[Fmpro] ASCAP bashing

[Ted Peterson]

Well, nonsupport is the only way to get a system that works for the  
composer. I don't like having my arm twisted by an organization that  
may not have any of my interests in mind when they do business. To  
me, it's like payoff to a group of thugs just to keep in business.  
But like I said, if I got a sitcom or dramatic series, I would join  
BMI because then it would be in my interest. Until then, I don't feel  
the need for that kind of representation. I get a lot of music played  
on college stations or local NPR/AFR stations. They rarely pay  
royalties and that is kind of bad. So I have to balance exposure to  
monetary gain. I had a bunch of music stolen by a porno company and  
used on a whole bunch of tapes/dvds. I contacted ASCAP and said I  
would join if they could help me. They told me that they wouldn't do  
anything and thought it rather foolish of me to think that ASCAP  
would track down porn content to find iterations of my music. So I  
would have had to do all the work then join then give them what I had  
found only to be told they wouldn't do anything. So I found a lawyer.  
Since then, I use a lawyer and more often than not I get paid from  
purloined music. Overall, I think it saves me money and the lawyer  
can go international to go after stuff pirated in Asia. ASCAP and BMI  
can't and won't do that.

Ted Peterson

On Apr 27, 2008, at 7:52 PM, Mark Northam wrote:

> I understand, however the key thing with television is that the  
> party you
> contract with (the production company) is completely different than  
> the
> party paying performance royalties (the broadcasters). It's a  
> different
> money flow from a different party, and sadly, the only middlemen  
> available,