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Music's Latest Royalty Push

K.M. Richards said:
I still fault Gene Simmons for his disingenuous testimony, as if (a) he had just started in the business yesterday and (b) wasn't already getting songwriter royalties.
Click to expand...

Not only does he get songwriter royalties, but he just sold the band catalog for $300 million:

apnews.com

Kiss sells catalog, brand name and IP. Gene Simmons assures fans it is a 'collaboration'

“I don’t like the word acquisition,” Gene Simmons told the AP, assuring the band would never sell their catalog to a company they didn’t appreciate.
apnews.com apnews.com
 
Thanks, A. More reason for me to dislike him over this.

If I had "Beth" in any of the libraries of A/Cs that I program, it would be taken out already.
 
TheBigA said:
This article says there may be votes in the house next week on the AM bill as well as the new royalty bill.

They will be separate bills, not tied together.
Click to expand...

After laying out why my opinion may be shifting on the royalty bill, I can say it's shifting in the opposite direction on the AM radio bill.

I've been pretty firmly opposed to the AM bill for the idea that mandating technology as obsolete as AM radio should even be on the table. However, it's now starting to look like FM radio's future in the car is also threatened by vehicle makers intent on monetizing in-car entertainment.

While mandating only AM radio in vehicles doesn't guarantee that FM will come with it, it does mean a radio tuner would need to be installed, and all AM radio tuners made these days come in a chip that also includes FM. So, unless the automakers decide to play really dirty and include AM to comply with the legislation while leaving the FM band disabled, the AM radio bill should ensure *radio* in every vehicle.

Congress should really rework the bill to eliminate the loophole, though. Otherwise, there would still be the temptation for automakers to withhold FM radio so they can sell monthly recurring streaming/data subscriptions in its place.
 
Still against the AM bill. Let AM in cars die a natural death, as it's done in the home. No need for a nanny state to insure that every living soul in the nation has immediate warnings or reports on any major or minor calamity that they might encounter.
 
CTListener said:
Still against the AM bill. Let AM in cars die a natural death, as it's done in the home. No need for a nanny state to insure that every living soul in the nation has immediate warnings or reports on any major or minor calamity that they might encounter.
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Reminder that the "nanny state" created DHS, and DHS has a stated responsibility to protect the taxpayers, whether they care or not.

Radio stations don't own their signals. The signals are owned by the public. Thus the basis. These signals are an extension of the govt.
 
TheBigA said:
Reminder that the "nanny state" created DHS, and DHS has a stated responsibility to protect the taxpayers, whether they care or not.

Radio stations don't own their signals. The signals are owned by the public. Thus the basis. These signals are an extension of the govt.
Click to expand...
So John Q. Public is tooling down the highway, radio off, listening to his own library of music or to Spotify, when Russia drops a nuclear device 50 miles away and he's caught in the fallout and gets really sick afterward. Can he sue the government (providing there's one left) for not warning him? How about if he's blown off the road by a tornado he had no idea was coming because he was listening to his Morgan Wallen or Van Morrison albums, or because he was in North Ratsass, Wyoming, out of range of any usable signal? Sure, clog up the courts with suits blaming Uncle Sam for not clutching you to his bosom 24/7 wherever you travel. :rolleyes:
 
CTListener said:
Can he sue the government (providing there's one left) for not warning him?
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As long as the government did it's job, they have no liability. What you do is up to you. You had access, and chose to ignore.

They warned you. You weren't paying attention. I can hear Justice Alito's majority opinion now.

This same government uses many other platforms to warn people. Personally, I shut off notifications on my phone. That was my choice. The government passed the Amber Alert law.
 
CTListener said:
Still against the AM bill. Let AM in cars die a natural death, as it's done in the home. No need for a nanny state to insure that every living soul in the nation has immediate warnings or reports on any major or minor calamity that they might encounter.
Click to expand...

For the record, AM has not died in my home or in my sister's Dodge van. This idea that everybody can afford to, or even wishes to, purchase satellite and/or Internet access for the automobile then pay monthly fees is a laugh. Yes, AM may die (it looks like SW is dying now and I'll miss it) but it's going to be a much slower death than you wish for.
 
TheBigA said:
This article says there may be votes in the house next week on the AM bill as well as the new royalty bill.

www.insideradio.com

AM Bill Sponsor Says Pre-Holiday Vote Is Possible As Music Royalty Tie-In Loses Steam.

A long-stalled push to keep AM radio in car dashboards may be nearing a breakthrough. Rep. Gus Bilirakis says a House vote on the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com

They will be separate bills, not tied together.
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At least in the House. What will probably happen, if the Senate testimony is any indication, is that the House will pass an AM requirement for cars bill without the royalty rate and the Senate will pass roughly the same bill with the broadcast royalty rate included. Then the two bills will go into reconcilliation with the President, either publicly or privately, making his views known on what he prefers. Since there is a lot of loyalty still to Mr. Trump in both chambers, I would expect whatever the President wished for, barring some manuoeveures primarily in the Senate, to pass and be signed into law.
 
ted chittenden said:
Since there is a lot of loyalty still to Mr. Trump in both chambers, I would expect whatever the President wished for, barring some manuoeveures primarily in the Senate, to pass and be signed into law.
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We have experience with this in getting the Music Modernization Act passed during his first administration. He doesn't care about music. He doesn't know about music. But he has friends who do. One of those friends is Gene Simmons. So whatever Gene tells him to do, he will do. Marsha Blackburn is his friend, and is a co sponsor of this bill. Whatever Marsha tells him to do, he will do.

BTW if the royalty puts radio stations out of business, that's fine with them.
 
Last edited:
The person representing radio at the royalty hearings appeared on the NAB podcast.

radioink.com

After Senate Showdown, Henry Hinton Rebuts AMFA Claims - Radio Ink

NAB representative Henry Hinton responds to the Senate hearing on the American Music Fairness Act, saying radio remains vital to artists and communities.
radioink.com radioink.com

He's exactly right. I work with record labels and artists every day. They all still work to get their songs played on the radio. The labels are pushing this royalty because of their foreign owners. The artists who get radio airplay definitely don't need any more money. They know the connection between airplay and their success. They know the difference between having a streaming hit and a radio hit.
 
TheBigA said:
The artists who get radio airplay definitely don't need any more money. They know the connection between airplay and their success. They know the difference between having a streaming hit and a radio hit.
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Gene Simmons certainly didn't say that when he testified.
 
TheBigA said:
The person representing radio at the royalty hearings appeared on the NAB podcast.

radioink.com

After Senate Showdown, Henry Hinton Rebuts AMFA Claims - Radio Ink

NAB representative Henry Hinton responds to the Senate hearing on the American Music Fairness Act, saying radio remains vital to artists and communities.
radioink.com radioink.com

He's exactly right. I work with record labels and artists every day. They all still work to get their songs played on the radio. The labels are pushing this royalty because of their foreign owners. The artists who get radio airplay definitely don't need any more money. They know the connection between airplay and their success.
Click to expand...
Not everyone who gets airplay on country radio is a superstar. Many of the chart-topping artists (male, especially) are so anonymous and interchangeable that all their concert dates are in small venues or as opening acts. George Birge, Jordan Davis, Chase Matthew, Dylan Scott, Tucker Wetmore, Nate Smith ... those dudes couldn't sell out a high school gym unless a "name" artist was the main attraction. On the other hand, acts who are getting little if any mainstream country radio airplay are selling out arenas. One of them just won a CMA award for top country group.
 
K.M. Richards said:
Gene Simmons certainly didn't say that when he testified.
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Of course not. Kiss didn't have big radio hits. Really only two hits, and neither went #1. Kiss was all about marketing, not airplay. They made their money and fans by touring all the time. So I can understand why he's not a supporter of radio. You won't see Michael Bolton or Bryan Adams testifying for radio royalties. They get millions in songwriting royalties from their hits.

CTListener said:
Not everyone who gets airplay on country radio is a superstar.
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No but even after their first #1, they're millionaires. Especially if they wrote it. All of the people you listed own their own publishing, so they already get a radio royalty. They know what having a #1 feels like, how it drives people to their shows, and how it gets them tour sponsorships. I always say that if an artist on the radio isn't a millionaire, they need a new manager. Because the money is there. They don't need a royalty.

CTListener said:
On the other hand, acts who are getting little if any mainstream country radio airplay are selling out arenas. One of them just won a CMA award for top country group.
Click to expand...

I know those guys and they became famous by touring. Just like Kiss. That model worked in the 70s and it worked now. A radio royalty won't matter to the Red Clay Strays because they don't get radio airplay. Same thing with Zach Bryan.
 
TheBigA said:
Kiss was all about marketing, not airplay. They made their money and fans by touring all the time.
Click to expand...

Those two sentences pretty much say it all, A.

Simmons is being greedy ... because Kiss is no longer marketable and what airplay they had has evaporated to large degree.
 


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