We said just the other day that the antics of the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) are so extreme that it's hard to tell fact from fiction so, we probably shouldn't have be surprised to learn that the US record industry - as represented by its trade body the RIAA - wants to cut the royalties it pays to musicians and song-writers, reducing the rates that were agreed back in 1981.
The news was revealed by The Hollywood Reporter but Gerry Block has put it into its proper context over at IGN.com.
The Hollywood Reporter says,
Record labels are asking a
panel of copyright judges to lower the rate they pay music publishers
and songwriters for the use of the lyrics and melodies with which they
create sound recordings. "While record companies and music publishers
were able to agree on royalty rates during that 25-year period [since the
US government last set the rates in 1981 - Bob C],
the assumptions on which those decisions were based have changed beyond
recognition," the RIAA said. "Mechanical royalties currently are out of
whack with historical and international rates," RIAA executive vp and
general counsel Steven Marks said.
But Block points out,
Couched in terms of
apparent necessity, the RIAA is insisting that the real musicians be
paid less so that the record companies can continue to "drive
revenues."
If piracy really is devastating the recording industry and cell phone ringtones are one of the remaining highly profitable distributed mediums, should the RIAA really be trying to ensure that musicians be paid less for them while they're already hurting from lost revenue on album sales?
At best the RIAA is kicking artists when they're down via this action, and at worst has fully revealed that despite repeated claims that artists need to be protected from piracy, the organization is very much the tool of the major labels and publishers who have famously never really cared about the artists in the first place.
If piracy really is devastating the recording industry and cell phone ringtones are one of the remaining highly profitable distributed mediums, should the RIAA really be trying to ensure that musicians be paid less for them while they're already hurting from lost revenue on album sales?
At best the RIAA is kicking artists when they're down via this action, and at worst has fully revealed that despite repeated claims that artists need to be protected from piracy, the organization is very much the tool of the major labels and publishers who have famously never really cared about the artists in the first place.
Harsh but fair? We think so. But tell us your views in this thread in the HEXUS.lifestyle.news forum.
HEXUS.links
HEXUS.community :: discussion thread about this articleHEXUS.lifestyle.headlines :: Anti-copying lobby's antics - hard to tell fact from fiction!
External.links
The Hollywood Reporter - Labels seek lower royalty rateIGN.com - RIAA Petitions Judges to Lower Artist Royalties
