Stanley Green warns in the April 1962 Atlantic that copyright law needs to crack down on jukebox proprietors, lest the music industry face certain destruction. Does anyone know whether his policies, or anything like them, were ever implemented?
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Jukeboxes are Killing The Recording Industry
22 May 2007 10:58 am
Comments (14)
But I can't find what the fee is anywhere.
Yes, they were incorporated into the 1976 Copyright Act which substantially overhauled and added to copyright law in the United States. The relevant section is 116. Basically jukebox owners may negotiate royalty rates with music publishers, but if they do not, the rates would be set by the arbitration pannel (CARP). All the rates are now subject to private agreements I believe.
Text follows:
§ 116. Negotiated licenses for public performances by means of coin-operated phonorecord players52
(a) Applicability of Section. — This section applies to any nondramatic musical work embodied in a phonorecord.
(b) Negotiated Licenses. —
(1) Authority for negotiations. — Any owners of copyright in works to which this section applies and any operators of coin-operated phonorecord players may negotiate and agree upon the terms and rates of royalty payments for the performance of such works and the proportionate division of fees paid among copyright owners, and may designate common agents to negotiate, agree to, pay, or receive such royalty payments.
(2) Arbitration. — Parties not subject to such a negotiation, may determine, by arbitration in accordance with the provisions of chapter 8, the terms and rates and the division of fees described in paragraph (1).
(c) License Agreements Superior to Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel Determinations. — License agreements between one or more copyright owners and one or more operators of coin-operated phonorecord players, which are negotiated in accordance with subsection (b), shall be given effect in lieu of any otherwise applicable determination by a copyright arbitration royalty panel.
(d) Definitions. — As used in this section, the following terms mean the following:
(1) A “coin-operated phonorecord player” is a machine or device that —
(A) is employed solely for the performance of nondramatic musical works by means of phonorecords upon being activated by the insertion of coins, currency, tokens, or other monetary units or their equivalent;
(B) is located in an establishment making no direct or indirect charge for admission;
(C) is accompanied by a list which is comprised of the titles of all the musical works available for performance on it, and is affixed to the phonorecord player or posted in the establishment in a prominent position where it can be readily examined by the public; and
(D) affords a choice of works available for performance and permits the choice to be made by the patrons of the establishment in which it is located.
(2) An “operator” is any person who, alone or jointly with others —
(A) owns a coin-operated phonorecord player;
(B) has the power to make a coin-operated phonorecord player available for placement in an establishment for purposes of public performance; or
(C) has the power to exercise primary control over the selection of the musical works made available for public performance on a coin-operated phonorecord player.
Why do these jukeboxes hate our freedom?
What a treat. Thank heavens this jukebox loophole was plugged in time. We might not've had Brittney Spears at all!
At least the phony, bait & switch concern for starving artists and their descendants is well grounded in history.
Nope. His policies weren't implemented and that's why the music industry is dying. It's been a loooooooong death rattle these last 40+ years.
Plus, the '76 law encouraged an effective enforcement system. Jukebox operators have to display their licenses on the machine and copyright owners can collect damages for unlicensed use of the material. Don't know if there still is, but there used to be a whole little industry of private detectives and law firms strong arming the machine operators and generating some nice fees and penalties for themselves. Not that different probably from what RIAA would like now.
I wonder how the jukebox industry is doing these days. Seems like I hardly see them anymore. Last I did, it was 2 songs for a dollar, and silent.
Maybe I just don't go to the right places.
Few comments:
Jalmari - yes and no. Jukeboxes are alive and well. However the traditional jukebox is being rapidly replaced with digital download devices (Touchtones seems to be the dominant brand in my area). This has advantages for the artists and composers, since the digital systems can track songs individually. With traditional jukeboxes, the royalties were simply divided equally between all songs on the machine. Now if you play "Crazy Love" by Beyonce, that is recorded in the central database and royalties are allocated to the creators of that song. Also, songs are available to be downloaded if a song you are looking for is not on the machine. However, the bad news is that generally only the most popular songs on a particular album are available. In addition, the ubiquity of universal machines reduces the character defining function that a jukebox selection used to perform. You don't go to a bar "because they have a good juke" because... they all have the same juke.
Sean - Yes, there are still enfocement people out there. Lately they've been most busy against business playing ipods and radios... both of which are unlicensed performance use in a publicly accessible commercial space.
Having worked for some 20 years for ASCAP (But no longer), yes jukeboxes are licensed for performance rights, but the royalties do not go to the performers for their performances, but to the songwriters and music publishers of the underlying song.
"In addition, the ubiquity of universal machines reduces the character defining function that a jukebox selection used to perform. You don't go to a bar "because they have a good juke" because... they all have the same juke."
Yup.
You don't go to a bar "because they have a good juke" because... they all have the same juke.
That is most definitely not true here in Park Slope, where several bars compete for the title of "best jukebox on Fifth Ave." The bartender at Great Lakes quit and, gasp, took his CDs with him to his new bar. These jukeboxes are full of mixes burned by the employees, so I'm skeptical that ASCAP is getting their cut.
Chris,
Why would they not get their cut? Actually, jukebox licensing is operated as a consortium of BMI, SESAC and ASCAP known as the Jukebox License Office (JLO) with licenses being negotiated with the Amusement & Music Operators Association. Accordingly, with the license fees going to one source (the JLO) and licensing representatives from all three organizations spending time visiting bars, nightclubs, etc. (certainly in Park Slope), I have little doubt that if they aren't licensed, they'll probably be found out soon. As the rate for one jukebox is a whopping $405/year for the first jukebox and $93 each additional one and the statutory minimum for copyright infringement is $750/count, it's really a no-brainer.
You can find out more here.
Comments closed June 05, 2007.
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Heads in the Sand
a little googling suggests that there are royalties now for jukebox performances:
http://www.lacostamusic.com/record-labels/royalty.htm
Posted by John DE | May 22, 2007 11:23 AM