RIAA MAKING AN ATTEMPTED MONEY-GRAB AGAINST RADIO - Listen to WJIB-WJTO

[JIBGUY]

The Recording Industry Association of America, representing most if not all the record labels doing business in America, is trying to push a bill thru Congress (HR 848) to make USA radio stations pay anywhere between $1-billion and $7-billion to them (in disguise of helping the artists). (On average, that's about $275,000.00 per station; but there will be tiers). Both WJIB-740 (Boston) and WJTO-730 (Coastal Maine) are airing short announcements at the top of EVERY hour, giving two web addresses:
www.noperformacetax.org and www.freeradioalliance.org
WJIB & WJTO will also air a 20-minute speech "13&1/2 Reasons why stations should not have to pay record companies". WJIB: Wednesday & Saturday eve 7 PM. WJTO: Wednesday and Saturday eve 6:30 PM.
Did you know that at least 71% of all music played, downloaded, sold in America is now owned by foreign-owned record labels? Therefore this bill in Congress, which more Congresspeople have said they are in favor of, than not, has a chance of passing, and will be siphoning money from Americans (station owners) to Japan, Germany, France & England.
This bill would give 50% to the record companies and the other 50% to artists (after "administrative costs" to the record companies for distribution). That means the top-sellers will get more $$$ but one-hit wonders or even two-hit wonders will likely see close to nothing.
Furthermore, take a look at how much the record companies are "concerned" about their artists... Alannah Miles had that multi-million seller "Black Velvet" in the late 80's. It's been played, downloaded a lot since then. What did Alannah make from that hit record? ZERO!!!! Not one penny!

 

[DanStrassberg]

Both WJIB-740 (Boston) and WJTO-730 (Coastal Maine) are airing short announcements at the top of EVERY hour, giving two web addresses:
www.noperformacetax.org and www.freeradioalliance.org
WJIB & WJTO will also air a 20-minute speech "13&1/2 Reasons why stations should not have to pay record companies". WJIB: Wednesday & Saturday eve 7 PM. WJTO: Wednesday and Saturday eve 6:30 PM.

There is a typo in the first of the two links above. It should be http://www.noperformancetax.org/ . The letter n is missing from the word performance

 

[Skynet74]

The RIAA is out of control. They are killing the very business that they are in. At the link provided one of the statements read as follows:

"And worst of all, if you’re one of the 106,000 Americans employed by local radio your job could be in jeopardy. In these troubling economic times, the last thing local radio needs is to be hit with a tax that some analysts estimate could be $2-7 billion annually."

We will soon be left with all talk stations on the dial and no music stations. Sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[aaronread]

I got an email from NAB (of which WEOS is a member, believe it or not) via the NYSBA yesterday about this. I was disgusted by it...not just RIAA, but NAB's response. Basically it was all about how foreign-owned music labels were stealing money and jobs from hard-working Americans.

Look, I'm in total agreement that the RIAA needs to be stopped. With extreme prejudice if necessary. : But I'm not about to endorse xenophobia to do it. I don't care if all the rational arguments aren't working; radio is an industry with precious little credibility these days, and tapping into anti-immigrant rhetoric only hurts what little credibility we have left. Especially since I represent an NPR station, I take my station's credibility pretty seriously!

And it points to desperation, too. THIS is the best argument we - as an industry - can come up with?!?

At this point, I'd say that radio...as an industry...is very close to being forced to use the "nuclear option". If RIAA won't back down, then simply have all NAB member stations drop all music programming for a month or two*. Watch what happens to music sales. Either they'll plummet, in which case the NAB's argument about inherent promotion value will be irrefutable...or sales will not change in which case radio is basically doomed anyways.

* I'm well aware of how destructive this could be to our industry, but as long as there's no law on the books about the tax, there's a chance radio can recover. A performance tax codified into law will wipe music radio out completely anyways, and do it permanently - long after any political clout the RIAA has now evaporates in five, ten or twenty years. Painful as it may be, it's better to blow off a leg with a shotgun when there's still hope of getting a prosthesis...than to take that shotgun blast to the face.

 

[freqlost]

This seems like the Tijuana Cartel vs. the Juárez Cartel !
Not much for me to get worked up about. I feel sorry for independents such as WJIB but the RIAA has been screwing people for decades.
Where has NAB been ? Busy trying to screw satellite radio.
Does anyone know if NAB took a stand on the internet radio fee issue and if they did what it was.
I am sure RIAA pirates lobbyists will sit down with NAB thugs lobbyists and work out an acceptable ransom fee payment structure.

 

[Don Juan]

WJIB & WJTO will also air a 20-minute speech "13&1/2 Reasons why stations should not have to pay record companies". WJIB: Wednesday & Saturday eve 7 PM. WJTO: Wednesday and Saturday eve 6:30 PM.

Jibguy....is this 20 minute speech available online anywhere? For those of us outside of the WJIB/WJTO listening area?


Thanks!

 

[Tom Wells]

WJIB & WJTO will also air a 20-minute speech "13&1/2 Reasons why stations should not have to pay record companies". WJIB: Wednesday & Saturday eve 7 PM. WJTO: Wednesday and Saturday eve 6:30 PM.

Jibguy....is this 20 minute speech available online anywhere? For those of us outside of the WJIB/WJTO listening area?


Thanks!

I'd run this speech on my station if it were available.

 

[JIBGUY]

I got an email from NAB (of which WEOS is a member, believe it or not) via the NYSBA yesterday about this. I was disgusted by it...not just RIAA, but NAB's response. Basically it was all about how foreign-owned music labels were stealing money and jobs from hard-working Americans.

Look, I'm in total agreement that the RIAA needs to be stopped. With extreme prejudice if necessary. : But I'm not about to endorse xenophobia to do it. I don't care if all the rational arguments aren't working; radio is an industry with precious little credibility these days, and tapping into anti-immigrant rhetoric only hurts what little credibility we have left. Especially since I represent an NPR station, I take my station's credibility pretty seriously!

And it points to desperation, too. THIS is the best argument we - as an industry - can come up with?!?

No, that's not the only argument at all. That's just one of my 13 % 1/2 reasons I gave on the air at WJIB and WJTO. But nevertheless, it's a valid reason and it's not xenophobic nor does it have anything to do with immigrants. It's there to also (especailly on my adult-standards stations) light a fire under the veterans (some even of WW2) who are most likely to take notice of this money-grab going out of the USA.

To answer another poster's question: No ,I have not given permission to have the on-air audio speech for placement online. I may, though, be able to post it here if Radio-Info allows that much text.

The bottom line here is:
IF THERE'S ANY LEGISLATION THAT SHOULD BE ENACTED, IT SHOULD BE LEGISLATION THAT SETS MINIMUM PERCENTAGES OF ARTISTS' TOTAL SALES THAT RECORD COMPANIES PAY THE ARTISTS. RADIO SHOULD BE LEFT OUT OF IT.

 

[WCRiNsider]

Pay to Play or flip to talk. Air America Cambridge - you'd do fine

 

[DanStrassberg]

To answer another poster's question: No ,I have not given permission to have the on-air audio speech for placement online. I may, though, be able to post it here if Radio-Info allows that much text.

Post is at the WJIB Web site--and the WJTO site also, if you have one. Then post a link here. Really not complicated!