From: bkeeley@sdcc3.ucsd.edu (Brian Keeley)
Newsgroups: rec.music.industrial
Subject: Re: The election
Date: 12 Nov 92 05:40:45 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego

In article <BxJ136.Cs2@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> sharpmn@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Matthew N. Sharp) writes:
>In article <BxIops.E00@news.cso.uiuc.edu> lmn52210@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Ramona) writes:
>>Ian MacCulloch was prevented from touring in the United States by
>>this "artistic merit" thingy.  I know not many of you are the least
>>bit irked by this, but it's the principle of the thing.
>
>Wrong!  This is, quite simply, incorrect.  No one (provided they
>meet legal standards, fill out the appropriate forms, and pay the
>necessary fees) is prevented from performing in the U.S.  College
>radio executives, fueled by clueless college radio stars who didn't
>bother to complete the necessary forms, consistantly rant about 
>this, claiming it as censorship.
>
>If I wanted to go to another country to visit and make money, I 
>would fully expect to have to go through a bit of paperwork to
>legalize such a venture.
>
Matt made this bold comment once before (to me in personal
correspondence, methinks), and I didn't get an answer to my
objection.  Now I want to see him answer it in public.  Performers
in the past, and in increasing numbers during the last few years
have indeed been denied visas to perform in the U.S.  First,
remember that we are talking a "work" visa, not just a tourist visa.
I order to "work" (read: earn money) in the States, you have to show
that you can do something that other American's can't, or at least
that's the guiding principle the INS uses in making a decision.  In
the case of musical performers, this principle is cashed out in
terms of "artistic merit".  Say you live in Australia, and you and a
bunch of your mates want to visit the U.S. (Don't ask me why! :-)
According to Matt's story, all they would have to do is say that
they are a band, get some club in LA to say that they have given
them a gig, fill out some forms, pay a fee... and they're in; visa
in hand.
    Wrong.  It ain't that simple and the INS ain't that stupid. So
how does the INS decide artistic merit?  Aye, there's the rub!
Normally, its not a problem.  Elton John, Midnight Oil, etc. have
big labels in the States pulling for them, and plus the question
will never even come up because the folks in the INS office in
Washington have heard of these bands, and their passports have got
"performer's visa" stamped all over them from every country in the
western world.  So what about acts people in Washington haven't
heard of (say, like, LPD)?  Well, in these cases, they ask "experts"
in the field to get a recommendation.  But who exactly?  Very
typically they ask professional agencies, like musical unions,
copyright clearinghouses (ASCAP, etc.), and other "professional"
performer agencies.  And this is where the problem comes in for some
alternative acts who don't like to play the game of copyrighting
thier songs, joining unions and whatnot.  In the case of LPD (if I
remember correctly, Matt should correct me if he has evidence that
it was otherwise), the professional groups contacted for a
recommendation basically said "we've never heard of 'em," and the
INS promptly denied them a visa.  Of course, the question is: does
this system judge artistic merit or artistic ideology??
   Of course, Matt ain't all wrong.  I'm sure lot's of acts can't be
bothered to fill out the forms, and then cry foul.  I, too, have
little sympathy for the lazy bastards.  But Matt needs to show how
this is the case in ALL (or even most) of the acts mentioned so far.

Reality
Newsgroups: rec.music.industrial