[ NNSquad ] Re: "The Music-Copyright Enforcers"

[Barry Gold <BarryDGold@ca.rr.com>]

Lauren Weinstein wrote:
> "The Music-Copyright Enforcers"
>
> http://bit.ly/9AZXAB  (New York Times)

I hope that BMI is really as user friendly as the article claims. If 
they really _do_ have the attitude of "we want you to use our music, 
just pay for it," then they will set the price at a level where people 
_can_ use it and still make a profit.

The article did go into the problem of mash-ups, hip-hop music, etc. 
And that becomes a problem.  If you charge the same royalty for using a 
small part of a song in creating a mash-up or sound effect, but are 
charged the same as if you performed the _whole_ song, then it becomes 
economically infeasible to create such mash-ups, etc.

But if BMI is willing to work out a schedule that recognizes that a 
small part of a song should pay a small part of the royalty, and that 
the creativity that goes into creating a mash-up or sound effect should 
be rewarded with the major share of the revenue, then I think we will 
preserve a viable model for music licensing into the future.