In an email sent to ASCAP members, ASCAP wrote:
Dear MICHAEL,

On behalf of songwriters and composers everywhere, I am urging you to support ASCAP's Legislative Fund for the Arts(ALFA).

At this moment, we are facing our biggest challenge ever. Many forces including Creative Commons, Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation and technology companies with deep pockets are mobilizing to promote "Copyleft" in order to undermine our "Copyright." They say they are advocates of consumer rights, but the truth is these groups simply do not want to pay for the use of our music. Their mission is to spread the word that our music should be free.

This is why your help now is vital. We fear that our opponents are influencing Congress against the interests of music creators. If their views are allowed to gain strength, music creators will find it harder and harder to make a living as traditional media shifts to online and wireless services. We all know what will happen next: the music will dry up, and the ultimate loser will be the music consumer.

We cannot afford to lose the support of our legislators either at this time or into the future. To this end, we must urge the members of Congress to support our rights.

Of course, a legislative campaign of this magnitude requires funds. We are coming to you--along with many other professional ASCAP members-- to help protect your future. Of course, we understand that these are tough times for everyone. Accordingly, we are asking you to make a very small contribution to wage this battle. Our thinking is that if everyone we are approaching responds with the modest sum we are requesting, it will add up to a reasonable result. In line with this, we are requesting that you write a personal check for five dollars ($5.00) or more made out to the ASCAP Legislative Fund for the Arts. if your contribution is greater than $200, federal law requires that you provide the necessary information requested on the attached form. Please send any checks to ASCAP Legislative Fund for the Arts, c/o Adrian Ross, One Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023. Please note that corporate checks are not permissible.

You can also charge the amount to your credit card, if you prefer, by clicking on the following link:

https://members.ascap.com/ma/EwaWeb/pub/startOnlineDonation.do

Think of it as investing in your own future----which is precisely what it is. We will use the funds to advance our agenda in Washington on your behalf. Please read and complete the information requested on the attached form, and say "yes" to helping us help you safeguard your rights and your future income.

Original screenshots: http://twitpic.com/1zai6e/full and http://twitpic.com/1zai66/full

Read the Creative Common's response here: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/22643

Discuss.



Check out the comments, as well. I submitted a pretty large post on there in response to a user named "Malcolm" who seems to be defending ASCAP. (May still be pending moderation).
Wow, that's incredible. They seem to be ignoring the fact that copyleft is a simple alternative to copyright for those who choose to not copyright their works. No one is trying to force anyone to do anything, nor saying there's anything wrong with people who want to make money from their work. Sheesh.
Check out the EFF's response. Apparently the NMPA spoke out, and David Israelite labeled the EFF "the new face of our enemy," and claimed they have an "extremist, radical anti-copyright agenda."

This is ridiculous Bad Idea


I'm reading up to see if PKP wrote a response to it as well Smile
swivelgames wrote:
Check out the EFF's response. Apparently the NMPA spoke out, and David Israelite labeled the EFF "the new face of our enemy," and claimed they have an "extremist, radical anti-copyright agenda."

This is ridiculous Bad Idea


I'm reading up to see if PKP wrote a response to it as well Smile
According to that EFF response, PKP did indeed respond. This is quite ridiculous, and this NMPA seems to be on the level of the RIAA and MPAA in terms of complete lack-of-touch with modern society and its wants and needs. They're stuck in a last-century frame of mind, and if anything, they'll lose business and money by not learning to innovate and take advantage of all the opportunities available today.
Exactly! I thought this was pretty hilarious:
In their blog post, the EFF wrote:
Interestingly, ASCAP's own members were among the first to challenge ASCAP's story. Perhaps the most thorough reply came from longtime ASCAP member L. Peter Deutsch, who, in an open letter to ASCAP, wrote "I was disgusted by your grossly one-sided letter soliciting my contribution to your 'Fund for the Arts.' ASCAP has consistently misrepresented the purpose, the history, and the facts of copyright."
Any news or new developments on this, Swivelgames? I hope ASCAP retracts their letter at some point.
They won't. They're evil greedy corporate hacks. They'll take you for every dime you have unless you take them first.
DShiznit wrote:
They won't. They're evil greedy corporate hacks. They'll take you for every dime you have unless you take them first.
This.


Nothing incredibly new. I've heard ASCAP are losing a large number of their members to this, though. Especially with how politely all three organizations have responded to it. In fact, many of the people who have left ASCAP have actually donated to CC, EFF, and PK because of this.
Quote:

In recent years, they've demanded fees from the Girl Scouts Of America for singing songs around a campfire, as well as from consumers for using unauthorized ring-tones in their cell-phones.

What? Charging people for singing songs? This is despicable.
It was in 1996, but it still shows what ASCAP is capable of attempting.
bwang wrote:
Quote:

In recent years, they've demanded fees from the Girl Scouts Of America for singing songs around a campfire, as well as from consumers for using unauthorized ring-tones in their cell-phones.

What? Charging people for singing songs? This is despicable.
It was in 1996, but it still shows what ASCAP is capable of attempting.
If the copyright holder of "Happy Birthday" got royalties, even a penny, every-time it was sung, they'd never have to work again, nor their children, or children's children or those children's children's children! And the pattern oh so continues.
swivelgames wrote:
DShiznit wrote:
They won't. They're evil greedy corporate hacks. They'll take you for every dime you have unless you take them first.
This.

Nothing incredibly new. I've heard ASCAP are losing a large number of their members to this, though. Especially with how politely all three organizations have responded to it. In fact, many of the people who have left ASCAP have actually donated to CC, EFF, and PK because of this.
I'm hopeful that what you're saying is true, but I'm not too convinced. I feel like even if quite a few savvy members who know that what ASCAP is saying is hokum leave, and do so publicly, that the majority are of a generation and a mindset to believe ASCAP and think the same, and thus toe the party line.
W0w these guys are a bunch of censoring tardmuffins


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Composers,_Authors_and_Publishers#Criticism


^proof
qazz42 wrote:
I'm surprised there's nothing about this whole controversy in the Discussion page of that article.
KermMartian wrote:
qazz42 wrote:
I'm surprised there's nothing about this whole controversy in the Discussion page of that article.
Well there appears to be some mention of it at the end of that section.
Yeah, but with something high-profile enough that it reached the frontpage of Slashdot, I'd expect something of an edit war between EFF/PK/community people and the ASCAP PR people on that article.
Latest news regarding topic's development points us towards ASCAP's response to the public replies written by CC, the EFF, and PK.

Enjoy and Discuss. Smile
swivelgames wrote:
Latest news regarding topic's development points us towards ASCAP's response to the public replies written by CC, the EFF, and PK.

Enjoy and Discuss. Smile
My favorite gem in that whole veritable cacophony of failure:

ASCAP wrote:
What I find most fascinating is that those who purport to support a climate of free culture work so hard to silence opposing points of view. They will not silence me.
So apparently requesting a debate and speaking out against people who are attacking you is "silencing opposing points of view"? Sounds to me like they're the ones trying to use size and money to silence opposing points of view.
  
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