[Fmpro] Global Competition

[LesHurdle]

Maybe it is time to raise the stakes BIG TIME.

Imagine.....................................


and this is just so you all think outside the USA  
box........................

Every composer [not necessarily songwriters, but we'll include them  
also].........  leaves ASCAP/BMI & SESAC and joins SACEM or GEMA for  
the world !

CRAZY I hear you say, I don't have music overseas...... so what !   
THINK.......

If nothing else, you might be eligible for the EU pension, you wont  
get one from a US PRO !

Also consider, the EU PRO....... could;
a	Still collect via ASCAP/BMI/SESAC, but with a lot more clout for  
justice  and guess what.... they could demand 1-1.
b	DIRECT LICENSE with the broadcasters..... BUT........ not as per  
the DL we know today, but via negotiations.

If you belonged to SACEM or GEMA for the world [at this time] it  
might cost you an extra 5% of your income, but you might have income  
[even in the USA] whereas today you do not !
If you belonged to SACEM or GEMA, guess what, you can elect to send  
your music to ANY or either  of the 3 US PRO's to collect for  
you..... maybe ASCAP pays score better, maybe BMI pays Themes  
better.... imagine, real competition for each and every one of your  
INDIVIDUAL cues !!!!!!

You can all do the above and as such, competition would then be a  
darn sight more healthy than it is today.

There is more to the above than I have outlined here.
Is it practical?
Sure, just ask those who have huge catalogs and have shifted to SACEM  
& GEMA.. they are making MORE money than they used to.

MN asked for thoughts..... there's mine......... please. shoot holes  
in the idea.

Better still.... shoot holes in the process in the USA so no one has  
go overseas to be better paid in the USA.

L

On Dec 2, 2007, at 10:35 AM, Mark Northam wrote:

> Actually a strike against ASCAP might be more promising than a strike
> against the production companies who have plenty of other ways to  
> get films
> scored.
>
> For a long time, the question choosing between ASCAP and BMI has  
> been left
> to old wive's tales and other anecdotal "wisdom" about which one is
> "better". ASCAP and BMI are very careful not to say anything bad  
> about each
> other in public.
>
> But just because they don't want to compete openly for members  
> doesn't mean
> others shouldn't voice their opinions as to which PRO is better. And
> frankly, given all the outrageous actions of the ASCAP Board over  
> the last
> few years, maybe it's time to start comparing...
>
> * 1,250 signatures for independent candidates, virtually impossible
> * MediaGuide paid for with tens of millions of dollars from all of  
> us, but
> only deployed to pay royalties on radio
> * No watermarking, despite the technology has been available for years
> * Ignoring the votes of the membership and appointing a "friend" to  
> fill the
> most recent board opening instead of the person with the next  
> highest number
> of votes
> * Horrible customer service, arrogant attitudes
> * Reps who monitor this list and refuse to answer basic questions
> * Among the world's most discriminatory weightings against score music
> * No board attendance records, board meetings closed to members
> * Hearing board cases severely limited to the point that there are  
> no more
>
> And the list goes on and on, as we've discussed here for a long  
> time...
>
> Maybe it's time to send the ASCAP Board a message: Start treating  
> composers
> better, or it's time to make a very public case to move to BMI.
>
> Now, are things any better at BMI where there are no Board  
> elections? I
> don't know. But I can tell you in the 10 years since we began  
> publishing
> Film Music magazine, I have not received a single complaint about BMI
> customer service. Not one. One way or another, they keep their members
> happy, it would seem, to a much greater extent than ASCAP, about  
> who I have
> heard complaints directly from members, employees and others.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Mark N.
>
>
> On 12/2/07 7:57 AM, "Les Mizzell" <lesmizz at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>> "You wanna strike? Go ahead, we got plenty of library music and a  
>> bunch
>> of songwriters over here. No problem. Enjoy your vacation."
>
> ---------------------------------
> Mark Northam, CEO
> Global Media Development Group
>
> http://www.RoyaltyWeek.com - The Business of Music Royalties Worldwide
>
> 1-800-774-3700 ext. 702 / 310-645-9000 ext. 702
> http://www.gmdgroup.com
> Yahoo/Skype: marknortham  /  AIM: mnortham
>
>
>
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