Larger than life: Bob Lefsetz and Canadian manager Bruce Allen...and more on copyright enforcement.

Before we move on to discuss one of the most entertaining parts of CMW - commentator Bob Lefsetz in conversation with Canadian manager Bruce Allen (Bryan Adams, Michael Buble), let's chat a bit about the morning session which was dominated by one seminar: 'Should ISPs and mobile companies become copyright enforcers?'. As a UK publication, we were proud that three of the five panellists were from Britain - manager and copyright expert, David Stopps, Beggars new media chief Simon Wheeler and MCPS-PRS chief economist, Will Page. The room was overflowing with attendees, all keen to put their points of view across. Interestingly, when posed with the question of whether ISPs should be held accountable for P2P traffic via legislation, it was only Stopps who said he supported the idea on the basis that it would "instigate a cultural change". The other panelists, including Rogers Wireless' (the leading mobile company in Canada) Ken Thompson, supported the idea of a voluntary agreement which would see both the rightsholders and technology firms work together to build a better marketplace. Mongrel was impressed that a telco representative would even show up to the event - apparently many were invited but turned down the opportunity...surprise, surprise. Wheeler pointed out that introducing a 'levy' for music on an ISP or mobile bill would not make up for the loss it would incur on other revenue streams such as iTunes, physical product and subscription services. Mongrel promptly pointed out that up until recently, the music industry has relied on music fans buying only two CDs per year - amounting to little more than, say, £20 a year. A 'levy' charge - often touted as £5 per month would generate £60 a year per head...so, what's the better deal? No-one really came back with a legitimate answer for that one. Still, it was great to see so many people engaged in the argument. In another P2P session, Mongrel noted with amusement a depracating comment from the RIAA's David Hughes who introduced the organisation as "most famous for giving out platinum awards and suing 12-year-old, grannies and everyone in between." Silicon Valley tech firm Wilson Sousini's Gary Greenstein was ferocious in his comments on the panel saying, "no-one owes the record labels a business." Mongrel couldn't help but think there was an element of truth to his words.
Moving on, the biggest crowd of the day showed up for Bob Lefsetz's showdown with Bruce Allen. They talked frankly about a number of subjects from touring, labels, the state of the industry and so on. Here are some of the comments Mongrel found particularly poignant/interesting/funny/wrong:
Lefsetz (L): "rock critics are eunuchs in a whorehouse."
L: "Vampire Weekend are jaw-droppingly bad live."
L: "Major labels ruined the music industry by putting out sh*t music."
Allen (A): "Some artists like Van Morrison who charge $175 for concert tickets get a kick from taking the money and putting in a bad show on purpose."
L: "It's the same with the Rolling Stones, isn't it?"
L: Michael Buble is only popular because housewives like to masturbate to his music." (Mongrel's stomach churned at this point)
A: "Entertainment has gone from the music industry. Tom Petty is entertainment, Plain White T's aren't and that is why no-one cares about music anymore."
L: "Dave Matthews Band are the only US act who can still sell out arenas after 15 years in the business."
A: I don't buy Terry McBride's (Nettwerk) crap, especially after he did that Blackberry ad."
L: "Bruce Springsteen's album is limping towards 1m sales in the US." Mongrel thinks there's a Springsteen revival in the UK, so all can't be that bad.
A: "The industry has devalued music by putting singles on TV ads/TV shows up to 18 months in advance of them being released. It's all become about the song and not the artist."
L: "Feist is crap. She can't write like Joni Mitchell. What's all that, "1,2,3,4.." that's not a song."
Cue gasps, laughter and shock around the audience. If truth be told, Mongrel thought it was like listening to two old, grumpy men get all nostalgic about the 'good old days'. We could have called our Dad if we wanted to hear a load of boring reminiscing.
One final note: Mongrel met a load of people here yesterday who were ranting about how great (Rotd-featured - have to get that in!) Yoav is. We met up with the owners of Baom.net, which releases all music for free, but capitalises on its database by organising live shows and merchandise etc. Apparently Yoav is one of 700 artists in Canada to have benefitted from the system. Owner Guillaume Deziel made it very clear: "we have no intention to sell music, that's just not where the money comes from." Mongrel will be, hopefully, popping in to the Yoav show on Saturday night. On another artist related note, we will be trying to catch UK artists Steph Fraser tonight after lots of folks recommended her yesterday.
Over and out.