The RIAA Is Getting Ready To Fuck Over Musicians Again

Having royally fucking over music fans a couple months ago with the IP Protect Act and ISP Warning System, the RIAA has set its sites once again on fucking over the artists. This time it is over termination rights. U.S. copyright law has a 'termination right' provision which cannot be given up contractually. These termination rights allow bands to regain the copyright to their works 35 years after the creation. There is an exception however on 'works for hire' music.

As the RIAA represents the record labels and doesn't give a crap about the bands or music industry, they are seeking to deny artists termination rights by saying bands are hired by the labels to be employees.

"We believe the termination right doesn't apply to most sound recordings," said Steven Marks, general counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America, a lobbying group in Washington that represents the interests of record labels. As the record companies see it, the master recordings belong to them forever and ever, rather than to the artists who wrote and recorded the songs, because, the labels argue, the records are "works for hire," compilations created not by independent performers but by musicians who are, in essence, their slaves employees.

The RIAA has been planning this for years. As The Gauntlet reported two months ago, Congressional staffer Mitch Glazier snuck a few lines into a completely unrelated bill that quietly declared musicians songs as "works for hire." Artists flipped out upon finding out about this and Mitch got a nice cush job at the RIAA with a modest $500,000 yearly salary. He is now #2 in charge of the organization.

Scientology only makes you sign a contract for a billion years.



Read More News

Tags:  RIAA, Mitch Glazier   

Jason Fisher    August 16, 2011