The Theft of Creative content London School of Economics debate

London School of Economics and Political Science to host dynamic music industry debate

On Thursday, 9th May the LSE Department of Law is to host a pioneering music-focused public event. As the nature of music consumption reaches a critical point, a panel of experts on both sides of the argument will face each other to discuss the industry’s future.

For this event, LSE have teamed up with PRS for Music, the organisation that represents 95,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, licensing businesses for music use around the world. The society recently published their 2012 financial results revealing a record £641.8m of royalty revenue, of which £51.7m was collected from the digital market alone.

The music industry overall contributes £3.8bn to the local economy and the UK is one of only the three net exporters of music in the world, the other being the USA and Sweden.

The full line-up is confirmed as follows:

• Robert Ashcroft Chief Executive, PRS for Music
• Amelia Andersdotter, member of the Pirate Party in the European Parliament
• Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, music critic, Financial Times
• Gary Kemp, musician, actor, author and songwriter for Spandau Ballet
• Dr Luke McDonagh, fellow in the Department of Law at LSE

The creative industry has faced enormous change in recent years as consumers increasingly look to the internet to discover and access their favourite movies, books, news and music. Given music’s integral role to people, content providers and tech services alike this debate couldn’t be timelier. The so called democratisation of the internet brings with it challenges of value. Who is going to pay? We are very excited to have this opportunity to bring together a stellar bill of guests to discuss these issues and more on the 9th May 2013.

Full details of this event can be found here.

Date: Thursday, 9th May

Time: 6.30pm – 8.00pm

Address: Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, 54 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LJ

This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. For any queries email events@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 6043.

For registration to the event, please contact:

LSE Press Office

Please contact the Press Office if you would like to request a press seat or have a media query about this event, email LSE.Press.Events@lse.ac.uk. Please note that press seats are usually allocated at least 24 hours before each event.

About London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Law

Since the foundation of the LSE just over a century ago, the study of law has been an integral part of the School's mission. The Department of Law is one of the largest in the School. Its special place in a school of social sciences has given legal studies in the Department a distinctive, interdisciplinary character. LSE Department of Law has played a major role in policy debates and policy-making and in the education of lawyers and law teachers from around the world. It enjoys a uniquely cosmopolitan student body, and has deeply influenced legal education in most common law countries.

Staff and students in the Department of Law come from all over the world, and bring to the Department an unparalleled international and interdisciplinary outlook in teaching and research. This has always been the mission of the LSE Department of Law. As an important vehicle for this approach to legal studies, members of the LSE were prominent among the founders of the Modern Law Review, a journal that quickly achieved an international and influential role at the forefront of legal scholarship.

Closely linked to this innovative approach has been the exploration of new fields of study. Many important subjects were first taught and examined systematically from an academic perspective at the LSE. These include banking law, taxation law, civil litigation, company law, labour law, family law, aspects of welfare law, and studies of the legal system and the legal profession. These subjects, and many others, have since become central to the concerns of lawyers and researchers. www.lse.ac.uk/law

About PRS for Music

PRS for Music is a world-leading music collective management organisation representing the rights of more than 165,000 talented songwriters, composers and music publishers around the globe. Headquartered in the UK, it works diligently on behalf of its members to grow and protect the value of their rights. With a focus on innovation and integrity, PRS for Music is redefining the global standard for music royalties to ensure creators are paid whenever their musical compositions and songs are streamed, downloaded, broadcast, performed and played in public. In 2022, PRS for Music collected £964m and paid out £836.2m in royalties. prsformusic.com