Thank you, Mr. Chair.
One of the things we're hearing from all communities of artists and creators in print, television, and film, through a series of books and journals, is this disempowerment of the model that's emerged, especially in the digital age, when it's been even faster. It's to the point now that we're all used to the musician who throws up their song on YouTube and hopes it becomes a big hit so they can sell albums later. It's part of how they've become successful at selling ads on YouTube, but it's like a loss leader.
We heard testimony the other day is that we have academics publishing quite extensively in journals—everything from medical to social sciences, empirical research, and so forth—just to get or maintain their tenure, or to get into other publications that would affect their tenure. It's really a disempowered relationship for the creator.
Does anybody have any suggestions as to what can be done about that in general? An immense amount of wealth is being created through this transition to the digital age, but it's not reaching the creators. In fact, on the previous panel I noted that some major publishers internationally have been the major benefactors. We've heard testimony that universities, colleges, and school boards are spending more and more money, but the publishers or the creators are getting less from royalties.
Does anybody have any suggestions on that, because I think maybe copyright isn't the place to solve this, but what do we do in the meantime?