[Fmpro] PRO category question.....

[James Ryan]

Hi Mark,
There is a distinction however between "Theme" and "Background"  when  
talking about instrumental music.  I have several shows running where  
I have both, and the themes are paid at a significantly higher rate  
than the background.  In my case, the themes underscore graphics, not  
on camera musicians and often fade out under news anchors.  The tricky  
part is you don't get paid for multiple instances of a theme in an  
hour.  I think it might be two per hour that get paid (bookends for  
the show), and any performances beyond that get ignored.  Not certain,  
but that is what I've heard.

Best,
James

On Apr 4, 2008, at 3:39 PM, Mark Northam wrote:

> All songs - whether background vocals or visual vocals, are paid as  
> a full
> feature performance by default at ASCAP if they are aired on  
> television
> within a show (are not in a commercial, etc).
>
> All score, unless you actually see musicians playing on screen or  
> it's a
> tightly choreographed dance scene (some qualify, some don't) is paid  
> at the
> background rate by ASCAP if it's aired on television within a show.
>
> Obviously this rule is very convenient (and profitable) for  
> songwriters, and
> we can only guess how much money is diverted away from background
> instrumental music to pay songwriters for background vocals that are  
> paid as
> feature performances despite the fact they are clearly marked as
> "background" on cue sheets.
>
> Mark Northam