So, back again. I have no doubt, T, that your opinions and findings are, when citations are given as you usually do, based upon real law, convention, and experience. I even agree, as I must, that the artist does not profit from current law nearly as much as they should, and not nearly as much as the soulless publishers and licensing agencies. It's just that whenever this subject comes up, the concensus seems to be that we should do away with copyright protection altogether because somebody didn't get to play at Barnes and Noble's cafe because they said the licenses cost too much. What we should be advocating in terms of change, is that the artist receives more protection, and that a way be found around the money entities that do indeed wield way too much power. However, there does not currently exist an administrative or regulated commercial way of making this happen, and until there does, I would dearly hate for us to head in the direction of universal ownership of what is and must be primarily the property of the creators of songs. I can still make no distinction that makes sense to me between creating music and creating a painting. We of all people, who have a better than average idea of what it means to be creative, should be clamoring not for some socialist seizure of intellectual property, but for a more just and protected place for artists. We should, because we know how it feels and what it means, revere and teach reverence for the creative spirit that makes the rest of our or any other culture worth protecting at all. As far as how long that protection should last, I think the life of the author and maybe a surviving spouse is the least that is called for. Artists deserve extraordinary respect and care, for their work is more precious to all of us than just about anything else.

The current system is not good. Let's change it in a way that is fair. Let's not degrade the interests of creative artists, even if we have to live with the sadly unfair system that we now have.

Knowledge is power. Ideas are wealth. Don't be satisfied for anybody to steal them from anybody else.

Chet