[Fmpro] FMPRO Digest, Vol 32, Issue 13

[Kevin Mathie]

Man, I can't believe you all got me to de-lurk twice in one month!  
But, I have to comment on Les's statement.

Even though my blood tends to boil after reading about ASCAP on this  
list, I think that the best long-term solution for composers in this  
free-market economy is for them to somehow create a situation where  
libraries and publishers will need to fight for their compositions a  
little harder, and, in the process, improve the deals they give  
composers.

I know that this might be a very unrealistic wish, given the current  
state of the market being over-supplied with composers, BUT, I think  
the idea is sound in theory. The fact is that the publishers are in a  
free-market economy too, and have a stake in attracting great  
composers to their company. There's got to be creative ways to help  
counter the over-supply situation to a degree.

So, here's my wish:

I would sure love to see a list somewhere online that would identify  
the "good" publishers and "good" music libraries. And, just as  
importantly, list the music libraries and publishers that routinely  
offer poor deals, so we all know who to stay away from -- in essence,  
creating a boycott of the crappy publishers. Like Les mentioned, some  
music libraries still offer Mechanical rights. But who? As a  
composer, I'd love to know which libraries are the best libraries to  
approach with my compositions, and which ones to avoid like the  
plague. Now imagine 100 composers avoiding the crappy libraries and  
supporting the good libraries -- and the libraries knowing that the  
support/boycott is linked to the quality of their contracts.

I realize this is a complicated issue. Two different composers might  
get two very different deals from the same publisher, putting the  
publisher on the "good" list from one composer's perspective and the  
"bad" list from the other composer's perspective. And, how do we  
figure out what the "standard" deal is for each publisher? BUT, I  
still like the idea in theory because it could be one way for  
composers to organize.

In essence, such a list would be a way to 1) boycott companies with  
crappy deals and reward companies who treat their composers well, 2)  
educate composers on what deals are possible out there and  
potentially create a situation where publishing deals would actually  
improve a little, as publishers try to avoid being boycotted by good  
composers, and 3) start organizing composers in the industry. If  
there was something like this to attract composers to one central  
location, then it might be easier to form a loose organization with a  
bit of clout behind it.

I know this idea is rife with large hurdles to overcome, but  
something like this has got to be doable in some form isn't it? Maybe  
I'm too naive. It's true that I'm still pretty new to the industry.  
But, this is my wish and I'm sticking to it. :o)

Kevin


On Dec 13, 2007, at 5:00 AM, fmpro-request at nxport.com wrote:

> Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 06:02:52 -0800
> From: LesHurdle <leshurdle at avradionet.com>
> Subject: Re: [Fmpro] internet
> To: fmpro at nxport.com
> Message-ID: <10098877-E87F-44AF-846D-F3405A168729 at avradionet.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
>
> There are US Libraries who still offer the Mech right.