Mike Collins: “Representative Fleischmann just made a great point. I don't hear a song that comes out on a platform-- and I think that…”

“Representative Fleischmann just made a great point. I don't hear a song that comes out on a platform-- and I think that one of the things we forget here is that this is not a discussion of how we get music, per se, and how innovators have decided that--you know, through wonderful things--Pandora Spotify, Apple Music, traditional radio, and the Internet--there are so many platforms, and those are wonderful. What we don't want to forget is the very system that has allowed them to begin is something that is taking away from the heart of the very songwriter issue. One of the reasons that we were talking about this is that music is the most regulated sector. Seventy-five percent of a songwriter's income is regulated, some of which go back, the mechanical right, to 1909. They are still governed by player pianos. That is something that has got to change, and I think this is where we are at. What Representative Fleischmann brings is such a wonderful experience in what he has heard, and I appreciate him being a part of this. This highlights, again, that specialness. Whatever song may come out on a platform, I don't hear it come out saying it is Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, or whatever. It just comes out as a song that comes from the heart and mind of someone that touches the soul of others, and I think that is a wonderful thing to be a part of.…”