Back in March Duncan wrote a post about how U.K’s Performing Rights Society (PRS) decided to go ahead with their gouging of online video sites like YouTube only to have YouTube say basically – screw you. At which point YouTube started blocking most music videos on the site to United Kingdom viewers.

YouTube said in a blog post that it would block premium music videos in the UK until it can agree to a new contract with The Performing Rights Society (PRS) that is “economically sustainable.”

“But PRS is now asking us to pay many, many times more for our license than before,” YouTube’s Patrick Walker wrote. “The costs are simply prohibitive for us – under PRS’s proposed terms we would lose significant amounts of money with every playback.”

Fast forward not even a month and that groveling sound you hear is the PRS sweet talking YouTube to come back after PRS halved its royalties. Mind you it is no wonder that PRS wants the video giant back as YouTube contributed 40 percent of PRS members’ plays during one point last year.

But Shaw was clear that won’t see Google’s site treated as a special case and denied the rate slashing was specifically designed just to lure it back: “Our organisation is here to license the entire market… This consultation period started long before the YouTube dispute arose.” Shaw admitted that YouTube was significant but said PRS has lots of online payees like Spotify and Napster.

Source: paidContent:UK

Okay, sure, whatever helps you sleep at night. The fact is YouTube traffic carries some pretty heavy weight and increasingly trade groups like PRS are realizing that they need YouTube much more than the video giant needs them.

YouTube: 1 – UK’s PRS: 0 and kissing a lot of butt is a post from: The Inquisitr

Not happy with the results from these kind of actions they have decided to target stable owners as evidenced in the case of 62 year old Mrs Greenway who plays a classical radio station in the stables that she has been running for 20 years. According to the PRS though because she employees more than two people she must pay the annual £99 licensing fee regardless of the fact that the music is played for the horses benefit not the staffs. In fact the majority of the staff dislike the choice of music and will turn it off when Mrs. Greenway isn’t around.

She received a telephone call from the Performing Right Society – now officially known as PRS for Music – which was targeting stables as part of a drive to get commercial premises to pay for licences.

Rather than pay the fee, she now leaves the radio off except on Sundays when she is alone at the stable yard.

"I actually use my radio for the benefit of the horses as Classic FM helps them relax," she said.

"The staff are not bothered whether they have the radio on or not, in fact they don’t particularly like my music and turn if off when I’m not around."

Mrs Greenway, who keeps 11 horses at the stables, added: “You would have thought that playing music to your own horses was allowable but apparently not.

Source: Telegraph

Apparently Mrs. Greenway isn’t the only stable owner to be accosted in this fashion as Chris Doran of the British Horse Society says that the organization has been fielding several calls from other stables about this.

[picture courtesy of The Telegraph]

And we thought the RIAA was a horse’s ass is a post from: The Inquisitr

While much attention is directed to the RIAA and its usual heavy handed tactics in going after music thieves there is also a different branch that are suppose to go around and get licensing fees from businesses that play music – live or even a radio for their customers to listen to while at that business. A couple years ago in Canada some such agency went after hairdressing salons that were playing music without paying for a license to do so.

Well in England the Performing Rights Society (PRS) has decided that it was time to start blackmailing getting fees from car garages that where playing music from the radio for their customers while they were waiting for work to be done. The only problem with some garages don’t play music but because their customers were bringing in their cars with the radio turned on the PRS said that the garage would have to turn them off or pay for a licensing fee

The Performing Rights Society (PRS) has warned that they would be breaching the law if they did not warn drivers to turn their music off.

Mechanic Len Attwood, 61, does not have a radio on his premises but has been forced to put up a sign asking customers to turn off their radios when they enter.

The businessman has accused the PRS, which issues the music licences, as "heavy handed".

Mr Attwood, from Witham, Essex, said: "It’s total madness.

"The radio stations are paying to play the music and we have to pay to listen to it – they are taking with both hands.

"It’s stupid, I couldn’t believe the way they are going about it."

Mr Attwood, who has run Motor Maintenance for 31 years, added: "The PRS phoned up and said, ‘do you have any form of music entertainment on the premises?’

"I said customers bring their vehicles in with their radios on and while we are working on them the radio is playing. But other than that no.

"The woman said she would get back to me. She came back with her supervisor who said I would have to turn the car radios off but I said we didn’t like to tamper with the customers’ settings.

"She said, ‘in that case, you will have to tell them to turn them off before they come in’.

Source: Telegraph UK

You know one has to wonder at what point does this insanity come to and end and we tell these tinplate Neapolitan wannabes to friggin piss off.

Turn off that radio before entering the garage – or we get fined is a post from: The Inquisitr