Re: film music rights,icensing etc.(OT).

[Sheila Olson <onelonecrow@earthlink.net>]

Thank you for the insightful comments Zoe.

             joe cavleri
On Tuesday, February 12, 2008, at 01:57 PM, info at zoekeating wrote:

> Hi Luis,
>
> I deal with these sort of requests at least once a week, in addition  
> to never ending requests from theater and dance companies. Here are a  
> few things to consider...and I don't know your exact situation so they  
> might not all apply...
>
> TIME
> First of all, no matter how simple a license, the time you spend  
> thinking about it, emailing, negotiating, and drafting up  
> documents...that is your valuable time lost. If you give your music to  
> someone for free, it's like *you* are paying *them*. This might be  
> hard for them to grasp, but imagine if you were to get requests like  
> this almost every day then you'd be spending all your time doing this.  
> Sometimes a well-organized production company  sends you a nicely  
> spelled out license where all you have to do is add a few bits and  
> send it back. But often, it is left to the composer or their  
> representative to draft a license, and this takes time.
>
> PUBLICITY
> In my experience, very few films make it past the festival stage, or  
> even into any major festivals. Even when they do, the creator of the  
> underscore music is not usually feted (other than by other  
> musicians!). Yes, it is great for your resume and if you want to grow  
> your list of credits, but I find that directors and producers highly  
> overestimate the amount of publicity a composer will get for  
> contributing music. Composing the entire score is entirely  
> different....
>
> BUDGET
> The budget is always tight. I've worked on some Hollywood films, and  
> even they claim the budget is very tight. No one wants to pay anyone  
> if they can help it but would they not pay their crew? What about  
> their lawyers? Music should be, and is, budgeted for in the production  
> costs, just like any other service...unless they are clueless amateurs  
> (in which case you should educate them).
>
> The equation to keep in mind is: your music in exchange for X.
> X = publicity, or money, or resume building, or a combination of the  
> three.
> So think about what X is for you.
>
> There are cases where it really is worth it to give someone music for  
> social, or creative, or you really love someone's movie, and in those  
> situations you feel good about giving your music away. Just examine  
> your motives and make sure that you're not giving someone your music  
> because you are flattered, or it makes you feel validated.
>
> CONTRACT
> A simple approach is to offer your music for a limited term festival  
> synchronization and master license for a small "honorarium". The  
> license allows them to use your music music in their film for 1 year  
> (or sometimes 2 years). Pricewise, a label like Nonesuch might quote  
> $500 per track for a 1 year festival license for a well-known artist,  
> and then the publisher of the song might also quote $500...for a total  
> of $1000. If you are both the publisher and the record label, you can  
> be "nice" and offer a 1 year master/sync combined for say $400 ($200  
> sync + $200 master). That is my low floor. You can write up the  
> contract to be automatically renewable, so they pay you every year.
>
> What comes after a festival license is more complicated...a buy out?  
> Royalties per DVD? In my experience, very few films make it past the  
> festival stage, although every director thinks theirs will! I've had  
> it written up in the festival licenses that a second "option" will be  
> exercised if the film is bought, or it goes to dvd, etc. Sometimes  
> that 2nd option is spelled out in excruciating detail, and sometimes  
> it is just stated that a good faith negotiation will occur.
>
> COPYRIGHTS
> Make sure in any license that you are designated owner of all  
> copyrights and state your affilation (ASCAP, BMI, etc). Specify in the  
> contract how and where you should be credited. I didn't specify this  
> when I started out and was amazed at several films, who said it would  
> be great "publicity", then didn't credit me at all....so no one knew  
> it was me!
>
>
> I work with an entertainment lawyer based in Portland named Peter  
> Shaver. He is very reasonable, friendly, an all around cool dude, and  
> specializes in working with bands on these issues. When I have  
> something that comes up, I just write to Peter and he can vet a legal  
> document or create a new one in a matter of hours.  His email is  
> pvshaver  (at)  hotmail.com
>
> Hope that helps. It's in all our interests that this stuff not be  
> mysterious!
>
> celloly, Zoe
>
>
>
> On Feb 12, 2008, at 7:10 AM, L.A. Angulo wrote:
>
>> Hi gang,
>> I got t a call today from a fellow film producer in
>> England that would like to use a song from one of my
>> CDs as a sound track he heard in Itunes for a film
>> currently being produced in Havana Cuba.
>> This particular track is an old remake of mine of a
>> very old tune whos publisher is registered and being
>> sold at CD baby.According to him this is his first
>> production and is being filmed by a cuban crew with
>> him as a producer and the film is being sponsored from
>> different independent sources and the budget is very
>> tight,so he asked me if it would be ok to use it
>> without financial ties or agreements on my part,once
>> the publisher agrees for them to use it.The film also
>> will be sent with high hopes to all of the film
>> festivals like in europe and around the world.
>> Ive never done anything like this and so i thought id
>> ask this list,because he wants to send me a contract
>> form for me to sign, is there anything i should be
>> aware of before doing this,and are there rearrangemet
>> royalties or CD percentage fees or anything like that
>> even when youz are not the author of the song?or would
>> it be wise to let him use it which will perhaps
>> increase CD sales for us?
>> thanx!
>> cheers
>> Luis
>>
>> www.myspace.com/luisangulocom
>>
>>
>>        
>> ______________________________________________________________________ 
>> ______________
>> Never miss a thing.  Make Yahoo your home page.
>> http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
>>
>