I sold an old car of mine to a guy once upon a time.<\/p>\n
I was told that the new owner had used the car to drive to Storm Lake, Iowa.<\/p>\n
I hate <\/em>Storm Lake, Iowa.\u00a0 [1]\u00a0\u00a0 So I called him and told him that if he didn’t cease and desist driving to that hateful town, I’d lawyer up and put him in a world of hurt.<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
———-<\/p>\n
Well, of course not.\u00a0 Once I sold the car, it was his.<\/p>\n
I always thought that if you paid the royalties for a song – i.e, bought it – it was pretty much yours to use for the purpose for which it was purchased (i.e. playing).\u00a0\u00a0 And if a radio station pays the licensing fee for a song (which stations do in bulk), the song was pretty much theirs to use as well – which usually means “play on the air”, even as part of a parody.\u00a0\u00a0 That’s why Rush Limbaugh, the archconservative, can use “My City Was Gone”, written by ultraliberal Chrissy Hynde, for a theme song.<\/p>\n
And if you’re a politician, that means paying the licensing fees for a public performance.\u00a0\u00a0 Artists are supposed <\/em>to get a royalty for the performance of their music at big public appearance.\u00a0\u00a0 And in exchange for that, someone gets to play the damn song<\/em>.<\/p>\n