Bush On Performance Royalties: "I Have, Like, No Earthly Idea What You're Talking About"

Last Thursday, July 19th -- a week after SoundExchange and webcasters met with Congress to try to hash out fair royalty rates for webcasters -- President George W. Bush indicated to attendees of a speech at theGaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, that he hadn't exactly been following those proceedings.

From an official press release from Bush's press secretary:

Question: Mr. President, music is one of our largest exports the country has.
Currently, every country in the world -- except China, Iran, NorthKorea, Rwanda and the United States -- pay a statutory royalty to theperforming artists for radio and television air play. Would youradministration consider changing our laws to align it with the rest ofthe world?

The President: Help. (Laughter.) Maybe you've never had a Presidentsay this -- I have, like, no earthly idea what you're talking about.
(Laughter and applause.) Sounds like we're keeping interesting company,
you know? (Laughter.)

Look, I'll give you the old classic: contact my office, will you?
(Laughter.) I really don't -- I'm totally out of my lane. I likelistening to country music, if that helps. (Laughter.)

(In the US, television and terrestrial radio stations don't have to paystatutory royalties to artists and labels, the way net radio,
satellite, and cable stations do.)

(image from nlpwessex)