RADIO - The Canadian Radio War by Jack Kapica December 5, 2005 Globe and Mail -- With XM Canada and Sirius Canada now on the air, speculation is rife about the future of traditional radio: Will it survive the satellite version? My short answer, not surprisingly, is that traditional radio will survive, but it will have to adapt. Some stations might go under, others will thrive. The key is content. So far, most people who are welcoming digital radio are focusing on the all-music-and-no-ads image, but that's not the whole story. A number of stations on both new services have advertising, some pushing products or services not available in Canada. It's quite jarring to hear them. The wild card is cost. It's hard to foresee how the public will react to the idea of spending almost $200 a year for 100 to 150 satellite stations as opposed to listening to the handful of ad-supported "free" ones. It will surely break down by what we want to hear, not by how much it costs. The success of iTunes, which offers music by subscription, suggests we might be ready to pay. I recently tried both services. Neither XM nor Sirius had started their Canadian content yet, so I will leave that consideration for another day. But I learned a lot by what I heard. Technically, you get superior sound from both — "near-CD quality," as they say, which is a major step above FM. Signal strength is another issue. When I tested both XM and Sirius, neither had yet turned on the repeater antennas, which are necessary to reach into the urban canyons. This means that in rural areas there will be no repeaters, and if there's a natural barrier between you and the southern sky or you're too far North to receive signals from say, XM, which has low-lying satellites on our horizon, satellite radio might not work for you. Sirius' signal is a lot stronger, even without repeater antennas. But when I was driving around Montreal's West Island, which is very flat, the signal would unexpectedly cut out even when there were no buildings of a reasonable size around. FM signals, however, remained very clear. I'm sure there's an engineering explanation, but I'm sure it will all improve eventually. American content can be downright alien. Canadians might be startled by the parochialism of some of the programming (from "Y'all support our troops, now, y'hear?" to NPR's nervous both-sides-now mandate), and be put off by it. This will probably send listeners to search out Canadian content, on either satellite or local radio. The big argument being put forward by the industry is that satellite radio will not compete with local radio for such things as advertising or local news. This is allowing Canadian broadcasters to utter brave statements about not being affected. We've lived in a world of local radio for so long we have little idea of what a universe with (inter)national radio might be like — even the CBC breaks away frequently for local content. We might in fact be surprised by how many people want local news, local sports and its accompanying boosterism, local weather conditions and on-air personalities' happy talk (we're all part of a huge local family). This will be the first real test of how wedded we are as a market to local interests. Still, some of the U.S. stations are clogged with attitudes Americans believe to be universal but we in Canada see as hopelessly regional. You'll know what I mean when you hear an announcer with a cracker accent talking about "supportin' our president" or spending an hour discussing whether "the nation" should introduce health care. It might as well be coming from another planet. And now that XM and Sirius are in Canada, I don't think news directors at Fox News, CNBC, ABC, CBS and NPR, which come on satellite, will suddenly start including Canadian content. To my mind, this spells trouble for those "Bob" and "Jack" stations, which have fired their announcers and are now "playing what we want." Unless they can offer more thematic or local content instead of the haphazard mix they do now, they will just be another source of oddly selected music jammed between ads, and will have a hard time against those satellite stations with clear mandates, such as all-1970s music or "deep tracks" from Broadway shows. As an example, on Report On Business Television's The Wrap, Michael Hainsworth recently interviewed Pat Cardinal, general manager of Toronto's Jack-FM. Mr. Hainsworth made the perceptive observation that we live in an iPod culture, with no ads, and that's what's driving our desire for satellite radio. To which Mr. Cardinal agreed partly, and explained his philosophy: "The disc jockeys weren't particularly necessary for what the radio station was all about. When you come to Jack, you're guaranteed to be hearing two things: You're going to hear a song, or you're going to hear a commercial, which we have to play to pay the bills." I see only one traditional Canadian broadcaster that should remain untouched by the advent of satellite radio: CBC's Radio One. It's often fashionable to dismiss it haughtily (its preciousness and too-cleverness can be annoying), but it really does reflect the country, and it can be terrific when it breaks to local content. There's little the U.S. stations can put up against the CBC 6 o'clock news, and I sincerely doubt that an all-news Canadian channel on either Sirius or XM would be able to deploy a fraction of Radio One's resources. CBC Radio Two, however, is another matter. There is a lot of serious music on satellite radio, and that could provide rough competition. I see little threat to all-talk local radio stations (CFRB in Toronto, CJAD in Montreal), or music stations with disc jockeys who actively engage the local neighbourhoods (John Derringer of Q107 in Toronto). I haven't listened enough to the Canadian content on satellite radio yet to decide how appealing it is, but I'm sure that since XM and Sirius have invested heavily in the business, they're not likely to spend more than the bare minimum to comply with regulations laid down by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Radio, of whatever stripe, doesn't win an audience overnight; it might take the satellite companies a long time and some money before they find their market. If I were a Canadian broadcaster, I think I would be sweating with the advent of satellite radio, but not thinking about selling my business and becoming a plumber instead. The idea is to follow developments in the market carefully, and adjust content in such a way as to offer what satellite radio does not. Some of it will be expensive, some not.

MUSIC - Free downloads from the Internet Archive website are now cool with the Grateful Dead by CP 03Dec2005 -- The psychedelic jam band had asked the non-profit site to stop offering the recordings for download. But Deadheads, as fans of the band have long been called, objected so strenuously that the band has changed its mind. The Grateful Dead were known for their innovative live performances and fans had been trading live tapes for years. They greeted the news that free downloading would stop with an online petition and threats of a boycott of Grateful Dead recordings. "The internet archive has been a resource that is important to all of us," the petition said. "Between the music, and interviews in the archive we are able to experience the Grateful Dead fully." Band spokesman Dennis McNally said the group was swayed by the outcry and changed its mind. "The Grateful Dead remains as it always has – in favour of tape trading," he said according to Associated Press. Audience recordings will be available for download again from the Internet Archive website. But live recordings made directly from concert soundboards, which are the legal property of the Grateful Dead, will only be made available for listening. The website has reposted the concerts for download. The band sells music on Apple's iTunes and exclusive shows through its website. The Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995 following the death of guitarist and lead singer Jerry Garcia. The group once set concert attendance records and generated millions of dollars in revenue from extensive tours. Grateful Dead tape-trading began long before the advent of internet downloading. But now that downloading is so popular the trading is believed to be cutting into revenues for the remaining members of the band.

TV - Product placement by Los Angeles Times 02dec2005 -- Saying excess product placements detract from their storylines, the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America are calling on studios to put the brakes on the practice. A new report from the guilds recommends the studios adopt an ad placement "code of conduct," or else they may take their complaint to the FCC. SAGs say the growing practice of placing goods in TV scripts hurts stories. On the UPN hit "America's Next Top Model" this year, glamorous beauties walked a runway at a Kmart. On NBC's "The Biggest Loser," contestants vying to lose the most weight struggled to break open padlocked Jell-O-branded refrigerators. And on the WB's "Gilmore Girls," Lorelai toasted her engagement by drinking a malt beverage and saying: "Let's drink Zima and havesex every night." For TV producers and studios, Hollywood's growing reliance on such "product integration" helps pay the bills. For the unions representing writers and actors, however, it detracts from the art of storytelling. Today, the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America are expected to propose that Hollywood needs a "code of conduct" to setguidelines for the insertion of products into movies and TV shows. If the networks and studios fail to draft such a code themselves, the guilds say, it may be time for the Federal Communications Commission to clamp down on the practice." In their race to the bottom line to create the so-called new business model, network and advertising executives are ignoring the public's interest and demanding that creative artists participate in stealth advertising disguised as a story," said Patric Verrone, president of the Writers Guild's western division, which details its concerns in a report. The report, which is expected to be released today, argues that creativity and compelling story lines are suffering as producers constantly squeeze in references to products. Guild members say they are in effect being drafted against their will to pitch products. At the same time, they complain, networks and studios have built this lucrative $1-billion-a-year business without paying actors and writers their fair share. SAG President Alan Rosenberg said the practice "too often takes place without any compensation to the very performers that are expected to push those products." As the Writers Guild report puts it: " It used to be that a writer would be asked to weave a love interest into a story. Now, that writer is being asked to weave in potato chips, or soft drinks or building-supply stores." Joe Davola, executive producer for such WB shows as "Smallville," "One Tree Hill" and "What I Like About You," defended the practice as a financial necessity in today's tight-fisted TV business. In an interview, he noted that budgets were especially tight at smaller networks, such as the WB, which still want first-rate production levels."I don't pimp Pringles," Davola said. "My arm is not being twisted to do this." But the writers and actors guilds contend that viewers are unwittingly being sold products, potentially violating government rules if not properly disclosed. The guilds say there should be strict limits on the use of product integration during children's programming. They are also demanding disclosure of any deals at the start of each program, rather than a mention during the closing credits. Contracts with the studios should also stipulate that writers, actors and directors have input in how products are integrated.In addition, the guilds contend that any regulation of embedded advertising should be extended to cover cable TV, where the report says "some of the most egregious abuse is found."The Writers Guild report details several examples of dialogue about product that was shoehorned into programs. A story producer onthe short-lived TBS reality show "Outback Jack" said they were on location at a natural hot springs filming "eight girls in bikinis,and the producer takes out a basket of Skintimate shave gel and tells them to start shaving." A producer on UPN's "America's Next Top Model," said the contestants were unhappy about their fashion show being staged at discountretailer Kmart, a unit of Sears Holding Corp. The report said disparaging comments by the aspiring models were deleted, and that the women were asked to dub in complimentary lines such as "I shop here all the time." Ken Mok, executive producer for "Top Model," disputed that account." That's completely wrong and erroneous," Mok said in an interview. "We never put words in the girls' mouths. We don't tell the contestants what to say about any of the products." Scott Miller, a story producer for "American Dream Derby," a horse racing-themed show which ran on the Game Show Network, said in the report that the show's producers seemed more concerned about showcasing Diet Dr. Pepper than the horses. Miller said that attimes he stood behind the camera, slipping cans of soda to the cast."The contestants would be crying or conspiring or strategizing or screaming at one another, and we would have to stop to get soundbites about Diet Dr. Pepper," Miller said in an interview. Although some producers acknowledge that product integration can at times seem forced and even crass, they contend that when it's done right, writers and actors benefit. WB executives noted that Campbell's Soup's sponsorship of three episodes this month of "7thHeaven" allowed for the hiring of three minority writers for the Spelling Television-produced show. The WB is owned by Time WarnerInc. and Tribune Co., owner of The Times.Davola, television president at Tollin/Robbins Productions, said using products tastefully also lent a real-life feel to his shows."What I Like About You," with stars Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth, has a deal with Procter & Gamble Co. The characters use the company's Clairol Herbal Essence shampoo, Swiffer dust mops and Pringles potato chips.In WB's "Smallville," Davola said the show's characters drive Fords because of a similar arrangement. "One Tree Hill," he said, features Sunkist soda."With TiVo out there, commercial messages are being obliterated," Davola said, referring to digital video recorders. "So this is genius for the commercial people because they are getting their products embedded in a show, and it will be there for the repeat,for the syndication run and on the DVD." Producer Jonathan Prince, creator of the canceled NBC drama "American Dreams," which featured Oreo cookies and Ford Mustangs, said the TV business has always been about giving companies a vehicle to advertise their products. "My job is to sell soap and soda and cars," Prince said in an interview. "Who will pay our high-paid writers and actors if not forsome of these brands?" Product Talk - Some highlights of a report the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild are releasing criticizing product integration in TV:. "What I Like About You": Holly and Tina competed in a scene from the ABC sitcom to be the Herbal Essences girl and Val emotedover a Swiffer.. On the TBS reality show "Outback Jack," eight girls in bikinis bathing in a natural hot spring are given a basket of Skintimateshave gel to use to shave.. Disney Consumer Products worked with Wal-Mart to launch a fragrance called Enchantment, named after a cosmetics firm founded by Erica Kane (played by Susan Lucci) on ABC's "All My Children." The perfume appeared on shows. On one episode of "All My Children," the ABC soap featured an emotionally distraught wife who took a moment to talk about the Wal-Mart scent on the way to her comatose husband's bedside. On the NBC reality series "The Biggest Loser," overweight contestants had to break open locked refrigerators that showed theJell-O brand as a sponsor and move gelatin molds across the room.. The UPN series "America's Next Top Model" required aspiring models to film a runway scene at a Kmart.

MUSIC - Lost Beethoven manuscript sells for $2.3 million by cbc.ca 01 Dec 2005 -- An 80-page manuscript of Grosse Fuge in B flat major, which Ludwig van Beethoven composed not long before his death, has sold at auction for nearly $2.3 million. The working manuscript, which is littered with the famed composers notes and corrections, sold for 1.13 million pounds to an anonymous telephone buyer at a Sotheby's auction in London Thursday. Discovered in the library of Pennsylvania's Palmer Theological Seminary in July, the manuscript had last been seen in 1890, when it was sold at auction in Berlin. It had been considered lost by modern Beethoven scholars, according to Sotheby's officials. "Its rediscovery will allow a complete reassessment of this extraordinary music," Stephen Roe, head of the auction house's manuscript department, told the Associated Press. Officials have marveled over the insight the manuscript provides to how Beethoven composed. The document is written in brown and black ink and includes later annotations in pencil and red crayon. His changes are also evident in the deletions, corrections, erasures, smudges and pasted-over pages. Jeffrey Kallberg, the University of Pennsylvania musicologist who authenticated the manuscript, saw it as an important discovery. "This was a controversial and not understood work because it was so ahead of its time. It sounds like it was written by a dissonant 20th century composer," he said, adding that the manuscript was in pristine condition because it had been considered lost and had not been touched for so long. Grosse Fuge is one of Beethoven's few piano duets and was originally published as the finale of his string quartet in B flat (opus 130). Composed as part of a commission from Nikolav Golitsin, a Russian prince from St. Petersburg, the piece was first performed in 1826 – the year before Beethoven's death. The players found the piece difficult and asked Beethoven for a simpler finale, so he decided to publish Grosse Fuge separately. In 1990, manuscripts by other great composers, including Mozart, Haydn and Strauss, were also discovered at the seminary. The record price paid at auction for a Beethoven manuscript is 2.13 million pounds (about $4.3 million), set in May 2003 for the sale of his Ninth Symphony.


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