Rift over royalties - A bill to make radio stations pay singers divides black artists, leaders

Chicago Tribune ^ | August 26, 2009 | Dahleen Glanton

[a fool in paradise]

Play old Caruso records. Charlie Patton.

We can step on up through the years. The corporations don't own everything. Some music IS public domain in this country.

[a fool in paradise]

The artist who isn’t seeing anything from the publishing side of his songs may not be seeing anything from the album sales either. But this isn’t the fault of radio.

[SandyLynn]

I work in radio for a LIVING..and I can tell you that as a small market station, we’d be out of business in a heartbeat..our community would not support an all-talk station. To me, the argument the artists have should be with ASCAP or their record companies..not radio! And hey artists..how would you sell records if you had no radio airplay?? When no radio stations remain that play music, you won’t sell anything! Talk about biting off your nose to spite your face, c’mon!

[SkyPilot]

A truck driver drives his truck from A to B and is paid. He doesn’t get paid many times, he just gets paid once. A brick layer gets paid to build a wall. Once. A baker is paid once for a loaf of bread. Only once. A McDonalds worker gets paid once for each hour she works. Only once. So why should artists get paid over and over and over and over and over again forever and ever for the work they produce? This makes no sense.

Stop making sense! You are going to tick off all the Democrats!

[The Toll]

I’m not in support of the bill and I am a musician. That being said, your question to artist about selling their records without airplay is honestly not a concern to us any longer.

Commercial FM stations have completely abandoned their traditional role as providers of “new” music to the public. If they ever become relevant again and consider playing artists from the current decade we may support their endeavors.

In the meantime I am a little ambivalent as to how many retirement checks they may be forced to send to AC/DC, U2, or Pearl Jam.