It is vital that tomorrow’s superstars and young musicians have somewhere to ply their craft, somewhere to play and that communities have a place to gather together.

From this BBC report.

Sound Property? Investigating the Legal Status of Sound Recordings
An Interdisciplinary Conference on Music & Copyright
University of Salford ~ May 28-29, 2009

This conference proposes to investigate the current U.S. and U.K. statutes that regulate the protection of sound recordings. It will inquire to what degree those laws secure the rights of both the owners and creators of the music contained on these products as well as determine their impact upon those who consume and comment upon this material. The pending efforts to universalize an extended term of copyright underscore the potential for even more draconian controls upon recorded music. Will the public, creators, and commentators continue to be able to acquire, appreciate and appropriate musical materials? Can some balance be found between the need for profit and the pursuit of pleasure? Is it possible in a civil society for music effectively to be silenced through constraints over its recorded legacy?

Keynote Speakers Include:

Nicholas Cook, University of Cambridge. Music: A Very Short Introduction & Music, Imagination & Culture

Simon Frith, University of Edinburgh Taking Popular Music Seriously; Sound Effects; Editor, Music & Copyright

Kembrew McLeod, University of Iowa Freedom of Expression: Resistance & Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property; Owning Culture: Ownership, Authorship & Intellectual Property

Further details at:
http://www.adelphi.salford.ac.uk/adelphi/p/?s=23&pid=90

Apart from anything else, I’m really hoping to interview Simon Frith for the Deleting Music book. He wrote a very good book called Music and Copyright and will, I’m sure, have a good deal of insight into the relationship between copyright and music as culture.

However, it’s on the 28th & 29th of May, and there are two other places I’m meant to be on those days. We’ll see how we get on. At any rate, I’ll do my best to get hold of Simon. He’s on the list.

Mind you – the list has 64 names on it, and only one of them has been crossed off so far. And I keep adding more. Still – we’re only just starting.