Massively Increasing Music Licensing Fees For Clubs Down Under Massively Backfires
from the finding-non-covered-music dept
We've noted the ridiculous and self-defeating efforts by many music collections societies around the world to jack up their rates by ridiculous amounts. None was more ridiculous than the attempt in Australia by the PPCA where some of the rate changes would rocket up from figures like $125/year... to $19,344/year. Well, it looks like it's already backfiring badly. Reader Dan alerts us to the news that the organization that represents night clubs and similar businesses in Australia, appropriately named Clubs Australia, has set up a system whereby the organization will specifically go out and seek music by artists not covered by the collections effort, and distribute that music to clubs and other establishments. Then, these clubs, gyms, restaurants and the like can tell the PPCA to take a hike, and still play music. We'd already seen that some clubs had started doing this on their own, but now they've teamed up to share such music with each other in order to get out from under the PPCA entirely. So, nice job PPCA. Once again, in your effort to get people to pay more for every single use, you end up making it that much more difficult for anyone to actually hear -- or care about -- the musicians you supposedly represent.
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Filed Under: australia, clubs, collection society, licensing, music
Companies: clubs australia, ppca
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Wow
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Re: Wow
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Re: Re: Wow
Why is common sense always a liquid? Can it be concentrated? Or better yet, carbonated.
Just wondering.
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The PPCA's next step
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Re: The PPCA's next step
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Jamendo
Also see The Patron's Jukebox for my suggestion of how the future will probably play out positively for those who set their music free, compared to those who erect paywalls around it.
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Re: Jamendo
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I do not see where this can be described as an "end-around" at all. They are simply cutting out a particularly greedy collection society by choosing not to play the music they license.
They would have to somehow arrive at the same product for this to be an "end-around"... unless you're saying this collection society has the right to collect on all music everywhere... which is exactly what some of these self-righteous, navel-gazing beggars seem to think.
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And this is the end that is being got around. Lots of these agencies demand payment from any business that plays music at all, even when the businesses aren't playing any of the covered music. This provides a simple way for businesses to prove in court that they aren't playing the covered music.
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Re: Re: Jamendo
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Quite beautiful, actually.
What we need next is the outrage of artists about not getting played in discos due to the inanity of the measure, and their consequent mass exodus from their label.
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sena
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This is great!
I think this is a great thing. I can only imagine how diverse the selection of music in those affected Australian venues will be in the near future. The established artists that are members of the mind-bogglingly short-sited and greedy PPCA are losing listeners and those that didn't sign on with such a soulless organization are now in a prime position to pick up a ton of listeners. Brilliant job, PPCA!
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like this wasn't expected ....
"It causes greater losses at the record labels as people migrate to alternate sources for music (P2P, anon P2P, new artists, CC, etc). This forces the labels to seek out other new revenue streams. Its a never ending cycle until a Catastrophic failure occurs. In this case it will be caused by the labels themselves."
The labels continue pushing the limits, and in the beginning people didn't push back, Now we are seeing the beginnings of a backlash. The Pirate Party, the Canadians against the proposed copyright laws, this joining of forces to combat the PPCA. With the Aussie's joining together they have created a model and resource for others to use in other countries. The record labels actions have just caused people to realize there are alternate sources for music.
The unintended consequence of this is a question that will be asked in the restaraunts and clubs of australia, one that will strike fear into the hearts of record execs every where.....
Who is the artist?
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A little math...
$19,344/365 amounts to $53 per day (with the assumption that this restaurant works every day of the week)
Now, most restaurants are not open all day and will have, what, 6 hours of real business per day? That makes almost $9 per hour, which is about the price of a (cheapish) CD, that normally lasts for about that same hour too.
So, essentially, PPCA is asking restaurants roughly the equivalent of what they would pay if every CD they played got destroyed after a single listen. Yep. Makes a lot of sense.
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it's just a matter of time.
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Re:
Maybe a computer program will replicate the performances of Some Dead Artist whose work is in the public domain.
You cannot collect on works from the public domain.
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Or is that illegal too?
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Short-term win
Long term of course, things are worse. It means more people will listen to music by non-PPCA artists, eventually becomes fans of those artists, buy more music or other items from those artists, and spend less of their money with PPCA artists. Unless, of course, all of the non-PPCA music is just that bad.
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Re: Short-term win
Set a high price, get fewer customers. But get more revenue per customer. No doubt someone will see if this results in increased revenue. If it does, then they'll stick with their new price. Good for them, I suppose.
If it doesn't (say only one customer willing to pay for every 1530 that doesn't), they may hit upon the idea of reducing prices to get more customers and perhaps more revenue.
Because of the high prices, the customers for their part are doing the obvious and looking at the competition. The quality of the product will come into play here...
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I think you've trolled the wrong post. This post isn't about file sharing, it's about collection agencies. You want this one. I know, wicked embarassing, right? We all make mistakes though, so don't let it get you down.
Have a great weekend!
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Oh who am I kidding. I stopped listening to music a long time ago thanks to the draconian way the music labels were acting. Are acting.
"Why don't you just boycott the recording industry?"
Because if you want to send a message you should throw out the baby (music industry) with the scummy bathwater (recording industry).
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281 note/entry) set up a system where music played in public can be downloaded for free.
282 note/entry) set up an area for playlists by type of music.
283 note/entry) set up a comments section for each playlist.
284 note/entry) allow moding of playlists with history of playlists.
This place gives me some really great ideas.... thanks!!!
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here
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Bravo Aussies!
(Oh, and dumping PPCA at the same time, of course)
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Moo Moo Music
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I explained that we did not play any of their music, we had local bands playing only, and they actually had the balls to say it did not matter. They (tried) contacting us and threatening us for the entire time I owned the bar. I never gave them a cent. Jackasses.
-K
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Defining Clubs
They are not talking about night clubs.
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