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Politico’s interview with Corgan following his testimony before Judiciary Committee on HR 848

Link to Politico Interview

As a follow up to my previous post on the subject, the radio widget above should play Politico’s interview with Smashing Pumpkin’s founder and frontman Billy Corgan following his testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee in support of HR 848, the Performance Rights Act.

Corgan testified on Capitol Hill on behalf of the musicFIRST Coalition yesterday.  Corgan testified that the current sytems is “hurting the music business” because of radio stations’ failure to compensate musicians for performing their music.

My readers know my thoughts on this subject.  While I agree with Corgan’s overall sentiment, I stand by my emphasis yesterday that the legislation as it is written may be drafted in favor of the record labels more so than the performing artists. 

HR 848 should have a provision that provides for direct payment of royalties to the artists who performed on the sound recording and which specifically does NOT rely on the record labels to distribute these royalties “in accordance with the terms of the artist’s contract.”  (See my previous post).  This kind of language contained in the House version of the legislation at Section 6 only assures that the record labels would receive all the performance royalties and that performing artists would have to overcome numerous obstacles to ever see any of the additional income, inevitably leading to more disputes with the record label.   The current artists agreements with record labels simply do not contain provisions addressing payment of these types of royalties and, even if they did, the artists who have unrecouped balances on their ledger sheets would never see a dime. 

My proposal is that the current system for collection and distribution of performance royalties for musical compositions be utilized.  Specifically, why not allow BMI, SESAC and ASCAP to collect and distribute the performance royalties for sound recording copyrights on behalf of member artists, allowing these organizations to pay 50% of the income directly to the artists (the original owners of the sound recordings) and 50% to the record labels (the assignee owners of the sound recordings).  This structure is identical to the distribution of performance royalties for owners of the musical composition copyright.  It’s a systems that has functioned well since the turn of the 20th century and it is a systems that, overall, works fairly well. 

In general, members of the performance rights organizations have fewer royalty disputes with these entities over  than artists do with record labels, since these entities, for the most part, do not function as profit generators.  There is no doubt that this idea has some flaws as well, but in comparing the alternative, it seems to me that this would benefit the artists and musicians much more than giving the money to the record labels.

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Judiciary Committee holds hearings on HR 848, the “Performance Rights Act”

The House Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on H.R. 848 (this year’s version of HR 4789) tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m.  Although the Committee’s website does not identify any witnesses at this time, I am informed by musicFIRST that Smashing Pumpkins’ founder Billy Corgan and Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the RIAA will be speaking on their behalf at the hearing.

Billy Corgan H.R. 848 was introduced to the 111th Congress by Rep. John Conyers on February 4, 2009 then referred to committee on the same day.  It was co-sponsored by Tennessee representative, Marsha Blackburn.  If passed, HR 848 would amend The Copyright Act (specifically Title 17) to provide “parity in radio performance rights” under the Copyright Act.  In other words, the Bill would grant a performance rights in sound recordings performed over terrestrial broadcasts (i.e., traditional radio broadcasts, not satellite).   S. 379 is the Senate’s complimentary bill, introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy.

The act has certain provisions to accommodate concerns by the broadcast industry, such as the provision which establishes a flat annual fee in lieu of payment of royalties for individual terrestrial broadcast stations with gross revenues of less than $1.25 million and for non-commercial, public broadcast stations; the provision which grants an exemption from royalty payments for broadcasts of religious services and for incidental uses of musical sound recordings; and the provision which grants terrestrial broadcast stations that make limited feature uses of sound recordings the option to obtain per program licenses. 

The Act specifically states that it will not adversely affect the public performance rights or royalties payable to songwriters or copyright owners of musical works.   In particular, the Act prohibits taking into account the rates established by the Copyright Royalty Judges in any proceeding to reduce or adversely affect the license fees payable for public performances by terrestrial broadcast stations. Requires that such license fees for the public performance of musical works be independent of license fees paid for the public performance of sound recordings.

The full text of the bill can be found at govtrack.us.

One provision I found interesting was Section 6, (1)(A), regarding payment of certain royalties, that states, in full:

A featured recording artist who performs on a sound recording that has been licensed for public performance by means of a digital audio transmission shall be entitled to receive payments from the copyright owner of the sound recording in accordance with the terms of the artist’s contract.

Emphasis added.  This last clause intrigues me.  What I find interesting about it is that under the current structure, the record labels own most, if not all, of the commercial sound recording masters, i.e., they are the “copyright owner of the sound recording.”  This clause entitles the “featured recording artist,” e.g., Madonna, Michael Jackson, etc., to receive payments from the owner “in accordance with the terms of the artist’s contract.” 

In most artists’ contracts, payments are based on a percentage of the gross revenues from sales of physical units – current artist contracts do not have provision for payment of performance royalties on the sound recording.  It would seem that under the Act as written, there is silence as to what happens in this instance where these specific payments of performance royalties are not addressed in the artist’s contract.  One possible remedy would be for the legislators to draft language that would apply, such as what they have done with regard to the “non-featured artists in subsection (B) of the same Section 6.   This Section 6 is not found in the Senate’s version of the legislation.

All of this makes me curious about what will happen to performance royalties that are paid under this Act to the owners of the sound recording copyrights, i.e. the record labels if there is no language in the artists’ recording agreements to specify as to what percentage the artist is entitled?  One thing is certain:  an artist who is not recouped under his artist recording agreement will never see any of these performance royalties under such time as his balance is recouped.

One proposal you might suggest to your representatives is that they consider a payment structure similar to that of the current performance rights organizations that collect and pay performance royalties for musical compositions, wherein one half of the royalties go directly to the songwriter and the other half directly to the publisher.  If this were the case under the new Act, half of the royalty payments would filter directly to the artist and the other half would go to the record labels.  If there truly is a concern about the recording artists not getting paid for his or her performances, this is the only method that would assure this happens.

If you are a recording artist whose performances are being playing on local FM and AM radios, you should investigate the impact this legislation will have on you.  Call you Senators and Representatives and ask them to keep you updated.

Randy Owens receives “Artist Humanitarian Award”

Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. today announced that country legend Randy Owens was the recipient of this year’s Artist Humanitarian Award. 

Together with his cousins Jeff Cook and Teddy Gentry, Owens was the front man for the one of the best selling country acts of all time, Alabama.  The band, which peaked in the 80’s, racked up over thirty No. 1’s on Billboard’s Country Singles Charts, with memorable hits such as “Love in the First Degree,” “Feels So Right,” “Close Enough to Perfect” and “Take Me Down.”  They also sang backup vocals on Lionel Richie’s 1987 single “Deep River Woman,” which peaked at No. 10.  The group has won two Grammy Awards for "Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal" in 1982 for Mountain Music and in 1983 for The Closer You Get.

Owen co-founded Country Cares for St. Jude Kids® in 1989 after meetingRandy Owen St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital founder Danny Thomas the year before.  To date, Country Cares has raised more than $345 million to fund research in the fight against childhood cancer.  Earlier this year, more than 800 members of the country music industry gathered at the annual seminar in Memphis to celebrate 20 years of support for the children of St. Jude.  In 2008, Broken Bow Records released the Grammy Award-winner’s debut solo album, One On One, and HarperOne published his memoir, titled "Born Country." 

Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. leads the music industry in recognizing the humanitarian achievements of country artists.  In 1990, CRB instituted the Artist Humanitarian Award, which was first presented during the CRS-21.  Past honorees include Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Garth Brooks, Charlie Daniels and Kenny Rogers.  For a complete list of past winners, click here.

Last year’s recipient, Clay Walker, presented Owen with the award Wednesday morning during the award ceremonies in the Convention Center. 

The Radio Humanitarian Awards for 2009 went to 97.3 WGH, Norfolk-Virginia (Large Market), 107.7 WIVK, Knoxville, Tennessee (Medium Market) and 93.3 WFLS, Fredericksburg, Virginia (Small Market).  The CRB Radio Humanitarian Awards are presented to full-time country radio stations for their efforts to improve the quality of life for communities they serve. 

This year’s Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award was given to CBS Minneapolis VP Market Manager Mick Anselmo, Sr.  During his tenure at KEEY-FM, Anselmo organized and created a radiothon which has helped raise more than $12 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  His partnership with Sharing and Caring Hands of Minneapolis during a run of Garth Brooks concerts in 1998 set a Minneapolis-St. Paul food drive record.  The former Clear Channel radio executive also created Project Northern Lights, an effort that collected calling cards for troops stationed in Baghdad.

The intent of the Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award, given at the discretion of the Country Radio Broadcasters Board of Directors, is to recognize an individual in the Country Radio industry who has displayed a magnanimous spirit of caring and generosity in service to their community.  The award is given when the board feels an individual, through outstanding service, warrants the recognition. 

Congratulations to Randy and the other winners.

Oscar-nominated short film “I Met the Walrus”

As a Beatles fan, I thought I’d share this interesting little film, which animates an interview which Jerry Levitan conducted with John Lennon in 1969 when Levitan was only 14.

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmR0V6s3NKk&hl=en&fs=1]

Just to give a little historical perspective, 1969 was the year that Abby Road was released, the Beatles performed together for the last time, and was the year that Lennon and Yono conducted their famous “Bed-In” in Montreal Quebec.  A lot happened in 1969:  it was a time wApollo11patchhen the space race was in full force, with Russia and the U.S. leap-frogging each other into the great frontier, culminating in the U.S. landing the first man on the moon, Apollo 11, with Neil Armstrong’s famous “one small step for mankind”  proclamation.  The Cold War with Russia was at a boiling point.  It was a tumultuous time:  Nixon was president, the Vietnam war was in full force, the draft lottery was held for the first time since WWII, and Nixon proclaim the “Nixon Doctrine” that he expected Asian allies to be responsible for their own military defense.  Antiwar demonstrations were at their peak, so much so that Nixon asks for the “silent majority” to join in solidarity in support of the troops.  Some events that changed our lives forever that year include: a little Arkansas corporation called Wal-mart is formed, the first GAP store opens in San Francisco, the AIDS virus first spread to the US, the first automatic teller machine was installed in the US in Rockville Centre, New York and the first ARPANET link, the ancestor of the Internet, was established.  CultuArpanetrally, Monty Python’s Flying Circus debuts in the UK, Sesame Street premieres,  and the New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts in Superbowl III.  Notable births that year included Brett Favre, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Matthew McConaughey, and Jennifer Lopez.  Notable deaths include Dwight D. Eisenhower, King Saud (Saudi Arabia), Judy Garland, Boris Karloff and Rocky Marciano.

Levitan was producer for I Met the Walrus.  In 2007, he hired Josh Raskin to direct and animate the short film on behalf of his production company.  It was illustrated by James Braithwaite, who Levitan described as “brilliant.”  It has won numerous awards, including the Best Animated Short awards from the American Film Institute, the Middle East International Film Festival, the Manhattan Short Film Festival, the Cleveland Film Festival, RiverRun International Film Festival and the Coup de Coeur award from the Regard-Saguenay International Sort Film Festival.  It was nominated for an Academy Award (Oscar) in 2008 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Jerry Levitan informs me that he written a book by the same, I Met the Walrus, which comes out in May under the Harper Collins imprint.  You can find out more about Mr. Levitan at www.sir-jerry.com. 

Thanks to my good friend Gray for turning me on to this film and thanks to Jerry Levitan for the kind words about my humble blog!

See these related links:

Film company website.

Read more about the film here.

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Music Row gears up for CRS

When big events like the Country Radio Seminar occur, Music Row begins to buzz with various activities and talk about the celebrities.  The Country Radio Seminar is an annual convention designed to educate and promote the exchange of ideas in the country music industry.  This year marks the event’s 40th anniversary and it promises to be another great year for attendance.

Among the buzz this year is Gerry House’s induction into the CountrGerry House y Music DJ Hall of Fame.  House is without a doubt one of the most well known country radio personalities of all time and has been honored many times during his long career as a spinner of vinyl (and now polycarbonate, or make that digits!).  He began that career in the small Tennessee town of Maryville at WBCR.  In 1975, he stared at WSIX-AM in Nashville then moved over to the FM side in the early ’80s.  In 1985, he moved his show to the granddaddy of Country Music Radio, WSM and then to KLAC in Los Angeles.  Ultimately, as life often does, he came almost full circle returning to WSIX-FM.  In 2008, the Gerry House and the House Foundation morning show on WSIX won “Personality of the Year” awards from the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and Radio & Records.  House also received the National Association of Broadcasters’ Marconi Award and Leadership Music’s Dale Franklin Award. Also an accomplished songwriter, House wrote “The Big One” (George Strait), “Little Rock” (Reba McEntire) and “On The Side Of Angels” (LeAnn Rimes).   House is joined by the induction Cleveland Ohio’s Chuck Collier, a 30-year veteran of country music radio.  On the programming side of the equation, Bob McKay and Moon Mullins are the Country Music Radio Hall of Fame inductees.   Merle Haggard will receive the Career Achievement Award and Shelia Shipley Biddy will be presented the President’s Award.

The Country Music DJ and Radio Hall of Fame events unofficially mark the beginning of CRS each year.  The Hall of Fame Cocktail Party begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday evening. The Dinner and Induction Ceremony follows at 6 p.m.   The remainder of scheduled events for CRS are as follows:

Wednesday, March 4

Wednesday’s events kick off at 9 a.m. with the Opening Ceremonies and Award Presentation.  The keynote address, delivered by marketing expert Seth Godin, will follow at 10 a.m. in the Performance Hall, with the Sylvia Hutton Motivational Speaker/Life Coach panel at 11:15 a.m.  This year’s speaker will be former No. 1 country artist-turn motivational coach Sylvia Hutton.

New label Golden Music will sponsor Wednesday’s luncheon, featuring performances by Benton Blount and Williams Riley.  The previously scheduled morning Artist Radio Taping Session (sponsored by SESAC) will now be combined with the afternoon A.R.T.S. panel.  As a result, the afternoon session will be extended by one hour (2:30 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.).

Performers at ASCAP’s KCRS Live! will include artists and songwriters Jimmy Wayne, Kelley Lovelace, Ashley Gorley and Jonathan Singleton.  The popular Music City JamTM (7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. in the Performance Hall) will be hosted this year by Tim McGraw and sponsored by the Academy of Country Music. 

Additionally, two educational panels will be featured Wednesday afternoon: “Country Radio As Seen Through The PPM Lens,” sponsored by Arbitron, and “Back to the Future: 1969-2049.”

Thursday, March 5:

Designated as Music Industry Town Meeting Day, single day registration for Thursday’s activities may be purchased on-site for $265.  The day’s agenda includes the return of the Tech Track and Small Market Track panels.  Tech Track panels include “Spinning a Web” and “40 New Media Ideas.”  Small Market panels include “Come Hell or High Water: Disaster Preparedness,” “You’re a PD, Now What?” and “Champagne Production on a Beer Budget.”  Sixteen panels will be offered in all during the day between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Thursday’s events begin at 9 a.m. with The Country Music Association revealing the results of its 2008 Country Music Consumer Segmentation Study, conducted by Leo Burnett Co. and Starcom MediaVest Group.  Sony Music Nashville’s luncheon (noon – 1:50 p.m.) will feature performances by Miranda Lambert and Jake Owen.  At 4:10 p.m. Bobby Pinson, PauMiranda Lambert l Overstreet, Josh Turner and Jamey Johnson will perform during WCRS Live! (sponsored by BMI and Country Aircheck).

Friday, March 6:
Friday is Radio Sales Day.  Single day registration, including entrance to the New Faces of Country Music Show®, is available for $370 on-site.  Friday’s events will kick-off with the Managers’ Breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by CRS-40’s second research study, which will present findings from the Edison Research / CRB National Country P1 Study 2009 at 10 a.m. 

Panels during the day will focus on important topics that affect the Country Radio format, such as consumer habits, promotional and research ideas, voicetracking and tools to increase sales.  Prominent sales panels include “20 Ideas Even a PD Would Love,” “PPM!  Selling the Country Format,” “What’s NTR Got To Do With It?” “Creative Closing” and “A Car Dealer Tells All About Advertising.”  More than a dozen panels will be offered during Friday’s activities.

Friday’s luncheon, sponsored by Capitol Nashville, will feature performances from Darius Rucker and Little Big Town.  Also during lunch, Operation Troop Aid, a non-profit charity organization, will send 500 care packages from CRS-40 to deployed U.S. troops.  Packages will contain phone cards, MP3s, beef jerky, trail mix, hand wipes, hand sanitizer, cookies, candy, granola bars, toiletry items and thank you letters.  At 4:10 p.m., Barbara Mandrell will interview Kix Brooks during the Life of a Legend series.

One of Country Radio Seminar’s most popular events, The New Faces of Country Music Show and Dinner (sponsored by R&R and CMA) starts at 6:30 p.m. with performances from Lady Antebellum, James Otto, Kellie Pickler, Chuck Wicks and The Zac Brown Band.  CRS-40 will then Julianne Hough officially close with the unique 40th Anniversary Jam: A Musical Thanks to Radio, to be held at Cadillac Ranch and sponsored by DigitalRodeo.com.  Artists will cover their favorite radio hits from the last 40 years, featuring performances by Emerson Drive, Andy Griggs, Julianne Hough, Jamie O’Neal, James Otto, Blake Shelton, Jimmy Wayne, Chuck Wicks, Mark Wills and Darryl Worley, among others.

A new CRS documentary can be seen during the three-day seminar at the Renaissance and Hilton hotels in downtown Nashville.  The film, produced by Art Vuolo and titled WCRS-TV, chronicles various CRS highlights over the last 21 years.

CRS-40 will be held March 4-6, 2009 at the Nashville Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. 

About CRB:
Detailed seminar information and a full agenda can be found online at www.CRB.org.  On-site registration is still available for $699 and may be purchased at the Convention Center.  The Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.®, the event sponsor, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1969 to bring radio broadcasters from around the world together with the Country Music Industry to ensure vitality and promote growth in the Country Radio format. 

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James H. Harris III certified as Civil Trial Specialist

My friend and colleague James H. Harris III was recently certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.  Just over 300 Tennessee attorneys have completed the rigorous certification process established and required by the Tennessee Supreme  Court.

jamesh1 To be certified, Tennessee attorneys must met certain requirements, including a certain number of years of experience in their particular field of certification, demonstration of special education, passage of an examination, and recommendation from other judges and attorneys.

Tennessee attorneys are not required to be certified in a particular field in order to practice in that area, and in fact Tennessee does not have a certification process for every area of legal practice (entertainment law, for example, is excluded).  Currently, certification is only offered in the areas of Civil Trial, Criminal Trial, Bankruptcy, Malpractice, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Family Law and a few other areas. 

Another member of my association, Gail Bradford, is certified in the area of Estate Planning.

Congratulations Jim!

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WSM’s “Bluegrass Underground” moves to Saturdays

Beginning this Saturday, Feb. 14, legendary radio station 650 AM WSM will move its acclaimed Bluegrass Underground series to a new time slot. The program will now broadcast on WSM every Saturday night from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. CST and stream worldwide at www.WSMonline.com.

WSM A performance by Nashville bluegrass band, The Steeldrivers, will be featured on the first show broadcast at the new time slot.

“Having Bluegrass Underground as a part of the weekly WSM broadcast schedule enhances the diversity of our programming, which no other Nashville radio station can stake claim to,” says WSM program director Joe Limardi.

It is the perfect lead-in to our ‘crown jewel’ of programming, the Saturday Night WSM Grand Ole Opry.”

WSM’s first official broadcast day was October 5, 1925. The Nashville-based station is the radio home for the Grand Ole Opry, which has been broadcast live over the airwaves on WSM since its inception.  The 50,000 watt, low frequency station can be picked up in 38 states on 650 AM and heard worldwide at www.WSMonline.com.

Bluegrass Underground Each Bluegrass Underground show is taped live in the Volcano Room, a naturally formed amphitheater located 333 feet below ground at Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, Tennessee. Since it began in August 2008, the show has featured performances by The Infamous Stringdusters, Tim O’Brien, The Steeldrivers, The Grascals and Cadillac Sky

“WSM is synonymous with the original American music form called bluegrass, and Cumberland Caverns is one of the world’s most unique show caves,” says Bluegrass Underground creator and producer Todd Mayo. “We are proud to broadcast our show from such a magical location as The Volcano Room, and we think our new time slot on legendary 650 WSM provides a great platform for this genre, particularly on the station that’s always been a friend to bluegrass music.”

The unique venue also has surprisingly pleasant acoustics, according to Bluegrass Underground recording engineer Phil Harris. “The sound in here is phenomenal,” he says. “It has a really nice, warm sound, unlike a lot of other man-made things that you encounter. The room is fantastic!”

Upcoming performers scheduled to be on the show include The Travelin’ McCourys with Ronnie Bowman (Mar. 14), Steep Canyon Rangers [April 18] and CherryHolmes [June 27].

Visit Bluegrass Underground for tickets and more information.

 

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Nothing left to lose – the ongoing war on copyrights

Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster once penned one of my favorite lyrics in the song Me and Bobby McGee, i.e., “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”  The sentiment is perhaps appropriate for the ongoing war that is being waged against copyright laws as we know them.  The latest battle in this war was fired by the esteemed Lawrence Lessig, famous lawyer and copyright scholar, in his new book Remix: Making Art & Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy.  If Lessig has his way, the songwriter and music publisher will, indeed, have nothing left to lose.

Remix Lawrence Lessig The main goal of the book is the demolishment of existing copyright laws, which Lessig has described as Byzantine.  He believes our current copyright laws are futile, costly and culturally stifling. The “hybrid economy” is described by Lessig as one in which a “sharing economy” coexists with a “commercial economy.”  See this very humorous interview by Stephen Colbert.  He gives examples such as YouTube, Flikr and Wikipedia, which rely on user-generated “remixes” of information, images and sound to illustrate his point.  This “hybrid economy,” in Lessig-speak, is identical to what he calls a “Read/Write (RW)” culture — as opposed to “Read/Only (RO)” — i.e., a culture in which consumers are allowed to “create art as readily as they consume it.”  Thus, the “remix” to which he refers is the concept of taking another persons copyrighted work and “making something new” or “building on top of it.”  This is what us less-published copyright lawyers like to refer to as a derivative work!  And that is the crux of Lessig’s problem:  the copyright law DOES in fact make provision for this type of creative endeavor, provided that the creator of the derivative work gains the permission of the copyright owner.  This is that with which Lessig seeks to do away.

In the Colbert interview, Lessig drolly points out that 70% of our kids are sharing files illegally and that the “outdated” copyright laws are “turning them in to criminals.”  This reminds me just a bit of what my Daddy used to tell me: just because everybody’s doing it doesn’t make it right!   Or, as Colbert blithely responded, “isn’t that like saying arson laws are turning our kids into arsonists?”  The obvious conclusion is that perhaps the law is simply not the problem.

Colbert then comically crosses out Lessig’s name on the cover of his his advance copy of Lessig’s book, draws a picture of Snoopy inside, and then questions Lessig as to whether the book was now his (Colber’t’s) work of art, to which Lessig says “that’s great,” we “jointly” own the copyright.  That’s a point to which Lessig’s publisher, Penguin Press, would surely not acquiesce.  In the final retort to Lessig, Colbert makes the point that he likes the current system, and I quote, “the system works for me.”  I might add that the system seems to be working extremely well for Lawrence Lessig as well.  Lessig is making a fortune exploiting the very system he criticizes as antiquated – the very essence of free speech, I suppose, but in the final analysis, a bit disingenuous.

While I do admire Professor Lessig for working toward a solution to a perceived problem, it’s very difficult to believe that tearing down the entire system of copyright laws in order to accommodate a large percentage of prepubescent teenagers who are too cheap to pay for their music is the appropriately measured response we need in this instance.   Call me crazy.

Here are several good critiques of Lessig’s work and ideas here for further exploration of this issue:

The Future of Copyright, by Lawrence B. Solum (download PDF from this page)

Lessig’s call for a “simple blanket license” in Remix, by Adam Thierer

Copyright in the Digital Age, by Mark A. Fischer

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musicFIRST defends rights of artists

By Jennifer Bendall, Executive Director of musicFIRST

Did you know that every time you hear your favorite artist’s hit songs over the airwaves he or she doesn’t receive a single penny from the radio stations broadcasting the song? Sounds crazy, right? While AM and FM music broadcasters rightly pay the writers of these songs, they refuse to compensate the performing artist as the performer of the song.

In fact, AM and FM music radio stations earn a cool $16 billion a year in advertising revenue without compensating the artists and musicians who bring MusicFirstmusic to life and listeners’ ears to the radio dial.

The fight for a fair performance right on radio has been going on in the U.S. for more than 80 years. Frank Sinatra was a leader in this fight 20 years ago, and his daughter Nancy carries the legacy today. In 2008, Nancy Sinatra testified before a House subcommittee on behalf of the musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition, telling members of Congress about the life of an artist:

Imagine struggling in your job, perhaps for years, to make the best product you can – a product made of your blood, sweat and tears. Now imagine people taking that product to use to build their own hugely successful businesses. Just taking it – no permission, no payment, and no consequence.

A fair performance right is not only beneficial for the musicians and artists behind the music, but also for the U.S. economy. Currently, the U.S. is the only member of the 30-country Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that does not fairly compensate performing artists when their songs are played on the radio. This puts the U.S. in the company of countries such as Iran, China and North Korea who don’t pay royalties to performers for their intellectual property. Plus, since we don’t have a performance right here in the U.S., artists lose out on the royalties collected overseas for the play of American sound recordings.

The musicFIRST Coalition, a group of artists, musicians and music community organizations, supports the creation of a performance right on AM and FM radio. The Coalition formed in June 2007 to ensure that all performers – from aspiring and local artists, to background singers and well-known stars – are fairly compensated when their music is played on the radio. On February 4, 2009, bipartisan legislation – the “Performance Rights Act” – was reintroduced in the House and Senate. MusicFIRST supports this measure and plans to remain at the forefront of the fight for fair pay for airplay.

AM and FM radio remains the lone holdout in providing a fair performance right for artists and musicians. All other music platforms – Internet radio, satellite radio and cable television music channels – pay a fair performance royalty for the use of music. It’s time that radio broadcasters are held to the same standard.

Eighty years is far too long for AM and FM radio stations to refuse to compensate performers for their work. Let this be the year fairness is provided to the talented performers who bring to life the music of our lives.

My special thanks to guest author of today’s article, Jennifer Bendall, and Lindsay Dahl for making this happen.  For more information about musicFIRST and the great work they’re doing, go to www.musicfirstcoalition.org, or click on the picture above.

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ASCAP songwriters to perform at CRS-40’s KCRS Live! showcase

Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. today announced the lineup for this year’s KCRS Live! event during the radio industry event, CRS-40, scheduled for March 4 – 6, 2009 at the Nashville Convention Center.  The ASCAP-sponsored KCRS Live! event will Wednesday, March 4 from 5-6:20 p.m.

The event almost always features some of Nashville’s top songwriting talent.  ASCAP writers and artists scheduled to perform this year include the following:

Jimmy Wayne Jimmy Wayne – Jimmy Wayne’s “Do You Believe Me Now,” the title track from his first new album in five years (Do You Believe Me Now), was worth the wait.  The much anticipated release was a Top 5 debut on the Billboard Country Album chart, while the single went all the way to No. 1.  The follow-up single, “I Will,” is headed in the same direction.  His first release was a Top 10 success, garnering a string of hits on the Billboard Country chart, including “Stay Gone,” “I Love You This Much,” “Paper Angels” and “You Are,” all co-written by Wayne.  He is scheduled to perform on the “American Saturday Night” tour with Brad Paisley in the summer and fall of this year.

Kelley Lovelace – Franklin, Tennessee resident and graduate of Belmont University, Kelley Lovelace is no stranger to hit songs, havingKelley-Lovelace-(No-Hat) written several that were recorded by artists such as Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Montgomery Gentry, Jason Aldean, Terri Clark, Joe Nichols, Jason Michael Carroll, Kristy Lee Cook, Tracy Byrd and many others.  Fifteen of those songs turned into Top 20 Billboard hits, and 10 of them reached the No. 1 position.  His credits include “Ticks,” “He Didn’t Have to Be,” “The World,” “Online,” (Brad Paisley), “The Impossible,” (Joe Nichols) and “I Just Wanna Be Mad” and “Girls Lie Too” (Terri Clark).

Ashley Gorley – Danville, Kentucky native and Belmont University  graduate Ashley Gorley scored his first No. 1 with Carrie Underwood’s 2006 hit “Don’t Forget To Remember Me.”  In 2008, Carrie brought him his second No. 1 with “All-American Girl.”  His third chart-topper came only a few weeks later with Trace Adkins’ No. 1Ashley Gorley smash, “You’re Gonna Miss This.” 2009 began with yet another No. 1 hit, the Brad Paisley / Keith Urban duet “Start A Band.”  Gorley has already won three ASCAP Awards and been nominated for two Grammys and a CMA Award.  His most recent single is Darius Rucker’s “It Won’t Be Like This For Long.”

Jonathan Singleton – Music Row’s “Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year” in 2008, Jonathan Singleton announced his presence in Nashville with the 2007 Gary Allan smash “Watching Airplanes,” a song that earned him an ACM nomination for Single of the Year.  The Jackson, Tenn. native is also a performer, recently playing gigs opening for artists like Joe Nichols, Phil Vassar, Jonathon Singleton Carrie Underwood, Jason Michael Carroll, Blake Shelton and Eric Church.  Singleton also wrote the latest Billy Currington single “Don’t,” and was featured in a recent “Legends and Lyrics” episode on PBS.

“We look forward to KCRS Live! every year.  It gives ASCAP an opportunity to showcase some of our best songwriter/artists to radio in a more intimate setting,” said Connie Bradley, ASCAP Sr. VP.

“For years, KCRS Live! has showcased some of Nashville’s finest songwriters at Country Radio Seminar.  This year looks to be no different, and we are grateful to have ASCAP once again sponsoring this event,” added CRB Executive Director Ed Salamon.

More information about the event can be found at www.crb.org.

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