Senator Orrin G. Hatch recently demonstrated quite a bit of understanding and praise for the digital music industry at the Future of Music Policy Summit.

Below is a quote from Senator Hatch illustrating some of his thoughts on the future of the industry, and how it will benefit the consumers and artists.

"I am excited about the future of music in the dawning digital world, both as a consumer and as a creator."

"I am a big music fan. Ask anyone who has visited me in my office and seen the stacks of CDs piled around my stereo. Some of the brave ones have even listened to a number of my songs from some of those stacks. When I was growing up, my parents, though poor, saved enough money to get me tickets up in peanut heaven to hear the Pittsburgh symphony and to get me violin lessons. The love of music instilled in me early has stuck with me to this day. I think it is wonderful that it is getting easier to access the music I enjoy from anywhere I go. And since I love so many types of music - I was delighted that our Committee hearings last year allowed me to be introduced to the subtle pleasures of Metallica - I, like most music fans, am excited about the possibility of having virtually any music I want at my fingertips without dragging a case of CDs with me."

"New digital music technology holds potential for artists as well. I have heard from many who are excited about the promise it holds for them. I know something of what it means to write a song. It's hard work, using the deepest resources of your soul to best express the truth as you feel it. But rarely does it pay off for most who make the investment. I attended an event with a number of members of the American Society of Composers and Publishers, and I mentioned to them that I had received my own first $60 royalty check for my songwriting. Yep, sixty big ones. Luckily, I have a day job, which I intend to keep for a while [- or at least until I find my music on Napster and know I've made it big]. Marilyn Bergman mentioned to me that those in the room were especially impressed because most of them will never get a royalty check of any size. It is a sad reality that for every Sheryl Crow or Billy Joel there are thousands who cannot ever support themselves or their families on income from music, even though they may be equally talented. But new distribution systems may be changing that to some degree."

One final quote certainly worth noting in this article from Senator Hatch is as follows.

"I do not think it is any benefit for artists or fans to have all the new, wide distribution channels controlled by those who have controlled the old, narrower ones. This is especially true if they achieve that control by leveraging their dominance in content or conduit space in an anticompetitive way to control the new, independent music services that are attempting to enhance the consumer's experience of music."

A complete copy of his speech available online which I highly recommend reading.

Do you think that Senator Hatch will have any direct impact on the future of Digital Music? What are your thoughts on this speech at the recent Future of Music Policy Summit which Senator Hatch gave? Let us know in the guided discussion.