CALL TO ARMS: SENATE BILL 1034 by Moses Avalon

[Seismic Anamoly]

This is an interesting little tidbit of info posted at Tonos....



"Y'know how you're always complaining that the music biz is tough? Well, now is your chance to do something meaningful about it.



Next week, the California legislature is going to vote on a Bill SB1034 which would require record companies to account accurately to recording artists. This is a major milestone in music industry evolution and your chance to be part of both history and artist's rights activism.



Don't sit this one out.



In this email is all the information you need to write your Senator and Assemblymen. It won't take but a few minutes and it will make a world of difference to the industry. Following my pro and con arguments for this Bill are step by step instructions for how to proceed, complete with a stencil and the exact letter I wrote, to make it real easy for you. Read both Pro and Con arguments and decide how you feel. THEN WRITE YOUR ASSEMBLYMEN AND SENATOR.



"But I don't live in California."



It doesn't matter. This will have far reaching effects across the industry. Besides do you think each Senator or Governor knows the name of all his constituents? No. And when you sign a recording contract, it will probably be governed by California law, like most are. So...



DO IT TODAY. THE VOTE IS ONLY A WEEK AWAY.



ARGUMENTS:



SB 1034 TITLE 10. RECORDING ARTIST CONTRACTS: "The obligation of a recording company to accurately account for and to pay royalties earned under a recording artist contract is a fiduciary duty."



PRO: Would give artists and songwriters a legal mechanism to sue labels if they are not complying and accounting accurately to their artists and to possibly have contracts voided if non-compliance is determined by a judge. Also, first time a Government agency takes a regulatory step towards recording artist's contracts.



CON: record companies claim this will increase costs, leading to less signings and it's possible that they may look to develop acts outside of California (remember it's a state Bill) However, even though this might only be a California law, the rest of the States often look towards California when ruling on entertainment related cases. So the ramifications for record companies could be quite big. Also, first time a Government agency takes a regulatory step towards recording artist's contracts.





INSTRUCTIONS:



Cut and past the following into a letter:



Dear Senator _______,



I am writing to you in regard to Bill 1034 which is up for consideration next week. I am a working (musician/songwriter/record producer/manager/music lawyer/etc) who will be directly affected by this vote. This bill is very important to me because (write a two sentence version of how you will effected by this. Don't get fancy. Stick to the facts!)



Please vote (yes/no) on this matter,



Thank you,



Your name and what you do in music.





HOW TO SEND IT:



Go to www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/defaulttext.asp. Click on "Find My District" and type in your address info. Another page then pops up that lists your State Senator and State Assemblyman, including contact info and a link to their website, if they have one.



YOU'RE ALMOST DONE



Now you want to send the same letter to the Legislature themselves. Here's how.



Go to:

info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/p...nformation



In the search engine, type in Bill "1034" and under Author: "Murray," and click "enter."



When the engine finds the right Bill, on the top of the page click on "Comment."



Fill out the form and send the letter.



Also send a copy to Governor Gray Davis at: governor@governor.ca.gov and at State Capitol Building

Sacramento, CA 95814



Or, if you're both ambitious and lazy you can use the string of address below and BCC to each Senator in California:



senator.aanestad@sen.ca.gov, Senator.Ackerman@sen.ca.gov, senator.alpert@sen.ca.gov, senator.ashburn@sen.ca.gov, jim.battin@sen.ca.gov, senator.bowen@sen.ca.gov, Senator.Brulte@sen.ca.gov, Senator.Chesbro@sen.ca.gov, senator.denham@sen.ca.gov, Senator.Figueroa@sen.ca.gov, senator.hollingsworth@sen.ca.gov, Senator.Knight@sen.ca.gov, Senator.Machado@sen.ca.gov, Senator.Margett@sen.ca.gov, senator.mcclintock@sen.ca.gov, Senator.McPherson@sen.ca.gov, Senator.Oller@sen.ca.gov, Senator.Poochigian@sen.ca.gov, senator.scott@sen.ca.gov, Senator.Sher@sen.ca.gov, senator.speier@sen.ca.gov, senator.alarcon@sen.ca.gov, senator.burton@sen.ca.gov, senator.cedillo@sen.ca.gov, senator.ducheny@sen.ca.gov, senator.dunn@sen.ca.gov, senator.escutia@sen.ca.gov, senator.florez@sen.ca.gov, senator.johnson@sen.ca.gov, senator.karnette@sen.ca.gov, senator.kuehl@sen.ca.gov, senator.morrow@sen.ca.gov, senator.murray@sen.ca.gov, senator.ortiz@sen.ca.gov, senator.perata@sen.ca.gov, senator.romero@sen.ca.gov, senator.soto@sen.ca.gov, senator.torlakson@sen.ca.gov, senator.vasconcellos@sen.ca.gov, senator.vincent@sen.ca.gov



YOU'RE FINISHED AND YOU HAVE NOW HELPED TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.





The letter I sent:



Dear Senator Scott,



I am writing you to in regard to Bill 1034 which is up for consideration next week. I am the author of two leading books on the inner functions of the music industry. They are required reading in over 20 schools currently. I also assisted our State Attorney General's office in their investigation of the record industry about a year and a half ago. .



I wanted to inform you that there are a great many people in this country and this district that will be affected by a positive vote on this Bill.



The hardest part of being a recording artist is getting paid for your work. This bill will require record companies, the most influential institutions in our industry, to be held to the same standards as manufacturers in other industries and result in artists getting their fair share of royalties, which they have had to fight for so long.



I urge you to vote yes to this Bill and encourage your peers to do the same. My district is rife with musicians songwriters and recording artists that would be very grateful.



Please feel free to contact me if you have questions,



Moses Avalon



WHY ARE YOU STILL READING? DO IT NOW!!!"