[Fmpro] CPA music?

Wed Nov 28 03:10:16 GMT 2007

Hey Mark,
You know only too well that this list (not necessarily the individual  
members) is neither respected, nor particularly feared at ASCAP.  When  
no one in authority comments on the postings, it is my understanding  
that they don't feel it's even necessary to comment, leave alone take  
time from their busy schedules to dig up facts and figures to defend  
themselves from a tiny little army with rubber swords.   They just  
don't give a %^*$ what the FMPRO thinks.  When I suggested a while  
back that we write letters to get watermarking going, even creating a  
form letter for everyone to just put on their stationery, sign and  
mail, I had the wonderful and embarrassing experience to stand before  
John LoFrumento and hear him describe the small handful of letters he  
received from a list that I believe is over a thousand strong.  I had  
no support, he knew it, and the results are what we have today - no  
watermarking, no electronic tracking of any kind for score.

The FMPRO is not a force.  It is not a cohesive whole with a mission.   
It is a discussion group consisting of members who are too busy or too  
complacent to make their wishes known or felt in any meaningful way,  
at least that is what seems to be it's current posture.  That is why  
the union conversation comes up each year and dies a month or so  
later.  Without the cohesive force of thousands of complaints backed  
by some kind of action, be it legal or whatever, you, my friend, can  
fume and rage about the abuses until you wear out your computer, and  
without an organized, monetized unit of force, it  will come to very  
little.

Please don't get me wrong.  I don't think there is an instrumental  
composer or CPA composer alive that is "just fine" with getting paid a  
fraction of what a songwriter gets and not getting paid at all when  
they get missed in the survey.  None of us believe that it's fair, or  
if somebody does, let's hear the reasons.  What seems to be prevalent  
is a kind of lazy hopelessness, a feeling that nothing they (we) could  
ever say or do would make any real difference.  I admit that I'm more  
often than not, guilty of it myself.  As a result, we go round and  
round, rehashing the same complaints, but never (or rarely) actually  
doing anything.

Interestingly, the PMA and AMP don't seem to be getting much further,  
and they are a whole lot more organized than film composers.  They did  
get the "jingle cap" proposition kicked out a few years back, and they  
may have been instrumental in getting the raise to 20%, but I have no  
facts on how that actually came about, so I'm just guessing.  I think  
Doug Wood may also have been one of the big forces in pushing it  
through.

So unless you have a big litigation law firm with deep pockets and an  
interest in changing the status quo, or a relative or lover in the  
Justice Department......let's talk about music!

Well now.  That was a cheery little missive, wasn't it?

Best,
James

On Nov 27, 2007, at 8:38 PM, Mark Northam wrote:

> On 11/27/07 10:51 AM, "James Ryan" <jeryan at optonline.net> wrote:
>
>> According to an ASCAP rep who prefers not to be quoted on this list,
>> when ASCAP raised the score rate to 20% from 16% it wasn't enough to
>> make the underscore gang happy, and it was a big whack to the
>> songwriters.  The earning songwriters are fewer in number than the
>> composers, so they had to shoulder a fairly hefty royalty cut to
>> compensate for the upgrade to the much larger number of score
>> composers.
>
> I always am skeptical of anyone who is afraid to say things  
> publicly, but is
> more than happy to state them "as fact" privately. It's at the root  
> of so
> many of the problems in this industry, especially with the PROs  
> where there
> is such a huge lack of facts and everybody is left trying to fill in  
> the
> blanks.
>
> Personally, on more than one occasion, I've been told of PRO officials
> instructing members to dismiss anything and everything they read on  
> the
> FMPRO list, especially data coming from myself, as lies and  
> falsehoods. But
> not once has any PRO official ever factually challenged a single  
> word I've
> written. This kind of "knife in the back" behavior is deplorable,  
> and a sign
> of desperate, cowardly people who can't win on the issues, and instead
> choose to "discredit the messenger". The fact that ASCAP officials who
> monitor this list refuse to answer so many questions posed to them  
> on this
> list also makes the case for the integrity of what is posted here.  
> If the
> facts revealed here were wrong, any responsible business would step  
> in and
> correct people. Have we seen a single "correction" from ASCAP? Never.
>
> Simply put, they have too high a price to pay for engaging informed  
> members
> on the way ASCAP treats composers, because they have an indefensible  
> case.
> There is absolutely no financial justification that has ever been  
> presented
> by ASCAP or any of its officials to justify the horrific weighting  
> formula
> that decimates the value of score music. There is no justification for
> killing watermarking at ASCAP. There's no justification for lousy  
> tracking
> of CPA music. The only reason all of these are done is fairly  
> obvious: more
> money for the songwriters. But is ASCAP willing to present one shred  
> of
> financial or statistical evidence to support this "claim"? Never.  
> Not once.
> Nothing. Nada. All we hear is deafening silence as they apparently  
> hope the
> latest round of embarrassing disclosures and revealed information  
> will blow
> over and they can get back to the EXPO or whatever other sideshow  
> they're
> promoting (with our money) to create the perception that they are  
> fair,
> accountable, transparent, etc etc. while their back office works  
> overtime to
> funnel every penny possible to the songwriters - especially the "hit"
> songwriters. In other words, their only way "out" is to remain  
> silent and
> take their lumps.
>
> James, I'd like to ask you to ask your ASCAP rep to supply some  
> facts and
> figures to back up the claim about the number of earnings  
> songwriters being
> fewer in number than the composers. With the prevalence of song on  
> TV today,
> that's something that needs clarifying. While the number of earning
> songwriters are fewer in number, so are the instances of song (than  
> score),
> so I need some more data to fully understand the facts here.
>
> And if your rep is unwilling to provide these figures, that's reason  
> enough
> in my book to heavily discount any statements from that rep. We are  
> working
> in a large information vacuum with the PROs, and for them to state  
> facts
> without any numerical references just doesn't wash. We've been  
> deceived too
> many times, and there have been too many assumptions made by all  
> sides in
> this controversy regarding broadcast and member numbers and  
> statistics.
>
> Time for some good ole hard, cold data!
>
> Best,
>
> Mark Northam
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Mark Northam, CEO
> Global Media Development Group
>
> http://www.FilmMusicInstitute.com - Film Music Courses and Seminars
>
> 1-800-774-3700 ext. 702 / 310-645-9000 ext. 702
> http://www.gmdgroup.com
> Yahoo/Skype: marknortham  /  AIM: mnortham
>
>
>
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