[Fmpro] keep'n the complaints going

[Mark Northam]

On 11/30/07 10:38 PM, "Jim Chase" <jchase at billyhalemusic.com> wrote:

>     We will never know if the Latin phrase would pass muster as lyric
> at ASCAP.  Unless, of course, someone else tries it, Andrew.  Not
> just as a joke, but really put it to the test.  Quando paramucho, buddy.


As far as I know, words from any language including made-up languages
(Klingon) will pass as background vocals at ASCAP if they're sung by live
vocalists (not sampled ones). Oohs, aahs and humming are specifically
indicated as not qualifying, as are situations where the voice "is used like
an orchestra instrument" as was the reasoning behind denying Peter Myers'
case of a live singer singing vocalese with an orchestra. Vocalese is the
real grey area, with most cases not qualifying, such as the music from the
TV series "In the Heat of the Night". However, I have confirmed that
composer Danny Lux who scores Boston Legal and Grey's Anatomy IS being paid
feature performances for all his cues on those shows that have a live
vocalist. Danny is a SESAC writer, but his co-writer on BL is Eric Bikales,
a BMI member according to the BMI site. I assume Eric is also being paid as
a feature performance for those cues - almost every background cue on BL has
funky vocals. They're not oohs, and they're not aahs, but they are words
like "oh, yeah, hmmm, oww, etc"

It's completely arbitrary, seemingly designed to make sure that if a
lyricist (like Ms. Bergman) was involved, it's an automatic feature, but
without lyrics, it's an instrumental and doomed to the heavy penalties that
all background vocal cues are nailed with at ASCAP. As if there is ANY LINK
AT ALL between what the broadcasters pay, and whether it has lyrics.

And of course, the more instrumental music is penalized, the more that
leaves for the rest of the members (songwriters) to be paid.

Mark N.



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Mark Northam, CEO
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