• Copyright Debate Turns Out To Be An Invitational Affair
• Pink Slips Fly on West Coast
• Newcap Approved For Athabasca Frequency Flip
• Is Michael Jackson in Heaven?
• EMI CEO Hears the Call of the Future in Digital Universe
• Lyor Cohen in HDD
• Grace Slick’s Return as Mentoring Dweeb
• New Killer Metal Band Dubbed Canadian Supergroup
• Entertainment Grabs Largest Share Of Mobile Ad Spend
• ASCAP Seeking Compensation for Embedded YouTube Tunes

PRIVATE HEARINGS: It sounded as if the government was doing an about face when Clement and Moore, ministers for Industry and Heritage respectively, announced a further attempt to revisit and up-date Canada’s last century copyright legislation would include public discussions. Turns out the change of heart was more a clever use of semantics. In fact, the discussions are by invitation only; thus ensuring the jury turns in a verdict that is pre-ordained, perhaps. Here’s some of the terms of the discussions as printed in Mediacaster today.

In preliminary consultation and documentation, government departments have asked stakeholders to comment on a number of questions related to copyright legislation and reform, including but not limited to:

1. Do the current provisions of the Copyright Act already adequately address ISP concerns?

2. Some ISPs and rights holders have entered into agreements for dealing with infringing material. In what respects is this approach sufficient or insufficient?

3. What other intermediary functions that have not been discussed in this section, but that are nonetheless being carried out by ISPs, ought to be considered when developing a policy regarding ISP liability?

4. To the extent that a notice and take-down system is being contemplated, how would such a system affect the framework in Canada for the collective management of copyright? What alternative proposals should be considered? Under what conditions would a compulsory licensing system be appropriate?

5. To the extent that issues surrounding the scope and application of the reproduction right are being examined in relation to Internet-based communications, are there reasons why this examination should be restricted to the question of ISP liability?

6. How would a “making available” right affect the balances among the various copyright interests?

7. In which respects might such a right require limitations or be subject to exceptions?

8. In which respects do existing rights, e.g., the reproduction right, fail to provide a measure of control which is comparable to a distinct “making available” right?

RADIO CUTBACKS: Long time morning news anchor George Gordon and evening sports anchor Paul Weisser have left the employ of News1130 CKWX AM Vancouver. Gordon had been prominent at the station since 1999, both on air and, for a time, executive editor. Most of his earlier career was in Ontario, with stops in Winnipeg. Weisser was a BCIT broadcast program graduate and had been with News1130 since 2000. Reports indicate that the the full time evening/weekend sports position has been eliminated. Also exiting today was Mark Foreman from engineering.

After 35 years in radio, assistant news director Robert ‘AllNewsBob’ Linden is taking early retirement from News1130 CKWX AM Vancouver. Over the years he was instrumental in the development of the News1130 morning show and the station as a whole. He managed the introduction of Traffic Alerts and guided website integration. Several award-winning news stories and continuing coverage events were produced under his watch. His last day is Friday, July 24. He started in radio as a DJ at CJIB in Vernon B.C. in 1973 and has been with News1130 since 2001.

Part time Vancouver sportscasters Dan Elliott and Christie Buono are on the short list to receive a guaranteed year of employment with national specialty TV service The Score.

CKIK-FM (CRAZE-FM) Red Deer is on the air, testing on 101.3 MHz.

NEWCAP’s application to flip CKBA 850 Athabasca to 94.1 FM was approved by the federal regulator on Tuesday.

HEAVEN’S ABOVE: Is Michael Jackson in heaven? We don’t know, and to speculate about it makes pastors uncomfortable. What we do know is that Jackson’s spiritual pedigree – like his life – seemed extremely complex. No one disputes that Michael Jackson was lost, and that he spent his life searching. The hope is that, somehow, he got found.  Toronto Star

WAKE UP CALL AT EMI: “We must complement our artists’ creativity with our own skills in innovation. That means listening to the desires and needs of consumers and delivering new products and services that they want to buy…

“We have a situation where 70% of music consumption is digital and yet only about 20% of music company revenues are derived from digital. Music is in demand and the demand is growing all the time, but we’ve clearly lost touch with our consumers.

“I passionately believe that if we listen to our consumers, this gap will become ouropportunity. ” – EMI CEO Elio Leoni-Sceti comments came as he IS confirmed as a speaker at the inaugural Creativity and Business International Network (c&binet) forum, taking place on Oct. 26-28.

HITS DAILY DOUBLE seems forever to be taking the piss out of Warner Music exec Lyor Cohen. The most recent poke in the eye reads as follows: “Lifestyle concept fashion designer and Lyor Cohen gal pal Tory Burch wants to tear down the Southampton mansion she purchased for $22.5 million from her ex-husband Chris. It’s a “comfortable” six-bedroom home designed by Norman Jaffe and custom-built by David Webb sitting on 4.5 acres with views of the ocean and bay, but it apparently holds too many memories, and Burch and Cohen would like to start fresh. In addition, the residence has a helipad for Lyor’s late night joints, er, jaunts from Manhattan to the Island.” Ouch!

GO ASK GRACE: Indy artist Michelle Mangione has teamed with former Jefferson Airplane lead singer Grace Slick to launch an online contest promoting her second CD. The marketing campaign taps search engine optimization (SEO), and Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites to give away a guitar signed by Slick.  Media Post

KILLER BAND: Cyclone Records is touting Hard Road as ‘Canada’s all new ’supergroup’ that includes members of Moxy, Killer Dwarfs, Santers and Lee Aaron Band.

In a Facebook announcement, Cyclone says it is capitalizing on the signature styles and diverse background of each of its members, ‘Hard Road combines the eclectic and ripping guitar riffs of Earl Johnson of Moxy, the unmistakable vocal prowess and stage antics of Russ Graham of Killer Dwarfs, the driving backbone of Santer’s bassist Rick Lazaroff and the powerhouse drumming of Morgan Evans. Morgan Evans is also known stateside for his years of touring with Julliet.

MOBILE ENT: When it comes to mobile ad spending, the entertainment sector led the way in the second quarter followed by telecommunications, Web portals, dating, and retail. That’s according to the latest metrics report from mobile ad network Millennial Media, which says it reaches nearly three quarters of U.S. mobile Internet users, or 44 million people.

Within entertainment, movie studios accounted for nearly two-thirds of spending, followed by games (16%), TV (9%), other (7%) and music (4%). The big summer movie season clearly helped drive the studios’ mobile advertising, with Millennial handling 17 campaigns for new movie releases such as “Star Trek” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” during the quarter. Media Post

MONEY FOR SOMETHING: ASCAP apparently is seeking compensation of $1 for commercial bloggers embedding YouTube music videos. The songwriter agency sent a collection letter to Jason Calacanis seeking payment for YouTube videos embedded on his Mahalo site. Apparently this is not the first time that ASCAP has sent such letters. So far YouTube has told recipients to refer the group back to them. But recently a judge ruled Google owed ASCAP $1.6m and a court battle continues. It is unlikely that Google will be willing to defend commercial bloggers and increasingly legislative bodies and the courts are coming to realize that content owners have a moral and legal right to be compensated for their artistic works.