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MARY WILSON PUSHES BILL TO BAN MUSIC IMPOSTERS: Fake Supremes, Platters and other knockoffs would lose right to bear groups’ name.
*Former Supreme Mary Wilson is sick and tired of seeing groups booking profitable gigs as The Supremes, The Drifters or The Coasters, with nary a member of the original group in the lineup.
As chairwoman of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame's artist board, Wilson is working to stop such knockoff bands by promoting passage of the Truth in Music Advertising Act, which stipulates that if a performer was not part of the original recording group, that person is prohibited from booking and performing concerts and club appearances under that name. Perpetrators would be issued fines of up to $50,000.
"These people are defrauding the public; this is identity theft," Wilson tells Reuters. "We make our money touring, and these people are taking gigs from us. And some promoters don't care. If they can pay less for the bogus group than the original, they'll do it."
So far, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and North Dakota have passed the bill, while the legislation waits for governors' signatures to become law in Connecticut and Illinois. Several other states, including New Jersey and Massachusetts, are also weighing the matter. .
Wilson hopes the legislation will pass in at least 10 states before beginning a nationwide campaign to make the bill federal law.
"We want these fake groups to say they are tribute groups or get their own name," Wilson says. "Why steal our legacies? After all your hard work, no one should be able to come and take your history."
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