Here is this week’s news:
Tory Stuff
Museums and Heritage
Jeremy made a key note speech on heritage yesterday. He called for our national museums currently to have greater independence from Government, more HERE and the full text of his speech HERE. He lambasted the Government’s record on heritage, emphasised our plans to increase Lottery funding, proposed the merger of English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund to save costs and promised a heritage bill if we win the next election.
Video Games
Ed’s enthusiasm for the video games sector is well documented. This week he set out what a Conservative government would do to give the games industry the ‘voice it deserves’. He urged the sector to think more widely than industry specific tax break and engage with our Shadow treasury team’s task force, headed by Sir James Dyson, which is looking at options for Government to provide effective support to venture capital. He also addressed skills, broadband and piracy issues. More HERE and full text of his speech HERE Labour Peer Lord Puttnam said: ‘If the Conservative get in next year, there’s a guy called Ed Vaizey who will be a minister, and he certainly takes the games industry seriously, and he’s made it his business to understand the games industry.’ HERE. ELSPA have just press released to say that they loved it, HERE
Creative Industries
Music Piracy U-turn
His Lordship Peter Mandelson has set a date for blocking filesharers’ internet connection at C&binet. The strategy will be officially set out in the government’s digital economy bill in late November and could come into force in April 2010, more HERE and HERE.
Jeremy has commented: “We seem to have a new policy on file sharing every time a Government Minister opens their mouth. We’ve had three changes in five months. Most recently, in August Lord Mandelson argued that waiting for 12 months before anything happened would be “too long”. Now they propose waiting 15 months. What’s changed? Its clear that the Government doesn’t know what to do and until the Bill is actually published no-one is any wiser as to how they will act.” More HERE
As yet there is no clarification on what the government intends to do about oversights in the original proposals, particularly internet access via mobile networks: our sources tell us that BIS are still ‘grappling’ around options, and plans seem to be changing on a daily/ weekly basis.
Google is to offer music downloads, with the four major labels all licensing their catalogues to the service which is expected to launch next week, more HERE.
Meanwhile the European Parliament is hammering out a final agreement on how member states should deal with file-sharing, more HERE
C&binet
His Lordship’s speech took place at C&binet, the lavish digital creative industries conference sponsored by DCMS. We hear the budget ran to the millions, so the catering was once again marvellous, but they couldn’t sell all the tickets and had to give some away for free. Make what you will of what they got up for three days in Hertfordshire, more HERE . Naturally, we weren’t invited.
Ofcom Pay TV Review
The debate continues, with BSkyB and leading sports bodies pointing out the impact that Ofcom’s Pay TV Review remedies would have on incentives to invest in content, and specifically in sport, more HERE. However, as Enders analysis say: ‘as Sky forges ahead of its rival pay-TV operators so attention is turning to competition issues.’ Meanwhile Virgin Media and BT are arguing that BSkyB should not be allowed to use project Canvass, the joint video on demand project for Freeview and Freesat viewers as a loophole to avoid proposed regulation, more HERE
BBC
The BBC Trust today published the outcome of the review of BBC executive pay which they commissioned earlier this year, more HERE We think that if that number of people are suddenly superfluous to requirements it does beg the question: ‘what have they been busying themselves with until now?’ Jeremy said: ‘The BBC has missed an opportunity to prove it is in tune with the public mood over high salaries. Public anger was focused not just on the management itself but on the salaries paid to senior executives, more HERE
The BBC has welcomed the BBC Trust’s endorsement of a package of initiatives designed to strengthen the role of the BBC’s children’s output. This follows the Trust review at the start of this year which identified some areas for improvement more HERE
The BBC consider selling shows on a ‘global iPlayer’, HERE. We think this is a great idea.
Licensing
During last week’s Westminster Hall debate on licensing, the Government compromised on small venues licensing. More, and a good round up of the debate wit, in which Ed suggested that John Whittingdale discovered The Police, HERE
Architecture
There’s a good round up of policy developments, particularly ours, that are relevant to architects HERE
Film
HMV and Curzon have announced a new joint venture that could create a new national cinema chain, more HERE
The international competition for tax credits hots up, more HERE
The British Independent Film Awards have announced their 2009 nominations. Congratulations to the three films financed by EM Media; Bronson, The Unloved and Bunny and the Bull that have been nominated. More HERE .
South West Screen is launching a new scheme with BBC Films and Bristol City Council, Skillset and NESTA. iFeatures represents a step up for microbudget filmmaking schemes more HERE
Culture and Heritage
Libraries
The delayed Library Service Modernisation Review now has a target publication date of the end of November, over a year after it was originally commissioned. More HERE
Twit of the week
Ben Bradshaw is busying himself trying to take the Boris ACE London Chair row to David Cameron, HERE. Has he nothing better to do? He also launched a cycling campaign this week. No wonder DCMS policy is all over the place. Meanwhile Boris has written to Bradshaw to reaffirm that the selection process and subsequent nomination of Ms Wadley were completely transparent and followed the Nolan principles, more and Boris’ letter to him, HERE .
Cultural Debate
Ed is speaking at the Southwark on Culture Big Debate on19th November, chaired by Anna Fazackerley of Policy Exchange with Munira Mirza director of arts and culture for the Mayor of London, Diane Lees director-general, Imperial War Museum and a host of influential speakers more information, or register, HERE
Arts and Business
The October issue of the Arts Business Culture E-Digest focuses on aspects of learning and development – from master classes to case studies across London and Leeds and Birmingham, more HERE
Dance
What do a children’s choir, birdsong and a piper have in common? They’re all part of Rosemary Lee’s communal dance experience at Greenwich Borough Hall, where a cast of professional and non-professional dancers are encouraged to ‘soar, touch and find the sublime’, more HERE.
Where are all the women in dance? HERE.
Heritage
The Textiles Conservation Centre has a new website, HERE
Visual Art
Wild Thing at the Royal Academy punches above its weight, HERE.
Opera
English Touring Opera’s ‘double anniversary’ tour, Handelfest, celebrating 30 years of the ETO and 250 years since Handel died is under way. Happy Birthday ETO, more on the tour HERE
Theatre
Is it possible to film a play, make it compelling to watch, and downloadable? A new organisation, Digital Theatre, is doing exactly that. We think this is brilliant innovation and wish them every success. More HERE and HERE
A great example of not depending on subsidy in the theatre HERE
Interesting Pieces from Across the Pond
Seattle may have to close its library two days a week to balance the city budget, despite soaring popularity HERE Google and Obama, (a love story) HERE Has the arts world worked hard enough to dissect the true costs, benefits and implication of recent diversity efforts? HERE
In Parliament
Parliamentary Questions
Falling numbers working on heritage matters at the DCMS HERE
Whilst spending is increasing on staff at the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment HERE
Estimates for participation levels in music HERE
Grant in aid funding for English Heritage over the years HERE
Growth in the UK video games industry HERE
Total sales in the video games sector up 23% since 2007 HERE
Listed events review report expected shortly HERE
EDMs
EDM 2145 – BBC and the British National Party HERE
EDM 2128 – British National Party Appearance on Question Time HERE
Where We’ve Been and Who We’ve Seen
MLA, UK Film Council, London Games Conference, the Globe, London Games Conference and Best of British, Freesat, BBC, Universal Music, Enron at the Royal Court, This Is It, James Thiérrée’s Raoul at the Barbican, Nowhere Boy at the London Film Festival, St Peter’s, Wallingford, with the Churches Conservation Trust, Dennis Stevenson, Mark Thompson, Anthony d’Offay, NCVO, Ofcom, The Globe, National Trust.
Ed Vaizey
Shadow Arts Minister
Jeremy Hunt
Shadow Culture Secretary
