Bob Olhsson
December 2nd, 2006, 05:16 AM
Below is an important letter from David Israelite, President and CEO of the NMPA with a link to the pdf file of the written case to the Copyright Royalty Judges on behalf of the NMPA, NSAI and SGA.
November 30, 2006
Dear NMPA member,
Music publishers and songwriters are facing their most critical fight in years. The NMPA, the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) and the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) are currently participating in a rate-setting proceeding before the Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJs) in Washington, DC. Our adversaries in the proceeding are those who use your musical works - the record labels, represented by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the digital media companies, represented by the Digital Media Association (DiMA).
By the end of 2007, the CRJs will announce new statutory royalty rates for physical products, digital downloads, digital subscription services and certain ringtones. These new rates will go into effect January 1, 2008.
This rate proceeding may be the most significant event for music publishers and songwriters in a generation. Mechanical rights comprise a significant part of the income stream for our industry. The NMPA is battling for rates that accurately reflect your contribution to the world of music. We are fighting on your behalf for fair compensation for your hard work.
The NMPA has just taken a major step in this battle. Along with SGA and NSAI, we filed our written case explaining the crucial importance of fairly compensating songwriters and music publishers. To read more, click onto http://www.nmpa.org/music101/legal.asp.
This proceeding is vitally important to you. The current statutory mechanical royalties for the distribution of music is 9.1 cents - a mere 7.1 cents above the rate set nearly a century ago, at the time of the enactment of the compulsory license. Music publishers and songwriters agreed to the current rate structure a decade ago, when the CD market was thriving, and much of the digital market did not exist.
But clearly times have changed. With respect to the digital distribution of music, what was in the 1990s a nascent market has now flourished into a vibrant and rapidly growing market. The record labels and digital music companies want to pay us less. Now is the moment for music publishers and songwriters to insist upon fair compensation in both the physical and digital world.
Ultimately, this rate-setting process will determine the compensation received by songwriters and music publishers from the reproduction and distribution of their songs. These are the rates that will govern through the end of 2012.
The musical work is the heart of the music industry, from which all value ultimately flows. Without the musical work, there would be no song for recording artists to perform and no song for record companies and digital music providers to sell. Songwriters and music publishers must be fairly compensated for their essential creative contributions.
In the past, our struggles against record labels to secure fair compensation for those who write music already seemed like a David vs. Goliath fight. But now it's not just the record labels -- we find ourselves facing giant digital media companies, such as Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo! and AOL. All of these companies have a business interest in low cost for our music.
The NMPA is on the front lines in this struggle. Your membership and participation is crucial in this fight. Every additional voice helps us be heard as we make our case for fair compensation.
Sincerely,
David Israelite
President & CEO
National Music Publishers Association
November 30, 2006
Dear NMPA member,
Music publishers and songwriters are facing their most critical fight in years. The NMPA, the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) and the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) are currently participating in a rate-setting proceeding before the Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJs) in Washington, DC. Our adversaries in the proceeding are those who use your musical works - the record labels, represented by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the digital media companies, represented by the Digital Media Association (DiMA).
By the end of 2007, the CRJs will announce new statutory royalty rates for physical products, digital downloads, digital subscription services and certain ringtones. These new rates will go into effect January 1, 2008.
This rate proceeding may be the most significant event for music publishers and songwriters in a generation. Mechanical rights comprise a significant part of the income stream for our industry. The NMPA is battling for rates that accurately reflect your contribution to the world of music. We are fighting on your behalf for fair compensation for your hard work.
The NMPA has just taken a major step in this battle. Along with SGA and NSAI, we filed our written case explaining the crucial importance of fairly compensating songwriters and music publishers. To read more, click onto http://www.nmpa.org/music101/legal.asp.
This proceeding is vitally important to you. The current statutory mechanical royalties for the distribution of music is 9.1 cents - a mere 7.1 cents above the rate set nearly a century ago, at the time of the enactment of the compulsory license. Music publishers and songwriters agreed to the current rate structure a decade ago, when the CD market was thriving, and much of the digital market did not exist.
But clearly times have changed. With respect to the digital distribution of music, what was in the 1990s a nascent market has now flourished into a vibrant and rapidly growing market. The record labels and digital music companies want to pay us less. Now is the moment for music publishers and songwriters to insist upon fair compensation in both the physical and digital world.
Ultimately, this rate-setting process will determine the compensation received by songwriters and music publishers from the reproduction and distribution of their songs. These are the rates that will govern through the end of 2012.
The musical work is the heart of the music industry, from which all value ultimately flows. Without the musical work, there would be no song for recording artists to perform and no song for record companies and digital music providers to sell. Songwriters and music publishers must be fairly compensated for their essential creative contributions.
In the past, our struggles against record labels to secure fair compensation for those who write music already seemed like a David vs. Goliath fight. But now it's not just the record labels -- we find ourselves facing giant digital media companies, such as Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo! and AOL. All of these companies have a business interest in low cost for our music.
The NMPA is on the front lines in this struggle. Your membership and participation is crucial in this fight. Every additional voice helps us be heard as we make our case for fair compensation.
Sincerely,
David Israelite
President & CEO
National Music Publishers Association