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October 21, 2013鈥擳he future of music is anything but certain. For artists, promoters, and record label executives, the task of finding sustainable business models looms large. And even though technology is connecting fans and musicians in more ways than ever, it鈥檚 also turning the traditional modes of music consumption upside down.

On October 28 and 29, the at Georgetown will try to address some of these pressing issues. The summit is unique among academic conferences in that it brings together policymakers, technologists, legal scholars, academics, and musicians to chip away at some of the big questions facing the industry.

鈥淭he summit sets the groundwork for a balanced approach to sustaining the arts, especially music and film, and promoting social justice in the digital age,鈥� said , who is the Thomas E. Caestecker Professor of Music and has been involved in the summit since 2006. 鈥淭his is an approach that reflects the interests of all stakeholders, not just the powerful few.鈥�

This year鈥檚 conference, which is co-sponsored by the Future of Music Coalition, features among others Rep. John Conyers, Jr.; Bob Boilen, host of NPR鈥檚 All Songs Considered; Alec Ounsworth, guitarist of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah; and Wayne Kramer, guitarist of MC5 and co-founder of , a nonprofit that provides musical instruments and education to the prison population.

It makes sense, says Georgetown 海角论坛 Associate Dean , that a summit addressing music, policy and social justice would happen at Georgetown. Not only is the university serious about public policy, he says, but programs like and have been 鈥渁scendant鈥� in recent years.

鈥淭he areas of our curriculum that are most solidly connected with the Future of Music Coalition have expanded. The context for the summit here at Georgetown has grown,鈥� Cook said.

The summit promises to cover a wide swath of the music industry. Three major issues will be dealt with in detail鈥攃opyright, innovation, and advocacy. Topics within those major areas include how proposed changes to copyright law may impact musicians; the ins and outs of digital business models and revenue generation; why public policy matters to local cultural communities around the globe; and how musicians are advancing positive social change.

That last subject might not be something music consumers spend a lot of time thinking about. But it鈥檚 an area that is frequently on Assistant Professor of Music 鈥檚 mind. Harbert, a musician and filmmaker, will be screening his film, Follow Me Down: Portraits of Louisiana Prison Musicians, on Friday, October 25, 2013, before the summit. The project, which Harbert calls a 鈥渃oncert film鈥� made in collaboration with the inmates, looks at music being made in three Louisiana prisons.

Through his work, Harbert addresses issues of incarceration and shows inmates in a more human light. For him, it鈥檚 important to demonstrate how social justice work can be sustainable for artists and their causes.

鈥淭here are plenty of unsustainable models for artists to engage in social justice. You can get really famous and use your fame to draw attention to something,鈥� Harbert said. 鈥淏ut fame is so fleeting.鈥�

As such, he says, he wants to examine alternative ways that arts can engage the public in a deeper conversation. One of the artists doing that is Wayne Kramer. Since co-founding Jail Guitar Doors USA, Kramer has visited prisons all over the country to introduce inmates to the transformative power of music and to highlight issues in the nation鈥檚 prison system.

On October 26, Kramer, who was incarcerated in a federal penitentiary in the late 1970s on drug charges, will lead a master class for students that will touch not only on performance techniques, but also the role of media in public policy debates and the current state of arts education.

During his visit, Kramer will also take his unique brand of advocacy to Washington lawmakers.

鈥淭he fact is,鈥� Kramer said, 鈥淚 will spend three times as long on Capitol Hill this trip as I will be on stage with an electric guitar doing parallel work, with the knowledge that one undertaking is just as important as the other.鈥�

Insight into that type of grassroots activism is what Harbert hopes students and other conference-goers get out of the summit. Both Harbert and Cook think the summit will help students take what they鈥檙e learning about the history of music and the arts in the classroom and apply that to contemporary issues.

鈥淲e want students to think about different forms of cultural creation,鈥� Cook said. 鈥淎nd exposure to these policy debates helps create a deeper understanding of what鈥檚 at stake.鈥�
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Related Information

Visit the Future of Music Coalition website to register for the summit. There will also be additional events at Georgetown the week before the summit.

• October 23, 2013, 8 p.m. EDT: Associate Dean Bernie Cook will host an online screening of (2013) with the film鈥檚 director Gena Konstantinakos and special guests.
   
• October 25, 2013, 7:30 p.m.: Assistant Professor of Music Ben Harbert will host a screening of his film Follow Me Down in the New South Film Screening Classroom.
   
• October 26, 2013, 9:00 a.m.鈥�5:00 p.m.: Georgetown鈥檚 Music Program will host , a conference and master class with Wayne Kramer.