RIAA Wants Songwriter Royalty Lowered

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Lest there be anyone left who believes the RIAA's propaganda that its litigation campaign is intended to benefit the 'creators' of the music, Hollywood Reporter reports that the RIAA is asking the Copyright Royalty Board to lower songwriter royalties on song file downloads, from the present rate of 9 cents per song — about 13% of the wholesale price — down to 8% of wholesale. Meanwhile, the big digital music companies, such as Apple, want the royalty rate lowered even more, to something like 4% of wholesale. So any representations by any of these companies that they are concerned for the 'creators' of the music must henceforth be taken with a boxcar-load of salt."

Comments

Re:You're assuming...

[Anonymous Coward]

you forgot to mention they are jewish

Re:Yet another reason for artists to go it alone

[Chas]

"his is important because "communism" the political ideology generally tries to apply extreme "socialism" as economic policy and has basically nothing to do with "communism" the economic model aside from the political parties that misleadingly stole the name."

Typical neo-commie bullshit doublespeak. Purpose? To try to forcibly decouple the failures of the past from the failures you'd drive us to in the future doing the SAME DAMN THING.

"The most common example of this would be the family unit, which comprises a communist cell by buying and selling goods and services collectively (although these cell sizes are shrinking in the US)."

Ah, the farm unit. The one that's so heavily subsidized in this country.

"Other applications of communism that have stood the test of time are.."

BULL! Being self-sufficient is "standing the test of time. Taking money from the government subsidies is merely a way of prolonging the inevitable. Such communities, when left to their own devices DO NOT WORK.

"monasteries"

Generally subsidized

"co-op housing"

Subsidized

"co-op stores"

Subsidized

"credit unions"

Controlled by government regulation after unregulated ones crashed. And now as subsidized as a standard bank.

"municipalities"

Don't give me this shit. A municipality is NOT an unsubsidized, free-standing unit.

"Most Americans seem to have some messed up ideas about communism and socialism"

Yup. But being that this IS America, we allow these socialists and communists to have their own opinions anyhow. So long as they don't infringe upon the rights of others.

"For example, public schools are an example of socialism"

Subsidized by the districts they reside in. And by state and federal funding.

If communism is saying "we're so successful" while standing there begging for hand-outs, we need LESS of it in this country, not MORE.

Note, I am NOT saying that some modicum of enlightened self-interest doesn't urge some mutual cooperation. But calling it "communism" is merely a demonstration that you have, at best, only a cursory grasp of the social dynamics involved.

Re:Why the RIAA?

[cliffski]

Insane. You think that a trade body that represents the majority of the USAs musical entertainers is as bad as a gang of violent thugs that killed and physically assaulted people.
Nobody who is not part of the slashdot/digg groupthink will EVER take anything you say about copyright seriously.