LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

[November 8th, 2006] A FAREWELL TO BAUMS

Let me commend Mark Baumgarten for his clear and concise writing in his farewell piece to the readers of Willamette Week [Riff City, Oct. 25, 2006]. I have never paid much attention to the local music scene, or its coverage by your diligent music staff, but after reading Mr. Baumgarten's eloquent final article, I think I will take more notice.

I love good writing, and I read your newspaper based on the quality of that. I have not always agreed with the opinions or views that you express, but I admire the liberty you allow to your writers. Mr. Baumgarten's last hurrah is no exception, and I fear that no other newspaper would permit such an unbiased (or biased) closing in his tenure as music editor.

Ernest Hemingway once stressed the importance of writing the "truest sentence that you can." Mark Baumgarten, evident by the endearing confession of his conclusing review, may have achieved the elusive and potentially masterful accomplishment of that state. Good luck, Mark, and good luck, Willamette Week—I know you won't need it.

Christian Skipper
Southeast Morrison Street

PAY THE PIPER

Michael Byrne, repeat after me: Music is intellectual property and it is not free [Rogue of the Week, WW, Oct. 18, 2006]. ASCAP and BMI collected over a billion dollars for songwriters and music publishers last year. Their methods of distributing the money are far from faultless, but ASCAP has a fund called ASCAP+ that is designed to redress imbalances in the distribution of royalties. People involved in writing music outside the commercial mainstream benefit from this fund by virtue of doing annual paperwork, which is reviewed by a panel of music critics.

If Michael Byrne thinks music is free for the taking, I suggest he work out a method for songwriters and composers to get similar services from our doctors, automobile mechanics or plumbers. The copyright act is very clear about the need for establishments using music to purchase licenses that enable them to play music. My favorite example of how stupid venue owners can get is a kitchenware establishment in Boulder, Colo., that spent $50,000 in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid a $200 annual license.

Michael's argument isn't really with ASCAP, but with the U.S. Copyright Law, and Victor Herbert and some other early-20th-century composers and songwriters who observed that their music was being used to sell steaks and drinks. Imagine those greedy musicians angling for a piece of the pie.

Dick Weissman
Southwest Moss Street