Record companies have apparently found a new tactic to cash in on royalties. As we are well aware, at first these businesses sued individual users who illegally downloaded music. But this approach to collecting money in order to recover from major financial loss has destroyed their public image.
In lieu of lowering the price of albums in order to go up against the free music circulating through the internet, the music industry has turned to collection agencies who are now taking legal action against cellphone companies over royalties from ring tones. They claimed that ring tones counted as public performances so cell phone companies should be obligated to pay performance fees. The courts quickly renounced this claim.
After this unsuccessful attempt to collect money, Broadcast Music Inc is now suing T-Mobile over ring back tones, contesting that the cell phone company is selling them without agreeing to licensing agreements. Instead of ring tones, which play out loud when someone calls a cellphone, ring back tones play expressly to the person calling. That is to say, instead of hearing a cellphone dialing tone, the caller will hear a song chosen by the cell owner.
Critics are quick to point out the apparent irony of this lawsuit. If ringtones, which can be heard by anyone around a cellphone, do not constitute public performance, it seems ludicrous to sue the mobile carriers over a ringback tone that can be heard only by the caller. With record companies suffering from huge financial losses, it seems as though they are grasping at straws in order to collect any money that they possibly can.
It does not seem that the idea of lowering the cost of CDs and DVDs has occurred to the record companies. There are still a large number of music lovers out there who would rather collect and own the media, but with prices constantly rising, downloading music for free seems more and more tempting. CDs are generally priced at seventeen dollars.
A few bands have bypassed the issue of free music downloads through creative tactics. Radiohead, an alternative rock band, built a website where fans can obtain the mp3s for free, or for a donation. Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor made a similar site. The music industry's unsuccessful lawsuits and declining public image leads one to believe that thinking outside of the box and lower pricing may be more effective than bullying money out of mobile carriers and individual users.
In lieu of lowering the price of albums in order to go up against the free music circulating through the internet, the music industry has turned to collection agencies who are now taking legal action against cellphone companies over royalties from ring tones. They claimed that ring tones counted as public performances so cell phone companies should be obligated to pay performance fees. The courts quickly renounced this claim.
After this unsuccessful attempt to collect money, Broadcast Music Inc is now suing T-Mobile over ring back tones, contesting that the cell phone company is selling them without agreeing to licensing agreements. Instead of ring tones, which play out loud when someone calls a cellphone, ring back tones play expressly to the person calling. That is to say, instead of hearing a cellphone dialing tone, the caller will hear a song chosen by the cell owner.
Critics are quick to point out the apparent irony of this lawsuit. If ringtones, which can be heard by anyone around a cellphone, do not constitute public performance, it seems ludicrous to sue the mobile carriers over a ringback tone that can be heard only by the caller. With record companies suffering from huge financial losses, it seems as though they are grasping at straws in order to collect any money that they possibly can.
It does not seem that the idea of lowering the cost of CDs and DVDs has occurred to the record companies. There are still a large number of music lovers out there who would rather collect and own the media, but with prices constantly rising, downloading music for free seems more and more tempting. CDs are generally priced at seventeen dollars.
A few bands have bypassed the issue of free music downloads through creative tactics. Radiohead, an alternative rock band, built a website where fans can obtain the mp3s for free, or for a donation. Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor made a similar site. The music industry's unsuccessful lawsuits and declining public image leads one to believe that thinking outside of the box and lower pricing may be more effective than bullying money out of mobile carriers and individual users.
About the Author:
Mallory McGuinness-Hickey is employed by debt collection company Rapid Recovery Solution and writes free lance pieces on financial news. Visit the Uber Article Directory to get a totally unique version of this article for reprint.
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