Re: [Harp-L] ASCAP Lawsuits




 I have one question. How does ASCAP or anyone else
know what songs we're or weren't performed, and how do they
know without knowing this info which artists get paid what amount
of performance fees?

I don't know how they can meter which songs are being played in clubs and restaurants - live or on radio - but it couldn't be less accurate than the way they used to measure radio play.


Used to, they sent "listeners" to cities and towns from sea to shining sea. The listener would take a hotel room and set up a radio. He'd channel surf all day long and write down the titles of the songs he heard.

Yep, that's what they did. Ascap and BMI then did some simple math to extrapolate how many plays that meant, going into the ears of how many people. Not only was this fantastically inaccurate, but a really serious problem was caused by the fact that you cannot copyright a title. A sloppy listener might note that the song "Day By Day" was being played on a big station in a big market, but was it the Day By Day written by Sammy Cahn, or the one written by Stephen Schwartz for Godspell? Both were BIG hits, both were getting radio play at the same time.

Sammy Cahn was publicy furious that Stephen Schwartz didn't use a different title, and neither could know who was getting paid for which airplays.

That problem was finally overcome with the advent of the CD. Radio stations use CD players that read unique identifier strings off of each CD, and take note of the number of the song that is being played. That number is transmitted by wire straight to ASCAP and BMI computers, for a much more accurate tally.

If we are to believe the story they give out on the matter. This is the music business, after all.




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