选择题：25[翻译题,4分]

25[翻译题,4分]

The Birth of Rock

In some ways, the origin of rock and roll can be traced to a rivalry between two economic organizations in the music industry: ASCAP and BMI. The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) were formed in 1914 to guarantee that its members received a fee for the playing of their songs. ASCAP.right to collect this fee from the radio stations stood one court test after another.ASCAP charged each radio station a blanket amount to use its material. In 1941 it announced a 100 percent fee increase. Radio stations refused to go along, and as a result all songs protected by ASCAP were taken off the air. This included the work of many of the popular songwriters of the time and left radio stations with little music. The dispute was settled, at least temporarily, towards the end of 1941, but by that time radio stations had begun to rely on music provided by a new guild of composers.

Broadcast Music, Incorporated (BMI), was formed to scout for fresh talent who could provide radio stations with music. This became increasingly important as more stations switched to the deejay format.BMI were looking for a new sound. The sound they found was rock and roll. By the mid1950.s BMI was a powerful force and so was the new sound.

In 1956 the Anti-Trust Committee of the House Judiciary Committee investigated BMI.s domination of the