Dear Allen et al.,

 

For a parallel/related discussion, see the following article
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,60906,00.html) about legalities
surrounding royalties for radio and webcast music.  Of note is the following
line: "Traditional radio broadcasts haven't been subject to royalties to
recording companies and performers because they have served to promote sales
of recordings."

 

Thankfully, Timothy's explanation of Canada's copyright laws concerning
Canadian artists is clear and logical.  During my proto-professional year in
Canada, I never heard of a venue paying a fee directly to an artist to
exhibit their artwork.

 

This notion that paying an artist a fee to exhibit strikes me as blurring
ethics.  (Ethical blurring different from being paid to exhibit specific
artworks . . . but ethical blurring nonetheless.)  For this, and other
reasons, art venues don't jump at the opportunity if/when artist(s) approach
them asking to be exhibited.  Rather, venues develop their projects
independently OR, if they can afford the rental fee(s), might sign a
contract to participate in an exhibition organized by a different venue or
an independent scholar.  Decisions affecting exhibition ought to be based on
merit, as neutral as possible - with reasonable understanding that numerous
forces and variables affect such decisions . . . marketing/popularity
(demographics and cross-comparison with other vnues), donors/sponsors (what
will they fund?), publication possibilities (what can be added to the
literature?), potential educational programming (living artist,
knowledgeable speakers, etc.), and more.

 

Allen, I understand what you are saying.  Artists need money.  But there are
specific systems - commercial galleries -- set up for artists to earn money.
Just as musical recordings are sold at HMV, Barnes & Noble, Border's,
Mediaplay, etc. for musicians to earn royalties BUT radio stations don't
have to pay royalties.  [Quite the opposite of radios paying royalties,
there was a major scandal 40+ years ago in the USA of graft in the radio
industry of recording companies bribing radio stations to play certain music
and ignore other music.]

 

Best wishes, sincerely,

Jay Heuman
Curator of Education
Salt Lake Art Center
20 South West Temple
Salt Lake City, UT  84101

T 801-328-4201 x 21
F 801-322-4323
W www.slartcenter.org

"I realized as I traveled across this nation
that I encountered three types of people.
People who make things happen;
people who watch things happen; and,
people who ask "what happened?"
[Mac Arthur Goodwin, NAEA President, 2001-2003]


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