I love it when reality and The Onion collide.........
From The Onion (a satirical "news" site):
[a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27696"]RIAA Sues Radio Stations For Giving Away Free Music
[/a]October 2, 2002 | Issue 38•36
LOS ANGELES—The Recording Industry Association of America filed a $7.1 billion lawsuit against the nation's radio stations Monday, accusing them of freely distributing copyrighted music.
RIAA president Hilary Rosen and attorney Russell Frackman answer questions in a Los Angeles courthouse.
"It's criminal," RIAA president Hilary Rosen said. "Anyone at any time can simply turn on a radio and hear a copyrighted song. Making matters worse, these radio stations often play the best, catchiest song off the album over and over until people get sick of it. Where is the incentive for people to go out and buy the album?"
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And now the Reality (actual news story):
[a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-fi-radio21may21,1,1028211.story?coll=la-headlines-business-enter"]RIAA Seeks Royalties From Radio[/a]
May 22, 2007
WASHINGTON — With CD sales tumbling, record companies and musicians are looking at a new potential pot of money: royalties from broadcast radio stations.
For years, stations have paid royalties to composers and publishers when they played their songs. But they enjoy a federal exemption when paying the performers and record labels because, they argue, the airplay sells music.
Now, the Recording Industry Assn. of America and several artists' groups are getting ready to push Congress to repeal the exemption, a move that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually in new royalties.
Mary Wilson, who with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard formed the original Supremes, said the exemption was unfair and forced older musicians to continue touring to pay their bills.
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That's right, Mary Wilson should get to sit on her ass for the rest of her life because she recorded a few hours of music. Absolutely. Every time I turn on a hot tap, I should have to pay a fee to the plumber who installed my hot water heater. Every time I switch on my computer, I shouldhave to pay a fee to the electrician who wired up my house. Every time I read a book, I shouldhave to pay a fee to the author. Every time my ex-girlfriend places something on the shelves I put up for her, she should have to pay a fee to me.
That's fair, right?
