The Radio Bizness
Radio stations currently pay royalties for the records they play to publishing companies. So, why shouldn't they pay royalties to the artists?
Fundamentally, that's the question that I keep coming around to answering, they should pay royalties to the artists, because that is part of a copyright scenario, correct?
This is especially true when I think about the radio stations/personalities caught engaging in payola and the companies NOT caught engaging in payola. Tom Joyner, a business partner with Radio One, and Larry Young, a morning talk show host on WOLB, a Radio One station, have done a great job in explaining how this will affect radio stations. While I understand that the royalty rates may put radio stations out of business, and I understand how radio stations may not be willing to "break new artists" because they will pay royalties for songs that may be a bomb, aren't radio stations getting a real good deal right now?
When things were going well, they played "hot songs" and put on radio personalities that did a good job and were able to charge decent advertising rates. Now things are not going as well, and the radio stations are put behind a rock and a hard place.
Does the estate of Mary Wells deserve to get some royalty money? Yes.
Isn't it the record company's responsibility to pay that royalty? Yes.
Why aren't they doing it now?
BTW, a few years ago I found out why there are not many raps with Motown songs used in the mix. The reason is, Barry Gordy charges one of the highest, if not the highest, licensing fees in the industry to use songs in the Motown catalog. Ain't Barry Gordy ripping people off, STILL?
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