[Fmpro] ASCAP bashing

[Steve Fawcett]

Man you are unbelievable. Even the Doug Wood wouldn't agree with those statements. Here's what I could do if I were paid at the same rate as songs.
 Buy health insurance... have a retirement plan... buy a full tank of gas.. etc.
 I get tons of usage but it is devalued to pennies on the dollar. ASCAP has changed the rules drastically since I've joined and I had absolutely no voice in their decisions. 
Pete <musical411 at yahoo.com> wrote: No need for me to apologize for ASCAP, in this case,
they've done nothing wrong.

ASCAP has a set of rules which every member agrees to
when they join. ASCAP follows those rules. You don't
like those rules. So, you re-interpret them and
characterize them in a negative light with
intentionally inflammatory phrases like "divert
money", "suffering composers", "financial oppression"
and "outrageous treatment". You're an excellent writer
and good at that.

But, ASCAP isn't going to change the rules to suit
your personal ideal. You're free to follow "smart,
well-informed" Ted's lead and hire a lawyer or join
BMI instead. Nobody has a gun to your head.

Me, I'm making a living as a Composer thanks in large
part to being a member of ASCAP. I'll stick with that.

Good luck,
Pete



--- Mark Northam  wrote:

> On 4/29/08 4:32 AM, "Pete" 
> wrote:
> 
> > Just because ASCAP doesn't follow each of our
> personal
> > ideal set of rules doesn't mean they are doing
> > anything wrong.
> 
> 
> Pete, obviously ASCAP can do no wrong in your eyes,
> so we might as well end
> our discussion with that. Your role on this list as
> the ultimate apologist
> for ASCAP has been firmly established for some time
> now.
> 
> Thousands of composers suffer under the financial
> oppression of rules
> designed to divert money to songwriters and a
> critical part of the
> democratic election process has been rendered
> inaccessible to all but the
> wealthy who might be able to mount a signature drive
> of that magnitude.
> 
> I suppose that the defense of such practices by
> people who have been
> conditioned to think there's nothing wrong with that
> kind of outrageous
> treatment is exactly how ASCAP can continue it. When
> people have suffered so
> long with an injustice that they now see nothing
> wrong with it, they have
> accepted the second-class status assigned to their
> music by the songwriters
> and now, incredibly, defend it, like some case of
> Stockholm Syndrome. It's a
> great example of why we need to urgently educate and
> inform the next
> generation of composers about the injustices that so
> many of the current
> generation are either afraid or unwilling to take
> action to reform.
> 
> I think when smart, well-informed people like Ted
> refuse to join ASCAP, it
> can send a message loud and clear to the ASCAP
> Board: your business
> practices towards composers are unacceptable. In the
> end, ASCAP has left
> composers no other way to express their objection to
> these policies. The
> route to the Board for independent candidates via
> petition has been blocked,
> members are shut out of the decision making process
> at ASCAP thanks to
> secret board meetings, etc. and the discriminatory
> policies continue
> unabated. In the end, composers - at least those who
> believe there is
> something seriously wrong with the current "system"
> - are left with no
> choice but to vote with their "feet" as ASCAP has
> closed off all routes of
> internal reform.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and 
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.  http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
_______________________________________________
The Film Music Pro List is sponsored by Film Music Magazine -  http://www.filmmusicmag.com

Best of FMPRO: http://www.fmproquotes.com - Quotes site  by Billy Hale Music

To edit your list options or unsubscribe, visit:
http://nxport.com/mailman/listinfo/fmpro