JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Jody's Mis-Information About The Music Business

Started a thread for all those willing to explain the mis-information about the music business that I've been spreading. Fire away!

Not sure what you mean?

As far as I have seen Jody, you have been spot on, but none of us know it all friend.

God Bless Roy and Helen

I haven't notice any issues aside from a few topics we simply disagree on, which doesn't make either side "misinformation" but rather different opinions. There was a time when people were allowed to have more than 1 official view of everything.

Brian

This may concern Donna Duchess' thread about publisher's royalties: http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1131883/admin-service-needed.html#Post1131883

John

Hey, Jody...I think that Mr. Schick nailed it!

Please, please, please!!!! Don't stop offering any info into the Forums here that you can!

RAMBLE ALERT! As a telephone technician, in 1996, I made a bunch of money working on "Pay Phones"....Pay Phones??? Yes, those coin operated telecommunication thingies that could be found on every corner....Has anyone seen one lately?

As a songwriter, in the year 2,000, there were still over 2,000 "Staff writers" employed in Nashville...Has anyone met a Staff Writer lately?

As a Screenplay writer, with moderate success.....

Bottom line?

In this day and age, any musical Artist, who hopes to make money, but is playing by yesterday's rules...And when I say "yesterday", I mean that literally, well that ship sailed earlier this morning.

END RAMBLE

Things change, in EVERY WORKING OCCUPATION!!!!

But when it comes to the "changing" in the Musical World?

I can't think of any better resource for anyone these days, than the exchanges that you & Brian, and MAB when he drops in, keep on discussing on the various JPF threads!

A priceless bundle of information for those who are paying attention!

Thank you!!!

Midnite

It was brought to my attention that I am spreading a plethora of mis-information about the music business on JPF. I figured I'd save the time and create a thread so that all the incorrect information I'm giving can be outed and corrected.

Well you are Jody. It is actually spelled "misinformation" isn't it? See.... told ya. =)

I'll take a look at the post in question, this should be a laugh....

Brian

I'm aware. I'm merely parroting the source. Gotta have a sense of humor about it.

Hi Jody, Brian and fellow participants:

Jody, I hope you know your opinion and information is important to your fellow songwriters, artists and others in the biz... or those of us knocking on the door to attempt entry. While it often appears that you and my Pro (ASCAP) are often on different sides of the issue (particularly streaming) I am often confused by mixed signals they sometimes send... some of which tend to contradict the previous day's newsletter.

Most of us know the music industry is in a new state of turmoil and that most of us do not have the time or resources to monitor every facet of all the new assaults on what used to be a set of rules written in stone... at least until another international agreement became imposed upon us.

Please never take my posts to be intended to be petty, snide or personal when it comes to you and what you share with us. Like most folks, I don't care much for change unless I can clearly see that it improves the pathway for success to so many of us struggling to find a spot at the trough at the base of the music pyramid.

Keep that information coming. If I (or others) find information that seems to disagree, we owe it to each other to share. Since you appear to be on the receiving end of some monetary compensation from your musical efforts, I would tend to believe your information is extremely valuable to us... if for no other reason as to "sound the alarm" and let us know that change is at hand.

The concept of streaming is foreign to me, seems difficult to track, and thus account for fully from the perspective of one in the lower echelons. Thank you for caring enough to share your input with us.

Regards, ----Dave

No worries Dave.

I recently participated in the Grammy Advocacy day about meeting with my House of Reps rep over music related bills going thru the house at the moment. I even spoke to them about the dangers of the consent decree issue, which doesn't actually affect me as a SESAC member, but I think it sucks for ASCAP and BMI members - so I asked my rep to not side with the tech companies. Also, the big thing the G.A. group was working for was the bill that is supposed to remove the discounts streaming services get on royalty rates. Which is probably what ASCAP is also wanting.

Streaming is actually easier to track than radio. Why? Because metadata follows any song around, provided you have correctly created and submitted your metadata. But it still requires you to be on top of things with your PROs and other agencies that collect royalties.

And yes, I am on the receiving end of monetary compensation for my music. I take the business of it very seriously as its my source of income.

In my mind, more musicians that consider themselves professional and make their living from music should be participating in meeting their federal representatives. There is strength in numbers.

"As a songwriter, in the year 2,000, there were still over 2,000 "Staff writers" employed in Nashville...Has anyone met a Staff Writer lately?"

I guess I'm like Beetlejuice in that when someone mentions my name, I feel summoned. Hey folks.

I don't speak too much on the issue of streaming, because that is not my end of the industry. I am in the teaching, creation and development of songs, writers and artists, and in helping other people find their footing and direction. Once they get to the point of releasing material, dealing with power players in the industry, producers, publishers, labels, mangers, etc. that is the domain of other people, and while I still get cuts, and have things going on, it is not my primary focus.

I can speak to things like "staff deals", the modern processes the industry here in Nashville use and various challenges we all go through. The thing about streaming and the current payments (or lack thereof) in the music business is that there are very few people happy with anything, being paid much from anything. My favorite line is:

"How can you tell you're in Nashville?"
"Your UBER or LYFT driver had "SONG OF THE YEAR" two years ago."

Not far off the mark. I know four number one writers that drive for those two companies.

As far as the "2000" staff writers in 2000, that is really a large overestimate. The high point was about 1460 in 2005, I believe. (Numbers from BMI, ASCAP and NSAI), but started decreasing drastically from that point. It was leveling off leading up to that and many "deals" were not what most people think of "deals." People weren't being paid money to write, getting their demos paid for, etc. Most were independent contractors, with relationships or "exclusive representation deals, with publishers representing them but no money exchanged. Some had single or a few collections of songs represented but probably could not be considered "staff."

The numbers now are closer to less than 300. And going down all the time. I had a publisher in the late 90's tell me that within 10-15 years there would be no more staff deals. He was pretty close to right.

Many publishers started disappearing at that point also, and more and more went to "song plugging fee for service."
Some who even had hit songs on the radio did not have an actual "deal", yet had some special deal worked out with a publisher. Even more would have deals with these "CANNE Millionaire" companies, (wealthy people that would come in, throw a lot of money around, and then disappear in the middle of the night when they got bored and go to something else. leaving the company broke, the writers and staff unemployed, and buildings empty.)

The "deal" of today is almost exclusively some young artist, usually under 25, and a few of the experienced, hit writers who have their own publishing companies. If you have a shot at a record deal, you have a shot at a publishing deal. It is about ARTIST BRANDING AND FAN BASE. If they look attractive, build extensive followings (OUTSIDE OF NASHVILLE), have money backing you, or are of a particular interest to a power player, you have shots at deals. But it is not always money. That usually comes AFTER things get rolling.

Interestingly, we are going through our own "Harvey Wienstein" scandal here, in that one of the most powerful publicist, manager, agents in town, has just had a number of young male acts, accuse him of trading favors for sex.
Has caused his business to shut down, and his clients, like Dolly Parton, Kid Rock, and hundreds of others, to quit him. A big broo ha ha.

So that is more or less the state of "deals" these days. Once again, as songs themselves lost their value, the methods of promotion of songs and building artists, have changed. It's actually much the way it has always been, just the competition has increased. Streaming has played a huge part in that. Some people are doing it well, most are just trying to find a way to get and keep a public bored in seconds, interested enough to actually build a career.

But I can tell you that if you want to meet a "staff writer" it is pretty easy. Most of the bar tenders, waiters, waitresses, valet parking lot attendants, are those people. Just talk to them when they are waiting on you.

MAB

Yeah, I hear ya, but I bet there's a bad news side too!

The one thing that galls me the most is how every single new artist male or female has their names on the writing credits. I believe that is a joke and it's just so they look like songwriters to their ignorant fans.....The Arts used to mean creativity but I don't see any in Pop or Country Music. Hip hop sucks and even Christian Contemporary has cookie cutter groups and singers all singing the same song but different lyrics and a slight change in melody. I was just listening to the Doobies LISTEN TO THE MUSIC and wish songs and groups like that were produced today....BUT just like America everything is in decline. Remember The Roman Empire??? lol

I'd just like to add that since we all can't really see eachother (cuz it's communication via the Internet) and read eachother's body language and KNOW eachother in more vintage ways, our words have to pick up the slack, to take the place of much of what once was carried by a simple gait or glance or smile and knowing someone more personally. In other words, our character is everything, when it comes to Internet communication and building relationships via the Internet. That's why when someone makes a comment like "you are all misinformation" it can hurt, it can make us angry, and it can lead us to "calling out" the accuser..because like I said..really..all we have is our words, our character, here..and some of us have a body of words that have integrity, like Mr. Whitesides, while the intergrity and character of his accuser remains questionable at best.

Jody, not only is your accuser of questionable intergrity, he's also apparently a coward cuz he hasn't shown up in this thread, or he's too proud to apologize (has he ever? To anyone?), even though he knows he made an over-the-top statement that was quasi-trollish and meant to provoke, cuz he does it often and he knows what he's doing.

Thanks Jody, for having the character to say NO MORE OF THIS..I've wanted to do that on more than one occasion, especially after this same person thought it was really funny to say that he'd like to see half the country (of a particular ideology) all gathering in New Mexico for a convention so that they could all be nuked and gotten rid of. To me, saying that was just as off-color as making a similar remark based on one's religious preference or race. Just heinous..

Mike

"The one thing that galls me the most is how every single new artist male or female has their names on the writing credits."

Barry,

Interesting you mention the Doobie Brothers and "LISTEN TO THE MUSIC." Who wrote that? MEMBERS OF THE DOOBIE BROTHERS. Namely Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons. That is what happened to rock coming out of the 60's and beyond. Artists WERE the writers. Now that is the same in country. Most of the songs that are cut, the artist ARE INVOLVED in the writing process. And has been that way for over 20 years.

After the Beatles, there pretty much ceased to be "rock writers" outside of the artists. Now every form of music has followed that. Which is why it is and always will be hard to get songs even considered if the artist wasn't either involved in the writing or the development of the song.

And the current crop of country, with people like CHRIS STAPLETON, KACEY MUSGRAVES, and others, they had CUTS for other artists BEFORE THEY GOT THEIR RECORD DEALS. So even if you don't like a lot of music that is out there, you are in a trend that is nearly a quarter century old. And believe me, the "hating what is on the radio" is the only thing consistent in any of this. The people from the 50;s HATED the people from the 60's. The people from the 60's HATED the people from the 70's. The people from the 70's HATED the people from the 80's. The people from the 80's HATED the people from the 90's. The people from the 90's HATED THE PEOPLE FROM THE EARLY 2000'S AND THE PEOPLE FROM THE EARLY 2000'S HATE THE PEOPLE FROM THE LATER 2000'S.

Hating the music of the generation following you is the ONLY thing that remains consistent. But fortunately, you always have your own records your own ways to get the music that you love. So there you go.

And by the way, I started playing music in 1973 WITH the music of the Doobie Brothers. And there were a LOT of people that HATED THEM TOO.

The more things change.....

MAB

Something I've not expressed to many people, certainly not publicly...

A few years back I was partnered with a very well known producer/promoter. He was my point person attempting to raise investment money to launch a "star" style career. We were going to a meeting with a well known label owner. We parked outside the label office and he proceeded to tell me "If he asks to see your nipples, we are leaving."

Then he explained the environment we were about to walk into. Which didn't really phase me since I lived in Los Angeles.

Long story short, it was a little unnerving, a little bit comical. Fortunately he didn't ask to see my nipples. Unfortunately said executive ended up going to jail for similar offenses and the money went away because of it. That was very disappointing.

That's first hand experience.


[sarcasm]Yeah, the gall of any artist to have a hand in writing their own material, be it lyrics, melody or chords. Blasphemy![/sarcasm]

As to the rest of your comment Barry, I don't see the lack of creativity that you're stating about Pop (especially in Pop, there's a lot of amazing stuff going on), or Country. Not all Hip Hop sucks. I can't speak for Christian Contemporary as that is off my radar. But then I'm misinforming everyone

It didn't hurt. But it did make me wonder exactly what misinformation I'm spreading, because I'm not a fan of spreading incorrect information. Which means I wish to be schooled about it.

The problem with the Internet in general, is at least 50% of what you read is B.S. And most writing on forums and elsewhere are self serving

Ray is one of the most enjoyable people to read. You have to know shortly into reading his stuff that accuracy and credibility are not at the forefront.

alot of forum members are old timers who used to have ambition of a music career or songwriting career, and still cling to those old models and ideas, now they are here because it helps pass the time, not because they want to publish songs

Write songs, and if you tire of that, talk about writing songs, is the way

Jody is the inly I know who actually makes any money doing it, so if I had to flip a coin on who to listen to, I'd pick one sided Jody coin.

Michael, Ray is harmless, to think otherwise is to be thinking too much

Most misinformation lies in the opinion zone. And we know how that saying goes - everyone has one. I trust Jody on business matters. I hate the business end, but treat it as a necessary evil. After all that can be done on the business end, it still requires a bit of luck (opinion zone). I've read a large amount of bio's/ auto bio's (mostly from actors, actresses, and composers). Everyone mentioned a turning point in their career that was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Just finished Harpo Marx's bio. He would watch this man daily in the barber shop making ridiculous faces. He would practice for hours trying to duplicate it. It became his famous funny face. He credits this with making it big in the movies. His bro, Groucho would say if he had to choose between talent or luck, he’d take luck. His gig on "You Bet Your Life" was a stroke of luck being a one-time warm-up for a Bob Hope. A producer saw him and eventually signed him to the show.

I credit my success with as much to do with luck, as talent. More so living in the right era at the right time. The Internet has opened-up many possibilities for the common man that lives miles away from the action. So why am I saying this? This happens to be one area where Jody & I don't see exactly eye-to-eye,i.e., on the matter of luck. The other disagreement we had was in the non-exclusive/ re-title contract agreements. Though I've relented 80% to Jody's opinion on this. And don’t want to open this debate up again.

So let the opinions roll. And double/triple check the facts. And know the difference between them.

The internet certainly makes it much easier to chose where you want to live and work if you have connections. It doesn't fully replace face to face meetings that's for sure. I do believe we make our own luck.

And right, no sense in beating a dead horse. Though I find it interesting that you've started understanding (relenting to) my viewpoint on that other stuff. Guess I'm just ahead of the curve on that.

Hey Jody!

Yeah, the old cliché ‘I make my own luck”. No sure what it means. I imagine it means developing one’s talent and taking care of the business side of one’s career. I’m sure there’s thousands of musicians/ composers that fall in that category that have never had any Industry success. I’ll never be convinced that I haven’t been lucky. Lucky to have a family that supported my dreams, lucky that I’ve had wonderful teachers, lucky that I chose the publishers I use, lucky to have my health, lucky to have deep feelings for music, lucky to have a functional brain (no comments here please), etc.… Whether we choose to use the term or not, luck does exist. And I know musicians that have been terribly unlucky. Now with a little luck I’ll live long enough to compose many more compositions.

Best, John

P.S. Oh, and lucky to meet my wife of almost 50 years at one of the clubs I was playing. Whew, I almost forgot that one.

I always heard, "The harder I work, the luckier I get". Not always true, but in my case, it seems to be!

Tony

When I see the countless amounts of songwriters and musicians on dead sites such as soundclick, when I see the countless amounts of people doing covers on youtube( pick a song, any sing you can think of, old, new, obscure, somebody covered it on YouTube), when I can randomly pick a song on Spotify, and do it all day, every day through infinity, and not run out of songs and artists, it would make me moronic to think that luck has nothing to do with success in the music business.

There are great musicians and singers living homeless in the streets, whose only dream is to have enough money to eat something today. Talent absolutely plays a role, no talent, you can't take advantage of any opportunities you get, or it won't last long.

But to say luck has nothing to do with it is absurd. some people will never be in the right position at the right time, in fact, most dont

That sure hit me, Fdemetrio! I think of how The Beatles were born in the same area, around the same years. How Ringo, from the area wasn't friended until they all met in Germany! As if they were all lucky to be born in the same area, then met up with the inspiring "Glue Of The Beatles, in Ringo in another country. I was lucky to be in a band that happened to be a house band at a club where the owner would bring in past hit artists, such as Chuck Berry. We got to play on stage with him and many others during ONE summer. We didn't try to have that happen. Wasn't a goal. We were just in the right place at that right time. It was the only year Berry played there. '73.

So, despite our efforts, it seems we also need to have others do their thing which can somehow line up with our efforts of other goals. 1+1 = 10 in those cases. Ten times the goals we were actually going for at that time.

John

Here's some more "missed" information for y'all...

Copyright board making a cost of living adjustment for webcaster royalties: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-11-27/pdf/2017-25480.pdf

Copyright board making a cost of living adjustment for satellite royalties: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-11-27/pdf/2017-25481.pdf

same could be said about Jagger and Richards going to same grammar school.nTownshend and Daltry ditto.

Then again lots of people meet in school, and the vast majority don't do anything. I met lots of band mates in school, nobody had extraordinary talent, lol. Crept for me of course.....lolllll

In my never-ending quest to spread mis-information...

BMI has announced this (I'm assuming that ASCAP will make the same announcement soon):

I have incredible and important news to share as we head into the holidays. BMI has prevailed over the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and has won the consent decree battle.

Today, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against the DOJ and affirmed BMI’s consent decree victory. The Second Circuit agreed with Judge Louis L. Stanton’s September 16, 2016 decision that the BMI consent decree allows for the practice of fractional licensing.

As you know, this has been a lengthy process during which BMI vigorously defended Judge Stanton’s original ruling, which we maintained was the correct interpretation of our consent decree from the start. Today’s decision means that BMI can continue to license as it always has – giving our licensees whatever interest (full-work or fractional) has been given to us by our affiliates. Other than the possibility of a request by the DOJ to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, acceptance of which by the Supreme Court is statistically highly unlikely, this brings this litigation to a close.

We are extremely proud to have achieved this win on your behalf and to have eliminated the chaos that would have ensued in the marketplace under a 100% licensing model. We thank you for your support throughout this process and we are sharply focused on our original goals of modernizing music licensing for the 21st century and ensuring fair compensation for the use of your creative works in today’s marketplace.

Below is the press statement that was issued today:

“This is a massive victory for songwriters, composers, music publishers and the entire industry. We have said from the very beginning that BMI’s consent decree allowed for fractional licensing, and we are incredibly gratified that Judge Stanton and the Second Circuit agreed with our position. We thank all the songwriters, composers, publishers and organizations who supported us throughout this process, which unfortunately, has been a nearly two-year distraction from our original intent which was to update our outdated consent decree and modernize music licensing. We look forward to our continued efforts to protect and grow the value of music.”

Best regards,

Mike O’Neill
President & CEO
BMI

p.s. [sarcasm] Take this post with a grain of salt as I'm a SESAC member. [/sarcasm]

This sounds to me like a loss to songwriter rights rather than a win or am I missing something?

Sarcasm duly noted and appreciated:-)

Serious THANKS, Jody, for the time you take here on the JPF Forum!!

Midnite

Yes Jody, I got an email from ASCAP on the victory today.

Best, John

This means fractional licensing continues. Which means that digital services like Google has to continue getting all rights for songs from all writers/publishers involved. The idea of the "new" consent decree was for them to be able to go to a single writer for the rights of the song - meaning they could find out who was cheapest, then license it 100% from the cheapest source.

Thus it would depend on your view of if its better to have fractional licensing or force 100% licensing upon everyone involved in a song by one person.

I've had co-writers ask me to sign various worthless "exposure" type of deals. However, if this had gone thru, I might have been forced into any one of those bad deals even though I'm not BMI or ASCAP.

Though I wonder how all that would play out if the DOJ did get the 100% licensing done, if a song involved a SESAC writer (as SESAC is not under the Consent Decree).

Okay. got it now, I was thinking it was the exact opposite you described.

[Some more mis-information for ya...]

In other royalty rate news from the CRB:

The CRB increased the rates for Sirius XM by more than 40%, from 11% of revenue to 15.5% of revenue, effective January 1, 2018.

THAT is good news for all but XM shareholders.. I bet they missed a payment to the lobby firms or something....

Or maybe those discounted rates are finally starting to wear off.

Some more "Fake Music News"...

From the desk of fighting-for-our-rights department of NARAS:

We’ve proven that when we advocate on behalf of creators, legislators listen.

With the change of a new White House and Congress in 2017, our efforts made an immediate impact on the music community and will continue to pay dividends for years to come.

Here are some of the key victories we achieved together:

• Four pro-music bills were introduced with bipartisan support. Heading into 2018, both the Fair Play Fair Pay Act and the AMP Act have more than 30 co-sponsors each.

• After President Trump’s budget proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts, our advocates rallied Congress and funding was not only preserved but increased.

• Just a few weeks after we advocated for its passage at GRAMMYs on the Hill, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 1695, a bill to modernize the U.S. Copyright Office.

• District Advocate day continued to reach new milestones. Recording Academy advocates participated in all 50 states, and District Advocate was a nationally trending topic on Twitter.

• Continuing years of sustained advocacy with the Producers & Engineers Wing, the FCC moved forward a new rule to improve wireless microphone operability.

• Across our local Chapters, members secured legislative victories in Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas to promote and protect music creators.

Back to your regularly scheduled bubble...

"...Back to your regularly scheduled bubble..."

Unless one is hanging out in the land of Oz, with Glinda the good witch of the north, a bubble may not be the best place to reside....

Midnite

More mis-information:

Spotify breaks the 70 million premium subscriber mark. Has over 140 million total active listeners.

Here's some more mis-information:

JUDGES ISSUE FINAL RULE REGARDING RATES AND TERMS FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING FOR THE PERIOD COMMENCING JANUARY 1, 2018, AND ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2022

The Copyright Royalty Judges issued a final rule regarding rates and terms of use for certain works under the section 118 license in connection with noncommercial broadcasting for the period commencing January 1, 2018, and ending December 31, 2022. The rule is effective January 19, 2018. For details, click here. For an accessible version, click here http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbXNpZD0mYXVpZD0mbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTgwMTE5LjgzOTk2NzQxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE4MDExOS44Mzk5Njc0MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MDM5MTc3JmVtYWlsaWQ9Y3JiQGpvZHl3aGl0ZXNpZGVzLmNvbSZ1c2VyaWQ9Y3JiQGpvZHl3aGl0ZXNpZGVzLmNvbSZ0YXJnZXRpZD0mZmw9JmV4dHJhPU11bHRpdmFyaWF0ZUlkPSYmJg==&&&101&&&https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/01/19/2018-00735/determination-of-rates-and-terms-for-public-broadcasting-pb-iii?utm_campaign=subscription%20mailing%20list&utm_source=federalregister.gov&utm_medium=email .

More copyright royalty mis-information:

JUDGES ANNOUNCE ROYALTY RATES AND TERMS FOR THE USE OF MUSICAL WORKS IN THE MAKING AND DISTRIBUTING OF PHONORECORDS

The Copyright Royalty Judges issued their Initial Determination of Royalty Rates and Terms for the use of musical works in the making and distributing of phonorecords on January 26, 2018. The Judges have determined that for the period 2018 through 2022, licensees shall pay royalties under section 115 of the Copyright Act in whichever is the greater amount of:

In 2018, 11.4 percent of revenue or 22.0 percent of total content cost

In 2019, 12.3 percent of revenue or 23.1 percent of total content cost

In 2020, 13.3 percent of revenue or 24.1 percent of total content cost

In 2021, 14.2 percent of revenue or 25.2 percent of total content cost

In 2022, 15.1 percent of revenue or 26.2 percent of total content cost

The text of the Initial Determination is RESTRICTED to participants bound by the Judges’ Protective Order. After appropriate redaction of sensitive, confidential information, the Judges will disseminate and post a PUBLIC version of the Initial Determination and the final regulations.

Publication of a Final Determination will occur in due course after the Register of Copyrights completes a statutory review and the Librarian of Congress approves the Final Determination. For more details, click here.

http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbXNpZD0mYXVpZD0mbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTgwMTI5Ljg0NDI1NTQxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE4MDEyOS44NDQyNTU0MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MDQ1ODM0JmVtYWlsaWQ9Y3JiQGpvZHl3aGl0ZXNpZGVzLmNvbSZ1c2VyaWQ9Y3JiQGpvZHl3aGl0ZXNpZGVzLmNvbSZ0YXJnZXRpZD0mZmw9JmV4dHJhPU11bHRpdmFyaWF0ZUlkPSYmJg==&&&100&&&https://www.crb.gov

No offense to you Jody, but I take any PR release from NARAS with a grain of salt. It may be good news and it may be total spin, ost likely it is a mix like most things. The rights they worry about are the music ruling class. Unique differences specific to those lesser mortals among us are rarely heard let alone considered. But a 40% increase simply proves how terribly underpaid creators have always been because if they can abide a 40% increase and not immediately shut their doors, those previous rates were criminal and most like they are STILL too low.

I do find it interesting that the new administration has opened the roadblock.

NARAS was not the only dog in this hunt Brian... Here's an email today from NMPA:

Dear songwriters:

Thank you for signing the petition advocating for higher royalty rates from the Copyright Royalty Board: Songwriters to Big Tech: Stop Fighting Us in CRB

Your voices were heard.

This past weekend, the CRB released its decision on mechanical rates for songwriters for 2018 – 2022. The decision was the result of a trial that took place between March and June of 2017 with NMPA and the Nashville Songwriters Association (NSAI), representing the interests of music publishers and songwriters against Google, Amazon, Apple, Spotify and Pandora.

WE WON! Songwriters’ rates for interactive streaming services will rise by almost 44% over the five year period.

We did not get everything we wanted – like a per-stream rate – but we got a massive increase for music creators. The court’s decision raised the overall percentage of revenue paid to songwriters from 10.5% to 15.1% over the next five years.

Crucially, the decision also allows songwriters to benefit from deals done by record labels in the free market. The ratio of what labels are paid by the services versus what publishers are paid has significantly improved, resulting in the most favorable balance in the history of the industry. While an effective ratio of 3.82 to 1 is still not a fair split that we might achieve in a free market, it is the best songwriters have ever had under the compulsory license.

The court also decided in our favor regarding a late fee which will force digital music services to pay songwriters faster or be subject to a significant penalty.

The bottom line is this is the best mechanical rate scenario for songwriters in U.S. history which is critically important as interactive streaming continues to dominate the market.

The decision represents two years of advocacy regarding how unfairly songwriters are treated under current law and how crucial their contributions are to streaming services. We greatly appreciate you using your voice, as well as the songwriters who shared their stories in court and helped illustrate how badly these rate increases are needed.

This battle is not over. The giant technology companies still have an option to appeal this decision, and if they do, we will need you to weigh in again to protect what we have won. Stay tuned.

Thank you for helping us win this battle for music creators.


David Israelite
President & CEO
National Music Publishers' Association

To top it off, it was one of the things I spoke to my Representative about back in October of 2017 and 2016. I'm helping out in the trenches for the things we deserve as creators. This was set in motion before the current administration.

Welcome to the fight. It's one I have been involved in since the 80's. Though my focus has been the JPF Awards the past couple years, I've been in the fight over royalty issues, insurance issues, payola and criminality in Radio and Label promotional payoffs etc. since before there was an internet and I have confronted the special interests representing entities taking advantage of musicians face to face in public settings including the RIAA who claimed to speak for ALL music creators when lobbying congress when they represent less than 2% of them. I got a standing ovation from the thousands of people at the political summit because though they tried to claim they never made that claim, I then produced and read their boilerplate on the bottom of all their literature which clearly stated they DID represent nearly all music makers and were given a mandate to negotiate on their behalf. We got Sony to admit to breaking the law and to make reparations for Payola. I confronted the folks at Pandora (who I had long helped and been friends with) when it was clear their rhetoric did not match their actions which cost me several sponsors who were doing business with Pandora. I noted very publicly that after they claimed they would go out of business unless rates were drastically cut, funny enough it was nearly 2 years later and they were still going strong. I could go on and on, but I just want to be clear that although I don't have my nose directly in the current issue at hand, my fingerprints have been all over a wide range of issues for a very long time. And unlike the shills I battled, I wasn't getting paid by anyone to simply do the right thing and demand fairness for our community. For me it has always been a moral battle and my efforts have been to do anything I can to help my friends in the community and those who will come after them in any way I can.

Well done, guys! Just when I thought it was a dead end pit, a turning point like this shows up. Seems there will be more chapters in the music production saga..

Here's the latest in mis-information about music...

Spotify files for it's IPO on the NYSE.

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-spotify-wixen-20180103-story.html

Well,
I would hate to be on that Jury or Court! A man could die waiting for that ship to come in!

Still waiting for an update Jody?