[Fmpro] Belling the Cat - Commercials

[Mark Northam]

If you'll read my suggestion, I am *not* suggesting that commercial music be
paid the same as in-program music.

Les Hurdle may be arguing a different argument, and there is room for many
different arguments here since it is politics, rather than any statistical
or financial verifiable evidence, that is currently used to determine the
royalty rates for song vs. score.

I am suggesting that the politically-manipulated massive bonus system for
all songs within television programs be eliminated and a minute of score be
paid the same as a minute of score within a television show.

Are you in favor of this?

The ASCAP policy that lyrics are the "holy grail" of music and should
automatically entitle the writers to a 500% increase for a minute of music
over what a minute of music without lyrics is paid is nothing more than a
scheme to divert massive sums of money to the lyricists and songwriters.
It's time that ASCAP either justifies that scheme with solid, verifiable
data or withdraw it.

Just as valid an argument could be made that music custom written for a film
or TV show (as most score is) is 500% more valuable (for a one minute cue)
than generic music used in a show, including song and library music.

The point is, under the current ASCAP system where transparency and
accountability are in practice little more than sales hype aimed at the
uninformed, they don't even have to justify these huge rate differences,
much less be accountable for them. And as we all saw this week, ASCAP Board
Member Doug Wood - perhaps the most reform-minded board member - can't even
begin to justify them.

SO WHY ARE THEY STILL THERE?

Because we're afraid to demand change, and those who we've elected to
control change (the ASCAP Board) clearly doesn't want to change or they
would have already. And as we've seen, they will say and do anything to
protect their right to exact heavy penalties from instrumental composers,
including wiping out any chance of independent candidates getting on the
ballot, etc as we've discussed at length here before.

And therein lies the problem.

Best,

Mark Northam




On 7/20/07 10:06 AM, "Pete" <musical411 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> --- Mark Northam <mnortham at gmdgroup.com> wrote:
> Sorry, but simply put, you, I, and
>> all ASCAP members don't
>> have enough numbers to know this to any degree of
>> certainty...
> 
> Increasing the money paid to commercial music will
> surely reduce what's paid to program music. Since
> vocal music is used in commercials more than in the
> program's background, vocal music would benefit more
> than instrumental music. You don't need any "numbers"
> from ASCAP to figure that one out.
> 
> If you want to argue that commercial music should be
> paid the same rate as program music, that's fine. But,
> that would probably reduce the royalty checks of all
> the instrumental Composers on this list.
> 
> P e t e
> S u r d o v a l
> 
> 
>        
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