Springsteen sues NYC bar over royalties

[Bo]

Source: Wonderwall

NEW YORK (AP) -- Bruce Springsteen is suing a Manhattan pub, saying it failed to pay an annual licensing fee to an organization that distributes royalty payments to artists.

Springsteen claims the pub violated his copyrights by letting an unidentified band perform two of his songs for profit.


Read more: http://wonderwall.msn.com/movies/coroner-pneumonia-drugs-killed-brittany-murphy-1536717.story?gt1=28135#wallState=0__/movies/springsteen-sues-nyc-bar-over-royalties-1536777.story

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I did not realize the Boss was so Hard up for Cash....I mean suing a PUB for letting some no name band play 2 songs of his. WTF

[BlueState]

1. You left out a very crucial part of the story

From the link you yourself posted:

"The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers brought the lawsuit Wednesday under Springsteen's name. ASCAP said it's important to set a precedent that protects the rights of songwriters everywhere."

ASCAP does this fairly regularly from what I understand.

[monmouth]

2. When the ex and I had the bar at the Jersey Shore, ASCAP was a

bill that had to be paid. Had some good bands working back in those days and it was worth it. They played a lot of the big songs of the day and ASCAP did their job. Artists, especially in music, are cheated out of royalties all of the time.

[Confusious]

5. Probably cheated by the same big corps that put the music out in the first place

I'm not against copyrights, but today's copyright law has gone off the deep end.

[Tunkamerica]

3. letting bands cover is fine, as long as you pay your ascap/bmi fees.

if you let one bar get away with it...

[FiveGoodMen]

10. Thing about those fees: They never get to the artist

How do I know? They don't take lists of what songs were played.

[Ozymanithrax]

4. I applaud the Boss and ASCAP for doing this...

Using his intelectual property for their profit is stealing. The bar owners are being thieves and pirates.

[Confusious]

6. While I'm not against this

Do you have any idea how long copyrights last these days? Anything published 40 years ago will still be under copyright when you turn to dust.

[Ozymanithrax]

8. As a writer with several published short stories and novels I'm trying to sell...yes.

Art is a unique creation of the artist. The rights to that art should not die with the news cycle nor have a use by date as if it were a bottle of mustard. Enjoyment and appreciation of art are a shared experience between the artist and the person viewing, enjoying, experiencing the art. That experience lasts as long as memory, and each new memory is unique. You are not charged for each time you revisit a song, a book, a painting, a sculpture. Copyrights allow artists to profit from a creation that enriches countless lives.

[Kievan Rus]

11. 70-plus-life terms...no way

Look, I'm all for artists being paid...but seventy plus life is absurd.

Patents only last for twenty years and there's still a lot of new inventions coming out every year. Copyright should last no more than thirty years.

[WriteDown]

7. The Boss is probably hard up from everyone who demands that music be FREE on the internet. nt

[Gman]

9. In every bar, you liquor license and you get an ASCAP license

Just part of doing business.

[MrsBrady]

12. as a musician, I am glad to belong to an organization that helps me get paid.

I have only one song that I get paid for...at least right now.

It's not much money, because the people that recorded the song are just as un-famous as I am.

But every time they play it, I get a small amount.
I especially like it when they tour Europe, because the Europeans are stricter about paying royalties, especially the Swiss.


People are willing to pay their doctors, lawyers, plumbers, their prostitutes, their vets, and for their food...
but why people think music is free...I do not understand.

If I, me, myself, give my music away, that's my business. But no one, none, nobody has the right to steal from me.

[NashVegas]

13. FYI, He's Having His Name Pulled From the Suit

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/02/04/2010-02-04_bruce_springsteen_demands_his_name_is_removed_from_lawsuit_against_midtown_bar_c.html

but so what?