[Fmpro] SOCAN Questions continued

[Mark Northam]

Hi Sean -

Thanks for the detailed answers!

A clarification on the assignment letter issue - If I, as a US ASCAP writer,
sent SOCAN a letter instructing you to pay all of my royalties to a SOCAN
member directly, would SOCAN honor this type of letter?

One of the major concerns that some writers have in the US is based on 2
actions by US PROs:

1. US PROs do not disclose the actual dollar amount of incoming foreign
royalties received on behalf of their members, so we have no way of seeing
on our statements what the actual amount we were paid by foreign PROs is.

2. US PROs do not allow their members to communicate directly with foreign
PROs, thus removing any ability to verify the amount paid with those who
paid us. 

I'm sure you can see how some people would be concerned by any system that
handles hundreds of millions of dollars of other people's money, yet hides
the actual transaction amounts and makes it impossible to communicate with
the sources of the transactions.

Thanks for the clarification on the assignment letter question above!

Best,

Mark Northam

> -----Original Message-----
> From: fmpro-bounces+markn=gmocorp.com at nxport.com [mailto:fmpro-
> bounces+markn=gmocorp.com at nxport.com] On Behalf Of Sean Goble
> Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2008 1:14 AM
> To: fmpro at nxport.com
> Subject: Re: [Fmpro] FMPRO Digest, Vol 39, Issue 4
> 
> Wow.  Okay, so here's answers where I have answers.  Please keep in mind
> this is strictly from a Canadian/SOCAN perspective.