Michael Geist posts again on the controversy that has shrouded the Bulte media lobby-sponsored fundraiser. His latest post is a gem – do read the entire piece – but what particularly caught my eye were the comments Michael reprinted from John Bowker, the owner of She Said Boom, a record store located in Bulte’s riding. I live in the area too, and She Said Boom is a terrific store. As always, the observations of someone with ‘skin in the game’ are particularly compelling:
Notice how nearly all of the great Canadian releases from last year (by artists like Arcade Fire, New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene and Feist) were developed and produced within the independent scene, with little help from mainstream radio or major label promotion. But the new changes proposed for copyright reform could put us all under corporate influence.
(Michael has more from John in his post.)
John puts his finger on the disintermediation angle that I’ve been blogging for a while now – and it’s striking to see examples of what can be accomplished when artists have the opportunity to innovate outside of media cartel control.
Update (2005-01-09): IT Business.ca covers the story today. Bulte suggests that she would welcome a debate with Michael Geist on copyright law. I’m going to hazard a guess that the suggestion is bravado for the benefit of the media rather than a serious offer.
[tags]Publishing, Media, Music, DRM, Bulte[/tags]