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Executive Director’s update I look forward to the day when we have a new, progressive copyright law in Canada that protects the rights of creators. Then I can write about other things in this space. Alas, that day is still a long way away and so, for now, this is our most important issue. When I wrote my last Executive Director’s Update, a Conservative majority government was not on the radar. Today, it’s a reality. Heritage Minister James Moore announced in a speech mid-July that C- 32 will be re-tabled in the fall with the goal to get it passed into law by Christmas. We have heard this before, but this time a majority government could well make it happen. This is a classic good news/ bad news scenario: the good news is that the government recognizes that copyright is a priority. The bad news is that C-32, as it was proposed last time around, does more harm than good. I won’t go into the flaws of the bill in detail – for a great reminder check out C32jointstatement.ca – but suffice it to say that if this bill goes through as is, it will be extremely difficult to make a living as a music publisher, or indeed, as a creator or rights holder. And as copyright is a globally entwined concept, our largest trading partners have expressed their concerns about the bill as written. Off the record chatter is inconclusive. Some say the government recognises the flaws and will make modifications before tabling, others say they will table the bill and try and fix it at committee – the legislative version of “we’ll fix it in the mix?” – and yet others say they will push the bill through as is. This would be an excellent time for your Member of Parliament to get to know you. Many of you will have a new MP and the chances are excellent that the newly-elected will have, ahem, little knowledge 320 – 56 Wellesley St. W., Toronto, ON M5S 2S3 Phone (416) 926-7952 www.musicpublishercanada.ca Music Publisher Canada is a membership benefit for members of the Canadian Music Publishers Association. It is intended to inform music publishers and other interested readers about the activities and issues surrounding music publishing in Canada. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publisher. © 2010 All rights reserved. Editorial comments to martin.melhuish@sympatico.ca Publisher Catharine Saxberg Editor Martin Melhuish Page layout Chris Jones CMPA Communications Committee Vivian Barclay (Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.) Jodie Ferneyhough (Universal Music Publishing Group Canada) Gary Furniss (Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada) Elisabeth Bihl (Canadian Music Centre) Tony Tobias (Pangaea Media & Music Inc.) Music Publisher Canada acknowledges the financial support of Music Publisher Canada / Summer 2011 of copyright. CMPA has sent off information kits to every member of the new class of 2011 in Ottawa, but these MPs need to know that these are not just the concerns of associations, but the concerns of constituents (like you). Please phone or e-mail your MP, identify where you live and vote, and say you would like to live in a country that doesn’t chip away intellectual property rights. (Again, if you are looking for ideas about what to say check out the c32jointstatement.ca. And, while you are there, look Catharine Saxberg at the list of organizations supporting this document. It’s unprecedented in Canada to have such a large and diverse range of rights holders agree on anything, much less something as complicated as copyright!) Ask them to take a good hard look at C-32 and to ensure that it won’t take money out of your pocket. CMPA will continue to be advocating tirelessly for you on this issue, but please don’t underestimate the value of your phone call. In other news – is there really other news?! – this year’s World Copyright Summit in Brussels focused on the cloud and on databases. Apple made their cloud announcement the day before the Summit started, and the Global Repertoire Database (GRD)/International Works Registry (IWR) faceoff was the theme of many panel discussions and lots of hallway chatter. A comprehensive, upto-date, manageable database is a key element in the simplifying of licensing, but if this was a simple task, it would have been done already. Both the GRD and IWR will be hugely expensive, complex and time-consuming, and success isn’t guaranteed, but it has to be attempted. The ICMP board also met in Brussels and had some useful discussions about performing rights societies, both the good and the not-so-good. Unfortunately, the recent arrests in Spain at SGAE are a blow to the overall reputation of collectives worldwide at a time when they are under attack by rights users looking for better deals. We need to ensure that the important work of collectives is communicated to decision makers and stakeholders as well as the negative headlines. Our colleagues at the NMPA in the United States stressed the importance of the Harry Fox Agency at their AGM this past June. Not only do collectives collect and distribute on behalf of rights holders, they also often fund advocacy organizations like NMPA. Of course, we have a similar arrangement between CMRRA and CMPA. The NMPA reported some of the results of the American government’s serious commitment to protecting copyright. Copyright “czar” Victoria Espinel is located in the West Wing with a mandate to bring all relevant departmental governments together to protect intellectual property rights. The concerted, cooperative efforts of all branches of the U.S. government presented at the AGM made this Canadian envious. On a final note, please indulge me a personal thanks to Music Canada and to the Slaight Family Foundation for their generous donations to the Unison Benevolent Fund. The Unison Fund will provide discreet emergency relief and counselling to those in the music industry in trouble. Jodie Ferneyhough and I started working on this project four years ago, and with the help of some talented and enthusiastic folks along the way, and now these donations, this dream will soon be a reality. Thank you. Casablanca Media Publishing’s Ed Glinert remembered as generous, knowledgeable and a passionate advocate The passing of Casablanca Media Publishing co-founder and President Ed Glinert in late May of this year left a real and noticeable void. At the recent CMPA annual general meeting in Toronto, Ed was very much in everyone’s thoughts. CMPA President Jodie Ferneyhough, in his opening remarks, expressed his sadness and sense of loss and asked for a few moments silence in remembrance. CMPA Executive Director Catharine Saxberg noted that Ed, a long-standing member of the CMPA, was a passionate advocate and very well respected by everyone. “His passing leaves a huge hole in our relatively small community,” she said. “Ed is not someone that can be replaced.” SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste called Ed a great board member “who will be greatly missed.” Brian Chater, President of the Avenue Road Music Group and a friend for over 30 years, says that Ed could always be called upon for well thought out comments and advice on the increasing complexities of the business and the constant change brought on by technology and new users. “He had a grasp of the many issues that faced the music community as a whole.” His passing was feature-worthy news in the major Canadian newspapers. An article in The Star referred to Ed in the headline as a “pillar of the Canadian music business.” Over a lengthy piece by Brad Wheeler in Canada’s national newspaper The Globe & Mail was the simple banner head: “Ed Glinert made music happen in Canada” with the addendum: “Deal maker brought us Led Zeppelin, Chuck Berry, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and John Lennon.” Emmanuel Legrand, a prominent European music journalist and blogger wrote a lengthy tribute in which he called Ed “...a true publisher, who paid as much attention to the creative development of his signings as he would to the management of his repertoire.” A moving tribute was paid to Ed by NMPA Chairman Irwin Robinson during the proceedings of their annual meeting in New York recently. Many years before Ed became a music publisher in 2001 with the co-founding of Casablanca Media Publishing (see company profile page 11), he had been at the very centre of the music business in Canada. From 1967 to 1971, he had a booking agency he called the Frederick Lewis Artist Placement Bureau, which was located in the heart of Yorkville Village where a couple of years earlier, at the age of 16, he had been the doorman at the Purple Onion club. It has been said that at 18, he was the youngest agent ever certified by the American Federation of Musicians. During those years, he booked a relatively unknown Led Zeppelin into the legendary Rock Pile (Masonic Temple) in Toronto; he helped organize The Festival Express, the train tour across Canada featuring Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and members of The Band, among others, which was the subject of a 2003 documentary film. In 1969, Ed handled the artist contracts for the historical Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival show at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium, which included John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band with Eric Clapton and Yoko On, The Doors and Chuck Berry. From 1977 to 1982, Ed co-owned National Variety Promotions, one of Canada’s largest adult contemporary promoters which presented acts the stature of Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Don Rickles and Steve Lawrence. He also produced the musical, Pirates of Penzance starring Barry Bostwick and Andy Gibb at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre. Ed was also very involved in children’s music through companies like The Children’s Group, which he co-founded. The company was the owner of “Classical Kids,” one of the most successful series of children’s records in history. For a number of years before he cofounded Casablanaca, he was one of the top entertainment lawyers in Canada with an impressive list of clients that included artists like Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, James Cotton, David Letterman, Jim Carrey and Howie Mandel, among others. “Ed’s life may have been cut short, but he managed to touch a lot of people’s lives in that time, helping them in various capacities and generously giving his time, knowledge, advice and compassion to his friends, colleagues and even strangers wanting advice on how to break into the music business,” said Jennifer Mitchell, Ed’s long-time partner ,who now succeeds him as President of Casablanca. “His energy, enthusiasm, wisdom, fighting spirit, integrity and, above all, his ceaseless humour and great love for music, will be keenly missed,” stated close friend, CMRRA President/CEO David Basskin. Ed Glinert passed away on May 21, 2011 after suffering a massive stroke which left him legally brain dead. The family knew that he would not have wanted to be kept alive on machines. They made the decision to make him an organ donor so that he might help countless other people live full and productive lives. “Everyone that knew Ed’s generous nature would agree that he would have wanted that,” said Jennifer Mitchell. Ed is survived by his wife, Ethel, and two children, Stephen and Alexis, his sister Ricki and niece Emily Eisenberg. Photo: Grant Martin CMPA REFURBISHES ONLINE HOME The online home of the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA) – www. musicpublishercanada.ca – has undergone a complete refurbish. With the launch of the newest version of the CMPA website comes an increased functionality, improved graphics and new capability for content. The hope is that it will act as a tool to help educate the public and people within the music industry of the work and contributions of music publishers. The new site represents a commitment to CMPA’s members and stakeholders to provide the timely and pertinent information they need about music publishing. CMPA can also be followed as Canadian Music Publishers Association on Facebook and as canmuspub on Twitter. Music Publisher Canada / Summer 2011