From: dhbailey <dhbai...@davidbaileymusicstudio.com> Reply-To: <finale@shsu.edu> Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2010 05:45:08 -0400 To: <finale@shsu.edu> Subject: Re: [Finale] OT: Copyright and downloadable music
> The same attitude goes for people wanting to download > copyrighted music without the copyright owners' permission, > as if we have an inherent right as Americans (or maybe even > as human beings) to be able to listen to or perform any and > all music ever written and never have to help the composers > earn a living so they can write more great music. Let¹s be fair about things here. Yes, there¹s a problem with people who believe that just because the internet makes it easy, they¹re entitled to whatever they want without paying. But you also have to take into account the almost psychopathic pursuit of every conceivable penny in the name of copyright by various record labels, trade associations, and collections societies. Just a few examples: ASCAP requires Girl Scouts to pay a license to sing campfire songs http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/08-96/08-23-96/b02li056.htm ASCAP calls ringtones "public performances" - wants to be paid every time your phone rings. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/06/ascap-wants-be-paid- Woman who plays classical music in her stables to soothe horses is told she must get a public performance license. (Apparently anything with ears constitutes an "audience" for copyright purposes.) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5061004/Woman-who-pl ays-classical-music-to-soothe-horses-told-to-get-licence.html Mechanics were sued because the radios they listened to while working on cars might be heard by customers, which is similar to another case where the police themselves were threatened with legal action if they didn't stop playing radios in police stations where the criminals they arrest could hear them. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7029892.stm http://torrentfreak.com/police-chief-faces-high-court-anti-piracy-action-120 608/ The Irish collection society PPI claims that since hotels provide radios and televisions in the guest rooms, they need to pay a performance right fee on the usage of those devices. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0319/1224266596757.html And finally, a shop clerk who liked to sing to herself while she stocked the shelves in her grocery store was threatened with legal action for not paying for a license to do so. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/8317952.stm And these aren't isolated cases of egregious behavior. This has become standard operating procedure for RIAA, ASCAP, BMI, PRS, PPL, etc. There are dozens of other examples I could cite, each more ridiculous than the next. What makes it all the more disgusting is that they do this nonsense and claim it's all to benefit the artists they represent, but a good percentage of the artists themselves never get paid. It's this sort of draconian, heavy-handed thuggish approach to copyright that's turning off an entire generation of people from respecting it. They see stuff like this happening and it instills in them a feeling that if the big copyright industry can act like total amoral asshats, then it's okay to give them a little of it back. In days past, there was nothing the individual could really do about it, but now the internet has given them the power to do it en masse and it's starting to hit home. _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
