Labelmakers

I read this on a Star Tribune linked article.

Sally's Saloon & Eatery, the venerable Stadium Village institution, apparently has some licensing issues, and it's got Bon Jovi and Gwen Stefani mighty upset, sort of. According to FOX9, Sally's is facing a federal lawsuit for its use of "Thunderstruck" and "Livin' on a Prayer" all the way back in 2007 and "The Sweet Escape" last February, despite allegedly not having a license for any of these songs. What did they do with the songs? Well, it's not completely clear. It might have been a band that covered it. It might have been somebody singing it during karaoke. But whatever the context, it might cost Sally's as much as $90,000.

A little bit of context comes from a Malaysian website, for whatever reason: The Star Online points out that this lawsuit follows another, by "country hottie" Taylor Swift against an Idaho sports bar. TMZ has more of that story, in which BMI representatives found the bar was playing music they hadn't licensed, and a copyright lawsuit resulted.

Why target little regional bars? A lawyer who represents these sorts of cases has an answer, as quoted by FOX: "The public is often misled by thinking these are greedy companies that are pounding on the little people to get money. That's really not the case, it's really like if someone created something outside of the music business and someone else tried to steal it, it's that simple without paying for it."

Exactly-no, wait..what? No! That lawyer is an idiot. That's like copyrighting a fart. Music doesn't work the way he thinks it does. If that artist didn't put the music out, someone else would.

These artists put out music and make most of their money TOURING. The album and airplay sales mainly go to a greedy label. I say if an artist wants to make money, do it on the tour or with merchandise sales. Playing your music or putting it online only increases your audience. Ditch your label, let radio and bars play your stuff, and just sit back and let the money roll in. There are a growing number of artists doing exactly this, but it appears that some people haven't wised up yet.

It looks like Taylor Swift's real love story is a label's love of money.

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