JANUARY 2007
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INTERNET & MUSIC & COPYRIGHT - YouTube may share revenue with users by Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service, 29jan07 -- Video-sharing site YouTube may start paying users for their content, the company’s cofounder said in a video displayed on the site. “In terms of paying users revenue against content they’re uploading, we’re definitely going to move in that direction,” said Chad Hurley, YouTube’s cofounder and chief executive, in a video that appears to be shot during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. He did not offer details about how much users might be able to earn or on what basis they might be paid. YouTube wanted to build a large enough community before beginning to pay users for their content, he said. “We didn’t want to build a system that was motivated by monetary reward. When you start giving money to people from day one… the people you do attract will just switch to the next provider that’s paying more,” he said. “We feel we’re at the scale now that we’ll be able to do that and still have a true community around video.” The system might work such that a video creator who sets a video against music could share revenue with the record label that owns the copyright on the music. YouTube has said that it is developing an audio fingerprinting technology that will allow it to identify songs used in videos displayed on the site and enable labels to claim the music and earn revenue from it, he said. Once that technology is in place, labels will be able to earn revenue on videos that people make of their travels, for example, that are set to music and shared on the site. “With our platform, they’ll have the market opportunity to generate revenue against that material,” he said. “It’s opening up a new market that didn’t exist before.” Hurley doesn’t describe how the video creator might earn money off that video, but potentially, the record labels could share that revenue with the video creators. YouTube announced last year, the day before Google acquired the company, that it was working on a system with several record labels that would allow users to license content from the labels for use in their videos. The record companies and YouTube also agreed to share advertising revenue from music videos displayed on YouTube. YouTube has run into trouble with other content owners who are unhappy that they aren’t being compensated for their copyright material that is displayed on YouTube. Last week, YouTube received a subpoena from News Corp.’s Fox television unit seeking information regarding videos of television programs that appear on YouTube.
MUSIC - Canadian Major Labels Seek Out Independents To Boost Distribution by LARRY LEBLANC of BILLBOARD Jan 27, 2007 -- As physical sales slide, three of Canada's major labels are attempting to bolster their distribution businesses by aggressively courting domestic independent labels.While Sony BMG Canada largely focuses on its own roster, insiders describe the competition among Universal, EMI and Warner for Canada's indies as fiercer than at any time in recent memory."The majors are hungry for indie labels," says Dominique Zgarka, president of distributor Koch Entertainment (Canada). "They're going after everything.""There's a lot of talent we want to participate in," adds Tony Tarleton, EMI Music Canada director of associated labels. "We're getting introduced to [indie] people I never thought we'd have conversations with."According to Nielsen SoundScan, in the year ending Dec. 17, 2006, Canada's independent distributors took 18.3% of retail sales. Universal had 35.6%, Sony BMG 21.4%, Warner 14.8% and EMI 9.9%. Overall, volume was down 6% compared with 2005. With less than 10% market share, EMI has been the most active "indie hunter" of late, signing Toronto-based electro-pop specialist Upper Class Recordings from Sonic Distribution in Hamilton, Ontario, and Hamilton-based startup Labwork Music. The major confirms a pressing and distribution deal with Vancouver-based jazz label Maximum Music-previously with Universal-is also imminent.EMI is vying with Universal and Warner for distribution of Montreal-based Deja Musique, and fiercely independent Vancouver-based Mint Records is negotiating with EMI and Universal over distribution rights for the early-2007 fourth album by its biggest act, the New Pornographers. "I am interested in seeing how a major works [for us] without committing our entire catalog," Mint co-owner Kevin Beesley says.Majors distribute the majority of independent product in English-speaking Canada but traditionally avoid Quebec labels' French-language repertoire. No majors would comment on Deja, but insiders consider it one of Quebec's strongest independents. Deja claims to have sold 1 million albums-mainly in Quebec-since its 1999 launch. Its roster includes French-language urban artist Corneille, singer/songwriter Dany Bédar, English-language rocker Jonas and bilingual R&B newcomer Jodie Resther.Label owner Janie Duquette says lengthy distribution negotiations have delayed a national rollout of Jonas' sophomore album "Suite Life," which Nielsen SoundScan says has sold 22,000 units in Quebec since its Oct. 10 release. Duquette believes major-label expertise, infrastructure and funding can expand her business in English-speaking regions. "I believed those stories of the big bad majors until I knocked on doors in Toronto," Duquette says. "But I was amazed by the great reception from each company."Duquette suggests Jonas, Resther and Bédar have international potential. However, some remain skeptical. "I don't see any of the majors breaking these acts," Koch's Zgarka says. "We've tried to break Quebec acts in English Canada and it's a bitch, even with English-speaking acts."Although the majors declined to give specific examples-Warner did not return phone calls-sources suggest more wide-ranging P&D deals are on offer than in the past."There's more flexibility today in the offerings," Universal Music Canada senior VP of A&R Allan Reid says. "We're offering a lot more than just distributing records to retail stores."Sources claim such newfound flexibility extends to promotion, marketing and publicity services, digital or synchronization licensing and strategic alliances including joint ventures."Today, there's the ability for us to tap into all of their resources," Upper Class Recordings co-owner Garth Jones says. The majors, he suggests, are attracted by "the speed at which independents develop talent and change direction." Maximum president Brian Watson adds that "what got us excited about EMI was the strategic attitude that Tony [Tarleton] has behind his label group."Despite the majors' increased interest, Zgarka insists independent distribution remains healthy. "There are still people constantly knocking on our door," he says.Indeed, throughout her lengthy negotiations, Duquette insisted that Deja's Quebec distribution remain with Distribution Select and Distribution Fusion III. "There could have been a big 'no' from everybody," she says, "but all the majors went for it. Five years ago, they would have said 'no' and sent me back home."
MUSIC - Sales of digital music doubled in 2006: Digital music sales worldwide almost doubled in 2006. Around 10% of all sales were digital, worth over 1.5 billion euros to the music industry. But the increase still did not match the fall in purchases of compact discs. Releasing the figures, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said it expects digital sales to account for a quarter of all sales worldwide by 2010.According to their report, consumers last year downloaded 795 million tracks legally from almost 500 internet music services in 40 countries. The number of tracks available online doubled to reach over four million on leading services. The trade organisation said sales of CDs fell 23% between 2000 and 2006 and all music sales were down 4% in the first half of last year.
ENTERTAINMENT - Defamation -- Canadian common law protects every person from harm to their reputation by false and derogatory remarks about their person, known as defamation. In addition, all Canadian provinces have libel/ slander legislation (defamation includes slander and libel, where slander is verbal defamation and libel is printed defamation). It is a tricky and slippery field of law, based on statutes, English common law and many defences. And remember, defamation tort law protects your reputation, not your feelings. Compensation in Canada is usually awarded by courts based on real or actual damages suffered.
TV - ACTRA's Quebec branch joins Strike by Canadian film, TV and radio workers centres on Internet performances - CP 11jan07 -- ACTRA is the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Arts and represents 21,000 Canadian movie, TV and radio performers. About 60 per cent of its membership is in Toronto. The Alliance has numerous functions including determining "scale", the minimum wage set for ACTRA performers; helping actors collect royalties, residuals and other forms of compensation; and advocating the development of a strong domestic film and TV industry. Who's on the other side of the dispute? The CFTPA (the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association) and its Quebec counterpart, the Association des producers de films et de television du Quebec, along with American producers. The current Independent Production Agreement between the producers and ACTRA expired on Jan. 1, and the performers' union is now in a legal position to strike. What's the sticking point? Money, for one. The actors say that too many producers are offering only scale rates -- even for well-known performers. They say the average annual salary for Canadian actors is about $15,000. As well, they there is a 32 per cent wage gap between ACTRA members and their U.S. counterparts in the Screen Actors Guild. To help close the gap, ACTRA is demanding a five per cent wage hike in each year of a three-year contract. The producers' association has offered increases of one, two and one per cent in each year, arguing that the directors' guild and writers' guild recently settled for much less. "It's a very big ask," CFTPA chief negotiator John Barrack has said, "and we can't even consider doing anything more than we've already offered unless they show some considerable movement." But the bigger issue may be Internet rights. The actors want an agreement on how they will be compensated for secondary placement of movies and TV shows in "new media" such as the Internet, cell phones and MP3 players. The actors say they should receive royalties for those performances but producers say "new media" reproduction is promotional material. ACTRA is balking at the definition of promotional. "They define promotional as covering anything in which producers don't receive any money," said Waddell. "Somebody's making money off of this. We're not going to give away the future for free." Producers in the U.S. will be watching developments on the issue of Internet rights closely, as they are set to begin their own negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild and other American artists' unions soon. Will my favourite Canadian TV shows be affected? Potentially, but probably not immediately. Shows are produced months in advance of airing and even if broadcasters run out of episodes, they can show reruns for a time. Jeff Brinton of the CFTPA says producers would seek a judge's order to force actors back to work in the event of a mass walkout. Productions in British Columbia would not be affected, since actors there have a separate agreement that is still in effect. But the Union of B.C. Performers has said it will tell its members not to accept work in the rest of Canada during the strike, and not to work for any production that relocates to B.C. because of any strike. The Screen Actors Guild in the U.S. has also pledged its support and will be giving its members similar instructions if a strike begins. ACTRA is trying to avoid any production stops by asking producers to sign "continuance letters". The letters promise producers no disruption by ACTRA picket lines if they guarantee performers a 5 per cent wage increase. The union claims that a number of producers have already sent in signed letters. ACTRA's Waddell says that all productions shooting in Toronto have signed agreements with the union, so those productions will continue. The CFTPA says the letters are "unlawful," and will provoke a legal battle in the event of an industry shutdown. Will film productions leave Canada over the strike? It's still difficult to say. The CFTPA claims that a number of productions have already relocated to B.C. or to the U.S. They say producers on the latest "Pink Panther" sequel have decided not to film in Montreal, while the upcoming sequel to "National Treasure" has abandoned a prospective shoot in Toronto. Ken Ferguson, the president of Toronto Film Studios, a vast film production facility where parts of David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence" and Ron Howard's "Cinderella Man" were filmed, said late in 2006 that effects were already being felt, calling it "worse than SARS."
MUSIC - George Michael $3m private gig in Moscow by Mark Brown Jan 3, 2007 London Guardian -- New Year's Eve is always a problem. Party? Pub? Jools Holland's Hootenanny? George Michael this week chose to spend it near Moscow performing at a Russian billionaire's house. It is believed the $3m (£1.52m) on offer may have provided an incentive. Details of the hour-long concert in front of 300 private guests are sketchy. The unnamed businessman is understood to own a private estate 20 miles outside Moscow. On the land is a sports hall, which the billionaire turned into a nightclub especially for the party. Michael is believed to have performed a condensed version of his recent 25 Live tour, which began in Barcelona in September and ended with a special concert before Christmas at Camden's Roundhouse for NHS workers. The repertoire could, therefore, have included songs including Flawless, Jesus to a Child, Shoot the Dog and Careless Whisper. Alongside Michael were a 20-strong entourage, including his band and backing singers. "It was a fun night and George was back home in Britain by morning," a spokeswoman for the singer said. But she did not know who the mystery moneybags was, nor how Michael normally spent his New Year's Eve. Michael, named gay man of 2006 by Boyz Magazine last week, has been in and out of the headlines in 2006. He admitted what most people know, that he enjoys cannabis, and was filmed smoking a spliff on Melvyn Bragg's South Bank Show. The News of the World caught him looking for sex on Hampstead Heath, London. And he is due to appear at Brent magistrates court on January 11 charged with being unfit to drive a motor vehicle. Michael is far from being the only performer to take private money, although his Moscow engagement appears to have been particularly lucrative and, it is said, has made him the highest paid entertainer in modern Russian history. The Rolling Stones played the 60th birthday party of a Texan billionaire four years ago for £2m. Christina Aguilera was reportedly paid £420,000 for performing three songs at the wedding of Russian oligarch Andrei Melnichenko in September 2005, with Enrique Iglesias getting the same amount and Whitney Houston a bit more. Destiny's Child and Rod Stewart are said to have performed at the barmitzvah of the son of BHS tycoon Philip Green, while Kylie Minogue was paid nearly £1m for singing to executives from Deutsche Bank in 2004. The Sultan of Brunei is a regular hirer and is understood to have had Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Boyzone perform at various bashes. Sir Elton John, the Eagles, Celine Dion and Sir Paul McCartney can all be commissioned, at a price. Bob Dylan upset his fans in 1997 when he played a private gig for a Californian semiconductor company. Not everyone is for hire though. U2 have said they will only perform in front of ordinary fans. And if you are organising a party and £1.5m is out of your reach, you could consider Anson Williams, who played Potsie in Happy Days. He is available to mingle at between $3,000 and $6,000, depending on transport home.
INTERNET & COPYRIGHT - YouTube software threat to Google plans by Richard Waters, Financial Times, San Francisco 01Jan07 -- YouTube’s failure to complete a key piece of anti-piracy software as promised could represent a serious obstacle to efforts by Google, its new owner, to forge closer relations with the media and entertainment industry. The video website, the internet sensation of 2006, promised in September the software would be ready by the end of this year. Known as a “content identification system”, the technology is meant to make it possible to track down copyrighted music or video on YouTube, making it the first line of defence against piracy on the wildly popular website. YouTube said on Friday the technology would not be formally launched this year and YouTube’s offices were closed until the new year. While providing no further details about when the system would be made formally available, it said tests of the system had been under way with some media companies since October and the system remained “on track”. Mike McGuire, a digital media analyst at Gartner, said the important part systems such as this played in building better relations between internet companies such as YouTube and the traditional media industry meant there was likely to be little patience for missed deadlines. “The technology industry really has to start living up to the media industry’s expectations,” he said. If the delay lasts for more than a week or two into the new year, suggesting more than just a slight technical hitch, “this is certainly going to be a serious issue”, Mr McGuire added. Leading music companies have already made clear they see completion of YouTube’s anti-piracy technology as an important step in any closer co-operation. Failure to build adequate systems to protect copyright owners could also add to the risk of legal action against the site. Doug Morris, chief executive of Universal Music Group, hinted at legal action against YouTube late last summer, accusing both it and MySpace of being “content infringers [that] owe us tens of millions of dollars”. Universal went on to sue MySpace but was one of the companies to reach a partnership with YouTube, partly based on the ability of its promised content identification system to track down copyrighted music. The delay to the software could also spell wider problems for Google, which has been trying to negotiate partnerships that will give it access to content from a number of big media and entertainment companies. The company could not immediately be reached for comment. A YouTube spokeswoman said the company had never promised general availability by the end of the year.
___________________________________________
This blog is available and distributed for free by the offices of Mark Vinet and Wadem Publishing. Information contained herein should not be relied upon or considered as legal advice. This blog may be forwarded, downloaded or reproduced in whole in any print or electronic format for non-commercial purposes provided that its author is acknowledged and that you cc: mark@markvinet.com
© ™ Mark Vinet & Wadem Publishing
Mark Vinet website
INTERNET & MUSIC & COPYRIGHT - YouTube may share revenue with users by Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service, 29jan07 -- Video-sharing site YouTube may start paying users for their content, the company’s cofounder said in a video displayed on the site. “In terms of paying users revenue against content they’re uploading, we’re definitely going to move in that direction,” said Chad Hurley, YouTube’s cofounder and chief executive, in a video that appears to be shot during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. He did not offer details about how much users might be able to earn or on what basis they might be paid. YouTube wanted to build a large enough community before beginning to pay users for their content, he said. “We didn’t want to build a system that was motivated by monetary reward. When you start giving money to people from day one… the people you do attract will just switch to the next provider that’s paying more,” he said. “We feel we’re at the scale now that we’ll be able to do that and still have a true community around video.” The system might work such that a video creator who sets a video against music could share revenue with the record label that owns the copyright on the music. YouTube has said that it is developing an audio fingerprinting technology that will allow it to identify songs used in videos displayed on the site and enable labels to claim the music and earn revenue from it, he said. Once that technology is in place, labels will be able to earn revenue on videos that people make of their travels, for example, that are set to music and shared on the site. “With our platform, they’ll have the market opportunity to generate revenue against that material,” he said. “It’s opening up a new market that didn’t exist before.” Hurley doesn’t describe how the video creator might earn money off that video, but potentially, the record labels could share that revenue with the video creators. YouTube announced last year, the day before Google acquired the company, that it was working on a system with several record labels that would allow users to license content from the labels for use in their videos. The record companies and YouTube also agreed to share advertising revenue from music videos displayed on YouTube. YouTube has run into trouble with other content owners who are unhappy that they aren’t being compensated for their copyright material that is displayed on YouTube. Last week, YouTube received a subpoena from News Corp.’s Fox television unit seeking information regarding videos of television programs that appear on YouTube.
MUSIC - Canadian Major Labels Seek Out Independents To Boost Distribution by LARRY LEBLANC of BILLBOARD Jan 27, 2007 -- As physical sales slide, three of Canada's major labels are attempting to bolster their distribution businesses by aggressively courting domestic independent labels.While Sony BMG Canada largely focuses on its own roster, insiders describe the competition among Universal, EMI and Warner for Canada's indies as fiercer than at any time in recent memory."The majors are hungry for indie labels," says Dominique Zgarka, president of distributor Koch Entertainment (Canada). "They're going after everything.""There's a lot of talent we want to participate in," adds Tony Tarleton, EMI Music Canada director of associated labels. "We're getting introduced to [indie] people I never thought we'd have conversations with."According to Nielsen SoundScan, in the year ending Dec. 17, 2006, Canada's independent distributors took 18.3% of retail sales. Universal had 35.6%, Sony BMG 21.4%, Warner 14.8% and EMI 9.9%. Overall, volume was down 6% compared with 2005. With less than 10% market share, EMI has been the most active "indie hunter" of late, signing Toronto-based electro-pop specialist Upper Class Recordings from Sonic Distribution in Hamilton, Ontario, and Hamilton-based startup Labwork Music. The major confirms a pressing and distribution deal with Vancouver-based jazz label Maximum Music-previously with Universal-is also imminent.EMI is vying with Universal and Warner for distribution of Montreal-based Deja Musique, and fiercely independent Vancouver-based Mint Records is negotiating with EMI and Universal over distribution rights for the early-2007 fourth album by its biggest act, the New Pornographers. "I am interested in seeing how a major works [for us] without committing our entire catalog," Mint co-owner Kevin Beesley says.Majors distribute the majority of independent product in English-speaking Canada but traditionally avoid Quebec labels' French-language repertoire. No majors would comment on Deja, but insiders consider it one of Quebec's strongest independents. Deja claims to have sold 1 million albums-mainly in Quebec-since its 1999 launch. Its roster includes French-language urban artist Corneille, singer/songwriter Dany Bédar, English-language rocker Jonas and bilingual R&B newcomer Jodie Resther.Label owner Janie Duquette says lengthy distribution negotiations have delayed a national rollout of Jonas' sophomore album "Suite Life," which Nielsen SoundScan says has sold 22,000 units in Quebec since its Oct. 10 release. Duquette believes major-label expertise, infrastructure and funding can expand her business in English-speaking regions. "I believed those stories of the big bad majors until I knocked on doors in Toronto," Duquette says. "But I was amazed by the great reception from each company."Duquette suggests Jonas, Resther and Bédar have international potential. However, some remain skeptical. "I don't see any of the majors breaking these acts," Koch's Zgarka says. "We've tried to break Quebec acts in English Canada and it's a bitch, even with English-speaking acts."Although the majors declined to give specific examples-Warner did not return phone calls-sources suggest more wide-ranging P&D deals are on offer than in the past."There's more flexibility today in the offerings," Universal Music Canada senior VP of A&R Allan Reid says. "We're offering a lot more than just distributing records to retail stores."Sources claim such newfound flexibility extends to promotion, marketing and publicity services, digital or synchronization licensing and strategic alliances including joint ventures."Today, there's the ability for us to tap into all of their resources," Upper Class Recordings co-owner Garth Jones says. The majors, he suggests, are attracted by "the speed at which independents develop talent and change direction." Maximum president Brian Watson adds that "what got us excited about EMI was the strategic attitude that Tony [Tarleton] has behind his label group."Despite the majors' increased interest, Zgarka insists independent distribution remains healthy. "There are still people constantly knocking on our door," he says.Indeed, throughout her lengthy negotiations, Duquette insisted that Deja's Quebec distribution remain with Distribution Select and Distribution Fusion III. "There could have been a big 'no' from everybody," she says, "but all the majors went for it. Five years ago, they would have said 'no' and sent me back home."
MUSIC - Sales of digital music doubled in 2006: Digital music sales worldwide almost doubled in 2006. Around 10% of all sales were digital, worth over 1.5 billion euros to the music industry. But the increase still did not match the fall in purchases of compact discs. Releasing the figures, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said it expects digital sales to account for a quarter of all sales worldwide by 2010.According to their report, consumers last year downloaded 795 million tracks legally from almost 500 internet music services in 40 countries. The number of tracks available online doubled to reach over four million on leading services. The trade organisation said sales of CDs fell 23% between 2000 and 2006 and all music sales were down 4% in the first half of last year.
ENTERTAINMENT - Defamation -- Canadian common law protects every person from harm to their reputation by false and derogatory remarks about their person, known as defamation. In addition, all Canadian provinces have libel/ slander legislation (defamation includes slander and libel, where slander is verbal defamation and libel is printed defamation). It is a tricky and slippery field of law, based on statutes, English common law and many defences. And remember, defamation tort law protects your reputation, not your feelings. Compensation in Canada is usually awarded by courts based on real or actual damages suffered.
TV - ACTRA's Quebec branch joins Strike by Canadian film, TV and radio workers centres on Internet performances - CP 11jan07 -- ACTRA is the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Arts and represents 21,000 Canadian movie, TV and radio performers. About 60 per cent of its membership is in Toronto. The Alliance has numerous functions including determining "scale", the minimum wage set for ACTRA performers; helping actors collect royalties, residuals and other forms of compensation; and advocating the development of a strong domestic film and TV industry. Who's on the other side of the dispute? The CFTPA (the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association) and its Quebec counterpart, the Association des producers de films et de television du Quebec, along with American producers. The current Independent Production Agreement between the producers and ACTRA expired on Jan. 1, and the performers' union is now in a legal position to strike. What's the sticking point? Money, for one. The actors say that too many producers are offering only scale rates -- even for well-known performers. They say the average annual salary for Canadian actors is about $15,000. As well, they there is a 32 per cent wage gap between ACTRA members and their U.S. counterparts in the Screen Actors Guild. To help close the gap, ACTRA is demanding a five per cent wage hike in each year of a three-year contract. The producers' association has offered increases of one, two and one per cent in each year, arguing that the directors' guild and writers' guild recently settled for much less. "It's a very big ask," CFTPA chief negotiator John Barrack has said, "and we can't even consider doing anything more than we've already offered unless they show some considerable movement." But the bigger issue may be Internet rights. The actors want an agreement on how they will be compensated for secondary placement of movies and TV shows in "new media" such as the Internet, cell phones and MP3 players. The actors say they should receive royalties for those performances but producers say "new media" reproduction is promotional material. ACTRA is balking at the definition of promotional. "They define promotional as covering anything in which producers don't receive any money," said Waddell. "Somebody's making money off of this. We're not going to give away the future for free." Producers in the U.S. will be watching developments on the issue of Internet rights closely, as they are set to begin their own negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild and other American artists' unions soon. Will my favourite Canadian TV shows be affected? Potentially, but probably not immediately. Shows are produced months in advance of airing and even if broadcasters run out of episodes, they can show reruns for a time. Jeff Brinton of the CFTPA says producers would seek a judge's order to force actors back to work in the event of a mass walkout. Productions in British Columbia would not be affected, since actors there have a separate agreement that is still in effect. But the Union of B.C. Performers has said it will tell its members not to accept work in the rest of Canada during the strike, and not to work for any production that relocates to B.C. because of any strike. The Screen Actors Guild in the U.S. has also pledged its support and will be giving its members similar instructions if a strike begins. ACTRA is trying to avoid any production stops by asking producers to sign "continuance letters". The letters promise producers no disruption by ACTRA picket lines if they guarantee performers a 5 per cent wage increase. The union claims that a number of producers have already sent in signed letters. ACTRA's Waddell says that all productions shooting in Toronto have signed agreements with the union, so those productions will continue. The CFTPA says the letters are "unlawful," and will provoke a legal battle in the event of an industry shutdown. Will film productions leave Canada over the strike? It's still difficult to say. The CFTPA claims that a number of productions have already relocated to B.C. or to the U.S. They say producers on the latest "Pink Panther" sequel have decided not to film in Montreal, while the upcoming sequel to "National Treasure" has abandoned a prospective shoot in Toronto. Ken Ferguson, the president of Toronto Film Studios, a vast film production facility where parts of David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence" and Ron Howard's "Cinderella Man" were filmed, said late in 2006 that effects were already being felt, calling it "worse than SARS."
MUSIC - George Michael $3m private gig in Moscow by Mark Brown Jan 3, 2007 London Guardian -- New Year's Eve is always a problem. Party? Pub? Jools Holland's Hootenanny? George Michael this week chose to spend it near Moscow performing at a Russian billionaire's house. It is believed the $3m (£1.52m) on offer may have provided an incentive. Details of the hour-long concert in front of 300 private guests are sketchy. The unnamed businessman is understood to own a private estate 20 miles outside Moscow. On the land is a sports hall, which the billionaire turned into a nightclub especially for the party. Michael is believed to have performed a condensed version of his recent 25 Live tour, which began in Barcelona in September and ended with a special concert before Christmas at Camden's Roundhouse for NHS workers. The repertoire could, therefore, have included songs including Flawless, Jesus to a Child, Shoot the Dog and Careless Whisper. Alongside Michael were a 20-strong entourage, including his band and backing singers. "It was a fun night and George was back home in Britain by morning," a spokeswoman for the singer said. But she did not know who the mystery moneybags was, nor how Michael normally spent his New Year's Eve. Michael, named gay man of 2006 by Boyz Magazine last week, has been in and out of the headlines in 2006. He admitted what most people know, that he enjoys cannabis, and was filmed smoking a spliff on Melvyn Bragg's South Bank Show. The News of the World caught him looking for sex on Hampstead Heath, London. And he is due to appear at Brent magistrates court on January 11 charged with being unfit to drive a motor vehicle. Michael is far from being the only performer to take private money, although his Moscow engagement appears to have been particularly lucrative and, it is said, has made him the highest paid entertainer in modern Russian history. The Rolling Stones played the 60th birthday party of a Texan billionaire four years ago for £2m. Christina Aguilera was reportedly paid £420,000 for performing three songs at the wedding of Russian oligarch Andrei Melnichenko in September 2005, with Enrique Iglesias getting the same amount and Whitney Houston a bit more. Destiny's Child and Rod Stewart are said to have performed at the barmitzvah of the son of BHS tycoon Philip Green, while Kylie Minogue was paid nearly £1m for singing to executives from Deutsche Bank in 2004. The Sultan of Brunei is a regular hirer and is understood to have had Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Boyzone perform at various bashes. Sir Elton John, the Eagles, Celine Dion and Sir Paul McCartney can all be commissioned, at a price. Bob Dylan upset his fans in 1997 when he played a private gig for a Californian semiconductor company. Not everyone is for hire though. U2 have said they will only perform in front of ordinary fans. And if you are organising a party and £1.5m is out of your reach, you could consider Anson Williams, who played Potsie in Happy Days. He is available to mingle at between $3,000 and $6,000, depending on transport home.
INTERNET & COPYRIGHT - YouTube software threat to Google plans by Richard Waters, Financial Times, San Francisco 01Jan07 -- YouTube’s failure to complete a key piece of anti-piracy software as promised could represent a serious obstacle to efforts by Google, its new owner, to forge closer relations with the media and entertainment industry. The video website, the internet sensation of 2006, promised in September the software would be ready by the end of this year. Known as a “content identification system”, the technology is meant to make it possible to track down copyrighted music or video on YouTube, making it the first line of defence against piracy on the wildly popular website. YouTube said on Friday the technology would not be formally launched this year and YouTube’s offices were closed until the new year. While providing no further details about when the system would be made formally available, it said tests of the system had been under way with some media companies since October and the system remained “on track”. Mike McGuire, a digital media analyst at Gartner, said the important part systems such as this played in building better relations between internet companies such as YouTube and the traditional media industry meant there was likely to be little patience for missed deadlines. “The technology industry really has to start living up to the media industry’s expectations,” he said. If the delay lasts for more than a week or two into the new year, suggesting more than just a slight technical hitch, “this is certainly going to be a serious issue”, Mr McGuire added. Leading music companies have already made clear they see completion of YouTube’s anti-piracy technology as an important step in any closer co-operation. Failure to build adequate systems to protect copyright owners could also add to the risk of legal action against the site. Doug Morris, chief executive of Universal Music Group, hinted at legal action against YouTube late last summer, accusing both it and MySpace of being “content infringers [that] owe us tens of millions of dollars”. Universal went on to sue MySpace but was one of the companies to reach a partnership with YouTube, partly based on the ability of its promised content identification system to track down copyrighted music. The delay to the software could also spell wider problems for Google, which has been trying to negotiate partnerships that will give it access to content from a number of big media and entertainment companies. The company could not immediately be reached for comment. A YouTube spokeswoman said the company had never promised general availability by the end of the year.
___________________________________________
This blog is available and distributed for free by the offices of Mark Vinet and Wadem Publishing. Information contained herein should not be relied upon or considered as legal advice. This blog may be forwarded, downloaded or reproduced in whole in any print or electronic format for non-commercial purposes provided that its author is acknowledged and that you cc: mark@markvinet.com
© ™ Mark Vinet & Wadem Publishing
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