[Fmpro] NO one?? PRS changes?

[Mark Northam]

Trying to guess what the "viewer" cares about or values is an impossible
task and not appropriate, as it's the broadcaster who's paying the license
fees. Trying to value music based on the viewer's perception on television
is like asking a 6 year old whether ice cream is better than the spinach for
dinner. Of course viewers would rather have commercial-free TV, and 6-year
olds would rather eat ice cream for dinner than spinach. But neither is
appropriate or realistic.

CPA and value to the broadcaster...

As far as what the broadcaster cares about, obviously commercials are the
lifeblood of his business and represent nearly 100% of his income, so that's
a no-brainer in my book.

CPA and value to the advertiser...

The massive license fees paid by advertisers to use hit songs in their
advertising is proof of the value of music to advertisers. Often this fee
can be more than for use in programming.

CPA and value to ASCAP...

It is a patently dangerous act to take over 50% of the music on television,
ASCAP's largest income source, and inflict a whopping 97% devaluation
penalty on it for distribution purposes (for a minute of CPA compared to a
minute of song during a program). Beyond the obvious moral implications of
singling out this music and those who write it for this penalty, what's to
stop broadcasters from making the case that their license fees should
parallel ASCAP's distribution valuations? Financial discrimination against
any person or group to this degree just doesn't make sense, and as always,
isn't backed by any financial or statistical evidence, just old wive's tales
and anecdotal stories from staffers who are afraid to even put their names
with the stories...

I'll say it again.... Viewership is the only fair way to pay music
performance royalties, and there's already a complete system in place that
measures this and is the basis for the expenditure of billions of dollars of
advertising dollars every year.


Best,

Mark Northam



On 8/10/07 8:45 AM, "Pete" <musical411 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> If he doesn't care about the content on his shows, I
> doubt he cares about the content in the commercials.
> He just wants to get paid for the commercial airtime.