The industry is in a crisis .
Last month the Copyright Royalty Tribunal handed down a ruling which
will have far-reaching consequences on the coin-operated amusement
business , unless it is struck down in court .
The ruling by the five -member panel requires operators to supply the
federal agency with a list of each jukebox location for the purpose of
dividing up royalty collections among the three performing rights societies .
A location listing is one thing operators have refused to divulge , insisting
that such information is confidential and vital to the survival of thousands of
small businesses across the country .
But the federal agency in making its ruling blinded itself to this argument.
The Copyright Royalty Tribunal obviously feels that its need for industry
information is more important than the survival of the industry itself. Such
governmental arrogance and overregulation is exactly why Proposition 13
Fever is spreading across the country .
What the Copyright Royalty Tribunal and the performing rights societies
fail to comprehend is that coin machine operators are small businessmen .
Many operators are nothing more than husband -and-wife teams . Some
include other family members or one , maybe two , full -time employees . So
additional regulations place a great burden on these operators . As it is now ,
the A.M .O .A. reports that it has received countless complaints about the
difficulty in complying with the jukebox copyright law , and that was before
the location listing was required.
Also , this requirement jeopardizes the company's existence because , by
complying with the law , an operator is leaving himself open to maverick
operators who wish to sell amusement equipment straight to the locations .
This presents an acute dilemma for the operator : should he comply with
the law and jeopardize his business's standing or should he refuse and
choose instead civil disobedience?
It 's a question which every operator must answer for himself.
David Pierson
Managing Editor
4
PLAY METER, October, 1978