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| ASCAP Launches Bill Of Rights For Songwriters / Composers |
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| posted by Andy Martin on Tuesday April 22 2008 @ 02:19AM PDT |
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This article is of vital & vested interest to all songwriters &
underlines the subject I have been writing about for so long in
the CDbaby & other forums. The new music industry is the
leader in coypright reform & must continue to emphasise the
importance of non-transference of copyright & the term of
copyright away from the music creator etc. My thanks to Eric de
Fontenay.
ASCAP Launches Bill Of Rights For Songwriters / Composers
To remind the public, members of the music industry and U.S.
legislators of the central role and rights of those who conceive
and create music, ASCAP (the American Society of Composers,
Authors and Publishers) today officially launched a 'Bill of Rights
for Songwriters and Composers.'
This awareness-building initiative centers around 10 core
principles, including "We have the right to be compensated for
the use of our creative works, and share in the revenues that
they generate" and "We have the right to license our works and
control the ways in which they are used." (See full text of the Bill
below and at www.ascap.com/rights/billText.aspx)
These rights, all of which are already inherent in the act of music
creation and protected by U.S. copyright law, are increasingly
under threat as competing interests argue over the future of the
business of music - and as growing numbers of individuals
bypass payment altogether to illegally share music online.
"Given the many issues surrounding the music industry today, it
can be all too easy to overlook the source of it all - individual
songwriters, lyricists and composers," said ASCAP President and
Chairman and Academy Award-winning lyricist, Marilyn
Bergman. "That is why ASCAP has launched this Bill of Rights for
Songwriters and Composers. Our goal is to remind lawmakers,
the general public and music creators themselves of the rights
that are inherent in their art. We simply cannot allow the original
source of all music to be lost in the shuffle."
Developed by ASCAP to support and empower all those who
create music, the 'Bill of Rights for Songwriters and Composers'
debuted during ASCAP "I Create Music" Week at the 25th Annual
Pop Music Awards held on April 9 and was also introduced to
attendees of the third annual ASCAP "I Create Music" EXPO (April
10-12). In just a few days, more than 500 signatures were
collected including: Lionel Richie, Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, Justin
Timberlake, Desmond Child, Jackson Browne, Steve Miller,
Marilyn Bergman, Alan Bergman, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller,
Chamillionaire, Keri Hilson, Johnta Austin and John Rzeznik.
These 500-plus signatures served as the kick-off to a
grassroots campaign that, over the next few months, will collect
signatures and support from both established and aspiring
songwriters, lyricists and composers from all genres of musical
compositions. Those who wish to add their support to the Bill
can sign it electronically at:
www.ascap.com/rights
As part of this initiative, ASCAP also wrote a perspective piece on
the relevance and importance of music copyright protection,
titled "Music Copyright in the Digital Age: A Position Paper"
which may be viewed and downloaded from
www.ascap.com/rights/billText.aspx
"The signatures that we collect on this Bill of Rights for
Songwriters and Composers will be shared with key legislators
in Washington, as well as numerous other leaders both inside
and outside the music industry," said ASCAP CEO John A.
LoFrumento. "Now is the time to ensure that everyone who has a
stake in determining the future of music, both as an art and as
an industry, recognizes the importance of protecting creators'
rights."
Please read the full articles here at:
http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=109009
http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=109044
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too bad Ascap doesn't spend their time actually tracking plays of our music using the latest technology. if you happen to get a song that gets a lot of play and or a tv score you have to do all of the leg work if you are not a major artist to get fair compensation from ASScap, although they will collect there share \. they sound like they are doing the right thing but I have my doubts
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Yes, BMI is the same creature. Both ASCAP and BMI protcect their big players while the rest of us are left with a lot of work for a little bit of money. I too believe they have good intentions, but take a look at their operating costs and where the money they collect gets distributed.
Furthermore, the whole Sound Exchange vs. Live 365 thing is it's own monster. Again, I don't care who is on what side, but another red flag is Live 365's "SAMPLE REPORTING" technique. This is where they don't actually report how many plays an artist receives, rather a "SAMPLE" of what the station plays during a given period. Sound Exchange then pays based on that "SAMPLE".
With the technology out there today, there should be nothing less than "ACTUAL REPORTING". How hard can that be in today's digital world? Really, please.
I'm not an expert, or a bitter songwriter, or out to change the world, but I have been in the business a while and the level of questionable practices seems to be a lot higher now than ever before. It's okay to question something that is not right, something the general public ought to do more often.
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I think the principles behind their "Bill Of Rights" are pretty good and solid. The key is in knowing how to best apply those principles in the every day marketplace. Meanwhile artists, composers, and songwriters need work hard on all sides to defend their own interests and rights.
For one thing, I offer my clients the option to also pay me directly for any performance rights. Here's how I word it on my music business website:
"Performance rights may also be licensed directly for an additional price negotiated on a per-program (or period) basis and will be included "in writing" in our contract."
You can check it out in context from this link:
http://www.michaelborges.com/products.html
This is just to illustrate how I'm marketing most of my own music catalog. Currently I don't have any songs registered with any of the PROs, but I know at least one of my non-exclusive co-publishers has with ASCAP for certain kinds of licensing deals we've done.
Frankly, normally I would prefer to get my performance royalties paid "up front" along with the rest of any sync, mechanical or other kind of license. That way I get paid right away and don't have to wait 6 - 12 months to get collect plus I can afford to give my customers a little extra discount as well. Let's see, maybe around 12%? ;)
Cheers,
Michael
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First off I am not a fan of ASCAP, BMI and SEACAP (or whatever). They have no intention of helping the non-major artist. They give a lot of lip service but no real action. The other thing that gets my panties in a bunch is the way they treat small mom-pop shops. There should be a way to allow very small shops and I do mean small venues to have open mics or whatever on a different fee schedule. Most of these business's would rather not have any music than pay the 1000 bucks a year which hurts US the musicians/songwriters . The problem with the fee schedule with ASCAP is they do it by the size of the venue. So if one of the ASCAP guys come out to see a venue and they believe it can fit a 100 or 150 people that is what they charge the venue. When in fact that venue would be lucky to get 30 to 40 people in it for one entire evening. So I could care less about ASCAP and what they say they are doing for us artist. They have gotten to big and to greedy to see past their own noses.
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