Performance Rights Act: Help Save Radio & Artists

Greater Media is airing an editorial chock full of untruths about the Performance Rights Act. Their editorial sounds as if Karl Rove authored it! Write your Congressman! That's coming next. Stay tuned.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Letter to Greater Media's Public File

Tom Baker,  General Manager
Amy Hull, Assistant to Tom Baker
Greater Media Boston
Tel:617-822-9600

WROR, WMJX WKLB WBOS WTKK
55 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125

RE: Public File Letter -
http://www.helpsaveradio.org/


Dear Mr. Baker:

Thank you for your time on the phone this morning. Enclosed is the letter
I sent to Paul Jarvis, Jamie Martel and Ken West on August 3, 2009 after
hearing that inappropriate editorial on WROR. Please put this letter in
the public file of WROR, WMJX WKLB WBOS and WTKK - as well as any other
Greater Media stations which the "Help Save Radio" editorial is being
broadcast on.

I spoke with Marty Balin, lead singer of The Jefferson Airplane, last
evening (I'm the producer of his new DVD which will be released worldwide
this year) and he is ready to speak to Congress and The Senate, if
necessary, on behalf of The Performance Rights Act - H.R. 848 and S.379.

H.R. 848
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-848

Senate S. 379
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-379

Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane of Spanky & Our Gang gave me a quote on August 3
which is enclosed in this letter. I will be speaking to numerous other
hit artists who will start speaking to their fans - live and in concert -
about the importance of these two bills, the importance of Performance
Rights.

The Greater Media site, http://www.helpsaveradio.org/, is so bogus, Mr.
Baker. This is an excellent opportunity for the artists to tell their fan
base how radio really works: tight playlists, too many commercials, fewer
and fewer radio hosts, hardly the radio baby boomers grew up with.

Radio in the 60s and 70s, as you well know, had its deficiencies, but it
was superior to the product that emerged after the Telecommunications Act
of 1996 http://www.fcc.gov/telecom.html

At least Greater Media's Help Save Radio site is giving us updated
information on the battle

22 Democrats write to the House
http://www.helpsaveradio.org/NoFloorVote.html

House Opposition at 240
http://www.helpsaveradio.org/houseopposition.html

This is, indeed, good to know as we can start working on these
representatives to do the right thing for the artist - and find out which
lobbying groups are involved.

Current number of House members:
435 plus 6 non-voting members
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives

In case you are not aware, Mr. Baker, this is NOT a "tax" on behalf of the
"international record labels", which the website screams out; it is monies
that, really, are long overdue for these artists. It is something that
Spanky of Spanky & Our Gang proposed over 40 years ago.

Do you really want to stand in the way of important art? to quote the late
Rolling Stones producer, Jimmy Miller. As Jimmy Miller's business partner
from the day I can assure you, Mr. Miller would be the first one leading
the charge for The Performance Rights Act. The people who MAKE the
records you are playing, which garner you advertising, want to be paid for
their services.

Since the majority of the recordings being played on all your stations are
established copyrights, you are hardly "promoting" new music. Truly, my
opinion is that you are like a movie house playing a movie but not wanting
to pay the stars of that movie.

You are getting compensation but you don't want to pay the stars of the show.

Blaming the "record labels" is such hypocrisy. Some of the major labels
make it difficult for the artists to get paid as well.

It is time for the free ride to end. It is time that the artists received
compensation for the work that you broadcast, work that makes you money.

Thank you for listening. Please put this entire e mail in the public file
of each of these stations listed above. I will be checking the public
file very shortly and will be contacting the FCC if my request is not
complied with.

Sincerely,

Joe Viglione
Producer/Host
Visual Radio

P.O. Box 2392
Woburn, MA 01888
tel 617 899 5926



Dear Mr. West and Greater Media:

I demand you place this letter in the WROR Public File as well as in the
Public Files of WBOS, WTKK 96.9, WKLB 102.5 and all the Greater Media
stations flashing on your HelpSaveRadio.org site.

Greater Media is not being truthful with the radio listeners when airing
its "Help Save Radio" site and editorial. I demand equal time to give a
legitimate opposing point of view on both the WROR website and on the air.

SPECIFICS:

The Performance Rights Act is an important tool to help musicians get paid
for their performances on the air. This is already a reality in Europe
with PPL (and the former Pamra and Aura). For WROR to falsely advertise
this as a "tax" is absurd. Greater Media's site (and editorial) state:
"...the big international record companies have a problem: they haven't
adapted to the digital age. Now they are asking Congress to tax local
radio stations to line their pockets and preserve a declining business -
to the tune of billions of dollars."

What a false statement! This is for the artists, not the record labels.
It is a performance fee, much like the monies paid to BMI, ASCAP and SESAC
for songwriters and publishers.

Why would WROR and Greater Media want to do this spin, this Karl
Rove/Weapons Of Mass Destruction routine and deceive the public?

Why would WROR want to "stand in the way of important art?" to quote the
late Jimmy Miller, producer of The Rolling Stones.

The Performance Rights Act is long overdue. According to MusicFirst: "The
U.S. is the only industrialized, democratized country without a
performance right in the world."

But why listen to just an established music critic like me. Why not hear
it from a woman who has not been compensated properly by radio for
entertaining listeners with hits songs like "I'D Like To Get To Know You",
"Making Every Minute Count", "Sunday Morning", "Sunday Will Never Be The
Same", "Lazy Day", Spanky & Our Gang's rendition of "Everybody's Talkin'"
and, of course, "Give A Damn." Spanky gave me a quote just for this email
(see below). When she was on VJ Records (with The New Wine Singers)
Spanky and her manager, Bud Wolff, attempted to get something similar to
the Performance Rights Act in motion. That was over 45 years ago.
Tonight, August 3, 2009, at 7:50 PM, Spanky had this to say about the new
bill:

SPANKY McFARLANE SPEAKS


"I'm 67 years old and I've been a performing artist on the air and in the
clubs and all over the world for 45 years. I've never gotten any
performance royalty out of the radio or juke box or anything else that I
know of. Writer's get paid, publishers gets paid, yet there would be no
hit record without the artist, whoever they may be."

Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane
August 3, 2009 7:50 PM

It's about time radio gave a damn about Spanky, Dionne Warwick, Peter
Noone, Ian Lloyd of Stories, Steve Holley (drummer for Wings, Ian Hunter,
Elton John) and other vocalists, guitarists, drummers, keyboard players
and musicians on hit recordings.


Provide for compensation to creators for the value of their product.
http://www.rabsworld.com/2009/03/support-the-performance-rights-act-today/


WROR, like most commercial radio in Boston, is not serving the community
the way that it should.

When WROR/Greater Media states "That may mean YOUR favorite station will
have to cut back on the music we play or the community services we
provide" it is being deceptive, disingenuous and downright wrong.

I demand WROR stop playing that false editorial that I heard about 10:30
AM on Monday morning, August 3, 2009. I demand WROR pull the disingenuous
website http://www.helpsaveradio.org/ and demand the opportunity to go on
the air and give an opposing point of view.

Sincerely,

Joe Viglione
Producer/Host Visual Radio

Music Critic with approximately 4,000 reviews on The All Media Guide,
published in approximately 8 books.

P.O. box 2392
Woburn, MA 01888
cellphone 617 899 5926

30th year on Access Television

1995-2009 Visual Radio's Fourteenth Year on Television!
featuring Joe Viglione - host of TV EYE, established in 1979.

BOSTON GLOBE ARTICLE: LANDING BIG NAMES:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/02/01/landing_big_names/

Creating Content since 1995!



Provide for compensation to creators for the value of their product.
http://www.rabsworld.com/2009/03/support-the-performance-rights-act-today/

Fundamental fairness dictates that recording artists of all types,
including royalty artists and session musicians and singers, should be
compensated for the use of their recordings, as should the copyright
owners in those recordings. Achieving fair treatment from domestic
over-the-air radio will also help creators obtain payment of foreign
broadcast royalties. Bring parity to all forms of radio.


England had PAMRA which merged in early 2007 with PPL.

A Lars Brandle article in Billboard explains it well:

PPL has completed its merger with PAMRA and AURA, creating a new body
which it says represent the "most fundamental change" in the U.K.
collecting society's seventy-three year history.

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3iSkUE1BeH3ZLoounYB4MRPw%3D%3D

What PPL Is
PPL is a society which collects the royalties due whenever a recording is
played in public.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onemusic/management/pplp09.shtml


DIONNE WARWICK: Big Radio's Attacks on Me Aren't Surprising

Source:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dionne-warwick/big-radios-attacks-on-me_b_247458.html

I was surprised when Radio One's Cathy Hughes added my name to the list of
African American artists and civil rights activists she's attacked in her
vicious campaign against fairly compensating musicians for their work.
Then again, since smearing African American leaders to protect her profits
has become Ms. Hughes siren song, maybe I shouldn't be surprised at all.
Every time we buy a CD or download a song, the artist is paid for their
work. You might...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dionne-warwick/big-radios-attacks-on-me_b_247458.html

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