JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Another ASCAP Controversy

The idea of a performer paying their own fees is absurd. Remember, ALL songs performed, including those written by the artists, deserve to be compensated for through the PRO's. If I am paying a liscense fee to play my own songs, I am paying myself. The idea of a blanket liscense is so that ALL writers are compensated, including those performing their own songs.

If we expected every venue and/or every performer to keep minute details on every performance, the cost of simply running that system would eat all the possible earnings before anyone gets paid. If you want to do away with the PRO's and you want songwriters to never get paid, fine.. just come out and say it. But suggesting overwrought and uncollectable systems where people essentially pay themselves, minus administration fees to keep track of all the info, is really off the mark and people need to go back and think it through.

Either:

1. Songwriters will go uncompensated and venues will benefit for free without paying what is fair.

2. PRO's will charge fair use fees to venues in a blanket license, do a fair job in tracking where that money should go, and pay the writers who earned the money.

I think people have also tried to make the connection that 2 wrongs are making some type of right. The fact that venues should pay the fees and the fact that the PRO's have both a perception and accounting problem are unrelated. Allowing one to happen (i.e. not making venues pay) doesn't improve the second.. it makes it worse.

It's so ironic that many of those who complain that the PRO's don't pay them the money they deserve are also the sames ones that say venues shouldn't have to pay.. one makes the other problem far worse.

Brian