BMI AND ASCAP REJECT LICENSING LEGISLATION
The following is being released by BMI and ASCAP in
response to the passage of landmark copyright legislation of
Senate and House on October 7, 1998
New York, October 8, 1998.
In response to last evening's
passage
by the
United States Congress of a long debated bill addressing
critical issues
affecting the music community, both BMI and ASCAP expressed deep
disappointment and outrage.
"In one sweeping legislative action" said Marilyn Bergman,
President and
Chairman of the Board of ASCAP, "the House and Senate have
passed
music copyright term extension with one hand yet severely
curtailed music
copyright protection with the other. With this music licensing
legislation, which
seizes the private property of copyright owners, the United
States Government
has severely penalized America's songwriters, composers and
publishers. Not
only will our earnings be reduced, but so will the creative
incentive for future
generations of songwriters. It is important to let music
creators everywhere
know that we did everything humanly possible to combat this
unconscionable
legislation."
"This is a sad day for all creators of music in America, and
intellectual
property rights owners" said Frances Preston, President and CEO
of BMI.
"This legislation challenges the spirit of the Constitution as
it expropriates,
without compensation, the intellectual property of our
songwriters, composers,
and music publishers. Legislation which was first introduced
under the guise
of protecting mom and pop establishments now is revealed as a
scheme to
protect the largest restaurants in the nation while damaging
tens of thousands
of genuine small business people, America's songwriters and
composers. It
also puts us in violation of the international treaties
governing intellectual
property, including the Berne Convention and the TRIPS
Agreement."
Both performing rights organizations consider Congress’s action
to be
inherently unfair. The average songwriter earns approximately
$4,700 from
performance royalties; while the average restaurant owner earns
about
$44,000, according to National Restaurant Association figures.
Even before
this anti-music legislation was passed, music licensing costs
constituted far
less than 1% of the average restaurant's gross sales. The
earnings of
songwriters, composers and publishers have now been reduced by
tens of
millions of dollars annually.
The bill that passed yesterday consists of two parts: the
much-needed Sonny
Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, and the "Fairness in Music
Licensing
Act". The misleadingly named "Fairness in Music Licensing"
provision allows
more than 70% of bars and restaurants to use radio or TV music
for free,
according to the Congressional Research Service. "Copyright Term
Extension" extends the length of copyright in the United States
by another 20
years, from the current standard of the creator's "Life Plus 50"
years to "Life Plus 70" years. It was designed to bring domestic
copyrights into line with
those of United States trading partners in the European
Community. The
United States is the leading producer of intellectual property
in the world.
Bergman and Preston, in a joint statement, said: "While
copyright term
extension brings United States law in line with most of the
world, we're concerned there will be international repercussions resulting
from this new
music licensing legislation. Simply put, we will be collecting
substantially
reduced royalties from the majority of restaurants, bars, grills
and many
retailers in the United States for the songwriters of the
world." They
concluded: "ASCAP and BMI are committed to working together with
music
creators everywhere to reverse the effects of this unfair and
damaging music
licensing exemption."
ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers) and
BMI are America's two largest music performing rights
organizations. The
two groups represent songwriters, composers and music publishers
of virtually
all of the copyrighted music in the United States, covering
every musical genre
and style. Each organization offers music licenses to
establishments and other
music users which allow them to perform publicly any or all of
the works in
their respective repertories. Through affiliation agreements
with performing
rights organizations throughout the world, BMI and ASCAP also
offer access
to millions of international copyrighted musical works.
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