A2IM urges you to register with SoundExchange today (http://www.soundexchange.com/). If you are not registered you are missing out on money due to you! Once registered, make certain that you also periodically check the reports you are receiving to ensure all of the titles you or your artists own (if it's a license or joint venture) are properly registered to your label.

One of the most important organizations for the A2IM community is SoundExchange. SoundExchange was formed in 2000 as a result of The Digital Performance in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 which created a performance right in sound recordings, requiring users of music to pay the copyright owner of the sound recording for the public performance of that music via digital transmissions (webcasters, satellite radio, direct TV, etc.). SoundExchange administers these royalties for non on-demand or non interactive streaming of music.

The SoundExchange board has proportional representation with nine label representatives and nine artist representatives. SoundExchange has 3,500 Independent labels who have registered as members. A2IM members have three of the label board seats and are represented by Dick Huey representing Beggars/Matador label group, Tom Silverman of Tommy Boy Entertainment and Rich Bengloff of A2IM. No one constituency controls the SoundExchange board and coalitions shift based upon the issue. The board however, generally coalesces around common interests, labels large and small as well as artists, working on behalf of the of the larger recorded music community.

SoundExchange advocates for fair rates for the use of copyright owner sound recordings, something we all support. Statutory rates are advocated and established for labels of any size, major or independent. These statutory rates, administered by SoundExchange for non-terrestrial performance of music (on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio; webcasters like Pandora, Soma FM & Yahoo, cable television transmissions, etc.), are the same per play rates for everyone -truly a level playing field. As highlighted in a prior newsletter A2IM supports statutory rate solutions. (Link)

SoundExchange achieves economies of scale by representing the entire copyright owner and artist community. Individually independent artists and labels may very well not be able to afford the cost to be properly represented in many activities as they would be prohibitively expensive to do as an individual label or artist but these activities are possible when conducted collectively. These activities or services include:

Representation at rate setting proceedings to establish rates and terms of the licenses
Audits
Enforcement of the rates and terms of the licenses
Development of Royalty Platform Technologies
Collection and distribution services
Negotiation and administration of international reciprocal royalty agreements (including the U.K., The Netherlands, Mexico, etc.)

Most importantly SoundExchange is the lobbying voice to get higher rates granted, when warranted, by the Copyright Royalty Board as well as lobbying to get new revenue sources such as a performance right royalty from traditional over the air AM/FM radio via the MusicFIRST coalition. (See elsewhere in this newsletter for updates on these issues).

If you are not registered for SoundExchange there is money waiting for you.

SoundExchange collects royalties from services operating under non-terrestrial (satellite, webcasters, cable, etc.) licenses for both the digital audio transmissions (i.e., public performances) and the ephemeral recordings (i.e., reproductions). The SoundExchange performance royalty collected is split between the copyright owner of the sound recording (50%), the featured artist performer(s) on the sound recording (45%), and the non-featured artist(s) on the recording (5%). The label share is paid directly to the label and the artists share is paid directly to the artist. For labels that own their masters, the portion they receive belongs to the label & no accounting needs to be made to the artist.

For labels with joint ventures or licensing arrangements with their artists, the label must claim the label share or it will remain unclaimed and forfeited. Based upon the label's contract with their artists, they would then account to the artist their share of the label portion.

Call Shane German at SoundExchange at sgerman@soundexchange.com or 202-640-5858. If you are registered please contact Erin Smith at esmith@soundexchange.com or 202-640-5858 to ensure all of your labels titles are properly registered to your label. At the same time you should make sure your artists, past and present, are registered for their share. Again, the artists are paid directly and the portion paid to them does not affect the share paid directly to the music labels (which belongs to the label). Any questions, give us a call!

Legislative Update

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As we reach the end of the current Congress there has been a lot of activity that affects the music community, with three pieces of legislation working their way through the House and Senate:

The Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This legislation has passed the Senate and House and gives SoundExchange, on behalf of copyright owners and performers, the right to negotiate with Internet radio services an alternative royalty agreement while Congress is in recess.

The negotiations are aimed at revising the 2007 rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) that set a royalty rate that webcasters said would put them out of business. If the President signs the bill and new royalty agreements are reached, it would set a royalty rate retroactive to 2006, and allow for a framework that would set rates through 2015.

A2IM has been very involved in lobbying for this legislation and in these settlement discussions and we are very optimistic that we are very near a fair resolution of the rates and the other issues and this legislation gives us the additional time needed to get this accomplished. Our position has been clear, we are committed to a fair and equitable resolution to the CRB rate negotiations - a solution that fairly compensates artists and labels for their creativity and investment but still allows the pure play webcasting community to continue to grow. These webcasters need to be supported, as they give independently produced music the opportunity to be heard and discovered, which is all too often not the case at traditional AM/FM radio but labels and artists need to receive fair compensation whenever their music is used. We are optimistic that we finally see a conclusion to these discussions in sight.

The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for the Intellectual Property Act of 2008

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let's call this the Intellectual Property ("IP") Act of 2008, which has passed the House and Senate and awaits the President's signature.

This legislation recognizes the importance of protecting the United States IP resources, like music, as they have increased in importance to our economy as manufacturing and services industry businesses have moved outside of the U.S.

A2IM was part of a lobbying group in Washington on September 18th that lobbied on this issue as well as other issues, like the Performance Right Campaign. The attached resolution related to this bill really frames the need for this anti-piracy funding to increase enforcement measures against intellectual property infringement. (Link to Enforcement Bill Resolution)

A2IM is very pleased with the resulting legislation, which provides for over $50 million in federal funding in the first year with state & local governments required to match the amount they receive in federal funding. The bill also has required metrics and annual reporting requirements to ensure that the enforcement actions are real and not fluff.

The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unfortunately the Senate has passed the above bill but fortunately the House has not yet passed this bill. Hopefully Wired Magazine is correct and this bill will not pass the House. (Link to Wired Magazine Article)

This proposed legislation is aimed at changing a portion of U.S. copyright law that deals with musical tracks, writings, images, videos or other content whose owners cannot be easily located. If passed, Orphan Works will allow for anyone to use music that they have not acquired the rights to use. All they'll need to do is show that they made "best efforts" to locate the copyright owner (the bill does not define what would define "best efforts" and it also specifically eliminates the ability for a copyright owner who feels infringed upon from recovering legal fees from the infringer).

A number of A2IM members, including your A2IM legal committee, are concerned that this bill, if enacted, would make it very difficult to stop parties from using our music in ways we don't want or haven't consented to and, further, it puts the burden of finding uses on the copyright owner rather than putting the burden on the user who wants to use our music. This certainly would hurt smaller independent labels who are likely to be harder to find than the majors. Independent labels also have less resources to do searches to find infringements and then, after finding infringements, being able to afford legal representation and get compensation.

We have lobbied against this bill in the past and hopefully it will not be enacted now. If revived in the next session of Congress we will let you know as this progresses if we need you to reach out to your legislators to share your view on this legislation.

Performance Right Campaign

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We continue our grassroots campaign to influence legislators and the news media to support this important legislation to enact a performance royalty for labels and artists from AM/FM radio. We are hopeful that 2009 will be that year!

As background for our newest members:

The music industry has known many injustices, but one of the oldest is the way in which corporate radio has built a multi-billion dollar business by broadcasting recorded music, without paying one dime to the performers on those recordings. On any particular day, approximately 2.3 million recordings are played on commercial radio stations. Those recordings attract listeners, and enable corporate radio to sell a whopping $16 billion per year in ads to businesses who see radio listeners as their potential customers. But our Copyright Act allows corporate radio to use our recordings to build their business without paying any compensation to us. This link shows another reason why you should support the Performance Right campaign.

The United States is the only developed country that gives such a free pass to radio. And in the U.S., only AM/FM terrestrial radio has this free pass. Internet radio (Pandora, Yahoo, SomaFM, etc.) and digital satellite subscription radio (XM and Sirius) compensate copyright owners and performers for the value of their work.

Enter musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today), a coalition dedicated to closing the copyright loophole and achieving a performance right that requires corporate radio to pay fair royalties to performers. The A2IM is a leading member of musicFIRST, along with AFM, AFTRA, MMF, RAC, RIAA, NARAS, and over 160 individual artists. We continue to work to pass this legislation and welcome any A2IM member interested in participating in our efforts to contact A2IM's staff.

Mechanical Royalty Rates Announced

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On October 2nd the CRB announced new mechanical rates effective for the five years that commenced on January 1, 2008. The standard per track rates for both physical sales and permanent digital downloads were set at 9.1 cents for the entire five year period which effectively freezes mechanical royalty rates at previous rates. The big change here is that under the recently expired rate setting mechanical royalties had increased every two years by five and six percent. The rate for mastertones was set at 24 cents. Overall, a status quo rate for five more years is a good result for music labels, although a percentage of revenues amount for digital sales would have been preferred as future retail pricing declines could occur. For example, right now labels pay a fixed 9.1 cents on digital downloads at 99 cents retail and also the same 9.1 cents on downloads at lower retail prices. Another issue is the mastertone 24 cent rate which leaves labels minimal profit and effectively freezes consumer prices at the current level no matter how consumer market demand evolves. There is also a 1.5% monthly late fee in the CRB decision that you should be aware of. The formal written CRB ruling has not yet been issued, which will better define these rates. Background information on this issue is available here.

The CRB also approved a September 23rd agreement on rates for limited downloads and interactive streaming services. The rate was set at a total of 10.5% of revenue, including the composition performance royalties, subject to penny rate minimums per subscriber, with certain allowed promotional streaming and other allowances. A2IM was involved in the discussions that set these rates and the written CRB ruling on these rates is here.

Again we are awaiting the overall written ruling, but please feel free to contact us if you have questions.

MySpace Music

~~~~~~~~~~~

The process of new digital services sharing equity in their businesses with the major labels has been troubling for independent labels as independents have been excluded. Merlin has been aggressive in talks with MySpace and communicating the independent community's global concerns. In addition A2IM has been quoted in the press and released the following statement last week:

A2IM weighs in on MySpace Music

Statement from Rich Bengloff, President of the American Association of Independent Music, regarding the launch of MySpace Music:

"A2IM is disappointed that MySpace Music, previously a champion of independent music, has not included independent music labels as equity participants as they have done with the major labels, thus not giving independently owned music labels parity. We are also disappointed that the launch of the venture included only a portion of the independent distributors and aggregators leaving out a large number of independent artists and labels from the launch.

We at A2IM echo the comments of friends in the independent music community, such as MERLIN, in our shared view that any independent deal struck without an equity component, (as was done with the majors), will see independent labels face a situation whereby their major competitors will profit from the use of their repertoire without an appropriate upside opportunity being extended to them by MySpace Music and its major label equity partners."

A2IM will continue to weigh in on these issues to get equity and fairness fo the independent music community.

Press:
Wired Online
Los Angeles Times
Digital Music News
DailyTech
Hypebot

Join Merlin
~~~~~~~~

Merlin Logo As previously messaged, A2IM members are eligible for membership with Merlin, at no
cost beyond your A2IM dues. Merlin (http://www.merlinnetwork.org) is the international rights licensing entity owned on a not-for-profit basis, which provides independent music companies with access to otherwise unavailable licensing arrangements, and with an advocacy voice to protect and exploit their copyrights in new media, worldwide. Merlin represents over 12,000 Independent Music Labels, Distributors and Aggregators in 19 countries to ensure fair and equitable access to digital revenue streams for its members. Merlin is already engaged in discussions with a number of companies (LastFM, YouTube, XM, etc.) to ensure its members are properly remunerated for the use of their copyrights by these services. Membership is free and open to all independent companies controlling master rights. Participation by Merlin members in all its initiatives is on an optional basis and with an opt out process before the agreement is concluded. Again, call us at the A2IM offices (212 937 8975) if you need more information or clarification.

To become a member of Merlin, you must fill out and return the below membership
application to Merlin. Hopefully the below is self-explanatory, but if they are not clear please don't hesitate to contact us or Charles Caldas from Merlin (Charles.caldas@merlinnetwork.org).

The Merlin Membership Agreement Guidance Note

The Merlin Application Form

The Merlin Membership

Feel free, of course, to read the guidance note and membership agreement but most importantly fill out the application form and send it in via email to leah@merlinnetwork.org or you can fax it to her
011 44 207 183 2445.

A2IM on DailyTech.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A2IM president, Rich Bengloff recently did an interview with the editor of DailyTech, a technology news site with over a million monthly visitors.

Please find below or at the links the text of that interview, as well as an article based on it.

Interview: http://www.dailytech.com/Music+Chief+Answers+DailyTechs+Tough+Questions/article12850.htm

Article: http://www.dailytech.com/DailyTech+Talks+Piracy+Taxes+and+More+With+Independent+Music+Chief/article12852.htm

Music Chief Answers DailyTech's Tough Questions

The head of the American Association of Independent Music, Rich Bengloff discusses a variety of weighty topics with Dailytech

The following is the unabridged interview between DailyTech and Rich Bengloff, President of the American Association of Independent Music, in which he discusses piracy, taxation of online downloads, internet radio royalties and more.

....................................................................................................................................

DailyTech: Tell our readers a little bit about your organization and what you do.

Rich Bengloff, President of A2IM: A2IM (American Association of Independent Music; www.a2im.org) is a non-profit trade organization representing a diverse community of independent music labels seeking fairness, equitable treatment, and improved business conditions in the marketplace where Independently owned music labels account for 30% of recorded music sales. Our members support and receive the benefits of our services: lobbying, commerce opportunities, and member services which include networking events, general business advice, education about issues facing indie labels, and special offers and discounts to many important music industry conferences.

DailyTech: What are some of the independent labels you represent?

Mr. Bengloff: We currently include as members over 200 Independent labels from very large companies such as Curb Records, Razor & Tie, Roadrunner Records and Wind-up to cutting edge smaller companies such as Bloodshot, Saddle Creek and Stones Throw, to name just a few. To see a full list of our members please click http://a2im.org/members.aspx" rel="nofollow. Collectively our members represent nearly an 11% market share of U.S. sales making them larger than EMI. Independent labels are the growth sector within the music industry and represent over 80% of annual new releases in the U.S. making them a vital partner/customer for any service provider, licensor of music or anyone using music in their own business.

DailyTech: How detrimental do you see piracy as being to the smaller labels in the music industry?

Mr. Bengloff: Piracy is a problem for all music creators, large or small. Music resonates with people as much as it ever has as the accessibility to music has expanded. The business ten years ago consisted of buying CD's and listening to traditional AM/FM radio with a 168 hours in a week limitation and a limit in the number of radio channels. Now there are many more options to access music. As a result music has moved from a model where consumers wanted to own their music to a new model where consumers are content to just listen to the music without necessarily having ownership. The non-terrestrial forms of listening via webcasters, satellite radio, cable & direct TV, MySpace, etc. give consumers unlimited options. The goal for creators of music has to be to drive people to these legal sources of music and to make sure that these sources of music for consumers properly compensate artists and labels for the use of their music. Unless these entities and the social networking sites, as well as the sellers of music, physical and digital as well as mobile carriers and subscription oriented models properly compensate creators the creation process will decline. In addition, the traditional AM/FM broadcasters need to start to pay for using performers' music.

DailyTech: Does piracy affect smaller labels less or more than major labels, would you say?

Mr. Bengloff: As per the above we are all, big and small, experiencing the effects of piracy.

DailyTech: Do you support highly punitive punishments, i.e. the RIAA's recent $220,000 victory against single mom Jamie Thomas? Or do you prefer smaller fines?

Mr. Bengloff: A2IM has no official position on the RIAA's piracy lawsuits; our members have a wide range of views. That said, most of our members believe that there needs to be some deterrents to piracy in place and publicized.

DailyTech: Your official stance on DRM is that you are neutral on the issue. Nonetheless, which way do you see the industry leaning?

Mr. Bengloff: Each of our members has their own policy as it relates to DRM. The key issue is interoperability so that consumers can enjoy their music where and when they want to and any form of DRM in the marketplace needs to allow this usage or DRM will drive consumers toward greater piracy.

DailyTech: The latest rate increases (from 8/100 of a cent per song per listener to 19/100 of a cent under the same conditions in 2010) by SoundExchange have basically sealed the demise of the online radio industry, according to most online radio stations, including Pandora. If the increases go into effect, they say they will be forced to close in order to avoid bankruptcy. Do you see a solution to this?

Mr. Bengloff: Like many we were troubled to hear Pandora recently refer to the current situation as a possible 'Last Stand For Webcasting.' As the primary advocacy group for the independent music label community we support a fair and equitable resolution to the webcasting rate negotiations -- a solution that fairly compensates artists and labels for their creativity and investment but still allows the pure play webcasting community to continue to grow. These webcasters need to be supported, as they give independently produced music the opportunity to be heard and discovered, which is all too often not the case at traditional AM/FM radio. The current CRB set rates for thru 2010 are problematic for the pure play webcasters, that said we are hopeful that all parties can get on track towards a constructive solution.

DailyTech: States are recently passing laws to tax digital downloads. How might this affect your labels?

Mr. Bengloff: As noted earlier in this interview recorded music industry sales continue to decline. At the same time all the participants in the industry, the retailers, music labels, publishers, performing artists, etc. are all aggressively trying to get a larger percentage of the shrinking revenue streams. It's unlikely that the digital retailers will be able to pass these sales taxes along to consumers or absorb them within their costs. Do you think consumers will start paying $1.08 instead of $.99 for a track download? The music industry needs to unite to make sure that third parties, whether governmental or for-profit entities, don't go into the music industry space during this period, when we need more economic support for creators, and instead work to extract value we cannot afford to share with third parties for whom music is not their primary business.

DailyTech: Is your organization considering lobbying against such measures?

Mr. Bengloff: It would depend on the form of the lobbying related to our limited resources but we are concerned about these additional costs.

DailyTech: What's one other legal issue or technical issue you see as a major problem facing the music business today, aside from those mentioned?

Mr. Bengloff: The proposed Orphan Works legislation (S.2913 in the Senate and H.R.5889 in the House of Representatives) is aimed at changing a portion of U.S. copyright law that deals with musical tracks, writings, images, videos or other content whose owners cannot be easily located. If passed, Orphan Works will allow for anyone to use music that they have not acquired the rights to use. All they'll need to do is show that they made "best efforts" to locate the copyright owner (the bill does not define what would define "best efforts" and it also specifically eliminates the ability for a copyright owner who feels infringed upon from recovering legal fees from the infringer).

A number of A2IM members are concerned that this bill, if enacted, would make it very difficult to stop parties from using our music in ways we don't want or haven't consented to and, further, it puts the burden of finding uses on the copyright owner rather than putting the burden on the user who wants to use our music. This certainly would hurt smaller independent labels who are more likely to be harder to find than the majors. Independent labels also have less resources to do searches to find infringements and then, after finding infringements, getting compensation.

DailyTech: What are your hopes for the future of the music business?

Mr. Bengloff: All industries go through periods of transformation. We remain optimistic that as the transformation of music consumption occurs new forms of monetization will arise that will be shared with the artists that have created the music and the music labels that have invested in that creation. We just need to navigate as an industry, with all participants supporting each other, thru this process of change

DailyTech: Thank you on behalf of DailyTech for your time and insight. It was great talking with you.

A2IM Wire Side Chat with Koch Entertainment President Bob Frank

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The A2IM Wire Side Chats are teleconference interviews with industry leaders or experts about the issues affecting the Independent music community. Our goal for these interviews will be to educate, share ideas, and provoke thought. Each Wire Side Chat features a guest journalist or moderator who will host the session and will conduct a live interview with our invited industry leader. As an A2IM label member you are invited to call in and listen to the interview live and to e-mail in questions for the guest to answer (either in advance of the Wire Side Chat or during it).

The most recent edition of Wire Side Chat featured Koch Entertainment president and Merlin Chair Bob Frank being interviewed by A2IM president Rich Bengloff. The topic of this discussion: where do you see independent music labels in 5 years and how do you think we can successfully get there?

Listen to the entire Wire Side Chat with Bob Frank here.

FROM THE NEW MEDIA COMMITTEE: Take Down Notices For Infringing Services

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A2IM has member run committees who we rely upon to help educate our staff, assist the organization with a number of our initiatives, and share general business advice with our members. A2IM New Media Committee members Edith Bellinghausen (SVP, Digital Business, Razor & Tie Records) and Dick Huey and Wendy Williams (Toolshed) write below a primer on how independent labels should proceed if they find their music on unauthorized websites.

User-generated content (UGC) websites are popping up daily. While a powerful marketing tool, UGC sites are often unmonitored, and there will be occasions where a label prefers to remove unauthorized content. For example, a fan uploads a video to a video-sharing website with cover art and full-album stream, pre-street. This conflicts with an exclusive premiere on another online property. What to do?

You as the copyright holder are entitled to submit a takedown request for any content you believe infringes on your copyright, and the website must honor this request.

How does this work?

A UGC website operating under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act "Safe Harbor" guidelines is required to register a "copyright agent" with the copyright office. This person is designated to work with copyright owners and all takedown requests. The website must indicate how to contact the copyright agent -- look for links in the footer such as "Copyright Owners" -- sometimes this information can also be found on the website's "Terms & Conditions" page.

An email or fax to the copyright agent starts the process. Some sites have online forms for this purpose. Each request should contain the following:

1) Identification of the copyrighted work (title, artist, copyright, etc). If there are many, include an attached list.
2) Identification of the material that is believed to be infringing. A direct link (URL) to the content on the website is the best way to identify it. In the case of some file-sharing services, sending a copy of the actual file is best.
3) Your contact information. They'll need to get back to you to let you know the takedown is complete, if they have questions, or if another party has filed a counter-notice. Email/phone/mailing address is standard.
4) A short statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
5) A short statement that the information in the request is accurate, and that you are either the owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
6) Lastly, include your digital or physical signature on the document.

How quickly the takedown occurs depends on the website and its policies. Expect between immediately to a few days.

For RapidShare

Download the rar file from the website. Within this file is a link, something like this: http://lix.in/418e7e

If you click on that link it will eventually take you to Rapidshare.com. On the Rapidshare page it will give you the link to the file: http://rapidshare.com/40552915/jonny.zip

Rapidshare has a reporting function so they will remove the file for you.

For Blogger

It is important for the copyright holder to fax them the following info (then the blog will be shut down by Blogger for violating their Terms of Service agreement).

Blogger.com has made it so you practically have to jump through hoops to get full album download sites shut down (impossible via email)...it's clearly in violation of their terms of service, so here's the link with the info relating to reporting. You will need a fax or do it via snail mail as they don't accept email about these issues: http://www.google.com/blogger_dmca.html#notification

For Google and ISPs

Here is a template addressing a letter to a hosting company:

Date:

Google, Inc.
Attn: Google Legal Support, DMCA Complaints
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
fax: 650-963-3255

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spam/Abuse/DMCA
PMB #257
417 Main St.
Anywhere, CA 92821
fax: 714-555-1111

To Whom It May Concern,

This letter is a Notice of Infringement as authorized in § 512(c) of the U.S. Copyright Law under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). I wish to report an instance of Copyright Infringement. The infringing material appears on the Service for which you are the designated agent.

1. The copyrighted material, which I contend belongs to me and appears illegally on the Service, is the following:
Blog article titled "[My Original Article]" written by [My Name], posted on [January 11, 2008] at [http://www.infringer.com/]

2. The unauthorized material appears at the website address: (http://www.infringersplog.com <http://www.splog.com/> /)
This site appears in Google search results for "[Search Terms]" as well as other search terms.

3. My contact information is as follows:

[My Name]
[My Address]
[My Phone]
[My Email]

4. I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials as described above is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

5. I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

[Your Signature]

[Your Name Printed]

This also gets them out of the Google search index (hopefully) when you send it to Google.

CMJ Eve Event: A2IM Radio Access Roundtable Discussion (Monday, October 20th in NYC)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A2IM is inviting all label members to attend and participate in our upcoming roundtable discussion about the state of indie music at commercial radio. Bring your questions, your ideas, and your stories of success and failure as we come together to educate one another making each member better armed when working radio and the A2IM staff and board of directors better prepared about the issues facing our members when representing you in discussions with Congress, the FCC, the press, and radio groups.

A2IM is working with Future of Music Coalition (www.futureofmusic.org), A2IM radio committee chair Daniel Glass (Glassnote Music), and several invited panelists from A2IM member labels to lead a spirited and open discussion.

The Radio Roundtable discussion will follow the below agenda:

* A brief overview of the A2IM Radio Accord and FCC Consent decree to give the history and how we got to where we are (this portion of the day to be handled by A2IM president Rich Bengloff and Kristin Thomson from the Future of Music Coalition - FMC is underwriting the event as part of the grant they share with us from the NYS Music Fund with an eye towards fair radio access).

* A presentation of the A2IM radio access survey and interview results (presented by the A2IM radio survey consultant, Justin Jouvenal and A2IM vice president, Jim Mahoney).

* The panelist roundtable discussion focusing on the state of indie airplay, ideas regarding how to get improved access/results at radio, and Q&A from the assembled audience (moderated by A2IM vice president Jim Mahoney).

This event is open to A2IM label members only insuring that the opinions expressed are honest and productive.

Details for Radio Day Event
Where: The Monkey NYC (37 W. 26th Street, 12th Floor/Room 1204 - between 6th ave. and Broadway, NYC; http://www.monkeywest.com/index.html)
When: Monday, October 20th, Radio Event: 1pm-3pm
RSVP to: Al Verik (al.verik@a2im.org) specifying the event(s) (Radio Roundtable Discussion, Tech Day Presentation Event, Cocktail Party) you wish to attend in the subject line.

Soft drinks and water provided by DMDS.

DMDS

CMJ Eve Event: A2IM Tech Day (Monday, October 20th in NYC)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A2IM invites all members (labels and associates) to attend and participate in our 1st ever Tech Day. Hosted by the A2IM New Media Committee, make some time to see 15 minute presentations featuring the latest new developments by senior executives from A2IM associate members Amie Street (http://www.amiestreet.com), imeem (http://www.imeem.com), LaLa (http://www.lala.com), and ReverbNation (http://www.reverbnation.com). At the conclusion of the presentations, A2IM members will be invited to participate in a Q&A session. We hope and expect that Tech Day will be of great educational benefit to A2IM members about some of the leading technology companies working in music today.

Amie Street

IMEEM

lala

ReverbNation

Details for Tech Day Event - RSVP Required
Where: The Monkey NYC (37 W. 26th Street, 12th Floor/Room 1204 - between 6th ave. and Broadway, NYC; http://www.monkeywest.com/index.html)
When: Monday, October 20th, Tech Day Event: 3:15-5:45pm
RSVP to: Al Verik (al.verik@a2im.org) specifying the event(s) (Radio Roundtable Discussion, Tech Day Presentation Event, Cocktail Party) you wish to attend in the subject line.

Soft drinks and water provided by DMDS.

CMJ Eve Event: A2IM Cocktail Party (Monday, October 20th in NYC)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A2IM invites all members to our cocktail party hosted by A2IM associate member ReverbNation. Details below.

Details for Cocktail Party - RSVP Required
Where: Common Ground (206 Avenue A - at 13th street and Avenue A, NYC; http://www.commongroundnyc.com)
When: Monday, October 20th

Open Bar from 6:30pm-9pm (event becomes cash bar after 9p)

-Yuengling and Miller Lite on tap

-Cocktails, Wine, and soft drinks

Finger Foods including feta pita crisps, quesadilla, chicken and avocado pizza, prosciutto and artichoke pizza, guacamole and chips, and bacon-wrapped dates

Please RSVP to Al Verik (al.verik@a2im.org) specifying the event(s) (Radio Roundtable Discussion, Tech Day Presentation Event, Cocktail Party) you wish to attend in the subject line.

A2IM Associate Member Spotlight - Echospin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

echospin
Echospin has been a proud and active A2IM associate member since 2005, and we're grateful to have several leading member labels as our clients.

Our proven direct-to-consumer technologies and services enable artists and labels to sell and promote audio and video downloads, CDs, DVDs, merch and tickets directly to fans from their own websites, social networks and email. Echospin works for indie bands like Underworld and The GO, indie labels like Roadrunner and Ultra Records, film companies like Wholphin DVD, and now major labels as well. Our range of clients reflects our commitment to products and services that work well for everyone, large and small.

We feel especially loyal to our fellow A2IM members, the risk takers and the true trail blazers of this industry. And we will always offer you our lowest prices. Contact us now to learn more about our unique, comprehensive set of solutions, including AlbumLink, Echospin's single-click, effortless solution for selling downloads on your own websites, MySpace pages and email. AlbumLink works on Macs, PCs and even Linux.

Visit http://echospin.com/ or give us a call (jon@echospin.com or 212 994 0307), or drop by the office. We'd love to hear from you!

Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT) provided by Future of Music Coalition

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Future of Music Coalition - a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that seeks a bright future for creators and listeners - has a FREE program to help musicians learn about their health insurance options. HINT (Health Insurance Navigation Tool) does not sell insurance. The program provides informed, musician-friendly support and advice to musicians who need help sorting through the confusing jargon associated with health insurance. HINT is run by a health insurance expert who is also a musician, and has helped hundreds of artists on the road towards coverage. FMC encourages you to download and print this one-page informational flyer to pass out to your artists and to provide to new artists when they sign:
http://www.futureofmusic.org/images/HINTonesheet08.pdf.

To learn more about HINT, visit http://www.futureofmusic.org/HINT.

A2IM Special Offer: TuneCore Live Music Concert Distribution to iTunes

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Tunecore Promotion

TuneCore launches Live Music Concert distribution into iTunes - A2IM Special Offer

Live Music Concert distribution is not part of the Apple/iTunes music and music video delivery agreement many labels already have.

As with TuneCore's current record label music audio distribution, labels receive 100% of the revenue from the sale or rental of their live concerts for a simple up front flat flee via a non-exclusive agreement that they can cancel at any time.

Included with the service is a full administrative accounting solution as well as the marketing of your content to iTunes. In addition, each month TuneCore editorially selects customer content to include in direct marketing to over 20M musicians via emails as well as inclusion in the monthly Guitar Center catalogs snail mailed to over 4M recipients.

TuneCore has distributed and delivered over 2 dozen films, concerts and documentaries to iTunes as well as millions of songs. As always, 100% of the revenue from the sale of the content goes to the customer, we take no back-end and a full administrative accounting solution and marketing are also provided.

As an A2IM member, you will get a 30% discount off of our one time delivery fees.

If you have any questions/comments concerns, please feel free to contact us at movies@tunecore.com or call Helen Harris directly at 646-651-1062 or visit http://www.tunecore.com/index/promotion/100.

A2IM Special Offer: CMJ Registration Discount (NYC, Oct. 21-25)

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CMJ08 A2IM associate member CMJ is offering a special registration rate to all A2IM members to the CMJ Music Marathon (October 21-25, New York City). Conference Registration discount for A2IM members is $375 (DISCOUNT DEADLINE IS TUESDAY, 10/14 - regular walk up registration is $495) See below for registration instructions.

Reminder: if you're attending CMJ this year to arrive in time for aspecial A2IM educational and networking event taking place during the afternoon and evening of Monday, October 20th (see details for Radio & Tech Day in this newsletter).

CMJ Registration/Special A2IM Offer

To register using the A2IM discount please click on this link:
http://ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&pl=cmj&eventId=228247

Where it says "access code" down near the bottom of the page enter "A2IMCMJ08" and then click the apply access code button.

Additionally, CMJ offers subscription discounts for the magazine and advertising discounts for A2IM members:

a 25+% discount on new annual subscription rate of $295 (renewals or continuation of lapsed subscription are not eligible) to CMJ New Music Report.
a 10% discount off the existing independent label advertising rate.

CMJ Announcements

CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2008 is only 2 weeks away but don't miss out on your chance to be a part of it! Register today to join 100,000 fans, artists, filmmakers, and industry professionals in New York City for five frenzied days and nights to witness over 1000 emergent acts making their mark on the music scene.

Some acts already confirmed to perform at CMJ '08 include Coheed & Cambria, Bear Hands, Crystal Antlers, De Novo Dahl, Emmy the Great, George Clinton and the Gangsters of Love (w/ special guests RZA, Sly Stone, Shavo Odadjian, El Debarge, Kim Burrell), A Place To Bury Strangers, Beach House, Broken Social Scene, Cool Kids, David Banner, Talib Kweli, Kid Sister, Crystal Castles, Del McCoury Band, Deerhoof, Donavon Frankenreiter, Gang Gang Dance, Jay Reatard, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Lykke Li, Stetsasonic, The Whip,Minus The Bear, Roisin Murphy, The Dears, Yo Majesty, Passion Pit, Southside Johnny w/ the LaBamba Big Band: the Songs of Tom Waits, Pattern is Movement, Saves The Day and The Ruby Suns.

CMJ Music Marathon is also happy to report that panelists have been confirmed for this year's thought-provoking topics. Panelists just announced include: Music Icon George Clinton, RZA (Producer/Rapper, Wu-Tang), Shavo Odadjian (Bassist, System of A Down), Dallas Austin (Artist/Producer), The Bomb Squad (Hip Hop Producers), Brother Marquis & Fresh Kid Ice of 2 Live Crew, Q-TIP (Producer/Rapper/Actor), DJ Spooky (Artist), Benjamin Wagner (Vice President, MTV News), Patti Rothberg (Artist), Panos Panay (Founder & CEO, Sonicbids), Ali Partovi (CEO, iLike), Juliana Hatfield (Artist) and Daniel Glass (President/CEO, Glassnote Entertainment Group).

Marathon 2008 will descend upon NYC from October 21 to October 25 and registration is still available. For more information, visit http://www.cmj.com/marathon.

A2IM Special Offer: Billboard Film & TV Conference Discounted Registration (November 13-14, Los Angeles)

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Bboard Film & TV A2IM associate member Billboard has offered A2IM members a discounted registration rate for Billboard Film & TV Music Conference. Pay only $325 per registration (a $124 savings from the standard registration rate).

The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Film and TV Music Conference
November 13-14, 2008
Sofitel, Los Angeles, CA

The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard join forces to deliver a cutting-edge, two-day seminar on the role of music in film and television. The 6th annual event provides a dynamic forum for the exchange of ideas among film, TV and music professionals. Also featured will be live artist performances, roundtable discussions, and networking cocktail parties.

Please contact Brittany.davies@nielsen.com for a special discount rate.

A2IM MIDEM 2009 Registration Discount Rate - 380 Euros - Deadline December 8

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MIDEM Red_Black_White

MIDEM 2009 (January 17 (start of MIDEMNET, MIDEM starts January 18th) thru January 21, 2009 in Cannes, France)

A2IM will again host the American Independent label pavilion at MIDEM at definitely the best pavilion location at the world's biggest music business conference. A2IM members can register for MIDEM 2009 at the discounted rate of 380 Euros (+ 19.6% VAT) per registrant instead of the early bird MIDEM rate of 575 Euros. This is a savings of over $400 per registrant!

MIDEM is again offering A2IM members a discount for at LEAST the first two members of your organization. All registration forms must be submitted by December 8th to receive the special A2IM MIDEM 2009 discount rate.

DO NOT REGISTER ON-LINE WITH MIDEM or you will not get the A2IM discount. Submission Instructions below.

Download the MIDEM registration here: http://www.a2im.org/downloads/MIDEM_2009_A2IM_member_registration_form.pdf
Fill out and return the completed MIDEM registration form to Al Verik either via fax (646 558 0251) or by email (al.verik@a2im.org)
You will receive confirmation from Reed MIDEM within a few weeks following submission

Also, many of you have been asking for hotel information. Please direct any immediate requests to Michele Contegni (Michele.CONTEGNI@reedmidem.com), who is processing all accommodations. We will have a hotel list for A2IM members shortly.

The MIDEM World database is enhanced, thus making relevant contacts including the planning of important meetings in advance easier through an interactive database. Before, during, and well after MIDEM itself, the database will allow you to:

Reach people that match the profile you want to deal with
Upload extra photos and video files to promote your programs and products
Bookmark your favorite companies, people, and product profiles
Save your searches - and save time!
Manage your MIDEM agenda

A2IM's discounted member package to MIDEM would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. We thank RoyaltyShare (Platinum sponsors) for their support for the third straight year in support of the Independent music community at MIDEM. Our sponsorship is still in formation and any interested parties should contact Jim Mahoney by e-mail at jim.mahoney@a2im.org or by phone at 212 937 8975 ext. 201.

Sponsorship Information

royaltyshare
RoyaltyShare Homepage

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phone: 212-937-8975

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