Media: Making enemies and alienating people

SkyCity's chief, Nigel Morrison, reckons NZ gambling laws shackle the industry. Photo / Greg Bowker

New Zealand is headed for a big crackdown in copyright charges, including a rate rise for at least some music performances.

Multinational entertainment companies are running a global campaign to recover catastrophic losses from online piracy. But let's hope the Hollywood entertainment bosses can learn to play nicely.

New Zealand with its tiny population doesn't count much in a global push to squeeze more out of performance charges to make up for lost CD revenue.

But you'd think being liked by your consumers would help.

The experience in this country - from the copyright sector's bullying campaign over Section 92A of the Copyright Act led by the record industry - is an example of how to make enemies and alienate people.

The Herald has reported this week about gyms outraged that a proposed 4000 per cent increase (yes 4000) in music copyright charges in Australia will be repeated here.

Then there was the story of music copyright agency Phonographic Performances hiring a private eye with secret surveillance equipment to recover a $155 fee.

When the offender offered to pay the agency said "no, we'll take you to court".

The music mavens look mean.

Phonographic Performances NZ Ltd (PPNZ) has hired Pead PR, which also works for the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.

The Motion Picture Association has hired its own PR consultant, Sweeney Vesty.

Maybe it is just a public relations problem.

Probably the best advice they can give is for Hollywood heavies to shut up and let the locals work out what is best locally.

MUSIC MEANIES

There is nothing wrong with the music industry digging in collecting fees or putting them up. The media and entertainment industries have been decimated by free media - they have a right to get some back.

Nobody is forced to play music in their pub or club and the market - backed by the New Zealand Copyright Tribunal - can decide what is the right price.

PPNZ managing director Kristan Bowman said no decision had been made yet on which charges would be considered in a review beginning in the fourth quarter.

She said PPNZ, which had representatives from the same big record companies, was distinct from the Record Industry Association of New Zealand, which was dominated by the multinationals.

PPNZ had been working to educate the public and communicate with media, she said, and would make itself available to explain the issues.

Bowman seems like a thoroughly nice person, as does Tony Eaton, executive director of the anti-piracy group Federation against Copyright Theft.

Their success, though, is knowing how to apply the hard-arse ideas of people in Hollywood without coming across like a bunch of heavies.

JACKPOT JIVE

SkyCity Entertainment chief executive Nigel Morrison says New Zealand gambling laws are stacked against casinos. In particular he was flummoxed by the Gambling Act ban on casinos using the word "jackpot" in marketing and promotions.

"It's bizarre," said the Aussie import casino boss. "You can have Lotto going on and on every week about jackpots, but if we use it in marketing or promotion we can lose our licence."

Morrison - who has been talking to the Government about removing regulatory "shackles" - wants more changes to rules he says are an impediment to tourism.

He said research had shown the New Zealand gambling sector was heavily regulated and contributed only about $15 million of revenue to the state here compared with more than $500 million across the Tasman.

You'd imagine anti-gambling groups would be grumpy but SkyCity says it now has a better relationship with "the concerned sector".

BARRY AND JOCK

New Zealand Truth chief reporter Jock Anderson has resigned and rejoined the National Business Review, where he will be providing law-flavoured news.

NBR owner Barry Colman confirmed yesterday that Anderson would be working on the revamped NBR website.

Anderson and the NBR seem well matched but the reunion is surprising given their unhappy parting a few years ago over a stake in a website bearing his name. But with the NBR putting great store in its new website and after a recent exodus of staff, Colman has bought back the veteran journalist.

Meantime the NBR has appointed former Management Magazine editor Ellen Read as news editor to run the newsroom, replacing Brett Thompson. I'm a former NBR writer and it's a matter of opinion but I would argue that the website effort has been at the expense of the hard-copy version, which has been looking flat lately.

'NO SUBSTANCE'

Television New Zealand has acknowledged rumours - widespread in the television industry - that chief executive Rick Ellis is to resign. TVNZ said the rumours, which suggested an announcement would be made when annual results were presented to Parliament, might have been due to confusion about the retirement of Fisher & Paykel's John Bongard.

Asked for comment, TVNZ chairman John Anderson told the Business Herald: "I confirm that the rumours have no substance whatsoever and Rick will be CEO of TVNZ for the foreseeable future."

DISTRIBUTION IS KING?

In the past Ellis has framed his stewardship of TVNZ around the parameters of what he said was turning the company around. The success of his tenure - in extraordinarily difficult times - will be apparent at the end of next month when he announces annual results to June 30.

Ellis has succeeded in getting TVNZ out of the headlines.

Partly because of media fatigue over reporting about the once-dysfunctional state broadcaster's internal squabbles - particularly between a meddling board of directors and former chief executive Ian Fraser - Ellis has been able to get back to the business of making money and discarding the loose constraints of the charter.

Staff have been cut and so has programming. A move to cut advertising commissions is being compared to Ellis' influence on the travel industry when he headed Ansett airlines. The move was successful, though as one industry source noted, Ansett is no longer around.

Ellis' most apparent success has been to restore stability and build new media to the point TVNZ says its online division is making money.

If the Government has made any big decisions about TVNZ's future, it is not saying. But Ellis, the TVNZ board and its political masters have opted to develop TVNZ with new distribution arms like online, and with its stake in TiVo.

One argument, however, questions whether this is the best strategy.

With more than 100 channels and nearing 50 per cent coverage of the country, Sky will dominate distribution. Would TVNZ be better focusing on content? That may well be a debating point when Ellis eventually does quit.