I don’t know David Benjamin (Universal Music), but he’s a hero to all songwriters. Making the billionaire robber barons at Facebook pay a licensing fee for use of songwriters’ songs is only fair. Every other business that uses music, including websites, television stations, radio stations and even YouTube pay for some kind of license. It’s not 1999 anymore, internet firms are the biggest companies on the planet, quit nickel and diming songwriters, you cheap and obscenely rich fucks.

However Ari Herstand at Digital Music News has a totally different and once again deeply misinformed take.  He goes after David Benjamin personally for being “an idiot.”  Instead Herstand frames it as UMG against music fans.  When in actuality it is Facebook’s decision to hide behind the DMCA and NOT license.

It’s worth reading Ari’s piece to understand that most young writers do not understand how these technology companies like Facebook manipulate public opinion.  They use their users as human shields to avoid paying licensing fees. “It’s our users doing this not us”   This is exactly what Napster did; Google and YouTube do the same; and now it’s Facebook turn.   It’s getting really old. We’ve been hearing this crap since 1999.

Facebook Is Aggressively Ripping Down Cover Videos (Thanks to the Idiots At Universal Music Publishing Group)