September 20, 2004
Volume 6, Issue 3
Welcome New DCIA Member Indie911
Please warmly welcome Indie911 to the Content Group. We look forward to providing valuable services to this newest DCIA Member and supporting its contributions to commercial development of the distributed computing industry.
Indie911 features some of the world's best independent music and is starting to garner headlines for pioneering a streaming-audio system that pays royalties to artists for their online airplay. Indie911 also offers syndicated radio programming, including its flagship show "indie cent xposure radio," and a comprehensive online music licensing and distribution system called Agro Free Licensing Program (AFLP). These exemplify its growing array of extensive promotional tools and resources.
All of these elements work hand-in-hand with founder Justin Goldberg's book, "The Ultimate Survival Guide to the New Music Industry," which Justin is now promoting through lectures and website demonstrations at music conferences and universities internationally.
The response to the official July 4th launch of the Indie911 music site has been very impressive: every day indie911.com grows with more great music from all over the world. It now boasts a catalog of over 15,000 songs, all listenable (and many licensable) with a single click. On average a new artist joins the homepage every hour in the newly added sign-up column on the Indie911 site.
Indie911 has also entered into strategic alliances with CD Baby, Market Wire, Sonicbids, and Indie Concerts, paving the way for even more artists and labels to become part of Indie911. The next area of focus for the company will be peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, and Indie911 looks forward to the opportunity of partnering with DCIA Members to enter this very promising marketplace.
Advertising and sponsorship revenue directly fund Indie911's groundbreaking artist royalty system, offering a unique way for organizations to be an integral part of its new, pioneering structure that supports the independent music community.
Finally, Indie911 has just launched its classified ad system. Whether you're an attorney, producer, artist, or accountant, Indie911's classifieds can connect you with whatever you seek – from funding to interns to executives to equipment to new artists. Visit Indie911 Classifieds.
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 While we continue to oppose S. 2560 (The INDUCE Act) and H.R. 4077 (The PIRACY Act) as misguided measures that fail to address the real issues holding back commercial development of the peer-to-peer (P2P) distribution channel, we strongly support the direction Congress is taking to respond to the arguably even more important issue of spyware.
Specifically, the DCIA commends Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) for their excellent work on H.R. 4661, the Internet Spyware Prevention Act of 2004 (The I-SPY Act), which last week passed the House Judiciary Committee.
As we testified at the FTC Public Workshop in April 2004, DCIA Members have committed to neither distribute nor permit spyware.
In addition, DCIA Charter Members Claria Corporation and Sharman Networks individually, and the DCIA collectively on behalf of all our Members, have participated in the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) led Consumer Software Working Group (CSWG) since its inception in December 2003.
The CDT-led CSWG brought together nearly fifty organizations to address spyware, from both consumer protection and technology practices perspectives, initially by building a consensus regarding devious behaviors that should be deemed unlawful. The CSWG continues to closely monitor the progress of spyware-related bills, to serve as a forum for participants to shape their responses and input, and to provide valuable constructive feedback to the legislators developing these measures.
As an extension of that work, focusing more narrowly and specifically on related P2P software issues, the DCIA also established the Consumer Disclosures Working Group (CDWG) in June 2004.
Objectionable realities of spyware, as well as myths about spyware's relationship to P2P file sharing that our nascent industry's opponents attempt to perpetuate, continue to represent serious threats to full commercial development of the P2P distribution channel, which is our mission.
In order to mitigate such threats, as well as to provide consumers with factual information about P2P software risks, including spyware and the differences between spyware and legitimate adware, the DCIA invited leading P2P software providers to participate in the CDWG, under the guidance of DCIA Best Practices leader Elaine Reiss.
The CDWG believes that an industry-based self-regulatory process will ensure a superior result both for consumers and for continued industry development in response to marketplace conditions.
During July and August participants developed a preliminary CDWG Proposal, and are now seeking informal feedback from Congress as to its value and usefulness. Based on these responses, the companies will evaluate moving forward individually and voluntarily with adoption and implementation of this proposal.
P2P and spyware have no particular interrelationship. Surreptitious applications that capture users' personal information or confidential data without their knowledge or consent, and then use this information for harmful purposes, such as identity theft or fraud, clearly should be prevented.
The I-SPY Act identifies such insupportable acts and applies reasonable criminal law standards to prosecute them. In addition, the measure is well-focused to avoid the creation of unintended consequences, such as subjecting companies to frivolous lawsuits for using legitimate business models and software programs. We are also continuing to monitor and provide input on the development of related measures including H.R. 2929 and S. 2145.
Meanwhile, the DCIA supports passage of H.R. 4661, including its "Sense of Congress" language conveying that this is a vitally important issue to our nation.
DRM Strategies Conference & Expo
Jupitermedia's Digital Rights Management Strategies Conference & Expo, October 25th through 27th at the Sheraton Universal, Los Angeles, CA will be the most comprehensive event on DRM business and technology issues ever held - a must-attend for those involved in content security in both consumer media distribution and information security for businesses.
DCIA P2P Revenue Engine (P2PRE) participant MediaGuide's Steve Lubin will be a featured speaker on the Fingerprinting Panel moderated by Digital Economics' Donald Jasko at 10:00 AM on October 26th.
DRM Strategies will be your chance to experience and compare the most important DRM technology solutions under one roof. The conference will introduce you to the fundamentals of DRM, shed light on future DRM directions, and provide incendiary debate on today's controversial issues surrounding digital copyright.
The conference is organized in two parallel tracks: the Media track focuses on DRM's role in the entertainment industry, while the Enterprise track will cover a wide range of issues related to the use of DRM technologies in corporate enterprise applications for document security and regulatory compliance.
Bill Rosenblatt, President, GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies and Managing Editor, DRMWatch.com is serving as Conference Chairman.
Micropayments '04
DCIA P2P Revenue Engine (P2PRE) participant Peppercoin is co-sponsoring Micropayments '04, a forum to educate merchants, payments and technology companies, banks, and financial services institutions on the potential of small payments, and to facilitate discussion regarding present and future small payment solutions.
More than 200 senior executives representing the disciplines of payments, retail, financial services, and technology are scheduled to attend this event on Tuesday October 5th at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
Speakers include Beth Horowitz, SVP of Product Services, MasterCard; Barbara Roeber, GM/SVP, SunTrust Merchant Services (First Data/SunTrust Bank Alliance); Dermot McCormick, VP Retail Websites, Cablevision; Elaine Hodgsen, CEO, Incredible Technologies; Mark Ralston, COO, Reino Parking Systems; Jennifer MacLean, Director Sports Entertainment & Games, Comcast; Gary Price, Director of New Media, AT&T; David Card, VP & Senior Analyst, Jupiter Research; and many more.
Register now by visiting www.micropaymentsconference.com or calling 323-822-0936.
Digital Hollywood Fall Conference
The DCIA proudly supports Digital Hollywood's "Digital Rights Management (DRM) & Anti-Piracy Day-Long Track, End-of-Day Reception and VIP Dinners" on September 28th and 29th at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.
This two-day focus on DRM and combating copyright infringement reinforces our trade association's efforts to provide content and technology organizations and other interested parties with opportunities to come together in various forums focused on constructive solutions.
DCIA Members Chip Venters, CEO of Digital Containers; Gabe Zichermann, VP of Trymedia Systems; and Les Ottolenghi, President of INTENT MediaWorks, will participate on a panel entitled "Next Generation P2P: DRM, Paid for Pass-Along, and Other Legal Distributed Computing Models and the Entertainment Industries" on Wednesday September 29th at 12:50 PM.
Joining them will be panelists Ted Cohen, SVP, D3 – Digital Development & Distribution, EMI Recorded Music; Jim Flynn, CEO Artio Systems; and Mark Ishikawa, CEO BayTSP. DCIA CEO Marty Lafferty will moderate this panel.
With over 2,000 attendees expected at Digital Hollywood, entertainment transformation and convergence will be the central themes of the fall conference. To see the entire Digital Hollywood agenda online, please click here.
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