Judiciary HomepageI would like to thank the Committee for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the issue of music licensing. My name is Pete Madland. I own a small restaurant/tavern in Chetek, Wisconsin and serve as the President of the Tavern League of Wisconsin. The Tavern League is a 4,000 member trade association comprised of tavern/restaurant owners throughout Wisconsin. Our Association greatly appreciates the work Congressman Sensenbrenner is doing to give us a voice in Washington.
With the exception of Congressman Sensenbrenner, no other member of this committee has ever heard of Pete Madland. There are thousands of "Pete Madlands" in your congressional districts and very few, if any Mac Davises. We are your constituents, please listen to us.
I believe that songwriters, composers and performers should be fairly compensated for their work. The key word here is fair. Forcing me and other small business owners to pay hundreds of dollars in fees for turning on a TV or radio is unfair. Pete Madland Testimony (July 17, 1997) -- Page Two
I am testifying on behalf of the thousands of small business owners who have been subject to the coercive and disruptive tactics of music licensing companies. A company representative can show up unannounced and demand fee payments for watching a football game. In order to justify the collection of the fee, the company agent tells me that the patrons at the tavern are being entertained by the National Anthem, the half-time show, or any other background music.
Rate sheets are produced based on occupancy and, if the payment is not received in a timely manner, a letter threatening legal action soon follows. If a settlement is ever reached with one music licensing company, you can bet that a visit from another company is soon to follow to squeeze more money out of the pockets of small businesses. If the consequences were not so great, this whole thing would be laughable. But unfortunately, that is the reality out there today. Big business preys on small business to collect every dime they can because it is legal. Tavern owners cannot afford to hire an attorney to travel to New York to defend themselves over a $350.00 fee and, ultimately, many succumb to the pressure and fork over the fee.
Being forced to pay anywhere between $300 - $1,000.00 a year to simply turn on a TV or radio is wrong. Your constituents believe it is wrong and you should change it. In a national survey conducted by Fabrizio McLaughlin and Associates earlier this year, 72 percent of the voters agreed that taverns/restaurants should not be forced to pay the fees for TVs and radios. Most people cannot believe such a law exists. I have been in this business for 19 years and I still cannot believe they can get away with this. Pete Madland Testimony (July 17, 1997) -- Page Three
Even the industry itself cannot justify the need or reason to pay fees for radios or TVs. In a Milwaukee Journal article, Bill Thomas of ASCAP says the $300.00 or $400.00 a year is not a lot of money and tavern owners should just pay the fees. I can understand that $400.00 is not a lot to the superstars they represent but to the small Mom and Pop operators I represent, it is a lot of money. We work hard to make an honest living in Wisconsin and to have some guy walk in your tavern and demand hundreds of dollars because you are watching a Packer game or listening to the radio is wrong. Or the comments of Jim Steinblatt, ASCAP communications director who uses the following analogy: "I tell people it's like a library card. You're not paying for a specific song, you're paying for the right to use all those songs." I wish they treated it like a library card; at least those are free.
What is even more astonishing is that I would have to travel to a court in New York to dispute any of their fees. I would love to hear someone on this committee explain why they would not support local arbitration. What is going on here? How did a law like this ever pass? Under current law, any one of your constituents must travel to New York to defend themselves. Disputes should be arbitrated locally, not in New York.
We support a legislative solution to establish a fair system to collect legitimate fees for music licensing companies. If I have a band on a Saturday night, I should be required to pay fees. Congress has already created the home style exemption. We urge you to expand this to address the issue of background music from radios and TVs. Pete Madland Testimony (July 17, 1997) -- Page Four
Lastly, I would like to address the so called "deal" on music licensing. There is a reason no other association has joined with the National Licensed Beverage Association, or "NLBA", in their deal -- because it stinks. "We've [NLBA] become the collection agency for the music licensing organizations. They can get rid of all their field people and everybody saves money," was how Howard Tietz, the head of the Wisconsin NLBA affiliate, described this deal. ASCAP and BMI must love this kind of a deal. I cannot begin to understand what is in this deal for tavern owners. The people I represent would have my head if I told them we get to serve as a collection agency for ASCAP and BMI.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today. I urge you to support Congressman Sensenbrenner's bill to provide Fairness in Music Licensing. By supporting this bill, you will demonstrate your support for small business owners in your districts and your local Girl Scout troops.