More on royalty rates
So, I received a few responses (here, here, and here) from my post last week in response to Dismuke’s post about the free market. I’ve explained my position on the issue and I don’t want to fan any flames, so instead of repeating myself or going point-by-point through the responses, I’m just going to write a few general comments and leave it at that.
First, to the claim that I misrespresented his position, I just want to say that on the post I replied to, the “So long as the government is setting the rates…” clause was the only inkling I could have that he was against statutory rates, especially since he was asking for more government regulation. After I wrote my post, he released an essay criticizing statutory rates. It would have been nice to read that essay along with the others on his blog, so I have to admit that I was wrong to throw Dismuke in with the rest of the webcasters who are pushing the Internet Radio Equity Act. I still disagree with his position and many points in that essay, but so far as he is against statutory rates and government interference in the music industry I’m with him.
Second, I believe I’ve been misrepresented when he tied my position to his “MilkExchange” example in one of his rebuttals. It seems that a big point of contention between the two of us is the the idea that SoundExchange constitutes a monopoly. I don’t believe it is a monopoly because copyright holders and webcasters are still able to negotiate rates independent of SoundExchange. I think one can deduce logically from that fact that copyright holders can form their own licensing organizations to offer broadcasters the ability to negotiate rates for music in bulk (if one person can do it, why can’t a group of people?). Dismuke asked me if I knew that for a fact, and I admit that I don’t. If it is true that the law forbids such organizations, the situation is even more messed up than I knew and I might even agree with call to lower royalty rates as an intermediate step to fixing the situation.
I’m not the one that is advocating for more government regulation, though. If I should ask my representatives to vote for the Internet Radio Equity Act because there are government barriers that prevent private licensing organizations, where are they?
(Note: I asked if the law forbids such organizations, not the RIAA. How the RIAA would feel about such organizations or whether they would fight them legally is not relevent to the question of whether a monopoly really exists.)
For the record, my position on “MilkExchange” is not what Dismuke claims it is. I think there are essential differences between his example and this royalty situation, but I don’t want to get into it right now.
Third, I’ve stated repeatedly that the basis for my position on this issue is my belief in the concept of intellectual property rights. The existence of SoundExchange and the CRB are violations of those rights, and the final solution to this issue is to get the government out of the music business. I’ve side with the CRB ruling only because I feel it is the least-restrictive option for copyright holders. I’ve been dismissive of points not related to the rights of copyright holders because I don’t think they are relevent. Yes, I think the rate jump was excessive. Yes, I would like to have more access to music I like. Yes, I don’t want small webcasters to lose their shirts to pay retroactive royalties. Yes, I think copyright holders will make more money if they let internet radio stay online. Do I think that copyright holders - even if they’re the RIAA - should have to lose control of their property for the sake of others? Absolutely not, and I think that’s what this debate is all about.
If the government passed a law that eliminated SoundExchange and the CRB and brought a real free market to the music business, I bet we’d see the same “Save Net Radio” movement that we see today. Dismuke might not be a member, but everything else would stay the same.
Fourth, I have to stop staying up past midnight writing on this subject. It’s time for bed.
Tags: [dismuke, internet radio, royalty rates, soundexchange]Comments
Leave a Reply