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NBCNews reports that changes are coming for the music industry, and Big Music is not happy about it.
For years, in cases where ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) or BMI (Broadcast Music Inc) did not represent all of the authors of a song, they would issue fractional licenses and presume that the licensee would ensure others were paid. Instead, the Justice Department's new rules would require "full-work" licenses.
We've all heard stories about some song-writers or lyricists being cut out out of the proceeds of music sales because they were not members of these big licensing agencies, never signed a release of rights, or a variety of other issues. Big Music (ASCAP and BMI) more or less ignored these artists, assuming they would get their share via some other means. Of course, in the end, that usually meant somebody pocketed all the money and somebody else didn't get paid. That's not how it is supposed to work.
BMI said in a statement that it would fight the change in court, while ASCAP said it would press for legislative reform. The groups said in a press release that the decision "will cause unnecessary chaos in the marketplace and place unfair financial burdens and creative constraints on songwriters and composers."
This all arose after Big Music claimed that the internet music streaming services were under-paying for song streamed, and cheating artists. They complained to the DOJ and wanted to renegotiate a 1941 era consent decree. It appears the DOJ agrees that some artists were indeed being cheated, but not necessarily by streaming services.
Some artists refuse to let their music be streamed simply because they believe it is being pirated at alarming rates. Other artists are waking up to the music industry's games.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Saturday August 06 2016, @02:06AM
Personally, "artist" means some person with a paint brush, or charcoal, or pencils - something with which he creates images on paper, canvas, or some media which has some durability, and can be physically transferred to another person.
I acknowledge that music is an art form, but I call musicians "musicians". In fact, I distinguish between singers, guitar players, trumpet players, etc. Get some real musicians together, and they don't refer to themselves as artists. "Skinny is our drummer, Albert the vocalist, Amanda plays several stringed instruments, and Buzz works magic on a keyboard, Gus is our guitar man." Note the difference between "guitar man" and "several stringed instruments". Recognition of each talent is important to "artists". None of the individuals involved wants to be mistaken for something that he isn't, such as a sculptor, or a song writer.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 06 2016, @02:42AM
Yes, but the thing is that ASCAP and company supposedly collect on the behalf of more than musicians. They also collect for composers, and they collect for songwriters, and so on.
So it's kind of stupid to say, every time: We work for long list of occupations instead of artists.
Similarly, do you, every time you describe an IT department, talk about windows admins, and Informix admins, and security admins, and AIX admins, and ...? No. You talk about admins unless the specifics of the exact list really matter on that particular day, in that particular discussion.
Furrfu!
(Score: 2, Troll) by aristarchus on Saturday August 06 2016, @07:03AM
Personally, "artist" means some person with a paint brush, or charcoal, or pencils - something with which he creates images on paper, canvas, or some media which has some durability, and can be physically transferred to another person.
Predictably two dimensional, you sorry excuse for a human, let alone an Arkansan. Do not scuptors deserve the title "artist"? And what about those who deal in the aesthetic comportment of the excrement of male bovines, such as yourself? Are not bullshit artists, artists? Oh, what a narrow world you must live in, when only acrylic on satin portrayals of dogs playing poker counts as art!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 06 2016, @08:13AM
Even a "con-artist" is an artist. Albeit creative, I do not much enjoy his art.