Seems They’re Keepin All The Loot…
I found this via TorrentFreak.There’s a New York Post story about the RIAA not paying artists from settlements received from P2P giants such as Napster, Kazaa and Bolt.com. I don’t normally use the NY Post as a source, but if this is true you need to know it. From the article:
“Artist managers and lawyers have been wondering for months when their artists will see money from the copyright settlements and how it will be accounted for,” said lawyer John Branca, who has represented Korn, Don Henley, and The Rolling Stones, among others.
“Some of them are even talking about filing lawsuits if they don’t get paid soon.”
Record label sources said corporate bosses are still deciding on how best to split the money. In determining the payout, they said not every artist is owed money and it must be calculated with regard to the level of copyright infringement for each artist.
What’s more, these sources said that after the labels recouped their legal expenses, there wasn’t much left to pass along to the artists.
From Napster alone, the RIAA collected at least 270 million dollars. The RIAA likes to say it represents the artists, but does it, really? A hint can be gleaned from the full name of the organization: Recording Industry Association of America.
Does anyone see the word “artist” or “musician” in that name? This may the reason that so many artists are exploring alternative distribution channels lately, as mentioned in a piece on Techdirt:
“…perhaps the most ridiculous statement on the event came from the RIAA, who hung up a t-shirt saying “Feed a musician. Download legally.” That suggests that the RIAA still wants people to believe it represents the best interests of musicians. Such a concept becomes more laughable every day, as musicians seem to be shoving each other aside to bail out on the record labels to take their chances making money without them. The RIAA has never represented the interests of musicians, and it’s sad that so many politicians act as if it does. The RIAA has always represented the interests of the recording industry…”
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I am Jon, and a rose by another name sometimes wouldn’t be as sweet, now would it?
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Yep.