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The PRS (Performing Rights Society), the so-called guardians of musicians' and performers' intellectual property rights, are killing music in this country. Yes, during this financially wrenching, depressing economic recession they have decided to force all UK businesses to pay around £150.00 for the right to listen to a radio at work. Even if you work alone, or never have members of the public enter your workplace. The result is that workplaces all over the UK are falling silent, fearful of that random inspection and subsequent fine.
Following the PRS attack on YouTube, which resulted in Google removing thousands of pop videos and music content (much to the disgust of the artists themselves who have now lost a valuable outlet), and targeting various social networking groups, it seems that it is rapidly becoming an act of piracy just to HEAR music.
Personally, I don't illegally copy or pirate music, every single second of music I own I have paid for and downloaded legally. But not only do I have to pay for the music, I now have to pay for the right to listen to it anywhere except at home!
I did challenge the PRS on the phone about several matters and these facts emerged:
1. Only a handful of artists are members of the PRS, mainly skint, up-and-coming bands whose music we aren't generally listening to anyway. They get a slice of the takings to support their career. Hey, can us graphics people have free hand-outs when our workload gets light too?
2. "Musicians cannot continue their careers without the support of the PRS". I kid you not, he actually said this! So Robbie Williams, Kylie, U2, etc etc have NOT become multi-billionaires through album sales and concert tickets, but through the act of ripping off small businesses in the UK.
3. Even if I was a musician, and was not a member of PRS,I would not be allowed to play my own original music at work without a PRS consent license. FACT! This is now starting to reek of a con trick.
4. Radio 1 and all the other radio stations already pay the PRS every time they play a track. But now when at work, we have to pay the PRS to hear it as well. Many of the albums I have bought have been the result of hearing it played on the radio, often during the work day, so this has in fact helped music sales rather than hurt it. PRS have killed this.
The PRS license is nothing more than a cynical revenue opportunity on the back of a dumb copyright law which benefits nobody except the PRS and its members - NOT the music industry as a whole. What possible protection are they offering artists if they are so actively engaged in the wholesale destruction of free-promotion and small enterpirise?
The music industry has learned (at last) that the removal of DRM (digital rights managed) MP3 music has been the golden egg for online music sales. Once DRM was removed, sales went UP, instead of the much feared piracy that they have always dreaded. When music was DRM, users who bought it were endlessly peed-off at not being able to use the tracks the way they wanted. Now, we can buy it, play it on our computers, iPods, Playstation 3s, and so on, without any DRM hindrance. No, we now have a new and even worse enemy in the PRS who simply want us to pay for music, pay to hear it, and pay again for any other arse they can dream up.
The PRS really grinds my gears folks - they are the hands-down winners of the biggest bunch of miserable jobsworth lousy ****s on the planet and I hope they get banned by the industry once music sales start to feel the effects of their greed.