ole President Michael McCarty Targets ISP Liability at CMW Panel Session

ole was well-represented at Canadian Music Week this year as company staffers were seen at various showcase venues around Toronto and at a number of the songwriter seminars and events at the host hotel, the Fairmont Royal York. ole President Michael McCarty somewhat set the tone for the business side of the four day music convention at the opening session on the first day with a controversial but ultimately effective presentation on ISP liability.

Using a PowerPoint presentation to give his straight forward message some impact, he characterized the various periods during which this topic has been debated by using animals to illustrate the point. For instance, the ostrich, for the times, he contends, that we had our head in the sand; the elephant in the room for the obvious liability of ISPs in the problem of illegal downloading.

One of his most effective metaphors in bringing clarity to the subject involved the story of a convenience store that had been inadvertently left unlocked all night by its owner. Soon a group of teens were inside taking anything they could lay their hands on. At the door, the local bully – insert the name of the ISP here – was charging the kids five dollars to get in. The tale had enough resonance to get into Billboard under the headline: "ole's McCarty Tackles ISPs on Piracy."

Senior Creative Manager Elizabeth Spear and Creative Coordinator Kara Purto were among the ole staff that attended and also got out to see some of the showcases with priority given to those that featured ole affiliated artists.

Among the bands on both of their lists to see, but certainly not all, included Magneta Lane (Last Gang); AfterpartY (Sound of Pop); Silver Starling (Last Gang); Mladen's band, Bastard at the Hard Rock Cafe; the country showcase at the Cadillac Lounge and the TMKO Lawyers "One Night Stand" Showcase (Last Gang) at the Rivoli that featured Nadine Medawar, Jodi King, Michou, Saint Alvia, Exit This Side and violent kin.

Spear had been in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia for the East Coast Music Awards prior to CMW. "Coco Love Alcorn, one of our songwriters was up for songwriter of the year for 'Revolution,' co-written with Chris Hockey," says Spear. "She also performed with Gordie Sampson on the songwriters circle and she was a big hit. People just loved her and she sold a ton of CDs after her show.

I got to meet so many peopleat the ECMA's and heard so much great music.

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