Principle

Because, remember: big media companies aren’t in favor of copyright because of power, or money. It’s because they’re taking a principled stand of behalf of creators.

Which is why the Finnish music industry is trying to get all kindergartens in the country to pay a 20 Euro fee per year for all the copyrighted songs they sing.

Which is right alongside past efforts of ASCAP to try and get Girl Scout camps to pay royalties on the songs sung around the campfire.

After finishing off hot dogs and s’mores for lunch, the Elves — senior Scouts charged with helping younger campers — gather in a circle with directors to decide what they can sing.
“Is ‘Row Row Row Your Boat’ copyrighted?” asks Holly Foster, a 14-year-old Elf with a turquoise happy face on her cheek. “Row Row Row Your Boat” may float, the directors decide, but “Puff the Magic Dragon” definitely is out.
“How about ‘Ring Around the Rosie’?” another Elf asks. The directors veto it.
“We wanted to sing ‘Underwear,’ but it’s set to the tune of ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic,”‘ says Mrs. King, the co-director. “We’re not sure if that’s copyrighted; so, we don’t sing it.”
“When in doubt, don’t sing,” advises Site Director Leslie Shanders.
Even harder than figuring out which songs are which, directors say, is explaining it all to young Brownies. “They think copyright means the ‘mean people,’ ” says Debby Cwalina, a 14-year-old Elf. Mr. Holly explains it to them this way: “The people who wrote it have a thing on it. A little ‘c’ with circles around it. There’s an alarm on it. And if you sing it, BOOM!”
That explanation doesn’t always sink in. Alissa Fiset, age 8, crinkles her nose when asked why she can’t sing “Puff the Magic Dragon.” While squirting a friend with a water bottle, she says: “They did a rewrite on it. A copy thing. But why can’t they just take the ‘c’ away?”
Ascap, which is based in New York, defends the royalties. “Songwriters are small-business people who write songs to make a living,” Mr. Lo Frumento says. “The royalties allow them to send their kids to Girl Scout camp, too.”

Remember: it’s the principle of the thing.

(via BoingBoing)