Well...not Ellen DeGeneres herself...more like 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show'.  The law suit is claiming that the show has played over 1,000 songs without permission...which is against copyright laws.  The songs in question are those that are played at the start of each show as Ellen dances with the audience...a key part of her 'shtick'. 



First...I'm kind of confused.  Whey did it take them so many years to file the suit?  Ellen has been on and dancing for YEEEARS.  They also claim that many of the songs used were some of today's biggest hits...which record companies never give TV rights to.  Uh..hello record companies???  Maybe that is why your sales are in the toilet.  TV is still one of the biggest medial outlets today...and by not allowing certain music to be played is just a dumb business move.  How many of us have heard a song on a show and then ran to iTunes or Target to buy it?  Sometimes you hear older songs you forgot about...or new ones.  But the point is...you wouldn't have bought it if you hadn't heard it on TV.

Another thing that bothers me is when some of these record companies allow 'obscure' or 'unknown' music on TV shows, but don't even offer it for sale!  That is just stupid.  Just last year...I heard a song on Smallville that I had to have.  This was a song they didn't promote after the show (you know...the 'this episode featured music by...' announcement).  I had to scour the internet to find out the name and artist...only to find out...you can't buy it.  The record company lost out on some serious sales...because the forum I found the information on had thousands of users looking for the same song.

I guess I'm trying to say that record companies stink.  They are nothing but a bunch of guys in suits trying to make a buck.  They have to idea on how to change with the times (deal with the internet) and are just plain out of touch.  How else can you explain all of the horrible artists that they try to make us all like.  It's time they (music companies) start to think outside the box. 

Way to go Ellen...keep on dancing.

By the way...the record companies involved in this stupid law suit:  Virgin America, Arista, Atlantic Recording, Capitol Records, Motown, Sony and Warner Brothers.