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Got a Custom Ringtone? ASCAP Wants You to Pay Up

by Caleb Johnson on June 24, 2009 at 09:16 AM

We hate it when someone's cell phone blasts a popular song while we're eating in a restaurant or shopping at the grocery store. In our opinion, it's rude, tasteless, and annoying; just silence the phone, please. But a new claim by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) might make folks think twice about turning down that T.I. ringtone while in public.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), ASCAP said in a legal brief that every time a music ringtone sounds in public, the phone's user is in violation of copyright law for 'performing publicly' without a license. Even though you've paid money for the ringtone, more is owed, ASCAP claims, in the form of a 'public performance' royalty. AT&T and Verizon contend that all parties involved with a given song's creation (songwriters, publishers, musicians) receive money for each download, making everybody square. ASCAP, though, says that's not the case.

The EFF claims that ASCAP is misinformed when it comes to copyright law. According to the EFF, no court has ever ruled that a cell phone's music tone played in public qualifies as a 'public performance.' Additionally, the law has an exception for performances that do not have any commercial purpose, which we'd think would cover ringtones. If the court were to affirm ASCAP's argument, that would mean all those old-school types that walk around toting speakerboxes -- and possibly the jambox manufacturers, themselves -- would owe those additional royalties, too.

Alright, so we do hate ringtones in public places, but we think it's utterly ridiculous to say these qualify as 'public performances.' The ringtone business has made boatloads of money for the music industry. Frankly, without it, the industry would be in worse shape than it is already. So, we say shame on ASCAP for being money-hungry, and shame on all those, too, who insist on sharing their musical tastes in such a public manner. Aside from you, of course, Raheem. You're cool. [From: The EFF, via Textually]

Tags: ascap, att, cellphone, copyright, music, ringtones, top

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