This page is more than just fine print that guys who wear ties think we ought to say. It actually gets to the heart and soul of HossTheBoss.com. No grubby little lawyer’s hand was involved in any of these policies. Everything here is the work of Hoss himself, and he really means it. Last updated February 10, 2010.

Programming and Content Policy

HossTheBoss.com will have lots of diversity in its programming. We’ll play a lot of music — of all types. We’ll be long winded a lot — about all sorts of subjects. We’ll have technical difficulties. And we’ll make mistakes that we will be honest about correcting once we discover them. Anyone who doesn’t like that should consider a career as a corporate executive.

Anyone who wants to contribute to the programming or website content is welcome to contact us with ideas. We are eager to take on new ideas and will do so as time and resources permit. But don’t rush us, dang it! Being the energetic, optimistic outfit that we are, we will rarely discourage someone who puts forth an idea, but, of course, we reserve the right to do so at our whim. Anyone who doesn’t like that is welcome to start an Internet radio station of his own, dang it.

Audience Participation Policy

On many pages of this site, we welcome audience participation via “comments.” And, during some of our radio programs, we will welcome listeners to participate via telephone calls, emails, skype chats etc.

As much as is practically possible, we will not preview these messages (emails will have to be previewed by their nature, of course), and we reserve the right to censor, delete or edit only the messages that we deem to be spam, or  find to be grossly inaccurate,  unfair or poor taste. We welcome criticism of HossTheBoss.com itself in our various audience participation forums, but critics should be prepared for us to respond as we see fit.

Music Royalties Policy

Hoss became disenchanted with the American music royalties system in 2006 when he discovered that independent bands such as the ones who appear most on HossTheBoss.com often never receive even one cent of the money paid into the system by radio stations such as HossTheBoss.com. So, as of May 2006, we simply do not pay royalties fees to ASCAP, BMI, SESAC or any other music licensing organization. This means that we secure permission of the copyright holder (both of the recording and the song) for each song that appears on the station. In exchange for permission, we offer musicians at least one Internet link on HossTheBoss.com.

We document permission to play music in a variety of ways depending upon our relationship with the copyright holder. In many cases, the permission is given verbally and we simply note it in writing in our file. In others, the permission comes via email that we save. And in still others the permission comes on a page signed formally by the parties. We assume that we have permission to play all music sent to us unsolicited. This is particularly the case in which the music is sent via the site’s specially designated email address: musicsubmit@hosstheboss.com and for music sent via the MusicSubmit.com music submission service. We will make our documentation of any song available upon request to anyone with an interest in that song.

We realize that misunderstandings and miscommunication may sometimes arise regarding who, exactly, owns the copyright of a particular song but, as a general practice, we do do not attempt to initially verify copyright claims of people who submit music. If notified of a dispute, however, we will immediately stop playing the song in question and will not play it again until the verified copyright holder has signed a permission document. Likewise, we will assume that permission granted is only valid for as long as the copyright holder agrees. Musicians who wish to revoke their permission should simply notify us.

Any violations we make in regard this policy should be interpreted as accidental. Copyright holders may sue us for violations, of course, but we hope that they will pursue more forgiving remedies. Hoss has forgiven a lot of people himself over the years. And, besides, Hoss doesn’t have any money. Any lawsuit victories would be mostly symbolic (and mostly the result of Hoss not being able to afford legal help to defend himself properly). Hoss doesn’t recommend bully-like behavior for anyone — it just leads to stress. But he realizes that bully-like behavior is a much revered traditions among Americans who wear ties too often. Who is Hoss to try to discourage an American tradition?

Read more about this policy, and the reasons behind it, here

Music Sales Policy

All bands who appear on Hoss’s CD of the Day Show have agreed to make their music available for sale on a consignment basis via this site. The terms of that agreement are spelled out in a contract between the bands and HossTheBoss.com, and audience members can gauge for themselves whether the terms are fair to the bands by keeping up with the “love reports” posted in the CD of the Day Show’s section of the site. Bands wishing to sell their music on HossTheBoss.com should submit a CD to the station. If that CD is accepted for the show, HossTheBoss.com will respond with a copy of the show’s standard contract. After a band has agreed to our music sales terms, we will schedule its appearance on the show and make its music available on our site.

Email Policy

Emails, and other electronic messages, sent to HossTheBoss.com will likely be filed indefinitely — along with associated email addresses or usernames. The information in the messages will generally remain confidential unless we receive the author’s permission to share it. But, in some cases, we will assume permission based on the context of the message — particularly if the email is about a subject we have discussed on the site or station. We will not share email addresses or usernames with anyone not associated with our operation and will only use them to send relevant messages about HossTheBoss.com matters.

Advertising Policy

All advertising on HossTheBoss.com is sold on a per-click or per-sale basis.  Anyone wishing to advertise on HossTheBoss.com should specify our site when they buy “Adwords” advertising through Google.com. They may also set up an affiliate program for their own site and invite us to join it.

Copyright Policy

Hoss (aka Don Cudd) makes full copyright claims to all work that he writes (or otherwise produces) and posts on this site. If you would like to use the material for your own purposes, please ask Hoss first — not some third party as Best In Texas Magazine did.

In regard to all work appearing on the site or station and not produced by Hoss, well, Hoss does not think it’s right to hold another person’s work hostage or, worse, to edit a piece published under another another person’s name. So, of course, HossTheBoss.com claims no copyright — other than the right to use particular pieces by permission — to anything written or submitted by someone else. (In other words, HossTheBoss.com will never say, “All submissions become the property of HossTheBoss.com.” That is a ridiculously abusive policy practiced by far too many media outlets.)