Rush Limbaugh! Yay!
We all know what this sensationalist shock-jock for America's Right said on Feb. 29. After Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke testified before an unofficial Congressional hearing regarding health coverage for contraceptives, Limbaugh called Fluke a "slut" and said if Americans were to pay for a woman's birth control, she must allow herself to be taped during sex and post it online.
Touche, my god sir. What a most wonderfully droll quip. Seriously, my only wonderment rests in how this guy is still worth any of my attention. This is heinous in that it is attack on an innocent private citizen as well as a showing of a complete lack of understanding the issue. But this is nothing new. Rushy makes no secret in attacking women, especially those Democrats find reverential, like first lady Michelle Obama, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Click here to find some of the more profound quotes. Which one is your favorite?
Anyway, we can talk about the politics of this issue until we're blue in the face, and I don;t want to come off as too liberal. That's not what this blog is about. What is significant is this event also could resonate in the musical sphere. Be prepared, there's no well-crafted jokes about Lana Del Rey or snobby Yale students or anything like that. This is more of a hypothetical topic if anything.
Much like the corporate sponsors that are now pulling out of the show, Rage Against the Machine and has joined a group of musicians that includes Peter Gabriel, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and the band Rush that is ordering Limbaugh to cease the use of their songs on his radio program.
Rolling Stone has been following the issue closely. Writer James Sullivan asked music-licensing attorney Larry Iser if these artists had any rights to litigate. Iser said no. The article goes on to say:
[R]adio networks are covered under blanket agreements for "public performance" of all songs in the publishing catalogs of ASCAP, BMI and, in the band Rush's case, SESAC, the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers. The fact that Limbaugh's show has a political agenda does not interfere with his right to play music, so long as it's paid for, says Iser.
While there is nothing legally stopping Limbaugh from playing the songs, the artists can be vocal that they are not in approval of the situation. My only concern is what happens from here. What would happen if these artists sought legal action and won? Would expanding control for artists mean less freedom for music listeners?
As much as I hate to say it, Limbaugh has the privilege to play any song he wants to for any reason because his stations have paid for the usage rights. If artists are allowed to block usage, regardless if the listener has the licensing, then where does that leave us lowly fans? And where would it lead? We already cannot post certain musical content in YouTube videos — if we do, it is taken down. I admit that my grasp of copyright law is tenuous at best, but I feel as though confrontations like this should stay in the press, and I hope they don't end up in the courts for all our sakes.
There you go. Never thought I would defend an ignorant fear-mongerer Rush Limbaugh. There's a first time for everything.
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