[Fmpro] SOCAN Bits

[Duncan Watt]

Sean, thanks for sharing this informative response with the list -  
really appreciate it.

Duncan

--
Duncan Watt
Fastestmanintheworld Music

email: dwatt at fastestmanintheworld.com
web: http://www.fastestmanintheworld.com

On Jul 7, 2008, at 2:31 PM, Sean Goble wrote:

> Dave:
> If you get a minute, please take a quick read of my response to Les
> regarding ?membership? and ?limited territory deals? last week.  You  
> can
> create a limited territory deal and still be a SOCAN member for  
> worldwide
> ex. that country.  We just don?t generally encourage it, especially  
> since
> there is no lost money in having us pursue foreign monies for you.   
> Keep
> in mind that most experiences you will hear are from a US PRO point of
> view.  If you are unhappy with a lack of payment from SOCAN, call us  
> and
> ask and we?ll chase it for you.  But Les is right, you have to keep  
> track
> of your catalogue yourself so that we know whom to chase.  That being
> said, if you really wish to consider a limited deal or you would  
> like more
> answers, please give us a call and if the info centre doesn?t give you
> enough detail, ask for me and I?ll discuss it with you.
>        Pump Audio does retitle their tracks.  This is, and will  
> continue
> to be a difficulty with collection until something changes.  I have  
> found
> myself on their site searching through their catalogue for works so  
> that I
> can get the Pump Audio # that is provided to us.  We do have a  
> system in
> place where you can enter alternate titles and if your music is in  
> Pump
> Audio, find it (or ask for it) and include it as an aka.  This is  
> not the
> same as a derivative in our systems.
>
> Mark:
> I can?t see a way that we could set that up.  Our policy is to pay  
> to the
> writer (we run into trouble even when a member?s publisher wants to
> collect on his or her behalf) to ensure that no third party takes  
> off with
> writer?s performance royalties.  We try to maintain as much  
> transparency
> as we can with our members but I can understand the frustration of  
> foreign
> non-member writers with the various black boxes that float around  
> PROs.
> SOCAN does allow our members to ?drill down? to see what society has  
> paid
> them what foreign income along with the dollar amount but I do get  
> that
> not everyone does.  All I can suggest is that you try, through the  
> AGM or
> a sympathetic ear, to get your PRO to change their policy.  I know  
> some
> people are ROTFLTAO with that, but it?s all I?ve got.  Move to  
> Canada? :-)
>
> Les:
> As we are a non-profit organization ?$$? doesn?t enter into the  
> equation.
> The stance you appear to be taking is that our policies are ? 
> restrictive.?
> I don?t understand this as we allow for limited territory deals and  
> no one
> can be represented for world with multiple PROs, which is true of  
> any and
> all PROs.  Think of the Bedlam if PRS, SACEM, SOCAN and ASCAP were all
> claiming on behalf of a writer for a performance recorded by ACDAM.
> Everyone, yourself and the people you?ve spoken to that deal with  
> multiple
> PROs, have one society that claims for "worldwide excluding".  I can?t
> speak for Australia, but we do allow limited territories with our  
> members.
> I stand by all the drawbacks I listed in my second email regarding
> limited territory deals and we make no money either way.  It does  
> depress
> me that some writers have been put in a position where they are  
> inherently
> suspicious of PROs as it is the writers that we are owned and  
> operated by.
> I can?t speak on behalf of other PROs but SOCAN attempts transparency
> wherever possible.  The "company" in "company line" was a truism:  
> you know
> that.
> As for publishers and sub-publishing, we don?t lose any money as  
> this is
> foreign income and as before stated, we don?t take a percentage for
> collection of foreign income.  So the publishers get their money via
> sub-pubs and foreign versions of their pub (or direct as you are  
> calling
> it) and all other publishers that received their money through SOCAN
> received theirs, as reported by foreign societies and requested by  
> SOCAN.
> And apples to apples, they both receive the same amount for each
> performance as both were only charged by the foreign society once.
> If SOCAN members have questions regarding this discussion or any  
> other, I
> truly encourage them to contact the info centre for answers and if you
> don?t receive the detail you need from them, you can ask for me and  
> I will
> gladly field the call personally.  Les, you are entitled to answers as
> well and I would encourage you to contact your PRO(s?) and get them to
> inquire regarding any and all of SOCAN?s collection practices.  Our
> international department is happy to answer these inquiries from  
> foreign
> PROs.
> As for AACO, libraries and the commercial payment debate, in Canada  
> our
> members need to take into account that they will not receive  
> performance
> royalties for commercials.  When you are negotiating your sync fee or
> choosing to sign with a library, make sure that you are happy with the
> fees you are receiving.  As for foreign composers, if your income is  
> that
> reliant on commercial broadcast fees in Canada, I encourage you to
> consider this in your negotiations as well.
>        Les, I understand you have a lot of questions but I?m not  
> able to
> answer all of them (most) on this forum.  I wasn?t expecting  
> (foolishly)
> quite the barrage I received and I just don?t have time (and the reply
> arrows are in your responses so I can't just pick them out of my  
> message
> quickly), as I need to work for my accounts (that's what they pay me  
> for,
> not PR) so I?m going to have to leave some questions unanswered  
> because
> they require research.  Which of course makes them good questions, but
> you?ll have to hit up your PRO for the answers or if they?re  
> specifically
> SOCAN related, go to www.socan.ca.   It wasn?t my intention to set  
> myself
> up as a representative for PROs in general or even of SOCAN and  
> defend our
> policies or procedures.  I just figured if people had some specific
> questions regarding the system or SOCAN I could answer them but it?s
> Communications and Marketing that handle the rest of it.
>
> Cheers,
> -Sean
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