Dan,
I know a bit about this since Just Plain Folks is one of the co-signers against IRFA and we've been against it from the start. I also don't care for the alternative bill sponsored by another Democrat. The bill was introduced by a Democrat in the Senate and a Republican in the House. This is why I am a Libertarian as there's little difference, in the end, between either party on most issues. The media often only blames Republicans in the house and ignores the Senate Sponsor in these stories but you only need to dig a little further to find the truth, and when enough money is tossed around by the lobbyists, both parties come to suck at the teat equally.
Apparently you're either not a JPF member Dan or you don't read the JPF newsletter. I published this one November 30th. You see, I DO know what I am talking about and I am directly involved in the process working with our long time partners at the Future of Music Coalition. So I would appreciate it if you bothered to learn what you're talking about before you accuse me of not knowing what I am talking about. As for Rubio, not only did he clearly state his concern for making sure artists are compensated fairly, he's been a supporter of our side all along on this issue. Also, in regard to your questioning my comments about taking away collective bargaining rights, please see the
BOLD paragraph below for details.
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Welcome to Just Plain Notes
Just Plain Notes: Volume 2.003, November 30, 2012
Written by Brian Austin Whitney
Visit the Website:
http://www.jpfolks.com Mail CD's @ 5327 Kit Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46237
Copyright 2012 Just Plain Folks Productions.
Just Plain Folks Member Population: 50,184
Just Plain Folks on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/JustPlainFolksBrian on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Brian.Austin.WhitneyBrian on Skype: Brian Austin Whitney
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Just Plain Quotes:
"Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker." -Zig Ziglar (Rest in Peace Zig!)
"When you tell the truth, people listen." -Jose Raul Bernardo
"I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act." -G. K. Chesterton
"If you're creative and have something to say, there's never been a better time to be alive in my view. We just need warriors to take that message past enemy lines and get it to the young reinforcements and veterans. That's my goal." -Brian Austin Whitney
My Take:
There's too much negativity and cynicism out there these days including in our current music world. I have 3 words for you: Knock it off!
Why? There's more great music being made right now, at this very moment, than at any other time in world history. With the right talent you could do beat poetry, play metal guitar and classical flute with a side of theremin all in the same song and STILL find an audience of people who love you, even if they are in far away places like Guam, North Dakota, Capetown and Paris. But that's just fine! Everyone's living room is a concert hall and TV studio thanks to Skype or Facetime and a video enabled internet device. If you're creative AND have something musical to say, there's never been a better time to be alive in my view. We just need warriors to take that message past enemy lines and get it to the young reinforcements and veterans. That's my goal.
But there ARE enemy lines forming all around us. The labels still wield power, but other entities have stepped in and closed ranks around us trying hard to steal away the promise of creative freedom and fair play and most importantly FAIR PAY for hard work and deserving offerings. We need the battle cry of education right now more than ever before. With our biggest weapons, mass communication and networking, we should get facts and strategies out to our peers and realize that there's a wide and diverse audience out there for nearly any and everything of interest as long as we don't allow power to fall into the hands of this new breed of gatekeepers, nor allow them to . We have to use our grassroots numbers to match the political influence those rich and powerful entities are wielding.
Please read the information below called RISING TIDES from our partners at the Future of Music Coalition. It is CRITICAL that you understand what is going on, who is trying to take away your freedoms and ability to earn a living making music all in the name of saving their own flawed business models or worse, simply to ensure their stranglehold on ultimate power over us all. We need to preserve those who want a fair and open partnership with us and cast away those who wish to control us and keep us in collective creative poverty. But we can't do anything until you know what is going on. So read below...
...then go make some great music and put it out there in a fearless and fun way.
Learn, Succeed and Thrive. We're all in this together!
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Rising Tides: Envisioning Fair Internet Radio
Written by Casey Rae, Kristin Thomson & The Future of Music Coalition
Over the past ten years, internet and digital radio has evolved into a robust and viable business.
Services like Pandora, Sirius XM, Clear Channel’s IHeartRadio and Slacker are leading the way in delivering radio-like services to millions of music fans every day, and paying millions of dollars in digital performance royalties to rightsholders, performers and songwriters.
But as these businesses have grown, the initial licensing procedures – as outlined by the Digital Performance in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 – have become a point of contention. Pureplay[1] webcaster Pandora’s royalty bills are based on a per-user, per-stream rate (with a percentage of revenue option that would likely be higher). Meaning, they owe a fraction of a penny for every user, and every stream, the consequence being that as the business grows, so do the costs. Pandora, which states that 50 percent of its gross revenue goes to rightsholders, says that this calculation is unfair – especially when compared with satellite radio’s rate of eight percent of gross revenue. Pandora says that the differences in rates are unsustainable going forward. (Watch Pandora founder and Chief Strategy officer Tim Westergren interviewed by the Chicago Tribune’s Greg Kot at the 2012 Future of Music Summit here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvFuMhbU_8g&noredirect=1.)
Currently, there are competing bills that address the issue of radio parity in different ways.
The Internet Radio Fairness Act (IRFA), introduced by Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) on July 20, 2012, seeks to abolish the current rate-setting standard for webcasters like Pandora. The bill propses instead to calculate rates for webcasters according to the same standard as satellite radio. Currently, pureplay webcasting rates are calculated on a “willing seller, willing buyer” standard, which aims to reflect fair market rates. IRFA eliminates this approach. Critics of the bill say these changes will no doubt lead to a substantial decline in revenue for artists.
(IRFA is supported by Pandora, DIMA, and Clear Channel. It is opposed by RIAA, AFM, Just Plain Folks, SAG-AFTRA, AFL-CIO, MusicFIRST Coalition, NMPA, and NAACP).
On August 20th, Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) offered a different vision with the Interim Fairness in Radio Starting Today Act (Interim FIRST). The bill would put cable and satellite radio services on the same royalty-setting standard as pureplay internet radio. That would make cable and satellite radio stations pay higher royalty fees to musicians. Nadler’s bill also calls out the one platform that does not compensate performers and sound recording copyright owners for their music – broadcast radio. Interim FIRST would also compel some over-the-air broadcasters to compensate performing artists, albeit through a stopgap measure that involves raising the rates for terrestrial stations’ digital simulcasts to make up for what they aren’t paying for over-the-air plays. Unfortunately, Interim FIRST would not collect money owed to US performers for international plays. In a tough economic climate for domestic artists, this can only be seen as a partial solution, at best.
(Interim FIRST is supported by MusicFIRST Coalition. It is opposed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)).
Both pieces of legislation are problematic, but in different ways. The IRFA bill, while attempting to create rate-setting parity among large pureplay webcasters and satellite radio, does so by lowering the amount that pureplay webcasters need to pay musicians and copyright owners, by a lot. IRFA also doesn’t address the lack of a public performance royalty for sound recordings for terrestrial radio airplay – the most egregious loophole in regards to “parity” out there.
Another point of contention: Section 5 of IRFA contains language that could put limitations on the ability for artists (or their collective representatives) to speak publicly or otherwise advocate for compulsory licenses over direct deals.[2] The bill invokes the anti-monopoly provisions in the Sherman Act as justification for these restrictions. This is troubling, as collective management bodies – such as PROs, unions and SoundExchange – offer important leverage to musicians and performers who otherwise lack input into rate-setting and other royalty negotiations.
(This issue was debated extensively at Summit 2012 on a panel called “Radio-active: Internet Broadcasting and Artist Compensation” here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhn0hg2lXsg .)
Interim FIRST attempts to tackle the terrestrial radio exemption, but instead of confronting the problem head on and simply legislating that terrestrial stations must pay public performance royalty for sound recordings, the bill simply raises the rates on the digital part of the business to compensate for this gaping hole in rights. Traditional terrestrial airplay is still hugely important, and consistent airplay generates significant royalties for songwriters and publishers. A real attempt at parity would include the establishment of the public performance royalty for sound recordings for terrestrial airplay.
It is common for stakeholders to suggest legislative fixes that have a favorable outcome for their position. Typically, opponents characterize such proposals as extreme and unworkable, and then offer suggestions that meet their own needs. But this back and forth process gives all stakeholders room to negotiate and compromise on legislation that could achieve more reasonable middle ground.
We expect that the webcasting rates battle will go on for a number of months, hopefully with some compromises. FMC endorses seven core points that musicians and advocates must defend in the upcoming fights, no matter what the outcome:
1. Musicians and songwriters are primary stakeholders in these debates. Airplay on terrestrial, satellite and internet radio are an important part of musicians’ careers, not only for exposure, but also as a revenue stream via royalties paid by their PRO and/or SoundExchange. Musicians cannot just be the unwitting victims at the tail end of this process. Policymakers MUST include a variety of musicians and songwriters in these ongoing conversations.
2. Rate-setting should be reasonably platform neutral. Although business models and competition should be factored into any rate-setting scheme, we believe that no single technology should be penalized and no platform should be exempted from compensation obligations. Even if rate-setting standards are harmonized, rates may still differ based on unique market factors.
3. Direct payments to performers must be preserved. Direct payment to musicians for digital performances – as represented by SoundExchange’s direct and simultaneous payments to performers and sound recording copyright owners – is a major advancement in fair and transparent artist compensation. It is important that the direct payment process not be whittled away in the pursuit of bargain-basement licensing deals. Any proposed legislation should include provisions to ensure direct, non-recoupable payment to artists – even under direct licensing agreements.
4. Rates should balance the growth of new technologies with fair compensation for creators. It may be necessary to examine whether emerging radio technologies are able to compete against already established services. However, expansion must not be subsidized on the backs of creators who are the reason this marketplace exists in the first place. We recognize this is a difficult balance to strike, but it is a crucial one for all stakeholders. And the balance is impossible to achieve with the continued exemption for terrestrial broadcasters.
5. Musicians’ rights to bargain and advocate collectively must be defended. Without the leverage offered by collective management bodies, musicians and songwriters lack input in the process of royalty negotiation. Anti-trust law must never be abused to prevent artists from speaking up for their collective best interests.
Beyond the goals of any legislative efforts to address the rate-setting standards, FMC also encourages webcasters and digital music providers to embrace business practices that:
6. Make it easy for listeners to discover and take action. One of digital radio’s greatest assets is its ability to foster music discovery. On many services, webcast tracks are coupled with “buy now” buttons that redirect listeners to iTunes and/or Amazon for song purchases. But there’s more opportunity. Webcasters can help listeners to take action on their discoveries by displaying producer, songwriter and player credits, and connect to artists’ websites or social media, or learn about upcoming performances. Here's a petition on the Grammy site asking for this:
http://www.grammy.com/credits7. Recognize the power of data. Webcasters like Pandora have something that terrestrial broadcasters can never offer, and that’s accurate data about what music is being streamed, how often, and by whom. This is not just good for the accurate payment of royalties to a huge swath of musicians (many of whom have never seen royalties for traditional airplay), it could also be a new way for artists to leverage other sources of revenue. Pandora has already experimented in organizing live shows for artists in areas where there’s lots of Pandora airplay, and it works. Giving musicians and their managers access to data about listener engagement could provide musicians with the tools to efficiently route tours, promote new releases, build closer connections with audiences, and offer higher-priced items to dedicated fans. Access to data should not be traded for lowered digital performance royalties, but we encourage musicians to explore the options, and for webcasters to give musicians access to play data to increase the value of their streams and forge mutually beneficial partnerships with the music community.
FMC remains committed to advocating for the fair compensation for musicians and creators. We will participate in and follow the upcoming negotiations, distilling and translating information for musicians and encouraging policymakers to include musicians in the conversation.
If you’re a musician or artist advocate looking for more ways to get involved, drop us a line.
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[1]A webcaster whose primary business is to transmit sound recordings under the statutory license, and not to sell or promote any other service or product
[2]“Muzzling Free Speech By Artists: IRFA Section 5 Analysis,” The Trichordist, November 8, 2012
http://thetrichordist.com/tag/sherman-act/***************************************************
PS:
The bill in the house was introduced by a Republican. In the Senate, it was introduced by a Democrat. Below was taken directly off Democratic Senator Wyden's own website.
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THE INTERNET RADIO FAIRNESS ACT OF 2012
Senator Wyden understands that innovation is the key to the growth and evolution of the Internet. Public policy can foster that innovation by protecting the Net from unfair and discriminatory taxes, outdated or over-broad regulations, and undue legal liability.
Unfortunately, digital services for broadcasting music are one area of innovation on the Internet being stifled. In 1998, federal laws were enacted that specifically constrained the development of Internet radio as a commercially viable service. Despite stunting the growth of innovative new business models, the legacy music industry saw a massive decline in record sales. Artist, consumers and rights holders are increasingly searching for innovative new models to better promote music and fairly compensate creators.
Senator Wyden is introducing the Internet Radio Fairness Act (S.3609) to remove the regulatory shackles preventing Internet radio from being commercially viable. He is interested in your ideas on how to expand the music marketplace in ways that promote innovation, music diversity, and better compensation to artists. Senator Wyden would like to hear from the public about their ideas and obtain feedback on the Internet Radio Fairness Act.
Please submit your ideas, suggestions and feedback below or tweet them using #FairWebRadio.
