ORRIN'S CHARGE ON THE RAVE SCENE MAY HAVE LEGAL HANGOVER

Utah's own Stormin' Orrin Hatch made the pages of the new, Keith
Richards-adorned Rolling Stone, but our senior senator will be disappointed
it wasn't for his musical skills.

Hatch is a co-sponsor of the "Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy
Act," otherwise know as the RAVE Act. The bill targets rave promoters by
expanding the so-called "crack house statute" that makes it illegal to
knowingly own or operate a building where drugs are sold. The expansion
would include anyone "knowingly opening, maintaining, managing,
controlling, renting, leasing, making available for use, or profiting from
any place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any
controlled substance and for other purposes."

While cutting off outlets for kids to get designer "club drugs" might be a
worthy cause, the American Civil Liberties Union argues the bill is
unconstitutional because it singles out one music subculture: the
techno-loving rave crowd.

The ACLU has a point. For the RAVE Act to be fair, promoters of all types
of music events would have to be held responsible for the activities of the
audience. Can you imagine Clear Channel executives being arrested because
someone was using drugs at a Delta Center show, or United Concerts people
being handcuffed because some '60s throwback was selling acid at the Deer
Valley Bob Dylan show?

Not likely, but never underestimate Congress' ability to forge ahead in
nonsensical ways in the name of the never-ending, unwinnable "War On Drugs."

Fuzzy Math

There was much media hoopla last week about the five major music companies
- -- Universal Music, Warner Music, Bertelsmann's BMG Music and EMI Group --
essentially admitting they had been ripping off CD consumers by colluding
on CD prices and keeping the costs artificially high.

The companies, along with three chain record retailers, agreed to pay 50
states $67.4 million to return to consumers, and agreed to give away $75.7
million in CDs to public and nonprofit groups. Sounds like a lot of money,
doesn't it? After all, the consumer rebates and free CDs add up to $143.1
million.

Here's the reality: $143.1 million is roughly equal to paying back one
dollar for each copy of the six biggest-selling albums ever, as tallied by
the Recording Industry Association of America: The Eagles' "Greatest Hits,"
27 million copies sold; Michael Jackson's "Thriller," 26 million sold; Pink
Floyd's "The Wall," 23 million sold; Led Zeppelin "IV," 22 million sold;
Billy Joel's "Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II," 21 million sold; and
AC/DC's "Back In Black," 19 million sold.

That's $138 million. Throw in a buck for the six million copies sold of
AC/DC's "Highway To Hell," and the entire tab of the record labels is
covered by seven albums. This despite the fact that, according to a USA
Today story, CD consumers have been overcharged by $480 million since 1997.
Makes it seem like the major labels are the winners in this deal, doesn't it?

On the Racks

The people at Boy Crazy!, which started as a series of trading cards and a
Web site about "real boys" -- as opposed to manufactured teen idols -- have
expanded the Boy Crazy! world to include a magazine geared toward teen
girls. The current issue of Boy Crazy! The First Magazine for Girls Written
by Boys includes an article written by 20- year-old Nate of Herriman, Utah,
aka "#354," about respect.

Orem rockers The Used are profiled in the latest issue of Alternative
Press, telling the story of how a little-heard band from Utah County
managed to land a major-label record deal.

And the November issue of Playboy includes an interview with
singer/songwriter Pete Yorn in which he talks about the hard life of a rock
tour: "You get on the bus and try to sleep, but you can't. You drive all
night to the next city and the tour manager's like: Get up! It's eight
o'clock and you have to do 'Good Morning Salt Lake City.' "