My wife is a singer and recording artist (if you want to hear what real music sounds like, try this: http://tinyurl.com/8zcz67k ), so I’ve had to learn quite a bit about music licensing. Every time some narrow-minded leftist twit whines about people whose politics he disagrees with daring to play his music at a rally, I always make it a point to spread this fact far and wide:
If the song is licensed to ASCAP or BMI, and you purchase an ASCAP/BMI public performance license, which virtually every public venue has, you can play any song in the library as many times as you want for any audience. If the composer wanted to maintain control over that, he should’ve never let the song out of his bedroom and signed a contract to let the evil capitalist licensing company collect royalties and send him the dirty money of fans he disapproves of.
TV play is different, as is the use of a song in an ad, film, commercial, etc. But if Fox says they had the appropriate license, I believe it, because that’s SOP for TV stations. One reason ASCAP and BMI exist is so you can make blanket licensing deals and not have to track down every composer of every song you want to play to get permission.
In other words, Fox is right: all this is just a pathetic show for publicity and for Michael to reaffirm his leftwing moron bona fides to all his fellow travelers. Play all the REM you want at public performance venues, and if Michael Stipe doesn’t like it, he can go whistle up a rope.
Yup. 100% right.
Read the comments there. One lib is whining that it just isn’t so and Fox STOLE IT ALL!!!
God these libs get more pathetic by the day.
Very good voice. You are a lucky man.
sesac too
Hey, great music, lovely voice your wife has. Time to make a purchase. Thanks for the link.
Yes, correct.
I paid BMI good money every year for the privilege of simply playing my radio through the PA system.
He can go pound sand...
Right...how about Rush playing The Pretenders song “My City Was Gone”.
Same gig.
Wow! She is good! Thanks!
Exactly right. I think the most obvious example of this is the Rush Limbaugh theme from the Pretenders My City was Gone. Chrissie Hynde loathes Rush but admits her mother loves him and can do nothing about his perfectly legal use of the song. The song is a whine about development destroying the Ohio she grew up in which is probably why you never hear lyrics when Rush uses it.
Your post is just about exactly what I learned about music licensing when I worked at a college radio station years ago.
Yes, Stipe and REM are just doing a little PR, because they should know that as long as a broadcaster pays the ASCAP/BMI fee...they can play the music.