When you’ve been around as long as the Harry Fox Agency, you’re going to make some enemies, screw some things up, over react and over reach. You’re also going to do a lot of things right, make some friends and do some good. But most of all, you’re going to be the whipping boy […] via […]
The only way I can think of that both Variety’s original statement and the correction could be true would be if there were a voluntary retroactive unmatched payment by the digital services as part of the deal for the Music Modernization Act. Even so, $1.5 billion is awfully generous, even for the biggest companies in commercial history. But then, if it is a voluntary payment, how would you ever know if it isn’t also voluntarily disclosed?
Billboard reports that Senators Cornyn and Cruz suggested a fix for this flaw—allow private market competition alongside the MMA’s government mandate. (Vaguely reminiscent of the “Section 115 Reform Act” from 2006.)
Let’s review why this fix is necessary and how it could balance the roles of rule makers and takers.
It’s necessary because the problem doesn’t come from songwriters. It comes from the real rule makers—Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Spotify. And startups know which side butters their bread.
Public discussion of MMA has focused on the song collective and the compulsory blanket license for songs, but the mandated digital services collective is more troubling given the size of the players involved.
ALEX Viddy well, little brother. Viddy well. from A Clockwork Orange, written by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel by Anthony Burgess As we noted in Fair Copyright Canada and 100,000 Voters Who Don’t Exist back in 2009, the legitimate desire by governments to use the Internet to engage with the governed is to be admired. […]
Thank you Chairman Goodlatte! PRESS RELEASE: Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today delivered the following statement during the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on “Facebook, Google, and Twitter: Examining the Content Filtering Practices of Social Media Giants.” Chairman Goodlatte: Today, we continue to examine how social media companies filter content on […]
If you take away the right to sue for copyright infringement, the way the MMA proposes, it’s basically introducing a retrospective and perpetual safe harbour – this, as music creators in Europe are trying to get rid of safe harbour — helienne (@helienne) June 28, 2018 It must be said that Music Modernization Act safe […]
[Editor Charlie sez: It’s about time that these royalty deadbeats began understanding the meaning of “repeat infringer policy” which Twitch (owned by Amazon) does not seem to have in place at all.] If you’ve watched any Twitch streams at all in your life ever, this might come as a surprise to you. After all, pretty […]
In case you were scratching your head about why Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse decided to stick his beak into trying to continue discrimination against recording artists who had the misfortune to record before 1972–here’s a possible explanation. Maybe he was just getting his beak wet?
Music Technology Policy 