Randy Bachman, according to a story in the Huffington Post, has vented his displeasure at Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for using without permission his classic “Takin’ Care of Business” as the theme song for a speech Harper gave recently to his Conservative supporters.
Bachman tells HuffPo he likely wouldn’t have granted permission to Harper to use the song because of the low royalty rate (10 percent of the American rate) for digital music streaming set by the Copyright Board of Canada earlier this year. The full HuffPo story is at this link.
I did a newspaper interview with Bachman back around the time he wrote “Takin’ Care of Business.” You can read about that encounter in a recent column I wrote for the estimable Facts & Opinions online journal. You can find a link to the column here. It will cost you a buck to read it but, hey, that’s less than you would pay to buy me a cup of coffee. Plus, that buck helps pay my grocery bills. I depend on royalties for my livelihood too.
UPDATE – Bachman has backtracked somewhat, saying in a story today that “Takin’ Care of Business” was actually played in a venue licensed for use of recorded music. But he’s still upset at the Copyright Board for shortchanging Canadian musicians. You can find the updated Winnipeg Free Press story here.
