ASCAP COMPOSER BILL OF RIGHTS

[Chris Alpiar]

Hey all! As some may know, ASCAP recently has created a petition for all its members and non members alike to sign. It is a good list of general rights we deserve as content creators. The bill of rights is however aimed at content creators vs. the world and does not cover many issues that composers face on issues between us and ASCAP.

Personally I suggest supporting the ASCAP bill of rights, it is some really good stuff! At the same time I want to suggest that in this time of creating rights for composers via petition, that we do the same for issues between us and ASCAP.

Mark Northam of the Film Music Magazine FMPRO Email discussion list has offered an excellent start at what the ASCAP COMPOSER BILL OF RIGHTS should contain! We are opening all these points up for discussion and would like input on any of them, suggestions on how to make them stronger, and other points you feel should be included.

When we have drilled down to what our bill of rights should include we will put it to a vote, issue by issue. When we have collectively agreed on these issues I will create a web petition for people to sign digitally and send to ASCAP.

I think its a really important step towards reclaiming some semblance of a reasonable existence in this day and age, I hope you agree and contribute here. Please make note of which points specifically when you reply so we can try and keep it at least a teeny bit organized.

ASCAP COMPOSER BILL OF RIGHTS
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1. The right to be paid for all performances of your music on radio and TV using the latest technology




2. The right to a response from ASCAP member services reps for all questions regarding ASCAP royalties




3. The right to address the Board of Directors in person for a limited time at each Board meeting




4. The right to know how ASCAP is spending our money - full disclosure by ASCAP for multi-million dollar decisions involving member dollars, such as IMJV, MediaGuide, etc and any other matters other than salaries.




5. The right to see the at-source amount that a foreign PRO paid ASCAP before ASCAP takes it's "deductions"




6. The right for independent candidates to take part in the ASCAP election process by petition with a reasonable signature requirement, enacted in time to collect signatures for the next elections in January, 2009.




7. The right to know when and if our board members show up for board meetings (ie, the attendance records)




8. The right to know the voting records of our board members on issues of importance to us




10. The right for background instrumental music to have an equal opportunity for feature performance pay as a background vocal has based on a fair and impartial decision as to the importance of the music to the particular scene




11. The right to negotiate a larger than 50% split for writers (like they currently have in several other countries)




12. The right, like publishers have, to belong to more than one US society so we can split our catalog among the society that pays it the best. This right is also enjoyed by every non-US writer, but is denied to US writers.




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[Ed Baker]

Hey Brian, I'm behind in my FMPRO emails. I didn't realize you were so ill. Welcome back! I'm glad to see you are doing better and part of the conversation again. Take care. Ed

[Chris Alpiar]

Just that ASCAP will show no interest, sorry I should have been more clear. I think in time they will show tremendous interest, its up to you and I to make them!

I also disagree with the general sentiment of "see, no one cares" because that in itself is a cop-out. Instead of agreeing that nobody will care and let it go at that, you sir, have an amazing opportunity to lead by example and post here about this bill of rights, the language, points that should take precedence over others, points that should be left out and why instead of contributing to its non-success by declaring it an impossibility, even from our side of the fence

Take the bull by the horns, you get the left one and ill get the right and we can take this torro out ;-)

No change will ever come from negativity, absolutely
Some change might come from positivity, maybe

I choose the latter over dying a slow death of living in my comfort zone not trying to change what is so obviously wrong

[Ed Baker]

Chris, just so you know. I've been involved with movement for about 8 years now. I was part of and helped run the MCO. We were a composers group on the east coast (based in NYC). We worked very closely with Mark Northam and his group on the west coast (Les Hurdle, Mark Holden, etc...). I've questioned Mr. LoFromento personally about ASCAP and it's surveys vs watermarking, etc... I've sent in my letters when the FMPRO tried things like you are trying with your bill of rights. I've tried numerous things in NYC to get composers and other groups (like Local 802, the musicians local in NYC) together to work towards bettering the situation at ASCAP concerning composers. I've been involved for a number of years now. Not as long as Les Hurdle, Vic Flick, Holden, Brian Lee Corber, etc... but I know all these people and have worked with them concerning the problems at ASCAP. So please don't take my tone as being negative. My sentiment of "no one cares" is because most people did not care. That is why ASCAP has been successful in changing the rules to nominate people for the Executive Board. I'm not as active on the FMPRO list serve because I don't have the time these days. One of these days I hope to get more involved again. So I've had the bull buy the horns, banged heads with ASCAP over the issues being discussed. I was one of the 4 people who mailed ASCAP a letter when the FMPRO asked composers to "flood" ASCAP with letters about all the issues you talk about. After the letter writing campaign one of the composers on the FMPRO asked Mr. LoFromento how many letters arrived and he was told 4! I would love to vault over the walls of ASCAP and right the wrongs but I am also aware of the realities of the situation. I'm not being negative. It's like Brian says - one needs a definite plan. Your bill of rights is a wonderful start. How many composers have replied in support. More importantly how many composers will be there when you need more than just a signature. Been there done it and there was always just a couple of us left to do the heavy lifting. Some people have paid a heavy price for taking a strong stand and being involved. I got off easy. I only had an ASCAP VP call me up one night at home. Let's just say he was unhappy with me. So please understand, I am not being negative. Want to change what is obviously wrong? Excellent!! I'm with you brother. The bill of rights is a nice starting point. And then?

[Chris Alpiar]

I am smiling greatly at this moment as I am very glad to hear that. Well I don't know a lot of folks yet and who did what and when in the past so please forgive me if I havent paid the proper respect. I just simply saw this post asking for suggestions on this bill of rights as posted and find this thread pretty derailed and more about cynical responses as to how the situation sucks and people suck for not bothering than being about the issues themselves.

I ask you to have some faith that some of us are preparing some new posibilities that you will all be included on very soon. And we may have found a new way to move forward. I think so and I am really excited about it

I am almost done sorting out up from down and while I still have lots and lots to learn about the people involved and the issues, I think I've got some nice ways to take this bill of rights and actualize it along with a bunch of other stuff. I really cant talk about it yet, but this group and FMPRO group will be the absolute first to check it out and respond :)

[Chris Merritt]

Hi Brian - I didn't realize that you had an actual brush with death! It's good to know you are better, or at least on the way to recovery. I agree that it's not worth it to join in on conversations that will just stress you out more. But you're welcome here!

There is a group of us here that are looking for ways to improve things for composers. It's really that simple - we just want things to be better. If you have some good ideas on how to make things better, please share! It always helps to have specific suggestions in addition to broad descriptions of a problem.

We would love to here some specific suggestions from you. But like you'll find everywhere, some people will disagree.

We would like to take action instead of talk as well. So help us out with some ideas on specific things to do!

But don't let it be at the expense of your health!

Chris M.

[Chris Merritt]

Then there is probably no place for you in these discussions. I can understand you wanting to be paid for your services, so go relax on a beach somewhere and we'll call you when we are ready to pay for your services.

[Chris Alpiar]

Mark Northam wrote this bill of rights as posted here actually, I am surprised you disapprove so vehemently.

[phil Kelly]

Chris:

I don't know if the stuff I'm going to cite is pertinent to this discussion or not but as I recall, I agreed to be on this commitee early on, so I'll toss it in anyway.

1. Someone said somewhere in this discussion the point is to make our points to "the people" .( whomever thay may be )

The "people" really couldn't care less -they think it's their right to download music without any payments to the creators, they really have little or no knowledge of composers and musicians nor desire to do so. They only care about the "star" ( Flavor of the moment )

2. Due to the development of cheaper ( and better ) electronic gear ,it's possible for anyone to spend a few thou and have the potential of creating professional sounding product. ( The talent and experience necessary to do so is problematic at best ) Hence, we have many more "composers" out there trying to get what work is available -creating a great imbalance -a "buyers market" for producers ( some of whom are well known to equate music in a film an expense similar to however many honeywagons are needed on the set ) This creates a situation where composers are literally GIVING scores away just to get over. They're giving up ALL their rights, signing work -for-hire agreements without knowing what they;ve done, and in general making the action of trying to get anyone behind the "bill of rights" at best, a dicey proposition.

3. Some producer /directors are great to work for, have excellent musical instincts , and are quite effective at communicating with their composers ..and then, there's the other 75-80%:

who dont care, have no taste, and are basic lizards who see the music guy as the aforementioned porta potty, and will deliberately take advantage of the work to potential "composers " ratio in their favor.

I'm not saying what you 're trying to accomplish is not a grand idea, but it is incumbent upon you all to understand the reality of the mountain you're fixin' to climb in this situation.

Ask Les Hurdle, both Marks ,and Brian about the veracity of my remarks.

BTW: Brian, I do hope you're getting better.Having suffered an accident that put me out of commision for the past several
months myself, I understand how getting ones self together can be a huge chore.


Phil Kelly
www.philkellymusic.com
NW Prevailing Winds
SW Santa Ana Winds
Origin Records

[Chris Alpiar]

Let me explain how this works so you understand a little bit Brian,

The site composersforum.ning.com is not built by us. ning.com is a site that lets people make their own themed network for free. We do not control many aspects of how the site works or is laid out. Chris Merritt created it and I and a few other folks administrate it. That means we use the rules that Chris M. created as to what a peer forum should entail, namely no spamming other people's pages and blogs with ads (like myspace has become) and no being exceptionally rude to anyone, and zero tolerance for posting materials you do not own. So this forum is moderated by me and others to make sure that the quality of life for our members is kept at a level that makes this forum a good place to go to fraternize.

As for this thread, neither of us has done any moderating at all. There may be limitations with the ning.com software that allows only so many levels of replies, I do not know. However, If we wanted to moderate you why wouldn't I just delete all the silly comments you have made and just ban your account? it would be so much easier than any disallowing of further replies since I really enjoy and respect all the other posts/members

Thanks for posting ridiculous accusations trying to enflame our relation and that of the community here. Good luck finding clients with that wonderful attitude

[Ed Baker]

Good points Brian! Chris, Brian has been involved with composer's rights for a long time. Not only is he a wealth of information on composer's rights, ASCAP, etc... he is also a big fan of film composers with a wealth of knowledge on that end too. I think it's great that you are getting involved. I don't know if you realize what you are getting into and how deep these issues go but try to listen to what Corber, Hurdle, Holden, Northam, and the others say. Ask alot of questions, pick the brains of these folks, and most of all try not to have preconceived notions of how things work. Most of the time you will be wrong. I learned that when I first got involved. Check out Brian's post. How come no one has responded in any way? No one cares or does everyone think they have the answer? This would be one place to start digging for real information.

[Terry Michael Huud]

Listen to Brian. Be glad for Brian. Wish real HARD that there were MORE of Brian. Wake up composers. Smell the roses. [You know I always thought that if i voted for working composers to get into the head positions at ASCAP things would change] Wow- I was wrong. Now I'm never sure HOW to vote or if it even helps. I just naivly figured that the working composer would get into a good political position within ASCAP and sympathize with the rest of us and look after/vote according to helping us all. I do know things can change and for the better if we all just tried.

It took me YEARS just to get my royalty checks to come in from ASCAP but after LOTS of work and taking a proactive stance I was able to get things moving. So being proactive is the key.

[Terry Michael Huud]

Sounds very intriquing. I'd love to be kept in the loop. Marks also very progressive and has great ideas so the topics definitely in good hands. Maybe you/he can elaborate at an FMN meeting in the future.

Cheers,

-Terry Michael Huud
NEW site:
www.Music4TheMovies.com
www.MySpace.com/terryhuud
www.imdb.com/name/nm0404698/