The Association Of Independent Music has been invited to give the UK independent sector's viewpoint on digital rights management to politicians at a hearing at the House Of Commons in London tomorrow.
AIM will join the BPI, British Music Rights and a number of digital music companies, copyright types and consumer rights groups at a meeting of the All Party Internet Group that will look at the issues and conflicting viewpoints that surround the use of DRM by the content industries. The Group is looking into whether any legislation is required to further protect the rights of content owners and consumers as the digital sector grows.
AIM chairman Alison Wenham, who also recently became the first President of the globally focused World Independent Network, will represent the independent sector at the discussion alongside Simon Wheeler, Beggars' Director Of Digital and the chair of AIM's New Media Committee, and Paul Sanders of independent digital distribution company state51.
The APIG hearing follows the submission of written documents by interested bodies on the DRM debate. In their submission, AIM stressed that the independent sector had different views on DRM to their counterparts in the major record companies, stressing that while DRM had its uses, it "cannot and will not offer a complete answer to doing IP business via the internet".
The APIG will publish a report on DRM based on its inquiry in March or April this year.