[d@DCC] new CRIA head honcho...

[Neil Leyton]

know thy enemy...

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BILLBOARD
October 02, 2004, 
CRIA Names New President 

By LARRY LEBLANC 

When Graham Henderson takes over as president of the Canadian 
Recording Industry Assn. Nov. 15, he will be at the forefront of an 
industry grappling with the issues raised by the digital age. 

Henderson, who is senior VP of business affairs and e-commerce for 
Universal Music Canada, will replace Brian Robertson, who is stepping 
down after three decades as CRIA president. 

"I'm not retiring," Robertson says. "But 30 years here is long enough. 
I have other things I want to do. I've been approached to do some 
consulting, and I have a book offer." 

Robertson, in fact, will stay on as a consultant to CRIA for six 
months, with the title of chairman emeritus.

The 30 member companies of Toronto-based CRIA account for 90% of the 
sound recordings sold in Canada. The trade association is governed by 
a board of directors comprising the CEOs of its major-label members. 
CRIA, which operates with 16 staffers, represents the Canadian 
recording industry on the governing council of the International 
Federation of the Phonographic Industry. 

Before moving to Canada in 1967, Robertson worked in the marketing 
division of London-based concert firm the Harold Holt Organization. In 
1974, he shifted to CRIA (then called the Canadian Record 
Manufacturers Assn.) as a consultant and became president later that 
year. In 1975, Robertson was a driving force in the formation of the 
Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the governing body of 
the annual Juno Awards. He served as president of the academy from 
1979 to 1983.

"Brian has always been a staunch supporter of Canadian music," Sony 
Music Canada president Denise Donlon says. "[With CRIA], he has 
traveled some very turbulent waters and has always conducted himself 
admirably."

Henderson joined Universal in 2000. Previously, he was a high-profile 
entertainment lawyer working in the Toronto firms McCarthy Tétrault 
and Stohn Henderson. He is married to Cowboy Junkies singer Margo 
Timmins. 

Henderson has a reputation for being a tenacious negotiator with a 
thorough understanding of issues relating to e-commerce, copyright and 
artists' rights.

"At Universal, Graham has been fully engaged in trade issues," says 
Randy Lennox, president/CEO of Universal Music Canada. "Now he can 
play a bigger role. Given the myriad [issues] we face at CRIA, his 
level of expertise is welcomed."

Brian Chater, president of the Canadian Independent Record Production 
Assn., says, "Graham certainly knows the business. But this is not an 
easy job. There's a stack of interests to consider and issues and 
problems everywhere. It's a very different world than it was five 
years ago."

Henderson says, "CRIA is involved in so many fascinating issues. I 
have functioned at different levels, and this is an opportunity to 
serve the industry in a different way."

Among the chief issues facing CRIA is its appeal of a March 31 federal 
court decision that downloading or uploading unauthorized music files 
to the Internet does not constitute copyright infringement under 
current Canadian law.

The ruling came after CRIA filed a motion against five Canadian 
Internet service providers to force them to hand over the names and 
addresses of 29 people who allegedly had shared a "high volume" of 
songs through the Internet. In his ruling, Justice Konrad von 
Finckenstein said CRIA did not prove that copyright infringement had 
occurred.

"I feel confident that our appeal is strong, credible and persuasive," 
Robertson says.

Unlike the Recording Industry Assn. of America, CRIA decided two years 
ago not to prosecute individual file sharers. Last year, it launched 
the $1.5 million Value of Music campaign to educate Canadian consumers 
that downloading unauthorized music from peer-to-peer services has 
significantly affected the music business. 

"The RIAA had started on litigation," Robertson says, "but we were 
determined to see if there was another solution. It quickly became 
apparent that some form of legal action was educational, in our view. 
We limited [legal action] to high-end uploaders. We believe this 
strategy will have some effect as long as it is part of an overall 
education-based strategy."

The federal court's decision, however, also made it clear that the 
Canadian Copyright Act must be updated to deal with online use. 

As the new CRIA head, Henderson will continue to lobby the Minister of 
Canadian Heritage, Liza Frulla, to push forward the May 12 
recommendations of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. The 
committee's "Interim Report on Copyright Reform" recommended that 
legislation to overhaul the Canadian Copyright Act be introduced in 
the House of Commons by November. The legislation includes provisions 
for Canada's ratification of World Intellectual Property Organization 
treaties dealing with copyright protection in the digital age. 

"It's time this [issue] was put to bed," Henderson says.

He warns, however, that even with the changes, Canada's Copyright 
Act "would still not be able to serve the needs of the business 
community."

He adds, "I have a good grasp in trying to shepherd in a Copyright Act 
that meets the business community's and creators' needs." 

Another important issue is CRIA's ongoing negotiations on behalf of 
labels for a new mechanical licensing agreement with the Canadian 
Musical Reproduction Rights Agency. The previous six-year agreement 
expired Dec. 31, 2003, and was extended for a year.

CMRRA president David Basskin says, "We're trying to work out terms to 
move to an all-electronic-licensing environment like they have in most 
territories." 
 

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