by Philip Leigh on Jan 5, 12:30 PM
Much like today's Internet, radio enjoyed a high intrinsic growth rate in its early years. After a brief honeymoon when musicians and composers welcomed free access to the enlarged audience that radio could provide, they soon began complaining about inadequate royalties. Nearly all were represented by ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) which functioned as their royalty negotiator and collection agency to radio broadcasters. When ASCAP proposed to double fees in 1940, radio decided to boycott.