Composers get bad break on US copyright laws
NEW YORK (UPI) — The United States is the only country in the world that discriminates against composers.
Its antiquated copyright law is bad enough for the writers of its popular music but it is even worse for the composers of serious music who do not have record royalties as a cushion.
These composers lose revenue because in drafting the copyright law of 1909 the legislators decided they would have to be paid for their music only if the performances were "for profit."
"You can't perform a play or exhibit a movie without the consent of the copyright owner even if it is non-profit," said Edward M. Cramer, President of Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI). "You can't reprint textbooks for school use without copyright liability.
"You can't copy and distribute works of art without license whether or not they are for profit. Music is the only economically important work that is singled out for this discriminatory treatment and it is practiced only in the United States."
BMI and the American Society
20 KANSAN Nov. 7 1969
of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) are the guardians of the rights of composers in this country.
"It sounds reasonable to say a non-profit institution shouldn't pay for music," Cramer said. "But if it holds an art festival it will pay for the plays, it will pay compensation for material used in the souvenir book, it will pay the musicians who perform. Only the composer is not paid. This strikes hardest at the writers of serious music whose work is intended for schools and colleges, religious organizations and other non-profit civil groups."
Cramer said it was hoped a new copyright law would eliminate this discrimination. In the meantime, he urged wider observance of the present rights of composers.
"A music educator who would reject in horror the idea of buying stolen instruments will distribute stolen property of another sort," he said. "That is he will make copies of sheet music. This is clearly a violation of the copyright law both civil and criminal and legally and morally it's precisely the same as any other form of stealing or using stolen property."
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