Idolator

President Bush stopped by Opryland last week, and apparently one of the record labels with an office down in Nashville sent a hapless intern to the presidential press conference in hopes that an industry-friendly quote could be coaxed out of the Commander in Chief. Of course, the president being the president, he played dumb when asked about whether or not artists should be paid royalties for radio play:

QUESTION: Mr. President, music is one of our largest exports the country has. Currently, every country in the world — except China, Iran, North Korea, Rwanda and the United States — pay a statutory royalty to the performing artists for radio and television air play. Would your administration consider changing our laws to align it with the rest of the world?

THE PRESIDENT: Help. (Laughter.) Maybe you've never had a President say this — I have, like, no earthly idea what you're talking about. (Laughter and applause.) Sounds like we're keeping interesting company, you know? (Laughter.)

Look, I'll give you the old classic: contact my office, will you? (Laughter.) I really don't — I'm totally out of my lane. I like listening to country music, if that helps. (Laughter.)

Our President On Performance Royalties [Hypebot]