Whoa, dude. I'm not on the losing side of any argument. In fact, I agree that ASCAP is doing right by all songwriters by collecting licensing. I'm only saying that, A, it's not a piddly amount when they say, "Give us a thousand dollars right now!" and B, the restaurant owners who have to pay it find it sufficiently stressful that they think they can't afford live music. So it's a problem. I don't understand your "glass of wine a day," I don't think that's an accurate figure. It's certainly something more than that or these proprietors wouldn't be stressing so bad about it. But I never said ASCAP shouldn't collect licensing, I just think that they can be heavy-handed about it and it's not necessary.

I'm a little surprised by the argumentative tone, Brian, but we all can get a little excited about our point of view, so it's OK.

I will always disappoint people who expect me to be ordinary.