The Osgoode Entertainment and Sports Law Association (ESLA) recently launched its blog, . The blog was created as an association initiative to give students the opportunity to write about current issues and developments in the sports and entertainment industries, both local and international. Contributors are invited to write about anything current, and are welcome to bring their own opinions and spin to the articles.

As both the sports and entertainment industries are currently undergoing a lot of developments, this promises to be an exciting blog! From collective bargaining agreements, to policy decisions, students are invited to connect the law with the everyday operations of the industries that regularly influence pop culture and consequently society in general. This gives students the chance to read and write about the practical applications of course work in an informal setting – which can be both informative and entertaining.

The blog will also cover entertainment and sports lectures and conferences around the city of Toronto. Finally, there are plans to conduct interviews with industry professionals, providing readers with the opportunity to hear firsthand about what it is like to be a practicing professional in the sports and entertainment industries.

It is still in the early stages, but the hope is to facilitate discussion between law and business students, and eventually draw regular readership and professional contributors.

ESLA plans to update the blog every second Monday with fresh content written by any interested contributors. There will also be a link round-up of the most interesting stories in these industries posted every Sunday.  The blog will also host information on the club’s annual conference and informal events throughout the year.

If you would like to contribute to the blog please email gertner.tom@gmail.com.

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has published its : revenues from digital downloads have only increased 6%, while overall music market revenues dropped 8%.  The music industry is hurting to find new streams of revenue.

It is apparent from the that the music industry continues to engage in a battle with the digital environment. From illegal piracy to digital download sales hitting a plateau, where does the industry find new revenue streams to keep afloat in a new evolving area of accessing music?

The global economy continues to hurt, but this cannot be the main reason for the drop in sales. The impact of counterfeits and piracy are at uncontrollable levels. In 2009, 95% of music downloads were pirated. In the UK alone, came from the pockets of the record industry. Regardless of the economy’s health, the music industry needs to continue to lobby for better copyright and anti-piracy laws or the industry will continue to fade away.

Tougher laws in countries like and suggest ways of curbing the piracy epidemic. The laws have affected internet users that were pirating any copyrighted material on their computer by suspending their access to the internet. This recent develop has arguably sparked an increase in legal digital downloads and music giants like , for example, have returned to South Korea to search for new music acts.

The legal victories have created hope for an industry that has been wounded during an ongoing battle with the pirates which have illegally downloaded and distributed millions of digital tracks. Music executives add that internet providers are the gatekeepers in helping with this by policing internet users.

Legal solutions for helping to combat illegal downloading have helped some of the revenue problems for the music industry on the business side, but artists are still hurting. What other types of streams for royalties can be obtained? The business model of the industry is changing. Music executives have adjusted to new ways of monetizing new streams of royalties from digital, but are artists getting left behind and in the dark? Is there potential in legislative reform that can help the artist?

While artists are getting hurt by copyright infringement, copyright reform in Canada under , which is designed to modernize the Copyright Act arguably does not aid in the creation of new revenue sources for artists.  Political wrangling is often an obstacle to progress; we must look towards a more pragmatic and innovative way for generating cash flow for these artists.

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