[Fmpro] Sean & SOCAN Bits

[David Tkaczuk]

Thanks very much Sean for your input.

The people on this board have raised some very legitimate
concerns (there are many !) and you have clarified the situation,
at least for me.

All the best
Dave
D&D Music


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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