Happy Guy Fawkes day. Here are this week’s burning issues:
Tory Stuff
Dark Fibre
Ed has spoken at the dark fibre convention this afternoon, setting out the Conservatives’ approach to broadband and telecoms policy. Ed attacked the Government’s regressive plans on tax telephones and wireless broadband, more HERE
New Blog
We have a new blog, HERE where you can browse our weekly email archive, and read contributions from guest bloggers including Sandie Shaw HERE and Lisa Armstrong HERE . Please feel free to write for it on any issue at any time, we welcome contributions.
Creative Industries
Creative Industries – European round up
Just to show you how much we love Europe, we bring you news of the European Commission’s ‘reflection document’ called Creative Content in a European Digital Single Market: Challenges for the Future. The starting point is that the Digital Single Market is still fragmented and challenges for creative content online, such as regulatory and territorial obstacles, which need to be overcome. Regular readers may recall that Europe has significant influence on many areas of the creative industries, including: measures against illegal downloading, intellectual property rights, advertising, publishing and the terms of film tax credits, to name a few so interested parties would be wise to engage with this process, more HERE
Meanwhile, a new EU package on telecoms that will deliver major benefits to consumers and drive innovation and investment in the communications industry has been given the green light by MEPs and EU governments. Malcolm Harbour, Tory MEP, ECR chairman of the European Parliament’s internal market committee, played a key role in getting the final deal agreed. The proposals will go before the parliament for a final vote in the November II plenary in Strasbourg, more HERE
Internet Piracy
A Demos commissioned report from IPSOS supported by Virgin Media has attracted headlines for suggesting that illegal downloaders spend an average of £77 a year on genuine music, £33 more than those who claim never to have wrongly accessed music for free HERE However the report reveals a more nuanced picture than this, which challenges some of the popular misconceptions about file-sharers. Significantly, it highlights that a workable solution to illegal file sharing is likely to combine incentives and punitive measures to discourage illegal file sharing: Nearly two thirds (64%) of illegal file sharers think that new appealing services will encourage a reduction in illegal file sharing. However, almost an equal number of illegal file sharers (61%) say that the threat of receiving a fine would encourage them to stop. In line with industry predictions, the research suggests that receiving a warning letter from your ISP is likely to have a big impact on behaviour, encouraging a majority (57%) of illegal users to stop using unofficial services. Full report HERE
Meanwhile, the sector has responded to his Lordship Mandelson’s proposals, with Ed O’Brien of Radiohead and FACT (the Federation Against Copyright Theft) favouring bandwidth throttling, rather than cutting users off entirely. HERE
Fashion
More evidence that fashion is being taken increasingly seriously as a creative industry as Obama appoints the (British) editor of US Vogue Anna Wintour the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, more HERE HERE and HERE HERE
The British Fashion Council / Vogue Designer Fashion Fund will provide one British-based designer with £200,000 and high level mentoring support to build his or her business on the international stage. Harold Tillman, chairman of the BFC said ‘We are delighted to have raised the financing for the first year of the Fund. However, move funding is required to establish it as a permanent support scheme.’ More HERE.
ITV
The OFT is to look into ITV’s Friends Reunited sale. ITV are ‘disappointed’ at this decision, more HERE. Following their veto of Kangaroo, there does seem to be a mismatch between the OFT and Ofcom’s understanding and approach to media in the internet age.
Meanwhile, ITV has reported today that its advertising revenues will be up by 4% year on year in December, and flat across the fourth quarter. The last time ITV reported a year-on-year increase in ad revenues was June 2008, more HERE
Channel 4
Lord Burns has been confirmed as Channel 4’s new chairman from January. He is joining the C4 board immediately to lead the search for a chief executive, more HERE
BBC
The BBC Trust has published revised governance of Canvas as well as revised cost information, in response to concerns raised during the first consultation. More HERE. The Trust will accept comments until 18 November.
Arts and Heritage
Twit of the Week – Again
We are wondering if Ben Bradshaw needs a holiday, or at least a lie down in a darkened room, to re-gain a sense of perspective after he warned this week that under a Conservative government culture, arts and sport would be condemned to ‘savage cuts combined with philistinism and political interference.’ Which is both wrong, and not very nice. Join in our fisking (explained HERE ) of his speech on our blog, HERE. The Guardian described the speech as ‘slightly peculiar’, especially when Ben went off script to suggest that we wouldn’t fund a play like Enron. Jeremy has seen Enron, thoroughly enjoyed it, and afterwards wrote to Dominic Cooke saying how this was exactly the sort of theatre that should get funding. More HERE.
Libraries
The Museums Libraries and Archives council has published a How-to-Do for all public libraries wishing to put on great music in their intimate venues after hours, on their website
Heritage
The National Heritage Memorial Fund has announced an award of £550,000 towards securing the personal archive of eminent First World War soldier, poet and author Siegfried Sassoon for the nation, more HERE and HERE
Museums
The National Museum Directors Conference’s monthly news update is out, HERE covering Government funding for Tate and British Museum expansions, our cultural policy as set out by Ed; new rules for national museums, an issue dear to the NMDC’s heart, as set out by Jeremy; the effects of the recession on museums, the amazing stat that two thirds of 5-10 year old children visited museums last year, and the Ashmolean and Ulster Museum reopenings.
Theatre
The Ambassadors Theatre Group is to take over the theatres of the concert organiser Live Nation, meaning the group will now have five times as many seats as any other operator. More HERE
Gold Badge Awards
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s BASCA in association with PRS for Music Gold Badges, awarded to celebrate the achievements of an outstanding group of men and women who have made a special contribution to Britain’s music and entertainment industry. The recipients include singers and songwriters, a music copyist, a producer, a concert promoter and violinist, more HERE
Archaeology
The 2009 Portable Antiquities and Treasure Report was published this week, more HERE
Interns
The University of Arts London Student’s Group is campaigning to end the exploitation of unpaid workers, particularly in the creative industries, and disregard for National Minimum Wage Legislation in virtually any sector deemed to be “oversupplied” with graduates and students willing to work for free more HERE
Excessively political correct move of the week:
Council Libraries ban poppies: ‘We can’t favour one charity above others’ claims manager. For decades they sold poppies without objection. But then staff at nearly 50 libraries were ordered to remove their boxes – in the name of equality HERE
Visual Art
An eclectic batch of artworks that once adorned the corporate office of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc sold for $1.35million this week. Though double the projected total, it represents no more than a modest dent in the $250 billion Lehman owes creditors HERE
From Across the Pond
The US National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities are expected to receive their highest levels of funding in 16 years more HERE
In Parliament
Written Parliamentary Questions
Steps to support the British film industry HERE
Applications for World Heritage status in England HERE
A steep decline in the amount the DCMS spends on heritage staff HERE
Central DCMS spending on arts and sports up, but spending on heritage down HERE
Celebrating the British cultural contribution to sports and the Olympics HERE
Just 26 people working on heritage matters at the DCMS HERE
A break down of ACE funding in the West Midlands, HERE
Lords
Channel 4 Chief Executive Andy Duncan has given evidence to the House of Lords Communications Committee as part of its inquiry into British television and film industries, more HERE
Where we’ve been and who we’ve seen
Barbican, Curve Theatre and Oadby Library in Leicester, British Museum, ISBA, BT, personal archive of Siegfried Sasson, M&C Saatchi, Historic Houses Association, our Conservative Arts and Creative Industries Network event at the Groucho – many thanks to them for hosting us, Dark Fibre Convention, Studio Eight, Strictly Come Dancing, Soho Theatre, Martha Lane Fox, Jeremy Mayhew, Nicholas Kenyon, the Historic Houses Association, Graham Walker, The Society of Editors to discuss regional and national press and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Ed Vaizey
Shadow Arts Minister
Jeremy Hunt
Shadow Culture Secretary
