[Fmpro] PRS & Composers

[Mark Northam]

(written by Guy Fletcher)
>This kind of  
> unsigned poppycock takes no account of the endless hours of debate
> spent by people with unimpeachable motives who do care deeply about
> the future of music creators of all genres.

Yes, let's forget about democratic principles like petitions and let an
elite group, working in secret, decide our fates with little or no
accountability. That's a page right out of the ASCAP playbook. Ever wonder
why there are no referendums or ways to make official proposals to the Board
at ASCAP? There's a very good reason why.

The issue with PRS is quite simple. Is it proper to introduce discrimination
and prejudice into a payment system that, until now, has paid all music on a
particular channel or network at the same rate regardless of song, score or
time of day?

As soon as the high council at PRS decide to create "haves" and "have nots"
by arbitrary and political manipulation of the royalty rates that are not
reflective of the actual rates paid in by the broadcasters, it becomes
little more than an income redistribution/social welfare program where the
regime in power decides who is more "deserving" of higher royalty rates at
the expense of the rest. And it's only a few steps from there to the blatant
money grab by the songwriters and their puppets on the ASCAP Board that
apparently is the prime directive of ASCAP's board and royalty policies.

I find it amazing that people have become so creative at excusing and
justifying nothing more than blatant discrimination motivated by greed and
desire for more money for themselves at the expense of everyone else.

You can dress it up, use fancy words and rhetoric, and couch it in all kinds
of words like evenhandedness and fairness and such, but discrimination is
discrimination at the root of it.  And it's a sad state of affairs when so
many lack the courage to even face what it truly is, much less fight it.

Best,

Mark Northam