[Fmpro] Part 2 ;-( Non Payment... CPA (was Did you???????)

[LesHurdle]

> On Apr 4, 2008, at 12:01 PM, James Ryan wrote:
>
>
>> you'll figure out how to sit down with your Library folks and
>> hammer out some kind of deal that will ultimately be very profitable
>> for them aggregated out to all there writers and gets you what you
>> deserve.
>

Here's a conundrum for you all to figure out.

The cash cow for all Libraries is the blanket license.
PRO income is often negligible by comparison ;-)

I asked one co many years ago how the Library blanket was  
distributed.... based on the composers catalog was the answer ......  
huh !!!!!!!

Turned out, e.g. if a Library 'sold' 10 CD's to a customer the $'s  
would be divided between the composers based on the composers  
catalog,not even the differential in the tracks sold as per the 10 CD's.
This meant a composer with 2000 titles in a Library would be paid a  
higher % of the revenue than the composer with 10 tracks.
The problem was/is........ it is possible, the composers' with the  
huge catalog might not ever have their music used via that sale !

Not a good situation.

You might say......... why not have the end user provide the Library  
with a usage report.

I know the owner of a large jingle house who told me he would  
religiously send in monthly reports.
He was told not to since the data went in the round file !

OK, not a good situation #2.
Let's compound it further.

Given an end user 'buys' X number of CD's per year, given they then  
pay within Y days, they get a % discount.... good biz some might say,  
but does the discount come out of the publishers money?
How would anyone know given there is never a gross amount of sale  
figure on ANY statement.

Another $wrinkle.

Presume your music is with a Library which does pay you the mechanical 
[s], and your library owner has a sub publisher.
The sub publisher has their own library [ooops, a conflict of  
interest perchance?]
The sub-pubs library owner has declared they will rip the composers  
and not pay their composers mechanicals.

I wonder which library they might favour in a 'sale' ;-)

Given the music from the Library [with mech rights] and the sub pubs  
library [with no composer mech rights] are included in a blanket  
license deal........... how does the composer with rights know;

1	There has been a sale  [will such a sale show up your statement?]
2	Given the sale does show up, how does the composer know the amount  
paid is accurate?

Where is the accuracy and accountability?


While we all 'go on' about PRO's, the fact is the publishing world is  
far better at the con than the PRO's.

Who sits on the board of the PRO's.........  who usually runs the  
PRO's??????

Sad sad sad...... but without support, what is one to do?
Ah, schmooze the 'client' and screw one's fellow......... that seems  
to work very well.

L