[Fmpro] $ depletion

[Louis King]

I have no real answers for how to change the current setups of PRO's  
in the US .....

However why wouldn't you find every discrepancy between the way the  
PRO'S do business and they way your agreements say they do business ....

Find all the facts that prove your point that your being  
SCREWED .....  and have no choice, it's a monopoly ....

Get a good legal mind on your side and then go to the CA attorney  
general and the NY state Attorney general and see if you can get some  
traction ...

Your not going to change things from within ASCAP .... or BMI ....

the system is broken and you need a BIGGER entity to intervene ....

I am not familiar with any such tactic really being put into place ...



How are your royalites figured out ?????  Is it legal to just kinda  
guess ???  Is it legal to have a different scale depending upon the  
instrumentation ( ie VOX vs non vox )

what does it really say in your agreements when you joined ?????    
etc etc etc etc

the GOV goes against Union wrong-doing this is no different ....

and this wont take that many people .... to do ...





On Oct 24, 2006, at 11:25 AM, Mark Northam wrote:

> I'm no math wizard, however given the quickly increasing number of  
> songs in
> television, and assuming that the broadcasters are not paying any  
> more (they
> already pay for everything), since a minute of song is paid at 500%  
> of what
> a minute of score is, common sense says we can probably expect some  
> pretty
> rapidly declining score rates as songs exponentially grab a larger and
> larger share of the royalty pie.
>
> Since the PROs won't release the estimated amount of score vs. song,
> mathematical predictions are difficult to calculate, of course. But  
> then
> again, that's how the PROs like to keep us -  ignorant of the overall
> financial big-picture regarding our royalties as an industry. But then
> again, they can only do this because we allow them to.
>
> But I'm sure the songwriters will be thanking (quietly, on the way  
> to the
> bank) our friends at ASCAP, BMI and SESAC for contributing to the  
> decline in
> value of what once was the most important music on film and  
> television. Our
> losses mean their gains, after all!  Indeed, it's become a self- 
> fulfilling
> prophecy. Pay a genre of music little enough (for political  
> reasons, of
> course), over long enough a period, and eventually those who write  
> it will
> seek greener pastures. It's nothing less than indefensible, systematic
> discrimination of a financial variety aimed directly at score  
> composers and
> all those whose music isn't as deemed as "valuable" as songs.
>
> The solution? Either reform the PRO system or let's all start  
> writing music
> with live vocals ala "Boston Legal" whose vocalese laden cues get  
> feature
> performance payments since they're called "Background Vocal" on the  
> cue
> sheets. Who wouldn't want a 500% increase in royalties for a one  
> minute cue?
>
> Best,
>
> Mark Northam
>
>
> On 10/24/06 3:57 AM, "Les Hurdle" <leshurdle101 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> Given the plethora of 'song' now being used in tv shows, given the
>> increased number of songs in 'normal' movies [+ those movies will be
>> broadcast at some point]......  given song* is paid at Feature
>> Performance rate, no matter it's usage.....then add in the extra  
>> amount
>> paid to FP for Prime Time 'hit shows'.............  how does the
>> increase depletion of the 'pot' via an increase in FP payments effect
>> the amount of money left for score?
>> ASCAP/BMI/SESAC
>
> ---------------------------------
> Mark Northam - Publisher
> Film Music Magazine
> The Professional Voice of Music for Film & TV
> http://www.filmmusicmag.com
> 1-800-774-3700 x702 / (310) 645-9000 x702
>
>
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