A Trip In L.A.
[ No. 16 - February 1998 ]
|
|
"Los Angeles...he walks again by night." - The Firesign Theatre
In a pink meeting room in North Hollywood, the FezGuys sit on the
floor in front of members of the Society of Composers and Lyricists
(SCL), providing balance. Balance to the relaxed and informal chat
of a highly-placed record company executive. Balance to a dense
monologue by the director of legal affairs for a huge publishing
rights organization. Balance to the confidant amiability of a
senior lawyer in music publishing. Balance to the men who stand
while they speak. We sit because everybody else is sitting.
In the past, we FezGuys have focused on addressing the concerns of
independent musicians in the popular music world. It's evident
that in our emerging online world, composers for TV and movies are
applying the sometimes awkward lessons learned by pop music groups
and their labels. But the environment is different from that of a
band. The members of the SCL don't necessarily need the services
of a record label. They're well-versed in the art of being
independent contractors. When members negotiate a contract it's
not necessary to start with an explanation of the usefulness of the
Web. They know. They have email addresses and Web access. Most
have websites. Most of the members own the publishing rights to
most of their music. They're established artists within an
industry that's ready to acknowledge the value of the Internet.
And they benefit from the work of large publishing rights
organizations that clear the path to online commerce. It's an
exciting time for this group. This column is about and for these
people, but the information is relevant to all.
Music for movies and television represents 20% to 40% of total
publishing revenue (depending on who you ask). These composers
were gathered in front of us and other speakers to learn more about
the opportunities the Internet provides. Some wanted to know how
their rights are being protected. Others simply wanted to be
better informed about payment through online distribution.
Everybody wanted to know how to get more work.
Providing music for television and movies is a highly evolved and
very competitive market. Composers are, more often than not,
offered contracts that do not include any rights to publishing.
It's a one-time fee, take it or leave it. Many composers take it
but they're not happy about the status quo. How can this unique
community of established musicians benefit from the Internet?
Roger Bellon composes music for the "Highlander" television show.
He hired a webmaster to create a comprehensive website about
himself and his work, therefore marketing and retailing in one
succinct package. He owns and manages his own publishing. An
associate supervises manufacturing and distribution. People
surfing for info about the "Highlander" series are directed to his
site by search engines. In a text statement at his site, Mr.
Bellon offers that taping the music from a television broadcast may
be "free" but the sound is inferior to a CD of the material
available by mail-order. He has sold somewhere in the neighborhood
of ten thousand albums and, due to thousands of requests, has just
released a follow-up second volume.
A word about piracy paranoia here. Many independent musicians know
from experience that unauthorized distribution can actually assist
in the marketing of their product. This free, word-of-mouth
advertising always leads new fans back to you, the source. People
who like your music want your music. If you provide access to your
material, listeners will buy it from you. Be easy to find and
simple to deal with. The rule of thumb concerning the protection
of intellectual property rights is: protect yourself from copyright
infringment by being the most accessable example your musical
catalog. That way fans will think of you first. Not only because
your music sounds better (on your carefully-crafted CD), but also
because they want to support you. Your fans really do! Give your
listeners that chance. For those rare situations where a
fan-gone-greedy decides to reap profits from your material without
permission, feel free to confront them, and expose them to the real
fans. Never underestimate the effectiveness of peer pressure
within a community to straighten people out. It's simpler than
getting the law involved. New technologies in development (such as
watermarking) make it even easy to track down those who take
revenue from you.
Back to Mr. Bellon... His site has a variety of soundclips. These
samples are delivered using HTTP buffering so as to avoid lofty
streaming server costs (which might result in driving the price up
for CDs available from the site). There is biographical
information and lots of interesting tidbits about his work on the
show, all delivered in a distinctly non-corporate setting. Cue
sheets and relevant links are included. Mr. Bellon invites email,
he clearly wants to know who his fans are. The CDs (cassettes are
available too) are offered at $13.98US and he doesn't accept credit
cards.
Mr. Bellon has taken the responsibility for his career beyond just
writing the music. In return for his efforts he gets the
satisfaction of running the show, the flexibility of making his own
decisions and (happily) more money.
Alf Clausen composes and arranges the music for "The Simpsons", an
animated television series. He has a smart-looking website that
features a complete discography and credits list. He doesn't sell
any physical product from the site but merely scanning the list
will likely direct fans to other material which, if he is the
copyright holder, will benefit him through increased retail sales
in the traditional way. Where else can a rabid fan find out that
Mr. Clausen orchestrated music for the movie "The Beastmaster"?
The site is an excellent resource for people who appreciate his
work.
Jay Chattaway, the composer for the television series "Star Trek:
The Next Generation", related the story of an unauthorized posting
of a complete song from the show that received over two million
hits. Though obviously illegal, the posting prompted his
publishers to actually print sheet music for the piece. The
Internet made it rather obvious there was a market for this
material. Mr. Chattaway's and his publishers revenue is thereby
increased.
The point is made again: be the loudest voice of your song. Fans
prefer to get the music from you. They will pay you money to do
this. The Internet makes the exchange pretty straightforward. To
give an example of how detailed and precise your listeners can be,
observe the response below to a casual question, posted on an
informal newsgroup, requesting information about the
above-mentioned piece of music:
On 15 November Paul D. requested a post of Picard's flute song. The title
you are looking for is "Star Trek -- The Inner Light" Composer: Jay
Chattaway. Copyright 1995 Addax Music Co., Inc. Exclusive distributer of
sheet music: Hal Leonard Corporation 7777 W. Bluemound Rd., P.O. Box 13819,
Milwaukee, WI 53213. Catalogue number HL00294018. UPC Code for Piano
solo version: 73999 94018. Suggested retail US$3.95
That's pretty specific, isn't it? One could imagine a hefty fee
charged by a data collection agency to provide a level of
information that deep.
During the course of the panel discussion it was learned that
publishing rights organizations intend to audit ISPs like
Compuserve with the same fervor usually reserved for major labels.
But the intention seems not to be about clamping down on the
transfer of music. It appears the attitude "if you can't beat 'em
- join 'em" has caused the giant rights organizations to request a
dialog with webmasters about how a solution can be realized that is
fair to all. We've been harsh critics of these self-described
"collection societies" in the past and it's gratifying to hear them
(at least) say they don't want to squash growth. The publishing
organizations are willing to listen to the rank and file (that's
us!) about Internet use and abuse. These organizations recognize
that only by having the "willing cooperation" of webmasters using a
"non-proprietary method" of tracking music can any kind of standard
for online audio commerce be successful.
One practical way to make your voice heard is to negotiate your
contracts with an eye to Internet distribution and promotion. It's
interesting to note that mechanical royalties are currently set by
the U.S. government at 6.95 cents per song. Synchronization rates
(the price paid when setting a piece of music to a visual medium),
however, are not set by congress. This gives you the ability to
negotiate on a case-by-case basis. This ability opens the door to
active participation that stimulates the growth of online
distribution. Negotiate higher rates for those with more money,
but consider offering a cut rate to those nervous about online
use. Better you get the business (from which to grow) than a
friend who "has a keyboard." Ask to retain your rights to the
distribution of your music on the Internet. Hell, demand (or
merely insist) your right to distribute and promote on the Web.
When your opposite number flatly refuses, offer a comprimise. By
now you have made your point. You are influencing the policies of
the policy makers. You make a difference.
ASCAP currently defines every transmission of copyrighted music on
the Internet as a "public performance." This definition feels
overly broad. Are listening booths at Tower Records a "public
performance?" Will a musician have the right to stream an audio
performance of their own music? What happens if the musician
includes a cover song in their set? When everyone on the Internet
can potentially be a broadcaster is everyone expected to have a
license for every single transfer of an audio file? How much power
should an independent agency have over artistic output? We're all
looking for an ethical and universally-accepted standard. It will
take the willing cooperation of webmasters, writers and publishers
to find a solution that makes sense to all. Unenforcable laws clog
the already constipated judicial system and restrict artistic
freedom. You have the power to influence these decisions. Taking
the responsibility to choose a method of marketing and distributing
your music on the Internet is your vote.
To the FezGuys: When I have a Windows .wav file ready to go, how do I get
it onto my www page as a .wav file, not real audio? Thanks a million, Steve
Dear Steve,
We encourage you to convert that behemoth into a svelte
(though perhaps not as high quality) compressed audio file suitable for
streaming to people over modems. Yes, we're talking about RealAudio
or MPEG3. However, we're here to help, so if you truly wish
to make that WAV file available, it's as simple as uploading the file
to your web site (probably through FTP-- make sure you transfer in raw data
mode!) and then simply link it in as you would any other item:
<A HREF="file.wav">My Wave File</A>.
You might consider down-sampling it beforehand (perhaps to 11kHz 8bit mono)
to make it a little quicker to download. We refer you to columns
#3 (Jan '97) and #4 (Feb '97)
entitled "Placing Your Song on the Web." They, like all our columns,
are available at our web site
<www.fezguys.com>.
-The FezGuys
May the Fez be with you!
We jump up and down when you get involved in the online community. Visit
us at: <www.fezguys.com>.
