Original Article from Music Week http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storycode=1035783 By Robert Ashton
The Featured Artists' Coalition has pressed the Government on the issue of 'fair dealing'.
FAC has met with Culture Secretary Andy Burnham and urged the Government to look at updating copyright legislation covering the fair dealing concept, which allows broadcasters and others to review songs or videos by an artist without asking permission.
FAC believes this is being widely abused with several companies in the UK producing DVDs of well known artists' audio visual footage with a review placed at the end. By doing so they claim that the DVD is a work of critical review and, therefore, no permission or payment is required.
A simple change to copyright law could end this commercial exploitation of unlicensed music and would be widely welcomed across the industry.
The Verve manager Jazz Summers says, "We had a very constructive meeting with Andy Burnham, and we look forward to working with him to tackle some of the issues the industry faces. Meanwhile, we're mobilising the artists' community. Speaking with one voice, the Coalition will campaign for better treatment for all artists' right – especially in the digital arena – and not just for the big names who generate the headlines."
FAC formed at In The City earlier this month, but already 500 artists, including Annie Lennox, All About Eve, Paul Young, Lady Miss Kier from Deee-Lite and Hot Club de Paris, have signed up to the Coalition, which campaigns for the protection of performers' and musicians' rights.
Lennox says, "At a time when the whole industry of music is changing beyond precedence, artists need to take the opportunity to have more say and control over what happens to their intellectual property. I welcome and support the creation of Featured Artists' Coalition."
I just discovered that the silver “Bottletop” bag I donated for a special ( celebrity handbag ) auction for breast cancer research is currently at £611.11p !!
I fell in love with those bags the moment I first saw them. When women are buying “must have” bags for hundreds/thousands of pounds, and I know that those bags are creating an economy for people living in favellas and townships...It's a no brainer for me!!!
Look up www.bottletop.org and find out what they do...It's a beautiful thing!
I was very glad to have been given the opportunity to participate in an international event, giving focus and attention to the HIV Aids pandemic. The particular emphasis in this case being on children.... Who, after all, are the future generations. These conferences are important in all kinds of ways...especially as they help to keep the agenda on the table. I have met people who have been working directly on the issue for over twenty years...and am deeply impressed by their commitment and dedication. Until there is a vaccine and cure for the HI virus, then the situation is not going away....And that day is not yet imminent. So much is going on in the world right now...the madness continues...All I'm trying to do is to respond to my own sensibility, so that I don't feel completely overwhelmed by it all..so that I don't respond with a sense of complete "impotence". Here are the 8 Millennium Development goals that we're so very far away from achieving in the next six and a half years...
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day. Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.
4. Reduce child mortality Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.
5. Improve maternal health Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio. Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources. Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss. Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (for more information see the entry on water supply). By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers.
8. Develop a global partnership for development Develop further an open trading and financial system that is rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory. Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction—nationally and internationally. Address the special needs of the least developed countries. This includes tariff and quota free access for their exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction. Address the special needs of landlocked and small island developing States. Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term. In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth. In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries. In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications.
Annie in Dublin - New Interview, News, Information and Images
Yesterday Annie was among the speakers at a major international conference on children affected by HIV and Aids in Dublin, Ireland. The forum was hosted by the Department of Foreign Affairs, through Irish Aid, and UNICEF.
Peter Power, Irish Overseas Development Minister, said: "Over 1,000 children are infected daily by HIV and over 15 million worldwide have lost one or both parents to AIDS. "Ireland and UNICEF are showing leadership in the fight against HIV and AIDS."
During her presentation Annie called on governments to meet their aid pledges and work over the long term to support developing countries.
"Over the years, governments are notoriously bad at keeping their promises. We also realise that in the year 2008, many of the goals for 2015 are nowhere near the target.
"Nevertheless, we must not walk away from the issues. Governments come and go, but poverty remains.
"We can only keep trying to lobby and the advocacy must continue. It's a long-term thing. It's not showing up at a concert and then going away. It must be lasting."
Annie said the Irish Government was doing a "fantastic" job and stressed that ordinary people have to do more to meet the needs of frontline workers and the people they help.
"Anybody who has a laptop has a tool to connect. It's so powerful and it's international. We can really use the facilities that we have. We use them for social networking and really we can use them for advocacy and change."
Melanie Verwoerd, Executive Director of UNICEF Ireland said: "Even though there has been progress in the global fight against HIV and AIDS, last year some 370,000 children were newly diagnosed with HIV. "The rate of HIV infection amongst children is unacceptable and needs to be addressed by the global community as a matter of urgency."
Aid agencies estimate that more than 1,000 children are infected with HIV every day and that over 15 million worldwide have lost one or both parents to Aids.
Annie was interviewed by Gerry Ryan, on RTE 2fm this morning, speaking about her activism and involvement with HIV/AIDS campaigns . You can listen to the programme again here(the interview starts at approx 1:46.00).
Click hereto watch Annie's video blog about the event
This ad (featuring voice over by Annie Lennox and music by Muse) is a rally cry to all of us to take our sense of injustice about the state of the world and do something about it. Oxfam are asking people to tap into that part of them that won't stand by and watch people suffer. With nearly half the world living in poverty we need everyone to join Oxfam in the fight for a better human race. We call this rally cry 'Be Humankind'.
The last few weeks have been quite busy, with the Peace One Day concert on the 21st Sept, followed by the launch of the Amnesty Arts Fund on the 25th..I've also been working behind the scenes with" The Circle" in conjunction with Oxfam. Some of you might be aware of the" In My Name" campaign, which I've taken part in. Tomorrow I'm flying to Dublin to participate in the Global Aids Forum, which should be very interesting.... There are always lots of things going on behind the scenes in my planet..Sometimes it's hard to keep up with it all. I've been watching the latest developments in the US pre election, but I almost feel I have to block it out, because the thought of what the future might hold if it goes a certain way fills me with absolute horror. One delightful thing that happened (on a different subject) is that the Gurkhas won their right to stay in the UK. AND....South Africa has a new president and health minister! ( for the time being) Sometimes justice prevails in the end.
An excerpt from a letter from Amnesty you might be interested to read....
"I am writing to say that we really can't thank you enough for the incredible event you hosted for us. We have had nothing but positive feedback and so much of it. The money seems to be coming in in a steady flow, we are following up with each of the people who attended and we have had an influx of brilliant offers and ideas. Emily Young has offered us a sculpture, someone else has offered us a database of arts patrons and someone else has offered to make a short film for us... And there are more. The US section are keen to take the concept forward next year and other sections have also asked to be included in our plans to make it a truly global initiative."
Annie has posted a new video blog discussing The Global Partners Forum on Children affected by HIV and AIDS. The GPF is hosted by The Government of Ireland, UNICEF and UNAIDS and takes place in Dublin, Ireland, on 6th and 7th October, 2008.
The Global Partners Forum (GPF) was established in 2003 to provide momentum in fulfilling global commitments for children affected by HIV and AIDS as enshrined in the United Nations General Assembly 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals. Since the last meeting of the GPF in 2006, substantial progress has been made in furthering these goals, but there is still much to do.
The fourth Global Partners' Forum will bring together leaders in Government, high level representatives of bilateral and multilateral donor agencies and the United Nations, civil society, private sector, and research institutions. The Forum hope to announce a strong and robust participant-endorsed communiqué which will define key, measurable priorities to address the needs of millions of children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS and other causes.
PLEASE READ THIS STATEMENT FROM TAC....MASSIVE CHANGES IN SOUTH AFRICA !!
TAC Welcomes the Appointment of New Health Minister
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) welcomes the appointments of Ms Barbara Hogan as the Minister of Health and Dr Molefi Sefularo as the Deputy Minister of Health. We congratulate President Motlanthe for making these excellent appointments.
We are confident that Hogan has the ability to improve the South African health system. She has been one of the few Members of Parliament to speak out against AIDS denialism and to offer support to the TAC, even during the worst period of AIDS denialism by former President Thabo Mbeki and former Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
0n 14 February 2003, she received the TAC memorandum to President Mbeki for a treatment plan. She was removed as Finance Portfolio Chairperson by Mbeki in part for her stand on HIV/AIDS. She has a reputation for being hard-working, competent and principled.
Hogan has a long record of struggle for human rights. Twenty-seven years ago, she was detained and tortured by the apartheid security Police. She was tried for treason as an ANC member and spent eight years in prison.
Dr Sefularo, during his tenure as MEC for Health of North West Province, supported ARV rollout and the implementation of the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) in the province.
There are tremendous challenges ahead for Hogan and Sefularo. The inequalities of the apartheid system, the HIV epidemic and the utterly disastrous reign of Tshabalala-Msimang have left the health system in a parlous state.
Hogan's biggest challenges will be to meet the treatment and prevention targets of the HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan, integrate TB and HIV treatment, develop a feasible human resources plan for health workers and undo the considerable legacy of AIDS denialism left by her predecessor. The TAC will do all that it can to assist her and the Department of Health to meet these challenges.
Over two million South Africans died of AIDS during the presidency of Thabo Mbeki. At least 300,000 deaths could have been avoided had the president merely met the most basic constitutional requirements. Instead Mbeki and his health minister pursued a policy of politically supported AIDS denialism and undermined the scientific governance of medicine.
Many more people would have died had it not been for the campaign for treatment and the independence of our courts, which ultimately forced Mbeki and Tshabalala-Msimang to implement an HIV treatment plan. We believe that the period of politically supported AIDS denialism has ended with the appointment of the Minister of Health.
We congratulate Hogan and Sefularo and wish them the best. Aluta continua!
Statement issued by the Treatment Action Campaign September 25 2008.
Footage from this years Peace One Day Concert is now available to view on iconcerts. It features Annie's performance of "Why", Bryan Adams performing "Heaven" and Lenny Kravitz performing "Let Love Rule".
"Over the years, governments are notoriously bad at keeping their promises. We also realise that in the year 2008, many of the goals for 2015 are nowhere near the target.
Footage from this years Peace One Day Concert is now available to view on iconcerts. It features Annie's performance of "Why", Bryan Adams performing "Heaven" and Lenny Kravitz performing "Let Love Rule".