[Fmpro] NO one?? PRS changes?

[James Ryan]

Les,
I read everything you post, but sometimes I'm too busy to respond.  Re PRS.
Yes, it totally effects me.  I have music that just got slammed over there
because it's on during the day hence, subject to the reduction just enacted.
Yes, I'm pissed off about it, and yes I did everything I could from speaking
to PRS directly to signing up with the protest website you sited on this
list.  The frustrating part is they are not interested in my input despite
their comments to the contrary.  Some very powerful lobby registered a
Richter scale 7 bitch about the overnight game shows with loop music eating
up all the royalties, and as a result, a very large group of composers got
shafted.

I discussed this with an unnamed ASCAP rep and his feeling was that music
payments should follow viewer numbers.  That the music in the middle of the
night and during the day had a substantially smaller audience, commanded
substantially lower ad revenue, and therefore should command lower
royalties.  It wasn't a value issue because if a piece of library music was
used in both time slots in two different shows, the same piece of music
would be paid at two different rates based on it's time slot usage. He
thought it was simple audience demand and that it was about time PRS got on
the program.

I don't want to start a big back and forth about this, but I am very
familiar with media buying/ad costs with regard to stations and time slots,
and it is vastly cheaper to advertise during daytime TV and in the middle of
the night than during prime time, and I had a hard time arguing with his
logic.  I didn't say I liked the result, but I couldn't come up with much of
a justification for equal pay.

As much as we dislike it here, the marketplace usually determines value.  If
very few people choose to watch a show (because a station airs it at off
times), how do we argue that the music in it has the same value to a
consumer as music chosen for a big hit, prime time show that everybody is
flocking to?

Regarding one to one, consider this.  If you are buying a song for a
commercial, the price directly reflects the usage.  If American Express
wants to use a song for their latest national network campaign, they are
going to pay a very high price.  The same song for a small company
advertising on cable will be cheaper.  Same song, different usage, different
price.  The same holds true for singers and musicians, different pay for
different usage, same talent.  It's not a value judgment, it's a usage
judgment.  I am NOT saying that the price should be different if it's a song
or an instrumental.  I stand firm that they should be paid the same for the
same usage.

Very best,
James


On 8/9/07 11:32 AM, "Fernando Rivas" <fernando at rivasmusic.com> wrote:

> I already have another issue pending with ASCAP and its already taken me
> weeks to get it in the process of resolution. But I'll give this a shot.
> 
> 
> On 8/9/07 10:19 AM, "leshurdle" <leshurdle at avradionet.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Fernando,
>> 
>> Ask your PRO please, then post their reply to the list.
>> 
>> Thanks
>> 
>> Les
>> 
>> On Aug 9, 2007, at 6:00 AM, Fernando Rivas wrote:
>> 
>>> No doubt I will be affected and I''ve kept a copy of your message
>>> but at the
>>> moment I don't know what to do about it.
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> The Film Music Pro List is sponsored by Film Music Magazine -
>> http://www.filmmusicmag.com
>> 
>> To edit your list options or unsubscribe, visit:
>> http://nxport.com/mailman/listinfo/fmpro
>> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> The Film Music Pro List is sponsored by Film Music Magazine -
> http://www.filmmusicmag.com
> 
> To edit your list options or unsubscribe, visit:
> http://nxport.com/mailman/listinfo/fmpro