CNM Update

Copps to make partnership announcement at awardsCanadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps is expected to make an announcement related to the Canadian Culture Online Program at the Canadian New Media Awards in Toronto on May 27. Copps’ office won’t divulge what the minister will be announcing, but sources indicate that a partnership agreement with Telus Corp. is in the works, though yet to be finalized. The minister’s office has told Canadian NEW MEDIA that Copps will not give the media an opportunity to ask questions at the event. CanCon must be promoted in cyberspace, committee toldSeveral groups used the occasion of their appearance before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage May 21 to insist that Canadian content regulations hold true on the Internet. The Canadian Independent Film and Video Alliance (CIFVA) and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) joined a litany of associations and lobby groups asking Parliament to take action to ensure Canadian content online, and to enforce the goals of the Broadcasting Act in cyberspace. Cabinet next step in Bill C-48 fight?At a May 21 meeting of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association’s Susan Peacock said the group wants the federal Cabinet to ensure the Internet isn’t part of the compulsory licence retransmission regime (CNM, May 16/02). Peacock told the committee that the current crop of high-profile Internet retransmission companies has created chaos in the system, and so the Internet must be specifically excluded from s. 31 of the Copyright Act. Internet retransmission has the potential, she said, to gut the current free, over-the-air system and drive broadcasters to increasing use of specialty channels not covered by the compulsory licence system. While the proposed Bill C-48 would entrench a new class of Internet retransmitter, Peacock told committee members that the situation can’t be allowed to stand. If a new class is created pursuant to the CRTC’s new media exemption order of 1999, "we urge Cabinet to direct the CRTC to revise the exemption order," she said. Canadian recording industry expects big hitThe increasing prevalence of high-speed Internet connections and easy-to-use file sharing programs is expected to hit the Canadian recording industry hard, according to the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). In an appearance before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on May 21, CRIA president Brian Robertson told members that no industry has been hit as hard by digital networking, and that the industry expects to see a 15% decline in CD sales this year. While 58 million recorded CDs were sold in 2001, that number is projected to drop to 51 million this year. On the other hand, he said the number of blank CD-Rs sold in the same period is expected to rise from 45 million to 155 million. The recording industry has moved "as quickly and effectively as it could" to find new ways of selling its product in keeping with changing consumer demands, he added. Manitoba Tel trials DTV serviceManitoba Telecom Services Inc. has begun a trial of its digital television (DTV) service with 200 participants using phone lines. The trial will last between six and eight months, at which time the company will decide whether or not to deploy the service in Winnipeg next year. The trial announcement has caught the attention of some industry observers because the telco has yet to receive CRTC approval for a licence to operate a digital TV service. More details. (CNM affiliate publication Network Letter ran an in-depth article examining concerns about cross-subsidization issues at the telco arising from the service. Network Letter subscribers, please see the February 11/02 issue) Photogs seek cash boost in copyright fightThe Canadian Association of Photographers and Illustrators in Communications (CAPIC) says its store of funds to reform the Copyright Act is low. The group is fighting to repeal a controversial section of the Act that deprives photographers of first ownership in their work without a contract stating otherwise on commissioned work (CNM, Dec. 13/01). The battle extends back several years, but CAPIC has only recently added a pop-up window to its web site asking for financial help. More details. Cinram cements artisan dealCinram International Inc. will serve as the exclusive DVD replicator for Los Angeles-based Artisan Home Entertainment. Cinram will immediately begin manufacturing all of Artisan’s DVD titles including upcoming releases such as the Reservoir Dogs 10th anniversary special edition, and the recent theatrical release of National Lampoon’s Van Wilder. The agreement is described as "multi-year", but no further details were released. More details. Carp tariff rejectedOnline radio groups are celebrating – at least for now – a decision by the American Register of Copyrights to deny the recommended rates established for online radio by the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel. The rates had been set twice as high for Internet radio stations as for stations already broadcasting over-the-air. The Librarian of Congress has until June 20 to decide on the final tariffs. CNM recently profiled one U.S. webcaster that had considered moving operations to Canada as a result of the proposed rates (CNM, Apr. 8/02). More details. CATA urges opposition to CD-R levyThe CATAAlliance has registered its displeasure with a proposed increase in the levies charged on blank audio recording media (CNM, Mar. 27/02). "The proposed levies are so high everyone will import their CDs, other media, and MP3 players from the U.S. The impact of the levies on the economy, on jobs and business, will obviously be negative," states CATA president John Reid. Adds CATA’s executive director in a media release: "Computers and PDAs are not used primarily for music, so media in them should not be subject to the levy. The Copyright Board should apply the ’s definition to all media." More details. 120Seconds fest buried in entriesThe Digital Filmfest sponsored by 120Seconds.com has received more than 300 entries from across the country. A decision on 15 winners in five categories now falls to judges Sarah Polly, Polly Shannon, Sturla Gunnarsson, John Paisz, and Remy Girard. More details. CFTPA, global counterparts stand against SAGThe Canadian Film and Television Production Association has issued a joint statement with the U.K.’s Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television, Film Makers Ireland, the Screen Producers Association of New Zealand telling producers who work under domestic collective agreements not to comply with the U.S. Screen Actors Guild’s (SAG) new Rule One."These producers stand united in recognition that a healthy, sustainable film and TV industry is significantly dependent upon their relationships with domestic performers’ unions. SAG’s attempt to expand Rule One outside of the U.S. is a direct threat to established collective agreements and could have a serious impact on the film and television economies in these countries," a news release from the groups reads. Rule One attempts to force SAG members to work under SAG contracts even outside the U.S. when in English-speaking countries. More details.

CNM Update

Broadcast | 05/22/2002 4:00 am EDT

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