The Record Industry: Still assholes

So the radio broadcasters of America have done pretty well for both themselves, and the music industry over the years. Curiously, the AM and FM radio stations do not pay royalties -- I assume this is some vestige of the early days of radio, where both industries were primarily interested in screwing performers and creators, so they made a tacit agreement to label radio as "promotional".

But now the record industry is going looking for new revenue, and the AM/FM broadcasters look plump and juicy.

On Monday, the recording industry sent the National Association of Broadcasters -- the trade group representing the $16 billion a year AM-FM broadcasting business -- a can of herring to underscore that it believes its arguments against paying royalties are a red herring. The NAB says its members should not pay royalties because AM-FM radio "promotes" the music industry.

The herring present followed another gift -- a dictionary, a bid by the recording industry to explain what it saw as the difference between fees and taxes. The NAB describes the latest royalty proposal as a tax.

And two weeks ago, the recording industry, under the umbrella group musicFIRST, sent the NAB four digital downloads: "Take the Money and Run" by the Steve Miller Band; "Pay me My Money Down" by Bruce Springsteen; "Back In the U.S.S.R" by Paul McCartney and "A Change Would Do You Good" by Sheryl Crow.

In case you missed it, the record industry just called the radio industry a bunch of Communists, for adhering to the status quo. Time was, you actually had to have a revolution and nationalize property to be a Marxist. Now all you've got to do is abide by long-held agreements.

Not that I'll shed any tears for the radio broadcasters -- they've spent the last decade screwing Internet radio as hard as they can, so I'll be happy when this entire sick, sordid industry collapses in on itself.