A User-Centric Case for Rights Reversions and Other Mitigations: The Cultural Capital Project Submission to ISED Consultation on Term Extension

Term extension is unlikely to benefit any but the largest of rightsholders, and indeed, in general independent creators typically do not benefit greatly from the promised financial exploitation promised by copyrights. This has been made even more evident by the COVID pandemic - while copyrighted works are consumed more than ever, independent creators have sunk further into poverty. We propose mitigation strategies for term extension that would help the people who are creating Canada’s cultural landscape, as well as additional actions that would alleviate additional current copyright losses.SSHR

Campus frequencies : the "Alternativeness" of campus radio broadcasting

This thesis explores the construction of "alternativeness" on Canadian campus radio broadcasting, using the CKUT Radio-McGill program Underground Sounds as a case study. It is the purpose of this thesis to situate campus broadcasting within the contemporary terrestrial broadcasting environment, looking at literature that theorizes and conceptualizes ideas about what makes campus broadcasting alternative from other broadcast forms, and what factors influence and structure the boundaries and limitations of "alternativeness" on campus radio. Included in this topic is an examination of how terms and concepts such as "alternative," "local," "independent," "community," and "scene" are used on campus-community radio programming, and how these terms construct a broadcasting ethos that may or may not be similar to notions of the alternative/independent/local/community in music scenes and identities. The on-air treatment of these terms are juxtaposed to the way they are discussed in the popular music and cultural industries literature. As well, prominent Canadian broadcast history and policy as it relates to campus radio is a significant component of this thesis, particularly its role in shaping the structure and mandate of Canadian campus radio

Canadian Campus Radio and the Shaping of Sounds and Scenes

This dissertation studies Canadian campus radio broadcasting and its relationship to the circulation of local music. I examine three campus stations in two cities and one town of varying size, population, and location. These stations include CHMA in Sackville, New Brunswick, CKUW in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and CiTR in Vancouver, British Columbia. Following extensive analysis of policy documents and station-produced texts, as well as interviews with staff members, volunteers, and local musicians, I argue that a campus radio station does not simply respond to federal broadcasting regulation by ensuring programming differs from what is available on commercial and public radio. Rather, there is self-awareness throughout the sector that is decidedly attuned to local music. In each locality, numerous cultural institutions, including campus stations, work together to support local and independent music. The histories of these three stations illustrate the various paths taken in order to acquire FM radio licenses, extending from university campuses to also serve surrounding communities. The ways in which a station represents its community falls somewhere between how community representation is defined by a station mandate, and the process by which communities are imagined by campus radio practitioners. Individuals are connected to a segment of an overall music scene through a shared taste culture for which content is produced. A tension emerges between the taste and expertise of a practitioner or programmer and the ideal goal of fully representing his or her community. Despite instances of exclusion and hierarchies of taste, however, the promotion of music that is propelled by cultural status circumvents the purely economic model ingrained in commercial radio, producing alternative values and methods for circulating music

The Lack of Competition in the Music Industries, the Effect on Working Musicians, and the Loss of Canadian Music Heritage

A Brief Submitted By: The Cultural Capital Project: Digital Stewardship and Sustainable Monetization for Canadian Musicians Presented to: Making Competition Work for Canadians: A consultation on the future of competition policy in CanadaIt is our contention that the music industries in Canada exhibit an oligopoly structure, formed of a handful of non-competitive, non-Canadian firms, which gravely harms both the livelihoods of Canadian musicians and the long term sustainability of Canadian music. Our research concludes the problem is not a consequence of anything unique to music as a cultural product, but partially a function of how competition is regulated in this country, or, more accurately, not regulated. Along with more rigorous enforcement of competition, we recommend that the Competition Act be updated to center the concerns of workers and consumers, which would have ripple effects on the health of many sectors in Canada, including music.Research contributing to this brief was conducted with a SSHRC gran

De cartels du droit d’auteur à des carrefours soignants: Un modèle d’infrastructure publique pour les communautés musicales canadiennes

Using research on the political economy of the music industries, interviews with independent musicians about their lived experiences, and the authors' experience participating in government copyright consultations in Canada, this article discusses how the market power of major music companies, and their capture of the policy-making process through lobbying, has made copyright reform an extremely limited avenue for remedying the variety of hardships facing musicians in the streaming media era. Against the continued consolidation and concentration of power within the music industries, we explore a case study of Edmonton Public Library’s Capital City Records as an alternative model that may inspire further initiatives that advocate for artists and users. We conclude by discussing a commons-based, public infrastructure and governance model that could serve as a tool to circumvent uneven power dynamics in the music industries, facilitate stronger music communities, and provide sustainable livelihoods for working musicians in Canada.En s’appuyant sur des recherches sur l’économie politique des industries de la musique, sur des entrevues avec des musiciens indépendants sur leurs expériences vécues et sur l’expérience des auteurs qui ont participé à des consultations gouvernementales sur le droit d’auteur au Canada, cet article examine comment le pouvoir de marché des grandes entreprises de musique et leur mainmise sur le processus d’élaboration des politiques par le biais du lobbying ont fait de la réforme du droit d’auteur une approche extrêmement limitée pour remédier aux diverses difficultés auxquelles sont confrontés les musiciens à l’ère des médias en continu. Contre la consolidation et la concentration continues du pouvoir au sein des industries de la musique, nous explorons une étude de cas de Capital City Records de la bibliothèque publique d’Edmonton comme un modèle alternatif qui peut servir d’inspiration pour d’autres initiatives qui défendent les artistes et les utilisateurs. Nous terminons en discutant d’un modèle de gouvernance et d’infrastructure publique basé sur la notion de carrefour qui pourrait servir d’outil pour contourner les dynamiques de pouvoir inégales dans les industries de la musique, faciliter le renforcement des communautés musicales et fournir des moyens de subsistance durables aux musiciens actifs au Canada

Putting Users and Small-Scale Creators First in Canadian Copyright Law and Beyond: A Brief submitted to INDU Statutory Review of the Copyright Act

In an industry characterized by market consolidation, an imbalance of power between creators and big businesses is one of the largest factors that prevents fair remuneration for creators. Proposals for legislation that do not address this imbalance may worsen the conditions for working musicians. While legislation that supports users rights may offer some mitigation of the effects of this industry concentration, copyright is generally an inefficient tool for protecting artists and encouraging innovation. Artists are not always the rights holders for their creative works, and thus legislation for rights holders does not inherently help artists. By encouraging creativity, user rights are more empowering for everyday creators and can help balance the concentration of power enjoyed by the large industry players.SSHRC Insight Granthttp://hdl.handle.net/10680/159

Putting Users and Small-Scale Creators First in Canadian Copyright Law and Beyond: A Brief Submitted To The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Remuneration Models for Artists and Creative Industries

In an industry characterized by market consolidation, an imbalance of power between creators and big businesses is one of the largest factors that prevents fair remuneration for creators. Proposals for legislation that do not address this imbalance may worsen the conditions for working musicians. While legislation that supports users rights may offer some mitigation of the effects of this industry concentration, copyright is generally an inefficient tool for protecting artists and encouraging innovation. Artists are not always the rights holders for their creative works and thus legislation for rights holders does not inherently help artists. By encouraging creativity, user rights are more empowering for everyday creators and can help balance the concentration of power enjoyed by the large industry players.SSHRC Insight Granthttp://hdl.handle.net/10680/159

From Copyright Cartels to Commons and Care: A Public Infrastructure Model for Canadian Music Communities

Using research on the political economy of the music industries, interviews with independent musicians about their lived experiences, and the authors' experience participating in government copyright consultations in Canada, this article discusses how the market power of major music companies, and their capture of the policy-making process through lobbying, has made copyright reform an extremely limited avenue for remedying the variety of hardships facing musicians in the streaming media era. Against the continued consolidation and concentration of power within the music industries, we explore a case study of Edmonton Public Library’s Capital City Records as an alternative model that may inspire further initiatives that advocate for artists and users. We conclude by discussing a commons-based, public infrastructure and governance model that could serve as a tool to circumvent uneven power dynamics in the music industries, facilitate stronger music communities, and provide sustainable livelihoods for working musicians in Canada.En s’appuyant sur des recherches sur l’économie politique des industries de la musique, sur des entrevues avec des musiciens indépendants sur leurs expériences vécues et sur l’expérience des auteurs qui ont participé à des consultations gouvernementales sur le droit d’auteur au Canada, cet article examine comment le pouvoir de marché des grandes entreprises de musique et leur mainmise sur le processus d’élaboration des politiques par le biais du lobbying ont fait de la réforme du droit d’auteur une approche extrêmement limitée pour remédier aux diverses difficultés auxquelles sont confrontés les musiciens à l’ère des médias en continu. Contre la consolidation et la concentration continues du pouvoir au sein des industries de la musique, nous explorons une étude de cas de Capital City Records de la bibliothèque publique d’Edmonton comme un modèle alternatif qui peut servir d’inspiration pour d’autres initiatives qui défendent les artistes et les utilisateurs. Nous terminons en discutant d’un modèle de gouvernance et d’infrastructure publique basé sur la notion de carrefour qui pourrait servir d’outil pour contourner les dynamiques de pouvoir inégales dans les industries de la musique, faciliter le renforcement des communautés musicales et fournir des moyens de subsistance durables aux musiciens actifs au Canada