GUEST EDITORIAL
Jukebox Royalty Fees:
Where do we go from here?
When I was asked if I would write an editorial about my
impressions of what the coin-operated amusement
industry should do about the jukebox royalty fees, my
first thoughts were that this is a damned if I do and
damned if I don't situation because there are so many
different opinions on this subject. But, since I do care
about this industry, and, since I also feel that the jukebox
royalty fee schedule that was announced by the
Copyright Royalty Tribunal in December is unjust, I felt
that the editorial should be written.
The first thing that all operators should remember is
that, as much as it is disliked, the law has been passed.
Jukebox operators must pay a royalty fee on each
jukebox that is placed on location. Failure to do so could
result in civil or criminal actions being brought against
the operator. This has already happened several times
around the country.
Any future decisions by the Copyright Tribunal could
possibly be affected by the percentage of operators that
are in compliance of the law.
Secondly, I believe that the industry should seek relief
from this law by trying to get new legislation enacted by
the U.S. Congress. However, this legislative effort
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should not be undertaken until the proper groundwork
has been laid through a long, exhaustive grassroots
campaign by the operators and distributors in each state.
This legislative effort should be coordinated through the
AMOA office and the state associations.
All manufacturers in this industry should be more than
willing to join in this effort if it is undertaken because the
difference between the $50 per jukebox royalty fee that
comes into effect in 1984 and the current fee of $8 per
jukebox will take about $6,000,000 a year out of the
industry.
Think about how much money will be taken out of this
industry after 1987 when the inflationary adjustment
comes into effect.
My question is this: Are the people in this industry
willing to pay to make this or some other similar effort?
Or, are they going to be like the Ostrich and stick their
heads in a hole in the ground and hope that things will get
better?
Milton Hobbs
Southern Automatic Music & Vending
Hickory, North Carolina
PLAY METER, April, 1981