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Tag archive: Blake Morgan (3)

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Global Forum 2015: The Survival of the Creative Class

The Global Forum at Canadian Music Week has earned a reputation as a hub for insightful commentary on issues pertinent to creators and the creatives industries. In recent years, the Global Forum has discussed grassroots advocacy with Blake Morgan, brand supported piracy with David Lowery, Chris Ruen, and Chris Castle, strategies for eliminating the digital theft of cultural content with Robert Levine and Dr. Brett Danaher, and how corporations enable digital theft with filmmaker Ellen Seidler. Music Canada is proud to return as a sponsor of the Global Forum, which features a compelling group of panelists for the 2015 edition.

For ten years or more we have heard about the importance of the creative class: that it is essential to the growth and success of businesses, as well as cities and regions. Cities that don’t attract the creative class, apparently fail.

But have we forgotten the fundamental elements of survival? Attracting the creative class is one thing but its members must be able to afford to work in their fields.

Scott Timberg is one of a growing number of people who say the creative economy is broken. According to Timberg, it is virtually impossible for creative artists from musicians to filmmakers, to journalists and book sellers, to earn a living. And the impacts are far-reaching.

Zoë Keating has experience trying to make a living as a full-time musician. A Canadian cellist, Keating didn’t set out to become an artist advocate but was thrust into the spotlight when she refused to back down against one of the largest intermediaries of music, YouTube, over her right to control how and when her music is distributed.

Blake Morgan is no reluctant advocate and since his appearance at The Global Forum in 2014, has seen his I Respect Music campaign log a major success with the recent introduction of bipartisan legislation in the U.S. to ensure artists are fairly paid on digital services and AM/FM radio.
Is survival of the creative class at risk? Has the artist middle class disappeared?
If so, at what cost? And what can we do about it?

Kate Taylor, a columnist with The Globe and Mail and frequent writer on technology, the media and music, will lead the panel in an hour-long discussion. The panel will be followed by moderated table discussions on potential solutions.

Update: video from the panel is now available online, and is embedded below.

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Global Forum 2014: Blake Morgan on #IRespectMusic and Online Advocacy

Last week during Canadian Music Week, artist and entrepreneur Blake Morgan was the keynote speaker of the 2014 Global Forum, where he discussed the I Respect Music campaign and best practices for grassroots advocacy campaigns.Video of his presentation is now available at http://youtu.be/HHt0VTli23A, and is embedded below.

As Blake explained, the I Respect Music campaign was born out backlash against the Internet Radio Fairness Act debacle in the United States, as well as artist backlash against low royalty rates paid by Pandora, but has quickly grown into a movement centered around the idea that music should be respected.
Blake told the audience that the fundamental part of the I Respect Music Campaign was that “artists should be paid for their work – and that’s okay to say!”

At the Global Forum, Morgan told the audience about the early days of the I Respect Music campaign, referencing two articles he wrote, titled Pandora Needs to Do Right By Artists, which gained coverage in TIME, Reuters, and other media outlets, and Art and Music Are Professions Worth Fighting for, which went viral and became Huffington Post’s most-read article of 2013. The article closes with a simple message: “My New Year’s resolution is to stand up more, and speak more. I respect my profession. I respect artists. I respect music.”

Blake then referenced the below tweet from Joana Marie Lor, a young artist from the Philippines, which he calls the “tweet that started it all.”

Blake says Joana’s photo inspired I Respect Music’s ‘selfie’ campaign, in which musicians and music lovers to tweet a photo of themselves with a sign proclaiming #IRespectMusic. The campaign has since received support from high profile artists and fans like Patrick Stewart, David Byrne, Gloria Steinem, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Roseanne Cash, Jane Fonda, and more.

In just the first 30 days of the campaign, the campaign garnered more than 10,000 signatures to a petition urging the US Congress to extend public performance royalties on sound recordings. Blake credits the honesty and authenticity of I Respect Music as key to its success.

 

The video from the Global Forum is now available and embedded below; we encourage all to view it and add their support at http://irespectmusic.org/.

Global Forum attendess added their support for the I Respect Music campaign in a series of photos and tweets:

 

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Global Forum 2014: #IRespectMusic and online advocacy with Blake Morgan

How to successfully engage artists in campaigns advocating for their rights and the value of music has been a topic of much debate at the Global Forum Networking Breakfast. Musician David Lowery and filmmaker Ellen Seidler, two previous speakers, both explored the issue at length.

Therefore the grassroots campaign started by artist and entrepreneur Blake Morgan is a terrific case study for the 2014 Global Forum. What stemmed from the Internet Radio Fairness Act debacle in the United States and artist backlash against Pandora has grown into a movement centered around the idea that music should be respected.

In just the first 30 days of the campaign, Blake Morgan’s I Respect Music campaign garnered more than 10,000 signatures to a petition urging the US Congress to extend public performance royalties on sound recordings. The campaign, which asks musicians and music lovers to tweet a photo of themselves with a sign proclaiming #IRespectMusic, has received a lot of support including high profile artists and fans like Patrick Stewart, David Byrne,Gloria Steinem, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Roseanne Cash, Jane Fonda, and more. For more information, visit IRespectMusic.org.

What has made the I Respect Music Campaign so successful? What’s next on Blake’s radar?

Keynote speaker Blake Morgan and host Chris Castle of the Music Technology Policy blog will discuss the campaign at Canadian Music Week’s Global Forum, on
Friday May 9th, at 9am.

The Global Forum Networking Breakfast is an invitation-only event. Music Canada is a proud sponsor.

Update: Video from the Global Forum is now available below:

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