The Size Of The Vote Was Surprisingly Decisive…

Thursday, May, 14, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

21-9 is a romp in any sport.  It was a slaughter for terrestrial radio.  You had to figure that some compromises would be made to the Performance Rights Act in the House yesterday but the big surprise was the size of the vote: 21 to 9.  That’s three touchdowns to three field goals if you’re keeping score at home.  Does Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) own that House Judiciary Committee or what?  So now that the Act has passed its first huddle, what’s next?  The NAB claims that if the bill is enacted, 50 (%) percent of the new fee would go directly to major record label companies, three out of four of which reside outside the United States.  The MusicFIRST Coalition “looks forward to the next chapter and to Congress to ensure that U.S. artists and musicians receive the performance right they deserve.”  As expected there were compromises made to the act…

An amendment offering a tiered payment system, based on revenue, has been offered with stations making annual revenues of less than $100,000 paying a flat fee of $500 each year.  Stations with revenues between $100,000 and $500,000 would pay $2,500 a year and those earning between $500,000 and $1.25 million would pay $5,000 annually.  Stations making more would have to negotiate royalty payments with the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), a government body that sets royalty fees.  Stations that gross less than $5 million would not be subject to these fees for 3 years while stations making more than $5 million would not have to pay for one year…

After the dirty work was done on the Performance Rights Act, the House Judiciary Committee approved the Webcasters Settlement Act of 2009 by voice vote in about 30 seconds.  That bill amends a bill President Bush signed into law in October, 2008 that says Congress must honor any royalty rate agreement reached between online radio stations and copyright holders.  The bill took the decision out of the hands of the CRB and gave both sides until February 15, 2009 to come up with a royalty rate agreement.  The bill approved Wednesday extends that deadline to 30 days after it is enacted.  This is a victory for Webcasters.  There would be no victories for terrestrial radio stations yesterday…      

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1796] Dr. Feelgood: English physician Edward Jenner administers the first vaccination against smallpox to an 8-year old boy…
2. 1853] Milk from a can?: Gail Borden applies for a patent for condensed milk after years of drinking unabridged milk…
3. 1897] The Boston Pops takes note: “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa is performed for the first time at a George Washington statue unveiling. No one does it better than the Boston Pops…
4. 1904] Truly Olympic: The first U.S. Olympics is launched in St. Louis…
5. 1948] The state of Independence: Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion proclaims the independent state of Israel as British rule in Palestine comes to an end…
6. 1967] Hall of Fame greats: Mickey Mantle becomes the sixth player to hit 500 (or more) home runs. He will finish his career with 536…Here’s a clip of the 500 Home Run Club, minus Gary Sheffield…1972] 41-year old Willie Mays makes a dramatic debut with the Mets, hitting a home run against his former team, the Giants, in a 5-4 Met win…
7. 1973] Spaced-out: The U.S. launches Skylab 1, our first manned space station…
8. 1996] He couldn’t do this with the Mets?: 31-year old Dwight Gooden pitches a no-hitter for the Yankees in a 2-0 shutout of Seattle…
9. 1998] ‘Happy Trails’: Pop icon Frank Sinatra passes away, his way, at 82 following a heart attack…
10. 1998] Seinfeld farewell: The finale of “Seinfeld” airs after 9 years on NBC-TV…

Music Memories:

• 1964] Recorded on this date: “Little Old Lady From Pasadena” - Jan and Dean…1968] “People Got To Be Free” - The Rascals…
• 1970] Released on this date: “Ohio” - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (released 10 days after Kent State)…

Commentary:

Former Boston disc jockey Ken Malden passed away at 83 in Miami.  Malden’s fame became legendary in the 50s on WBMS/WILD Boston and later in Miami at MOR radio.  Eventually he would move into sports at stations like WQAM Miami and would even become track announcer at Hialeah Park.  Thanks to Paul Power for the sad news about Ken…    

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”: Amber Tamblyn (26), Cate Blanchett (40), Suzy Kolber (45), David Byrne (57), George Lucas (65), Jack Bruce (66), Troy Shondell (69), Charlie Gracie (73) and Patrice Munsel (84)…

Timeline Countdown: 11 days until Memorial Day, 38 days until Father’s Day, 38 days until summer and 51 days until July 4th…

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