Metric Fan saves the band from Glenn Beck

[Dennis Donovan]

http://ilovemetric.com/thomas-horn-rescues-metric-from-glenn-beck/

Initial email from Thomas Horn, alerting us to the use of our music on Glenn Beck's radio show

From: Thomas Horn

Subject: Glen Beck and Metric

Date: March 23, 2011 4:57:25 PM EDT

To: [e-mail]

To Whom it May Concern,

Just a heads up that (in the Pittsburgh Market on 104.7 at least) the Glenn Beck program is using the hook from Rock Me Now as a bumper for their program. Every time I hear it I think it can't be right, but for all I know they have the rights legally. Anyways it's a really bummer when i hear it (i listen to Beck for comedic value only) and just wanted to make somebody in your camp aware of it if you weren't all ready.

Best

-Thomas Horn

Emily's reply to Thomas:

From: Emily Haines

Date: April 7, 2011 4:34:58 PM EDT (CA)

To: Thomas Horn

Subject: Metric/Glenn Beck

Hey Thomas,

Thank you so much for letting us know about this. No, we didn't give Glenn Beck permission to use our music. That guy's my nightmare!

When we got your letter, we immediately contacted our publisher with a mortified WTF?? As it turns out, the usage you heard is actually covered by something known as a "blanket license" which allows radio stations to play your music without asking permission first. The idea being, I guess, that every radio station in the world doesn't have to ask for permission every time they want to play a song from somebody's album. Instead, they pay a blanket fee to the publisher and can play your music as much or as little as they want.

In this case, since they mercifully only used a few seconds of our song as part of the intro to his talk show, the use was considered "incidental", which is covered by the blanket license. As they state in their letter below, they were well within their rights. To their credit, they stopped using our song right away when we asked, even though legally they didn't even have to. Wow, imagine if they hadn't offered to drop it? I'm really happy I didn't have to take them on. I have a feeling good old Glenn has one hell of a legal team.

So yeah, thanks to you, we caught it right away and were able to rescue our songs from the abyss. And I've learned a little more about how the music world works. What a drag! I'm trying to have a sense of humor about it. I mean, of all the music out there, why Metric? Is it about co opting the lefties? Did he mistake me for someone demanding to see Obama's birth certificate? I suspect there was zero meaning to it but it's hard not to be freaked out. The idea that anyone would associate our band with his views - or even worse perhaps believe we were somehow endorsing him - is, as you said, really a bummer.

I've attached the letter his legal department sent us for your entertainment.

And this bit of very good news!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/apr/06/glenn-beck-fox-news

Again, thank you.

Best,

Emily Haines

[glinda]

1. My favorite band. Emily, are you here? Fox will try to rebrand itself as "real news" and that is

why they are getting rid of the craziest one.
The reason they used Metric's music is that it is good, captures the tension of the times.
Go Em!

[Trajan]

2. Metric = excellent new music

Love those guys ....

[Renew Deal]

3. Metric is a great band

I think they fall under alternative, and they're real good. I love lots of their songs, but some of my favorites are Black Sheep, Help I'm Alive, Twilight Galaxy, Gimme Sympathy.

http://www.myspace.com/metric

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=metric&aq=f