Re: [ARSCLIST] Letter on British Copyright Term Extension

[Karl Miller <lyaa071@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 16 May 2006, James L Wolf wrote:

> Currently, record companies are more
concerned with selling their viable back catalogs than finding good new artists.
It's cheaper, after all. But as someone else said recently, if they eventually
can't make any money off the Beatles et al. then they'll be forced to find new
stuff that people will actually want to buy.

Yes, but I believe it is because SOME of the back catalogs are viable, the
bulk of back catalog is being locked away. I believe that musicians are
being, once again, manipulated by the record companies. They are being
given the line that the copyrights are there to protect their
estates...which of course is true. However, for their estates to gain
any return their recordings have to be available, and that decision
resides with the record companies.

So we have laws to protect the financial interests of the rich...so what
else is new?

Well, and here we go again...just read about the law suit the recording
industry is bringing against XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. It seems
that not only does the record industry charge Satellite radio for
"broadcasting" their stuff...above and beyond the normal ASCAP, BMI, etc.
licenses, but they are upset that the radios are now being sold with
recording capabilities...

Ok, how many out there have at one time or another recorded a commercial
recording, or concert broadcast...and kept it and listened to it more than
once? So I ask the question, was the recording industry, and musicians
union aware that people could record broadcasts...for at least the last
70 years or so? Duh.

I guess we could end up having to pay a premium price for radio, since the music
industry will assume we are recording everything...so are we headed to no
music on the radio...just downloads? My goodness, what will advertizers
do? And then, when one considers the curent attempts to defeat television
remote controls so you can't fast foward through commercials...when that doesn't
work, will we have only downloaded television...which you can get for less
if you take it with commericals...likewise when you download some
music...how about a commercial in the middle of your favorite song,
downloaded in a file format which cannot be edited...of course the analog
output can always be edited...but wait, maybe all audio and video editing
software will require one to have a license...and...

Karl