Even the BigWigs Don't Wanna Pay for Copyrights

[glokstadt]

Just say this on the Yahoo News Wire:


By Jason Szep
Tue Feb 19, 10:22 AM ET



APPLETON, Wisconsin (Reuters) - Would Abba take a chance on him? Republican presidential front-runner John McCain is not so sure and said he opted against playing the 1977 hit "Take a Chance on Me" by the Swedish group at his campaign rallies because of licensing and other concerns.

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"It's more difficult to play 'let's take a chance on me' than I thought," the four-term Arizona senator told reporters aboard his campaign plane.

"It gets expensive in a big hurry and if you're not careful you can alienate some Swedes," he joked. "If word gets out to Stockholm that we're using Abba music, then there'll be a worsening in U.S.-Swedish relations."

The hit disco song, which begins "If you change your mind, I'm the first in line," could sum up McCain's courtship of the powerful conservative wing of the Republican Party.

Some conservative Republicans distrust McCain because of his moderate stances on illegal immigration and other issues. Getting their votes in November's election to succeed President George W. Bush is one of McCain's top challenges.

Popular music and hit songs are common on the campaign trail. Candidates use them to pump up crowds before they take the stage, and to subtly reinforce campaign messages. But they occasionally get a candidate in trouble.

McCain's Republican rival, Mike Huckabee, found that out last week when the founder and songwriter of the rock band Boston claimed his 1970s hit "More Than a Feeling" was being used by the former Baptist preacher without his permission.

McCain said he also ran into problems while using the soundtrack from the 1976 Hollywood movie "Rocky."

After playing the anthemic horns of the "Rocky" theme song at his rallies, the owner of the song's copyright telephoned the McCain campaign to politely complain it was being used without permission, McCain said.

"It wasn't a formal complaint or a letter. Someone just called on the phone and said 'Hey, that's our property,"' he said.



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[Cadman68]

[:o)] ....this is just getting soooo ridiculous! You would figure it may boost the selling of the track...but hey who am I to say if it's wrong or right![:p]

[SynthesizerMan]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Cadman68[/i]
<br>[:o)] ....this is just getting soooo ridiculous! You would figure it may boost sellings of the track...but hey who am I to say if it's wrong or right![:p]
[/quote]

I get your meaning Cadman but I think this is ridiculous in a number of other ways too.

First, the candidates are dripping in other people's money. Do they stiff the limo driver or the bus rental company?

Second, if they don't want to pay musicians for their work then they have a logical disconnect, as they seem to think having the music is pretty important to their campaigns.

Third, these people are running for President. I know they are all crooks but at least they could act like they respect the law.

Fourth, if they can't pay the bill but still want the music, then commission a composer, have a song contest, or take positions that the people who write pop music agree with and maybe they will be happy to let you use the tune.

Fifth, I can tell you that when I heard my music used without permission on a clothing commercial I thought that these people were using my creativity to make money for themselves, not that it might increase my sales. They apparently knew the facts about the ownership of music too as they stopped running it the second I threatened them with a suit.

The part of all of this that I wonder about, is whether an artist can stop a campaign from using their music even if the campaign agrees to pay the fees. I know one can stop a re-recording of a tune by not issuing a license through HFA but that would not apply in this case.





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