Radio Royalty Legislation Described As 'RIAA Bailout' 272
An anonymous reader tips an article at TechDirt about draft legislation from Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) that would dramatically increase the music royalty fees for cable and satellite radio to put them at the same level as internet radio streaming. TechDirt calls this the 'RIAA Bailout Act of 2012' and says the RIAA has been pursuing similar legislation to increase royalty rates for terrestrial radio as well.
"As it stands now, the rates are so damaging that Pandora — the top player in the space — has made it clear it may never be profitable. Yes, never. Nadler's bill would effectively make sure that no one else in that market would be profitable either. The end result? Many of these services don't exist or never get started. That would actually mean fewer services, fewer listeners and lower royalties. It's almost as if he has no concept of price elasticity. Lower prices can create higher total income. Also, the idea that any particular Congressional Rep. should be (effectively) determining what the "fair" price is for anything is, well, horrifying. "
Accidental infringement (Score:5, Informative)
Is it possible to set up an alternative RIAA?
Not as long as the music publishers affiliated with the major record labels threaten to sue people who write their own songs for copyright infringement on the grounds that too much of a melody was accidentally copied. See, for example, Bright Tunes Music v. Harrisongs Music and Three Boys Music v. Michael Bolton.
Re:Clearance; promotion (Score:2, Informative)
Nobody verifies this under the present system, so an individual releasing stuff isn't any different.
Still, what steps should an individual take to minimize liability?
Believe it or not, people hear music in places other than their cars.
Yeah, like restaurants and retail establishments, which play either the radio or a Muzak-like stream.
In any case, people who listen to music on MP3 players are listening to music that they've bought because they've heard it elsewhere. Now what "elsewhere" are you talking about? I was under the impression that in order to listen to Internet radio without a cellular data plan, you had to be sitting in front of your computer. You mentioned "YouTube, free song downloads", but in such cases, how do listeners become aware that a particular music video exists or particular free song downloads exist?"
Want to minimize liability? Form an LLC. It takes $50 bucks and an application from the state of Delaware to do this. Release the song under the LLC. The worst you can be sued for is for your PROFITS under the LLC unless you knowingly did something illegal. The corporate veil is actually a useful thing here - it protects you from personal liability unless you were like "wow, that track is awesome...so I'll just copy it."
As far as promotion...frankly, tough question. However, I'm certain that bands who already work with the studios already have this problem. You honestly think that Katy Perry has been the only person writing music this year? Good stuff is already being ignored - don't give up just because Sony (c) won't back your album.