[Dixielandjazz] Fw: Copyright Royalty Board Decision

[Dave Hanson]

Copyright Royalty Board DecisionHello all. Attached is some recent legislation that will hopefully help musicians collect royalties. It is rather long but does have a sample letter if you care to respond through your legislators.
Have a happy summer.

Dave Hanson
----- Original Message ----- 
From: AFM 
To: Dave Hanson 
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 4:51 PM
Subject: Copyright Royalty Board Decision


                  AFM Legislative Alert 
           
                              Copyright Royalty Board Decision 

                              Dear Dave Hanson,

                               A recent pro-musician decision of the Copyright Royalty Board has sparked a lot of adverse press. Even worse, webcasters and broadcasters have instigated a "grass-roots" campaign urging music fans to complain to Congress about the decision. The purpose of this e-mail is to make sure that musicians are informed about the facts - and to ask you to send your own pro-musician message to your representatives in Washington! 
                              The Background. The Copyright Act requires webcasters and broadcasters to pay royalties when they stream sound recordings on the internet. By law, 50% of the royalties for streaming go to performers. SoundExchange collects the royalties and pays 45% of them directly to individual featured performers. SoundExchange pays 5% (the share set by statute) to the AFM and AFTRA Fund for distribution to session musicians and vocalists. The remaining 50% goes to the sound recording copyright owner - which is usually a record label but in some cases is also the performer. 
                              The Decision. The judges heard 48 days of testimony and reviewed thousands of pages of evidence about the webcasting business and about the businesses of performers and record labels. AFM Vice President Harold Bradley and member Cathy Fink testified about the creative work musicians do in the recording process, and about how important this new income stream is to musicians. President Tom Lee testified about the ways SoundExchange works for musicians. And then the judges carefully considered all they had heard - and got it right. They wrote a careful, 115-page decision that acknowledged the value of musicians' creative work and the importance of fairly compensating us when businesses use our product. 
                              The Webcaster Backlash. Although the webcasters and broadcasters presented a complex and detailed case to the judges - and although the hearing process is one that they asked Congress to create - some don't like the result and are seeking a Congressional override. This makes no sense. What is worse is that large (and wealthy) webcasters like AOL and Yahoo are hiding behind a few small webcasters who complain that as "small businesses," they can-t afford to pay the royalties. Webcasters made similar complaints the last time rates were set in 2002 - and since then, webcaster revenues overall have jumped from $50 million to $500 million per year. 
                              Performers Need to Be Paid for Use of Our Work. Most musicians need to patch together lots of income streams in order survive - including royalties for the use of our recordings. Please let Congress know how important this money is to musicians! Urge your representatives to resist the pressure to override the rates set by the CRB. 
                              Taking Action. A sample letter to your Representatives and Senators is attached. Feel free to personalize the letter. For further information, visit http://capwiz.com/soundexchange/home/ . 



                               
                              Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): 
                              Your Congressperson 
                              Your Senators 


                              Below is the sample letter:

                              Subject: Copyright Royalty Board Decision

                              Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

                              As a constituent and a member of the American Federation of Musicians, I am writing to let you know how important the recent Copyright Royalty Tribunal (CRB) decision about internet radio is to professional musicians. Contrary to the public's image, most recording musicians are not celebrities living in luxury. Royalty artists and session musicians all work hard, and most only can earn a living by patching together numerous income streams. The streaming royalties set by the CRB - one half of which goes to performers - represent very meaningful income to musicians.

                              When the CRB set new rates for the streaming of music, they got it right. The judges carefully considered thousands of pages of evidence and dozens of days of testimony. They balanced the needs of internet radio and the needs of performers and copyright owners. Ultimately, the CRB recognized the value of our music, and the need to provide us with fair compensation for the use of our work. 

                              Although the webcasters and broadcasters presented a complex and detailed case to the CRB - and although the hearing process is one that they asked Congress to create - some don't like the result and are talking about a Congressional override. This makes no sense. What is worse is that large (and wealthy) webcasters like AOL and Yahoo are hiding behind a few small webcasters who complain that as "small businesses," they can't afford to pay the royalties. Webcasters made similar complaints the last time rates were set in 2002 - and since then, webcaster revenues overall have jumped from $50 million to $500 million per year. But every year, it gets harder and harder for musicians to earn a living, no matter how talented and hardworking they are.

                              I believe that the CRB decision properly recognizes the value of music to the internet radio community. Please support your musician constituents, and the integrity of the process that Congress created to set streaming royalty rates, by refusing to consider an override of the CRB decision. 

                              Sincerely,

                              Dave Hanson



                                
                       Take Action! 
                              Instructions:
                              Click here to take action on this issue or choose the "Reply to Sender" option on your email program. 



                              Tell-A-Friend:
                              Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. 
                               Tell-a-Friend! 



                              What's At Stake:
                              A recent pro-musician decision of the Copyright Royalty Board has sparked a lot of adverse press. Even worse, webcasters and broadcasters have instigated a "grass-roots" campaign urging music fans to complain to Congress about the decision. The purpose of this e-mail is to make sure that musicians are informed about the facts - and to ask you to send your own pro-musician message to your representatives in Washington! 



                              Campaign Expiration Date:
                              April 20, 2007 
                             
                       
                 


--------------------------------------------------------------
                 


                  If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for AFM/Get Active Mailing List.  


                  If you would like to unsubscribe from AFM's GetActive mailing list, or to automatically remove yourself from this list, please click here or respond to this email with "REMOVE" as the subject line. Click here if you would like to update the e-mail address on file with the AFM. Please note that you will be prompted for your afm.org username and password.