The Daily Swarm

Billboard:
This year’s In The City featured keynote speeches from Mike Smith, managing director of Columbia Records; Columbia recording artist/producer Mark Ronson; Bella Union label boss Simon Raymonde; and a controversial opening address from Rick Falkvinge, founder and chairman of the Swedish political organization the Pirate Party, which provoked a hostile reaction from music execs (Billboard.biz, Oct. 19). Alongside the conference, over 150 bands played in 40 venues throughout the city. Gig attendance was also up on previous years, say organizers – boosted by sale of three-day passes to the general public priced at £20.00 ($32). Final sales figures were not available. The third and final day (Oct. 20) concluded with keynote speeches from Joe Cohen, founder and CEO of secondary ticketing service Seatwave, and Anthony Volodkin, founder of the Hypemachine blog. Addressing delegates during a panel entitled “Tribes, Fans and Followers,” Cohen offered some advice on how music companies and new start-ups could best utilize the digital sphere.

ITC Blog:

Musicweek.com On ITC‘s Pirate Bay Founder’s Panel:
The Pirate Party founder Rick Falkvinge met with a fiery reception yesterday as he kick-started In The City 2009 by outlining his party’s views on the copyright debate. Falkvinge, appearing as part of ITC’s P2P panel alongside MMF chief executive John Webster, started by relating the history of copyright, arguing that it had been used to stifle creativity and free speech from the start. “The creativity will die argument [that copyright protects creators’ work] was as bogus then as it is now,” he concluded. He then set out his party’s defining views. They are:
· Postal anonymity for electronic communication
· “Messenger immunity”
· Freedom to communicate
· The right to communicate in private
· The right to create without a permit (e.g. for fans to be able to make their own remixes of copyright work)

Hype Machine Founder Discusses iPhone App Plan:

WATCH They Never Said Rap Would Make It This Far”:

Duty Of Care Panel

BBC ON ITC‘S FINDING A MUSIC INDUSTRY:
For years, the music industry has, in the words of Bonnie Tyler, been holding out for a hero. For the industry, this hero must come up with an idea that is great enough to tempt fans away from illegal file-sharing sites, while simultaneously making money for artists, songwriters and record labels. Spotify and We7, the music streaming services funded by adverts and subscriptions, have come closest so far. And for a while, it looked like Sky and Virgin would save the day. They planned services offering unlimited downloads for an extra fee on top of an existing broadband and TV subscription. But both are believed to have stumbled because major labels did not think they would generate enough cash. The struggle to offer unlimited downloads on a subscription is seen as a missed opportunity by many observers. So other than being punished, how will fans be tempted away from illegal services, and how will artists, songwriters and labels make money in the future? A range of industry executives and commentators offered their visions of the future at the In the City music conference in Manchester.