re[2]: Why I support the Internet Radio Protest Blackout on May 1st

[Dean Stiglitz <deknow@deknow.com>]

perhaps i don't understand all of the issues here...but it seems to me 
that who cares?  obviously, the music biz is changing very quickly...it is 
absurd to think that bmi and ascap will (or ever would) allow ppl to 
broadcast music within their controll over the internet for free.  i don't 
think that bmi and ascap will serve the smaller producer/composer for very 
much longer...they will focus their business on big money, mass marketed 
music.

where does this leave us?  well, the way i see it, we should produce our 
music, but not give it to ascap/bmi to enforce the copyrights.  if it's 
used in an obvious, big money production/broadcast/package, then we 
individually sue or make arrangements with the "publisher".  independant 
internet radio can thrive on music produced by "amatures"...and when the 
"amatures" have enough market draw to intrest ascap/bmi (read: the cake 
gets big enough for them to want a bite), then they will pay for the right 
to license the music.

as performers/composers/producers, what we have is controll over how our 
music is used...so lets exercise it!  obviously, anything that is 
published at this point becomes part of the de facto "public domain"...so 
we publish enough for free/cheaply (less than $15/cd for the consumer) to 
get and keep intrest, and our real value is in a "performance" or a 
"special presentation" of material that we do not release to the public at 
large.

unless i'm mistaken, the carp rules don't apply to music that the major 
publishers don't own or have controll over...we now have to make our own 
paradigm.

deknow