How $5 could save the music industry
My comment on Greg Kot's piece in the Chicago Tribune, Sunday, January 20:
How $5 could save the music industry
If copyright holders and/or publishers can be assured that collection of performance royalties is as reliable as ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, then this can work. Sadly, the more lucrative strategies for labels seems to be the suing of people and strong-arming them into accepting standard settlements. Clearly they are playing a zero-sum game on the back of the Copyright Act and I am surprised that this legal tactic has not come under greater scrutiny by the courts. The spirit of the law needs to be readdressed rather than enforcing its default remedies.
As more and more artists realize that our strength is in our solidarity, we can produce and publish our own recordings, and efficiently market them using the myriad tools now available on the Internet.
We should all be grateful that the music business gravy train is dead anyway, and we can move on with better ideas such as the fee-based model for music consumers.
How $5 could save the music industry
If copyright holders and/or publishers can be assured that collection of performance royalties is as reliable as ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, then this can work. Sadly, the more lucrative strategies for labels seems to be the suing of people and strong-arming them into accepting standard settlements. Clearly they are playing a zero-sum game on the back of the Copyright Act and I am surprised that this legal tactic has not come under greater scrutiny by the courts. The spirit of the law needs to be readdressed rather than enforcing its default remedies.
As more and more artists realize that our strength is in our solidarity, we can produce and publish our own recordings, and efficiently market them using the myriad tools now available on the Internet.
We should all be grateful that the music business gravy train is dead anyway, and we can move on with better ideas such as the fee-based model for music consumers.
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