To the Editor:
Recently, the musicFIRST Coalition, the mouth piece for the recording industry, disputed a spot that WCLV ran asking listeners to write to their Congressmen regarding the Performance Tax. They quoted the spot as saying that “the performance royalties would go to record companies, most of whom are foreign owned.”
The Coalition went on to say that at least half of the royalties would go to the artists themselves, who are predominantly U.S. Citizens. As far as WCLV, a classical music station, is concerned, our playlist of today (06/15/09) includes the following, the most of the members of which are unlikely to be U.S. citizens.
Leif Ove Andsnes
Berlin Philharmonic
Vienna-Berlin Ensemble
Estonian National Symphony and Chorus
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Russian National Orchestra
Gothenburg Symphony
Orchestre de Bretagne
London Symphony Orchestra
Academy St. Martin in Fields
National Symphony of Ukraine
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Hanover Band
Vienna Concentus Musicus
Salieri Chamber Orchestra
Concerto Cologne
City of Birmingham Symphony
Well, you get the idea. Incidentally, the Music First Coalition has not indicated how they would compensate
the members of classical orchestras.
Robert Conrad
President
WCLV
Cleveland Orchestra Broadcast Service
