One of the sessions I was most proud of at Web 2 was “The Pirate and the Suit.” Somehow I got the CEO of EMI North America, David Munns, to sit down with Eric Kleptone and have a real conversation about the issues involved in making new forms of music like “A Night at the Hip Hopera“, which starts with a very big “FU” to EMI (I even played the intro before we started talking). It was a thoughtful conversation, and at times it was clear that David was less than comfortable – he was in front of what might at any time turn into a hostile audience, and he was representing “the man.” So when it was over, I went into the green room and thanked him for showing up. After all, many others in his position – the CEO of Verizon, for example – begged off.
Turns out, not only did he show up, he had a colleague record the session, and they posted it on their site. I’d never expect that kind of transparency from a label. Kudos.