[Fmpro] Writers and Publishers

[Mark Northam]

On 8/1/07 8:28 AM, "Doug Wood" <daw at procomposers.org> wrote:

> What I can say is that I believe ASCAP is the
> last, best chance for composers to have their rights protected against those
> who would like to take them away. While I agree there are many problems
> which need to be resolved, I believe we are better off working for positive
> change within the institution than trying to bring about its demise.

I couldn't agree with you more, Doug. Nobody I know, including myself, has
any intentions of trying to bring about the demise of ASCAP or any of the
other PROs. 

That being said, we should all be careful not to take an ignorant "you're
with us or you're against us" attitude that would preclude critical
discussion about ASCAP. Criticism is not equivalent to working to bring
about the demise of an organization - let's be very, very clear about that.
In fact, from my point of view, critical discussion has always been about
promoting reform and change. After all, how can reform and positive change
happen if the problems that need to be addressed aren't fully disclosed and
discussed so that ideas for change can be formulated within the industry?

Given the extreme secrecy of the ASCAP Board, we cannot know what they are
or are not doing to address the problems, including the discriminatory rates
aimed at score composers. We can only look at their actions, and frankly the
elimination by the ASCAP Board of any practical chance for an independent
candidate to get on the ballot, much less elected, is very alarming. This
kind of action is indicative not of a reform-minded board, but of an
arrogant, entrenched board that will say and do anything to maintain their
own power and perks, and a board that behind closed doors has little but
contempt for the membership.  Of course there are other issues to be
addressed, but we've discussed them at length here so there's no need to go
over that ground again.

I look forward to learning more about the specific actions you're taking on
the ASCAP board to address the problems instrumental composers face at ASCAP
today, especially in terms of payment rates, tracking, and the elections.

Best,

Mark Northam


---------------------------------
Mark Northam - Publisher
Film Music Magazine / Film Music Weekly
The Professional Voice of Music for Film & TV
1-800-774-3700 ext. 702 / 310-645-9000 ext. 702
http://www.filmmusicmag.com
Yahoo/Skype: marknortham  /  AIM: mnortham