[Fsfe-uk] Fwd: Creative Archive - Next Steps

[Tom Chance]

I'd suggest this is something that everyone in the FFII, AFFS and UKCDR should 
be signing, as well as the organisations themselves.

Regards,
Tom

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: Creative Archive - Next Steps
Date: Monday 31 May 2004 23:42
From: David Tannenbaum <address@hidden>
To: Tom Chance <address@hidden>

Dear Tom,

We regret that you were not able to attend our "Friends of Creative Archive"
 event last Wednesday. It was a success, with over thirty artists, educators,
 archivists, activists and students. We knew we had done some good when the
 BBC Archive's project leader told us that until that night she had
 experienced no input from the British public on how the Archive should be
 implemented.

The next step is to more publicly express our collective support for a fully
 implemented archive that goes beyond the BBC's current plans for 3-minute
 nature clips. We have written a "sign-on" letter, attached and below,
 explaining our standpoint and the current issues related to the project, and
 requesting a meeting. The letter will be sent to BBC executives, public
 officials involved in the charter review, and the press.

Can we count on you as one of the signatories to this letter? The more
 organisations and people we have, the more likely it is that our concerns
 will be taken seriously.

We would like to send out the letter quickly, and would very much appreciate
 your response either way by Friday, June 4th. Please do not hesitate to
 contact me if you have any questions, and please do not hesitate to pass on
 this letter to colleagues who might be interested in signing on. The best
 way for us to build our group and create a public force is by word of mouth.

Thanks for your help!

Yours,

David Tannenbaum, for Friends of the Creative Domain
07816 392 758

P.S. We have set up an e-mail list to keep everyone in touch and up-to-date.
 You can subscribe at
 http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/creative-friends. We have set
 this up as an announcement list, so it will be low-traffic. Please encourage
 others to join. And, if you know anyone who might be willing to donate web
 site hosting services to this effort, please get in touch with me.

-----------------------------------------

Friends of the Creative Domain


<Date>


<Name>
<Organisation>
<Street>
<City>, <Post Code>


Dear <Name>

We write to express our support for the BBC Creative Archive, and our
 concerns relating to how it will be implemented.

As TV licence holders, citizens concerned about access to our national
 heritage, and artists and students who have witnessed the shrinkage of the
 creative domain, we strongly supported Greg Dyke’s August, 2003 commitment
 to take “a massive step forward in opening our content to all — be they
 young or old, rich or poor.”

There are many obvious reasons for taking such a step. Digital technology now
 gives us the chance to unlock and democratise an otherwise inaccessible part
 of our national culture, an opportunity of immeasurable educational value.
 An online archive of past and present BBC material could give artists and
 students unprecedented ways to build creative works, and making material
 available for non-commercial use would open new markets for our nation’s
 artists and the Corporation. In short, the Archive has the potential to
 ignite a “digital campfire” for the nation.

However, we have become concerned that the BBC will not ultimately implement
 the Archive in a way that is conducive to these social goods. Some
 commercial broadcasters have already expressed opposition to an accessible
 archive of free material for non-commercial use, even while asking the BBC
 to “seed” the market for digital content. We worry that the BBC will face
 political pressure from these broadcasters to pursue commercialisation above
 access.

We also worry that the recent changing of the BBC guard places the original
 vision of the Archive in jeopardy. The BBC’s new chairman, Michael Grade,
 has said that a top priority of his is creating a commercial plan for the
 archives. Recent reports that the Board of Governors will take more control
 of the BBC’s policy and planning division suggest that champions of the
 Creative Archive may not be able to overcome pressures to limit access.

We do not object to a commercial plan in principle, as long as it does not
 unreasonably impede non-commercial use by licence holders. However, the
 latest reports about the initial implementation of the Creative Archive
 indicate that only short three-minute clips will be available. Although we
 are confident that the BBC management has more ambitious long-term plans,
 the lack of concrete proposals or public discussion of these plans stokes
 our fears that the Archive will not go beyond a shop window for content that
 TV-licence holders have already paid for.

We believe that the stakes for the Creative Archive are high enough to merit
 a public discussion on how to achieve the project’s fullest potential. This
 discussion should bring in all the relevant stakeholders, including TV
 licence holders, digital video artists, actors, musicians, producers,
 librarians, archivists, historians and students.

Now is an ideal time to open this discussion and to update the BBC Charter to
 allow the BBC to fulfil its public mission in the digital age. We support
 new charter language that would:

* Make the Creative Archive one of the primary objectives of the Corporation,
 with an emphasis on access and creative use. * Specify prospective licensing
 of content for online use in a way that allows licence holders to get their
 best value for money. * Specify the conditions of retrospective licensing of
 content for online use in a way that would maximise the educational and
 cultural value of the archives.

We respectfully request a meeting with you and your staff so that we may
 discuss these concerns and proposals.

Thank you for your consideration.


Sincerely yours,

Friends of the Creative Domain:

Damian Tambini, Director, PCMLP
Annabelle Littoz-Monnet, PCMLP
David Tannenbaum, Union for the Public Domain
<additional signatories>

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