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Publishers Move to Power Town
by Randy Barrett
The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) has moved its headquarters from New York to Washington -- a condition the organization agreed to when it hired CEO David Israelite earlier this year.
"There is so much activity in Washington that it made sense to move our base here," Israelite said. "Music publishers were looking to increase their presence in D.C." The association had been based in Manhattan for more than 100 years. Israelite was formerly deputy chief of staff at the Justice Department.
The new headquarters will be lean and mean with two staffers supporting Israelite. He also hired a new outside lobby team of Carl Thorsen and David Urban from American Continental Group and John Lampmann from Johnson, Madigan & Peck.
"I insisted on all new staff and contractors," Israelite said. "We needed fresh energy and a new focus."
Helping in that regard is NMPA counsel Berkley Etheridge, who also is working the halls of Congress for the organization.
Key issues for the new NMPA team are fighting illegal file sharing, music licensing and federal regulations on orphan works -- movies, songs and stories where the copyright holder cannot be found.
Israelite said NMPA is working closely with the Recording Industry Association of America on the high-profile file sharing case, MGM v. Grokster, pending before the Supreme Court. The two organizations, however, are not always so chummy-- particularly when it comes to licensing.
"That's about how you divide up the pie," Israelite said. "There's always tension when you're dealing with money."
The NMPA operates the Harry Fox Agency (HFA), which handles mechanical rights for the majority of audio recordings. HFA will remain in New York where it has a staff of 150.
The association will unveil its new digs on Constitution Avenue next week.
...And So Does a Big Record Company
Warner Music Group has opened a new policy and government relations office in Washington and appointed Linda Bloss-Baum to run the show.
Baum will report to the company's general counsel, Dave Johnson. "There are many challenges facing the music community that require the attention of Congress and policymakers," Johnson said in a statement. "With her experience in entertainment, technology and politics, Linda will make sure the Warner Music Group voice is heard in Washington as Congress considers a variety of legislative issues, including taxes, trade and digital piracy."
Bloss-Baum was unavailable for interview owing to the ongoing quiet period for the company that went public May 11 in a rather disappointing initial public offering. Warner Music Group shares greeted the world at $17 each and proceeded to sag 4 percent during their first day of trading.
Bloss-Baum is a relatively old hand on matters of copyright and content. Prior to joining Warner, she worked as a lobbyist for NBC Universal. She also did a four-year tour as counsel to the majority staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Bloss-Baum holds a law degree from Catholic University's Columbus School of Law.
In other movie-related news, the Motion Picture Association of America has added Gayle Osterberg and Michael O'Leary to its Washington staff.
Osterberg was named vice president of corporate communications, and O'Leary is now vice president and senior counsel for public policy development. For many years Osterberg was the spokeswoman for the U.S. Senate Budget Committee where she worked for Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H. Earlier, she was a press secretary for former Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla.
O'Leary comes from the Justice Department where he was deputy chief for intellectual property in the computer crime and intellectual property section. He also has worked as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
If Looks Could Kill, Staffer Would Be Dead
During a hearing before the House Science Committee last week, Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, was discussing cyber security and compared the current state of affairs to the infamous Maginot Line, which did a poor job of keeping Adolph Hitler out of France during World War II.
That's all well and good, but Matheson pronounced Maginot with a hard "T" and was gently corrected by National Academy of Engineering President William Wulf, who gave it the proper soft French treatment.
Momentarily flustered, Matheson shot several acid glances at the back of the room toward a staffer who, it can be safely assumed, got an earful later about failing to coach her boss on the proper utterance of tricky French words during important public hearings.
He's (Soon-to-Be) Out Of There
Penrose (Parney) Albright has handed in his resignation at the Homeland Security Department. Albright is assistant secretary for programs, plans and budgets at the department's science and technology directorate. His date of departure remains undetermined.
"Parney Albright has served the Department of Homeland Security well and also helped to design its research and development strategy while at the White House Office of Homeland Security," said department Secretary Michael Chertoff in a statement. "I appreciate the vision and commitment he brought to the department, and I know our country will long benefit from the programs he helped to establish to develop new technologies that make the homeland more secure."
Before joining Homeland Security in 2003, Albright spent a year at the White House as assistant director for homeland and national security in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Quote of the Week
"We're talking about a computer considerably smarter than my last opponent."
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., expressing concern about research on cognitive computing at the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency that could some day lead to computers with basic reasoning skills and the ability to learn. He made the remark at a hearing before the House Science Committee last week.
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