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Singing The Same Song: 1962 Article Demands Stricter Copyright To Stop Jukebox Loophole

Culture

from the sound-familiar? dept

Fri, May 25th 2007 6:43am — Mike Masnick
With the news of the latest push by the RIAA to close the "radio loophole" to squeeze more money out of their music, it's worth noting that this is really nothing new. The industry has been doing it for ages. Thanks to Tim Lee and Matthew Yglesias for pointing to an article from 1962 where (oh no!) the industry was claiming that copyright law needed to be strengthened to deal with greedy business owners who weren't paying their fair share every time their jukeboxes played a song. Apparently there was something of a "jukebox exception" in royalty rates, where jukebox owners only needed to pay for the records they bought, and not each time they were played. Luckily, the law was changed in 1976, allowing the recording industry to survive. Otherwise, it surely would have perished.
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  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 May 2007 @ 12:39pm

    Thieving Pirates of '76

    Apparently there was something of a "jukebox exception" in royalty rates, where jukebox owners only needed to pay for the records they bought, and not each time they were played. Luckily, the law was changed in 1976, allowing the recording industry to survive.
    And then came the Pirates of '76. Beginning in 1976 a new breed of pirate was born. These thieving pirates would hang out in places where jukeboxes were know to be located. Then they would just hang around and listen to the music that others paid for for FREE! That's right, they listened without paying! Now, as the RIAA tells us, we all know that if you didn't pay for it then you stole it. So just remember, if you ever find yourself in a place with a jukebox (not that common anymore) and a song comes on that you didn't pay for you are morally obligated to either cover your ears or leave. Unless, of course, you're a thieving pirate.

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