Truck Drivers Told They Need To Pay A Licensing Fee To Listen To Music While Driving
from the make-it-stop dept
Over the last few years, we've noted that various collection societies around the globe have become both more aggressive and more ridiculous in trying to get people to pay licensing fees for listening to music. Among the crazy stories that have popped up are cases of collection societies demanding cash from a woman who played music for her horses in a stable, a police station told to pay up because some police officers had a radio on and the public entering the station could hear it, hotels being told they need to pay an extra performance license because guests listen to radios in their rooms and, of course, the claim that ringtones (even legally licensed ringtones) require another license as a public performance. In some cases, these societies apparently hire people to just call up businesses and if they hear music in the background, they demand payment.Every time we post this kind of thing, people joke that it won't be long before they want to charge people a separate license for listening to music in your car with the windows rolled down. We haven't quite reached that point yet, but the Belgian collection society SABAM, who was recently caught accepting payments for made up bands, is now claiming that truck drivers listening to the radio need to pay a performance fee as well, since the cabs of their trucks are technically their "workplace."
This seems pretty extreme, even by traditionally insane collection society standards. Most of them admit that they only seek to collect fees in cases where the public might hear the music. Going after truck cabs seems beyond ridiculous -- and thankfully some in the Belgian Parliament seem to agree, with one MP saying, "it's utter nonsense." Still, SABAM seems to be standing by their right to collect in such cases, perhaps not realizing what an incredible laughingstock this makes them, and how it just makes people respect copyright less and less when such stories get out.
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Filed Under: belgium, collections, music, truck drivers
Companies: sabam
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Listening
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Re: Listening
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Is that double-plus-ungood evil?
or good because to evil's make a right?
or the lesser of two weevils?
Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
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If the radio station plays it backwards, and someone invents a device that reverses the signal, no one would need to license anything...
I'll call it Redre (reverse -dereverse) And I will single handedly bankrupt the entire system...mwaaahhhaaaa
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too slow sucker
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One way or another, they will distort the market to get their percentage.
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Re: Listening
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Stop buying it and stop listening to it in any situation that requires licensing fee.
Starve them.
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Re: Listening
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Derp
It would be nice if the truckers as a whole just told SABAM to go suck on an exhaust pipe.
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Re: Derp
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Actually, that it comes from the radio should (but does not) immunize. The radio station has already paid to publicly perform the music. The mechanism for doing so is to translate the music into FM (creating a licensed, legal derivative work) and broadcast it. The truck driver then takes this derivative work, translates it (creating a new, licensed, legal derivative work) and publishes it. Either the original license to publish (to the radio station,) or the truck driver's license to himself to publish his derivative work should govern, _NOT_ the license of the original music publisher. But for whatever reason, that is not the way the law is implemented (notwithstanding what it says).
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By their logic (not mine) he is more liable than people that listen to the radio. At least the radio stations already paid for the public performance once, CD's that have been bought for personal use have not paid the fees for public performances.
It kinda sickens (but doesn't surprise) me that they want radio stations to pay for public performance and then have the person actually listening to that public performance to re-pay again. Since when has "going dutch" become popular again.
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hell they don't even like the Flemish speaking Belgians!
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Your brother just as much so as the rest of the truckers shouldn't have to pay anything. It was already paid for. My post was mainly intended to deride SABAM for being stupid. I am sorry if I did not make that clear enough. I believe that Computer Addict above already addressed it though, by their logic your brother is probably more liable than the other truckers. Its dumb.
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So if your truck has a radio and you get caught without a license you be fined.
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If you use your TV solely for watching DVDs or playing video games (for example), you don't need to pay. If you don't have an antenna, cable or satellite system, you don't pay.
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Or something like that I don't remember exactly.
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Re:
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AC will be along shortly...
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Honestly...
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La Cosa Nostra
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Collection effort
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Re: Collection effort
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We don't own anything.
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Re: We don't own anything.
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Laughing all the way to the bank? Definitely.
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Where is the AC Parade?
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What if the trucker owns his rig outright? Does that make a difference?
Work place?
So children listening to their iPod while mowing their neighbors' yards? License!
Whistle while you work? Not on my watch!
Sorry, Mr. Janitor, the rhythm of your sweeping, which is derivative of James Brown, is not licensed for this workplace. We will find you. We will fine you.
Hey guitar salesman, that song YOU wrote--but registered with our collection agency--is not licensed for you to play in the workplace in order to display the shredding-ness of your new stock of axes.
Also, guitar repair-tech, testing out your adjustments by playing "Hotel California"? You are not licensed for that.
In all seriousness, what if a person works from home? Say an illustrator. Are they only allowed to play their purchased music while NOT at the drawing board?
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The problem is that most of the people involved with these types of collections don't care whether they are a laughing stock or not, only that they collect lots of money.
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Yea, it's bee a while...
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Good
Hit ever access point one could hear music at and charge a fee. This would be the best ever!
pizza delivery in HIS car p- PAYS!
Children listening to their iPod while mowing their neighbors for cash - PAYS!
Whistle while you work - PAYS!
Teacher marking assignment at home with the Radio on - PAYS!
Music store - hell yeah PAYS and pays double if a customer tries out an instrument and plays a registered tune.
The craziness of it all will make people mad enough to actually DO something about it. Or everyone will quit listening to their music and demand a FREE source that does not involve such finical entanglements.
In the short run it will suck. They will make money. In the long run society will be better as their business model will drive themselves out of business and a new Free society will emerge.
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I can't find a list on their web page..
So is this 'license' just a 'general' - listen to music at work license?
If it is - then many, many artists will have a clear case to sue this organization, after all - if they provide a license for music *they do not own* - that's clearly copyright fraud.
I know if I was a musician and they - for one second - claimed to represent me, they'd be in court.
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Truckers charged to listen to music...
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April Fools Joke?
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Than again, I've been reading techdirt long enough to notice that it aint changing much. It's possible we'll need a government refresh (revolution) to fix it.
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Another point overlooked - A little late?
Truckers.
Now, I don't know the exact history of the 18 wheeler, but aren't they about 50 to 60 years (probably more) late in demanding this? If they would have stood any chance of this working, it would have had to be when it was new. Just randomly demanding it after decades of normal isn't going to fly.
Just a little late I think.
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China can make it's own laws. And the music business, being profitable is going to see more Chinese. Chinese business isn't as extortionately stupid as the Europeans. The Europeans are in a dying civilization.
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Nonsense
I really hope the Big Copy shills (TAM) don't shy away from this thread like they do whenever the industry engages in blatant money-grubbing at absolutely absurd levels like this.
I'd dearly love to sit back and watch the spectacular display of tortured illogic as it comes into full bloom. However, I suspect they'll do what they always do when stuff like this comes along... go mysteriously silent.
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SABAM's money is not the artist's money
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