Billboard Op-Ed Asks Radio & Music To Work Together…

Tuesday, October, 13, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

Billboard Magazine has championed the music industry since sheet music, so I was surprised to see the Op-Ed piece they ran titled ‘Working Together To Save The Music’. Jason Turner, a lawyer with Lassiter, Tidwell, Davis, Keller & Hogan wrote the piece that personifies Obama conciliation at its best. Turner mentions the recent Second Circuit Court’s ruling — Arista Records v. Launch Media in which the court ruled that Yahoo’s Launchcast didn’t have to pony up to Arista’s liking. The court held that Launchcast wasn’t an interactive service as defined by the Copyright Act. That ruling affected not only that case but led to other Internet sources like Pandora and Last.fm paying only the minimal statutory licensing fees set by the Copyright Royalty Board through SoundExchange to the owners of the recording.  This ruling gave terrestrial radio a moral victory…

Turner calls the ruling ”well-reasoned despite the label’s sensible displeasure with it but when coupled with the continuing failure of Congress to pass a Performance Rights Act, it makes more important than ever for everyone in the music industry to work together to keep this a viable, profitable business”…

Turner also points out that the first U.S. copyright law in 1790 intended to establish an incentive for authors to share their works with the public by protecting their creations. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to establish laws to promote the progress of science and useful arts. Turner humorously points out that it wasn’t until 41 years later through the Act of 1831 that music was first recognized as a “useful act.” As the Internet became popular in the 90s, the recording industry quickly began publicizing its concern that existing copyright laws couldn’t protect it from piracy. Which leads to this question, does the music industry now want radio to pay for their misfortunes???    

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1775] Fleet’s in: The Continental Congress orders the construction of a naval fleet for the U.S…
2. 1843] The birth of the B’rith: The B’nai B’rith is founded in New York City…
3. 1903] First World Series: The Boston Americans beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 to win the first WS five games to three. The Boston Americans will become the Red Sox…
4. 1960] Debatable: Richard M. Nixon and JFK hold their 3rd televised presidential debate with Nixon in Hollywood and Kennedy in New York…
5. 1960] The Walk-Off is born: The Pirates’ Bill Mazeroski hits the 1st walk-off home run in World Series history as Pittsburgh wins the series over the Yankees…
6. 1970] “Happy Trails“: Janis Joplin’s ashes are scattered off the coast of California…1974] Ed Sullivan dies from cancer at 73…
7. 1985] Wrap & Roll: Cardinal rookie Vince Coleman is injured prior to the NLCS when he’s caught in Busch Stadium’s automatic tarp. The Cardinals would go on to win the NL pennant but lose to KC in the World Series…
8. 1996] Here’s the kicker: Jet kicker Nick Lowery breaks Jan Stenerud’s NFL field goal record with his 374 field goal…
9. 1998] Locked out: The NBA players are locked out by the owners. The 82 game schedule is reduced to 50 games when the strike ends in January 1999…
10. 1999] Not so grand: The JonBenet Ramsey grand jury is dismissed after 13 months when there’s not enough evidence to charge anyone in the 6-year old’s strangulation death…

Music Memories:

• 1960] Number One on this date: “Save The Last Dance For Me” - Drifters…1974] “Nothing From Nothing” - Billy Preston…
• 1963] Beatlemania: That term is coined when a Beatles appearance on the BBCs “Sunday Night At The Palladium” almost turns into a riot.  In this clip the Beatles make an appearance on ‘Late Scene Extra with Ken Dodd’ in 1963…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“:  Paul Pierce (32), Sacha Baron Cohen (38), Nancy Kerrigan (40), Kate Walsh (42), Doc Rivers (48), Marie Osmond (50), Sammy Hagar (62), Demond Wilson (63), Robert Lamm (65), Paul Simon (68) and Margaret Thatcher (84)…

Timeline Countdown: 2 days until the LCS playoffs, 15 days until the first game of the World Series, 18 nights until Halloween and 19 days until standard time (back one hour)…

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