[Fmpro] is it smoke or mirrors

Fri May 11 00:04:51 GMT 2007

" and Mark Northam is one of the people who continues to try to attain some
balance and fight for the rights of composers in this industry."

Hoooo-ahh

If we could get enough juice to make a union the very first guy on my list
for nominations to lead it would be Mark. Each year that goes by I see more
and more good things that Mark does for the community and there isn't anyone
I can think of more knowledgeable of composer's issues today, on any level
of that category.

-----Original Message-----
From: fmpro-bounces+chris=alpiar.com at nxport.com
[mailto:fmpro-bounces+chris=alpiar.com at nxport.com] On Behalf Of
kirbyko3 at aol.com
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2007 5:45 PM
To: fmpro at nxport.com
Subject: Re: [Fmpro] is it smoke or mirrors

Hi Lynne,

Even though I have a 15-year history in business affairs and copyright
behind me (I'm an instrumental composer), I had a production attorney and an
IP attorney read the ASCAP contract before I signed it.  Sure, there were
some things that weren't that great in the contract.  And I raised the
issues with a friend, off the record, in member services at ASCAP *and* at
BMI -- both were very high-up people.  Both acknowledged that the contract
was non-negotiable.  So as a composer, or a songwriter, if you want any kind
of representation at all for your performance rights, you have to choose
either ASCAP or BMI.   So you pick one because to NOT have one means that
you don't see performance income.  You're implying that there is some sort
of negotiation to be had with ASCAP or BMI, and that is incorrect. You pick
the lesser of the two evils knowing that it's better to get scraps than to
go without food entirely (awful analogy but you get the idea).

So, my original query still stands: when your songwriter client gets $1000
for his use on network TV, but your instrumental composer client only gets
$200 for his identical use on the same show, same time slot, same episode,
you will have to tell them that songs with words are worth more. And when
you go to ASCAP to ask why, they won't give you a straight answer, and
you'll go back to your clients and say "Sorry, that's just the way it is."
Ergo the incredible frustration you've seen by the composers on this list.

As far as not choosing sides, I would hope that you would take your clients'
sides, as that's what they'd be paying you for.  

There are certain unfairnesses that are inherent to belonging to ASCAP or
BMI, and Mark Northam is one of the people who continues to try to attain
some balance and fight for the rights of composers in this industry.   Go
back and forth with someone at ASCAP for a couple weeks, and you will
quickly begin to understand the cynicism you're hearing from members of this
forum.  You were lied to in your initial conversation with Greg at ASCAP,
and you'll continue to get answers from ASCAP that don't make sense. In
fact, you're going to hear a lot of "it depends on the time of day and the
network and we have weighting formulas but we can't tell you what they are."
But it seems like you're tenacious and are in this for the long haul, so I
hope that you will continue to press them for rationales behind the
rhetoric.  If you make any headway, certainly let us know.

Kerry

-----Original Message-----
From: profwoman4u2 at gmail.com
To: fmpro at nxport.com
Sent: Thu, 10 May 2007 5:10 PM
Subject: Re: [Fmpro] is it smoke or mirrors

Well Kerry,

I have been aware of this issue all along somewhat, just never been in a
hostile chat such as this in the two 24/7 years I have been within the
music/film industry.  Now I hope I won't shock you as you should all know by
now being in the industry for many, many years, example:  Sony Pictures
won't look at your soundtracks unless you are a label of Sony; common sense
and a business regulation.

Regarding your statement:

"if you have 2 clients who have music placed into a TV show -- one is a
songwriter, one is an instrumental composer -- and both of them have music
placed
into the same scene of that show -- let's say it's music coming out of a
jukebox
in the background -- and each song plays for exactly 10 seconds -- the song
with words will get paid $100 (arbitrary # for example purposes only) and
the
instrumental piece will get paid $20.    That's a fact.   There's no
justification for it.    Chatting with a friend in another country and
finding out what
GEMA does isn't going to do anything to help this situation."  The first
question to me what was I going to do for my clients globally.  I am doing
my job communicating with the channels worldwide, it is my goal that I do
not have conflicts with my dealings; I have been here on this chat for only
one week and no one has yet said if they have hired a lawyer to read their
contract, that is your neglect if you haven't; what is expected of something
from their own works is one issue, what it's worth is another.  Did you
understand the royalty options of how your tracks would be considered for
pay before signing the contract?  If composers feel their composition should
be paid higher, then you should have a lawyer, representative/manager go
through the proper channels to discuss this issues in more ethical terms.

I don't take sides.

Musically Yours,

Lynne/Talent Manager
Conte's Networking Communications

On 5/10/07, Kirbyko3 at aol.com <Kirbyko3 at aol.com> wrote:
>
> I've been watching these threads the last couple of days and part of me
> loves
> that Lynne is making an effort, but part of me cringes at the
> Pollyanna-ness
> of the whole thing.
>
> Lynne, the simple fact is this:
>
> If you have 2 clients who have music placed into a TV show -- one is a
> songwriter, one is an instrumental composer -- and both of them have music
> placed
> into the same scene of that show -- let's say it's music coming out of a
> jukebox
> in the background -- and each song plays for exactly 10 seconds -- the
> song
> with words will get paid $100 (arbitrary # for example purposes only) and
> the
> instrumental piece will get paid $20.    That's a fact.   There's no
> justification for it.    Chatting with a friend in another country and
> finding out what
> GEMA does isn't going to do anything to help this situation.
>
> What Mark continues to do (and he's unpopular with ASCAP and BMI for it)
> is
> to be the squeaky wheel on behalf of composers. He keeps raising the
> issues of
> these inequalities, and the problems with the system, because it is
> something
> of a monopoly and if an artist wants to make ANY kind of living at all,
> ASCAP
> and BMI are the only options to have as a PRO.    One cannot act as one's
> own
> PRO because you could never get a network to negotiate with you -- they
> would
> just say "join ASCAP or BMI." As it is, the networks pay the licensing
> fees to
> the PRO's begrudgingly -- they do it because they have to.
>
> So it's great that you want to learn about this process, because you
> should
> know about it if you have clients whose work appears on TV or on the
> radio.
> But when your composer client says, "How come Mr. Songwriter got $1000 for
> his
> song, but I only got $200 for my orchestral piece?" you can explain to him
> why
> that's the case.
>
> Kerry
>
>
> **************************************
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-- 
Lynne T. Conte/Talent Manager
Conte's Networking Communications
1-707-440-2900
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