Time to Face the Music

To the Editor:

I was embarrassed on Sunday, February 12, to read the lead story in The News Times entitled “Facing the Music.” For those of you that missed this article, it was about our first selectman wrestling over the fact that our town was billed $280 to pay the ASCAP, a music trade group, for our town’s annual license for the use of copyrighted songs.

Mr Rosenthal’s comments were, “What is this? Is this legit? So, if you have some drums playing in the Labor Day Parade, you have to pay, or you’re breaking the law? Maybe they should be paying us for promoting their music. Come on now, that’s pretty wild.”

No, Mr Rosenthal, that isn’t wild at all. When we as a town play someone else’s copyrighted music (at parades, street fairs, concerts, telephone “hold” music, fitness classes, community center dances, etc), we are stealing from the musicians if we do not pay them for their work. If the music has no intrinsic value, then why do we choose to play it? Ever wonder why they don’t sing “Happy Birthday” at Chili’s Restaurants? Because they know the law and they choose not to pay the ASCAP.

In addition, the taxpayers of Newtown and Ridgefield are both paying an attorney, David Grogins, to provide us with the following insightful legal advice, “People have been doing it for years without thinking about it.” What difference does it make if people have been doing it for years; it’s against the law.

If Mr Rosenthal is shocked by receiving a $280 bill, maybe now he can imagine how Newtown taxpayers feel when we receive our home property tax bills with seven percent increases or when we are taxed on our automobiles after we have already paid six percent sales tax up front (can anyone say double taxation?).

What concerns me the most is that our local officials are wasting their time and our money over such trivial issues. Could they possibly spent more time addressing Newtown’s real problems: school and town space needs, increasing property taxes, no new businesses to improve our tax base, and no plan for the use of Fairfield Hills?

Therefore, here is what I propose. With 26,000 Newtown citizens, the $280 bill works out to approximately 1 cent per person. I have therefore sent a check for three cents to our First Selectman for the ASCAP, one penny for each member of my family. I would request that all town residents do the same thing in order that our elected officials can focus on the more pressing issues facing our town.

Phil Dinielli

9 Copper Creek Circle, Newtown                           February 13, 2006