In March 2009 she left EMI to concentrate on her company ‘Ruth Katz Consultancy Ltd’ which according to the UK government’s Intellectual Property Office website engages in the following activities;

Advisory, negotiating and representational services; legal services; anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting services; lobbying services; protection of copyright relating to music; investigation services in relation to intellectual property; information and advisory services relating to any of the aforesaid services.

However, Katz didn’t forget her old company. Indeed, she’s currently working hard for EMI trying to contain pre-release music piracy. But that isn’t all she’s doing.

Katz is currently engaged in an education program for primary school children, ostensibly to teach them about music and creativity.

These lessons are being trialled in six schools in the UK and if successful could be extended throughout the whole country. So what is the problem with educating children as young as five about creativity and making music? Well, nothing, but Katz isn’t exactly being upfront about what she’s trying to achieve.

While her current Linkedin profile says Katz has “initiated an education programme for primary schoolchildren to teach them about the broader aspects of creativity and making music,” it didn’t say that before the UK’s Mail on Sunday contacted her about her lessons.

So what did it say a few minutes earlier? Google cache to the rescue;

I have initiated an education programme for primary school children to teach them about copyright and anti piracy. The project has tremendous support from music industry associations most notably the IFPI and UK Music, the EMI Music Sound Foundation, the government department ~ the DSCF along with other music related industries. A pilot programme involving seven schools will go live in September with a full roll-out to English primary schools in September 2010

Busted.

Katz said: “I’m financing the project entirely myself because I believe it’s an important subject.’

In England alone there are more than 17,000 primary schools. If she’s successful and gets her classes rolled out to them all, that’s going to cost a huge amount.

Financing it all her herself? Yeah, right.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

Per-Eirik Johansen has been in the music industry for many years, and was noted for his ability to develop some prominent artists. At one point elected as chairman of the IFPI, it was during Johansen’s time as a director at EMI that he bore the brunt of a backlash against the copy protection his company put on CDs.

In 2004, five thousand people lobbied EMI to remove this DRM, with news site nrk.no calling Johansen’s office 27 times over two broken interview promises on the issue. Eventually he conceded, “I have neither the desire nor the ability to give out discs without copy protection,” while indicating that only EMI London could make such a decision.

“We always listen to consumers,” he objected. “I can inform you that over the last five months, in EMI we have sold about 400,000 CDs with copy protection in Norway. In the same period we have received 28 complaints from consumers.”

“What we are talking about is a tiny, tiny little thing,” he said. But did he really believe that it was so insignificant?

No longer working for EMI, in an interview with Joakim from Norway’s Dagbladet, Johansen – unrestrained from the shackles of a forced corporate line – speaks freely, noting that while he took a salary from EMI he felt obliged to defend their stance.

He now believes the music industry’s fight against piracy has been useless and says he disagrees with the assertion that illicit file-sharing is the same as theft. Referring to an earlier EMI anti-piracy initiative, Johansen noted, “The message of that campaign is that there is a reason why we have copyright, and I agree.”

“But the main thing is that a whole generation already violates copyright, and the only thing we can do now is find better solutions,” he says pragmatically.

Now, as the 49 year-old manages his own label, Johansen looks back on some good times with EMI, particularly those where he discovered and developed new artists. But times have changed. “Now that companies’ earnings have gone down, and you cut down on people, people no longer have the resources to drive this work,” he said.

Johansen still has optimism for the industry, pointing out growth in the live concert market and showing enthusiasm for new models to make money from music. “I am extremely optimistic. There has been a revolution, and in the wake of this, it is very chaotic. Today there is an entrepreneurial spirit that is both healthy and exciting. We do not know how the industry will look in a year or two, but I am convinced that the future looks promising.”

Noting that as a whole the music industry hasn’t fallen in value, Johansen says it is the recording section that has suffered most after it did nothing for too long and failed to adapt their business model to the new era.

“No one has ever won a battle when fighting against new technology,” he said.

Time to embrace it then.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

Quantifying its ‘losses’ in court, the four labels claimed illegal downloading costs the Irish music industry 13.8 million Euros every year, and since Eircom has 40 per cent of the ISP market, it must be held responsible for causing the industry losses of between 4 and 5 million Euros. Further details about the case are available in our previous report.

The case, which was due to run for 4 weeks, was cut short this evening after just eight days. According to an RTE report it has ended after a fairly shocking and unexpected development. The ‘Big Four’, headed by the IFPI, have reached an “amicable” settlement with Eircom.

In an agreement believed to be a world first, EMI, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner will start tracking the IP addresses of alleged infringers and supply the details to the ISP. Eircom has agreed that it will ultimately disconnect infringers from the Internet.

Essentially, Eircom has agreed to implement a “3 Strikes” regime against its own customers. On the first allegation the customer will get a warning. On the second allegation they will be informed that if they do not stop their activities, disconnection will follow. On the third, it’s Internet blackout time.

The Chairman of EMI said he now expects other ISPs to follow suit – serious pressure will be brought down on them immediately.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

EMI offered a deadline – either the IFPI reduced the costs associated with membership by 31st March 2008 – or EMI would leave. Now, after a few months of negotiations, it seems some sort of deal has been struck enabling EMI to stay as a member.

An IFPI spokesman said the organisation had been able to a agree a “sensible, appropriate and reasonable reduction in our budget.”

It won’t be just EMI that gets reduced rates either. The other major members – Universal, Sony and Warner will all benefit, says Jean-Francois Cecillon, president of EMI International:

“We undertook to work with our colleagues in the other major labels and with (IFPI boss) John Kennedy on a cost saving plan for the IFPI. Together we have been able to find solutions which we believe are achievable whilst maintaining what the IFPI does best in representing our industry.”

Separately, the IFPI just announced it has successfully shutdown a Direct Connect hub in Chile, specializing in metal. If they feel that this type of action is the most effective way of spending EMI’s money, no surprise they wanted to leave.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.