MSNBC.com

"Truth In Music" Has Arrived!
The Truth In Music Bill was
created to protect the artists
from Identity theft and to
protect the Consumer from
being mis-lead to believe
they are seeing the legendary
artists that made the hits
songs famous, when in
fact they are not.

The Truth in Music Law
is designed to stop unscrupulous
concert promoters from deceiving
the public with “impostor groups”
which have no connection,
legal or otherwise, to the
authentic groups.

Fundamentally, this is a
consumer protection bill,
as the public pays hard-earned
money to see a show and has
no idea what it’s even getting.

The bill makes it mandatory
for a live performance to
include at least one recording
member of the group who still
has the right to use the group
name or Trademark.
Otherwise, the act
must be billed as a “tribute”
or a “salute” so that the
public knows what
it’s paying for.

An ancillary effect of this
bill is to help the authentic
artists themselves, who have
been struggling for many years
to try to stop impostors to no
avail. The impostor groups
take their jobs, their money,
their legacy and their applause.

The bill is necessary because
existing law has completely
failed to work and impostor
groups have multiplied. There
may be as many as 50 groups
of “Coasters” and “Platters”
performed nationwide,
often at the same time in
different venues. The bill
shifts the burden to those
groups to prove that they
actually have rights to
the group names.

The specific guidelines the bill
provides give clarity to venues
as to whom to book, and to
the state attorney general’s
office as to what constitutes
a violation. This is much more
efficient and cost-effective
than any other way of dealing
with this very specialized area.

Because of the above,
we have passed the BILL
in 26 states including

NY, CA, FL, NV, TN, TX, MO,
PA, NJ, MI, MA, CT,  IL, IN,
WI, VA, VT, ME, CO, MD, MS,
MN, RI, SC, ND and Now
Delaware. 

Ohio is Next and makes 27

Some good news
Ohio Passes the Senate
Unanimousely.

Ohio jumps on the
Truth in Music bandwagon
Tribune Chronicle

 Truth In Music Bill
 This bill makes it a violation
of the consumer fraud act
for any person to advertise
a live musical performance
or production through  the use
of an affiliation, connection
or association between the
performing group and
the recording group...

www.musicFIRSTcoalition.org

All Inducted Vocal Groups are Encouraged to Join the Coalition


FAIR PAY FOR
AIR PLAY!!

Radio’s promotional value is on
the decline.  New music distribution platforms – such as satellite,
cable and internet radio –
provide additional ways for
consumers to enjoy music. With
the exception of AM and FM radio,
each platform pays for the
recordings they use regardless
of any promotion that might occur
as a result, including broadcasters
who simulcast their programming
on the Internet. However, the
bottom line is that
this is about simple fairness:
the artists who bring the music
to life, who attract listeners to a
station, and who make it possible
for radio to make money by
selling advertising deserve to
be compensated when a radio
station uses their music
to compensate itself.