Once More, With Feeling: Copyright Is Not A Welfare System For Musicians, TechDirt, 11/26/08

Via TechDirt: Once More, With Feeling: Copyright Is Not A Welfare System For Musicians:

"Performance rights in the UK only last 50 years, so music performed in the 60s has started to move into the public domain, and some musicians are freaking out...

First of all, copyright was never intended to be a welfare system. Studio musicians knew the terms of the deal, and if they chose to rely on earnings from a single performance in 1958 for 50 years, it's difficult to see why the government should bail them out for their own short-sighted thinking, and their decision to live off of a single performance for all those years...

But, of course, that won't stop the propaganda fueled by the record labels who stand to make a nice, totally unearned, profit from an extension. They've put together a video of these "poor studio musicians" begging the government for a handout...

The UK government should reject this blatant and unfair renegotiation of terms, and tell the musicians if they want to ask someone for a handout, why not turn to the record labels who apparently didn't pay them enough in the first place."

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20081126/0807212958.shtml

Dear Bands: No Matter How Much You Dislike John McCain, He Can Most Likely Use Your Song - Techdirt, 10/9/08

Dear Bands: No Matter How Much You Dislike John McCain, He Can Most Likely Use Your Song:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20081009/0139482501.shtml

Musicians Realize They Need Their Own Lobbying Group - Techdirt, 10/6/08

Musicians Realize They Need Their Own Lobbying Group:

"It's almost amazing it's taken this long, but a bunch of musicians, including Radiohead, are now forming their own lobbying/bargaining group, called the Featured Artists' Coalition. One of the goals, actually, is to put pressure on the record labels to allow the musicians to retain the copyright on their music, rather than handing it over to the labels...
Though, my fear is that this new group really just promotes more of the same, and doesn't focus on new business model opportunities, but again looks for ways to "protect" rather than to innovate."
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20081005/2310512458.shtml

British pop stars form group to demand more power - Yahoo.com, 10/4/08

British pop stars form group to demand more power:

"Radiohead, Robbie Williams and Kaiser Chiefs are among more than 60 founding members of the Featured Artists' Coalition.
The group says it wants musicians rather than record labels to retain control over the rights to their music. It says new technology is rapidly changing the music industry, and artists are often left out when their songs are distributed over the Internet or mobile phone networks.

"It is time for artists to have a strong collective voice to stand up for their interests," said Brian Message, co-manager of Radiohead and the singer Kate Nash. "The digital landscape is changing fast and new deals are being struck all the time, but all too often without reference to the people who actually make the music."...

Musicians are increasingly turning to the Internet — and sometimes bypassing traditional record labels — to distribute their music. "
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081004/ap_en_mu/eu_britain_musicians__group