JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Industry Message Forum USA Law for Radio Playing of a Band???

Here's the qoute I got from Beatlesradio.com when I asked why such bad Beatle covers, and why not just play the real thing, or at least original Beatle covers that don't try to copy exactly and sound silly doing it.

"Coz its against the law in the good old USA
YOU CAN PLAY 3 SONGS IN 3 HOURS BY THE SAME GROUP"

WHAT??? Is there such a law?

But here's the thing, there were more than three atual Beatle song in a one hour period even!

So, what's up with any law about playing any one group for more than three songs in three hours?

John,
Don't you know it's against the law to play good songs on the radio. That's why they play those bad Beatle Covers.

John, I'm not a lawyer, but I'd bet good money that there's no such law. They are using "hyperbole."

Thank you, Ray. FINALLY there is a logical explanation for commercial radio!

Actually, that law does seem to exist, but it only applies to internet radio. It seems to be part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The funny thing is I can't find those actual words anywhere in the DMCA. Granted I haven't read the whole thing; but I'm studying intellectual property rights this semester & I will read the whole thing in the next few months.

But, even if it isn't explicitly in there, every internet radio station I've checked out adheres to that standard as if it is the law of the land.
I found some variation on this at every internet radio station I checked out (this particular one from Loud City):

1) As determined by Congress, all webcasters must comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Even if you have a LoudCity plan, you are not legal if you do not follow these rules:



Your station must not be part of an "interactive service". This means no personalized on-demand streaming or downloading of content. Sound recordings can't be performed within one hour of a request by a listener or at a time designated by the listener.

In any three-hour period, you should not intentionally program more than three songs (and not more than two songs in a row) from the same recording; you should not intentionally program more than four songs (and not more than three songs in a row) from the same recording artist or anthology/box set.

Archived programs (those that, when accessed, always start in the same place and play in the same order) should be at least five hours long, and should not be available for more than two weeks at a time.

Continuous "looped" programs (those that always perform in the same order, but are accessed in a continuous play stream) should be at least three hours long.

Rebroadcasts of programs can be performed at scheduled times three times in a two-week period (for programs of less than one hour) and four times (for programs of an hour or more).

Do not publish advance program guides or use other means to pre-announce when particular sound recordings will be played. However, a webcaster may name one or two artists to illustrate the type of music on a particular channel; and, DJ "teaser" announcement using artists' names are permitted, but only those that do not specify the time a song will be played.

Use only sound recordings that are authorized for performance in the United States (e.g.: do not play bootleg recordings).

Provide some means for the end user to identify the song, artist and album title of the recording as it is being played.

Lastly, the DMCA also requires that you accommodate technological copyright protection measures or pass through any identification, which may be included in the song recording itself, as long as it does not impose substantial costs or burdens on the webcaster. Also, do not deploy or support technological means to evade these requirements; and, do not explicitly encourage home taping.

Webcasters who fail to adhere to the provisions of the DMCA do so entirely at their own legal and financial peril.

_________________________________________________________________

So it looks to me like the focus is on the recording artist, not the song writer, hence the endless bad Beatles covers.

Cheers,
Rick

John, you should have bet me some money, I'd have lost

Yee Gads Goldenbird,
Big Brother really is watching. Makes you wonder what law you are breaking now.

Thanks Rick for all that info! yeah,,,,,reason for the bad covers. Some good ones in there as well. But one had one group that had the horn parts lifted and didn't sync it up in the measure it was to start! It started on the last beat of the previous measure! It was funny to hear it actually...but a mistake that got overlooked by the band, and by the station. ??? It sounded as such that it couldn't have been on purpose. It was "that" awkward sounding. It was that coronet part in Penny Lane! LOL! One of those Ooops!

Thanks too for all the replies! Yeah Mike,,,,,didn't I already bet ya? Yeah,,,,,,it was for a 1000 bucks! I remember hearing you say that! ,,,,Oh,,,,never mind, it was my Tinnitus speaking. Thought you spoke in a lower tone.....My bad!

I am only guessing here, but if they restricted the number of plays by a single artist over a fixed period of time, it is to stave off media over-saturation (a little). If one artist has too much presence, then there is not only a financial advantage for the artist, but there is the fan phenomenom where the fan base grows rapidly with media saturation, and can allow a certain artist or group to really dominate the market for a period. There is a point of over-saturation, but the base can expand so quickly that once there is a cool-off period, a large percentage of the fans remain very loyal. An example of this was the media saturation that occurred in 1972-74 with Elton John. The charts were still dominated at the time by Three Dog Night, but Elton John began coming out with a new album about every six months and soon and built a huge following. Talent, also played a huge part in his success, no doubt, but the exposure ensured that EVERYONE heard him enough to get his songs stuck in their heads.

Ray, I will use that "law about only playing bad songs on the radio" line next time I take a CD to the local radio station. I think no matter what argument they use about not playing my stuff, I can counter with "So you're saying there really is a law." Thanks.

Joe

Actually, that's a piccolo trumpet on that tune.

According to Beatles lore: The trumpet part was added after the rest of the song was finished. McCartney was watching the BBC when he saw a group called The New Philharmonia perform Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto #2." He got the idea to add a trumpet part, and asked the group's trumpet player, Dave Mason, to play on this. Mason brought 9 trumpets to the session, eventually deciding to use a B-flat piccolo trumpet. Mason, who is not the same Dave Mason from the group Traffic, played on a few other Beatles songs, including "A Day In The Life," "Magical Mystery Tour," and "All You Need Is Love."

Yeah,,,NOW I recall that instrument! The piccolo trumpet. I saw the interview with Martin talking about it on Anthology a while ago. All coming back)! Ya know where I got the coronet thing from? Buddy used to play one in High School.

Thanks for clearing that up!

That Digital Millennium Copyright Act sure is a doozy. Too bad it only applies to US servers. I'm really sure those guys based at the .ru and .tv domains are REALLY going to take notice. Kinda like plugging the hole in the dam with a matchstick.

cheers, niteshift