Money for Nothing

Surprise! Actual musicians have gotten diddly from the $370 million copyright infringement settlement between record companies and Napster et al.

Artist managers are girding for battle with their music overlords over when their clients are going to see some of the dough negotiated last year in copyright-infringement settlements with a host of Web sites….

"Artist managers and lawyers have been wondering for months when their artists will see money from the copyright settlements and how it will be accounted for," said lawyer John Branca, who has represented Korn, Don Henley, and The Rolling Stones, among others. "Some of them are even talking about filing lawsuits if they don't get paid soon."

Way to encourage and reward innovation, intellectual property law!

Read more here from The New York Post, with a classic Post-style headline: "Infringement!"

Or get a slightly more detailed analysis from CNET. ("Some on the talent side suspect the top four record companies of foot dragging or playing "hide and seek" with the cash…. If nothing else, the controversy illuminates the degree of distrust that exists between artists and the labels. As CD sales continue to shrink, look for more squabbling between them.")

More from reason here.