Dead man signs petition

MusicFirst have drawn up a petition calling for American radio to pay royalties for playing tunes. The old view of radio plays - that they were as good as adverts - has been abandoned in a bid to open up a new revenue stream.

And, you'd have to say, there's a strong argument that US radio should pay a fair price for paying music - after all, if everyone else has to pay, there's no real reason why radio stations shouldn't.

What is odd, though, is the list of signatories to the document [pdf document]. For not only did Amy Winehouse make time during her recent trials to sign up, but who's this, a couple of places under James Blunt?


James Brown? How compelling an argument must be that the dead come back to life to endorse it.

[UPDATE: Music First have been in touch to explain that the James Brown who signed the petition is an oboe player with the English Chamber Orchestra, and not the dead James Brown. Which is fair enough. Being an oboe player doesn't disqualify you from signing a petition as far as we know.]