This was a great day.

I am going to geek out a little bit, here, folks, and possibly (no, DEFINITELY) neglect to talk about a lot of great things that were discussed. In my defense, I bet everyone in the room today at FMC Policy Summit has some artist or band that largely inspired their entrance into the music business. For me that was REM.

Bertis Downs, REM’s career long lawyer and advisor, sat on a fantastic panel to start the day about DIY Models in music. I must tell you that from the time I was 12 years old in 1985, I not only knew everything about REM, the band members, their songs, and their videos… I was the kid who also knew who their MANAGER was and who their LAWYER was. Yep. By 36, the name Bertis Downs has been a part of my personal music register for the most of my life. “Berry, Buck, Mills and Stipe”, was incomplete, in my mind, without “Holt and Downs” tacked onto the end.

Flash forward to today, Monday morning at the Policy Summit: There I am, asking the panel a question, and there’s Mr. Downs answering …. conscientiously, enthusiastically, and respectfully … and for that little interaction with a guy who’s name I’ve know 20+ years, there was a little part of me “flipping out” on the inside.

But Mr. Downs’ really put the icing on the cake a couple hours later that same morning. After REM Bassist Mike Mills’ fantastic interview with newly sworn-in Senator Al Franken had let out, and sufficiently after the hub-bub died down in the lobby outside the conference hall, Mr. Downs seemed to go out of his way to pull me aside and introduce me to Mike Mills.

Talk about connecting with the customer!

The day was packed with informative debate all around. I feel a little bit silly for not delving into my thoughts around debates about net neutrality, ISP monitoring and filtering issues, the Performance Rights Act, Health care for artists, and many other key important topics.I encourage you to  read the chain of messages surrounding all of them and more by searching #FMC09 on twitter.

I am having incredible fun.

- Brian