Moved from "Royalty Check"...

[johnodd]

Matto, you saidDefine "placements"...are you talking about tv...film...cuts on records...radio airplay?E.g. for TV nothing beats US broadcast network television due to the huge number of affiliates. On the other hand just about any place else beats the US for movie performance royalties, since you get nothing for US theatrical performances...matto ..... All of my placements are on cable TV, not network, so would US cable generally pay more than UK?It's mostly instrumental, and since there is a big divide in the USA between instrumental background and other useages like theme music, background vocal etc.... and in the UK everything pays the same.I'm looking to take a trip to the UK in the next year to bang on some doors and try to get some placements. Plus the pound is gaining against the dollar, ya know. Have a good day. John

[53mph]

Hi John,I don't know how this conversation started. It's usually best to reply to the thread that you were in to begin with otherwise folk like me won't have a clue what it is you're talking about.On the subject of perfomance rights on UK TV and cable I might be able to help.The payments vary wildly. If you get something played on national TV then your pockets will be lined with gold but the cable channels have a scale of payments based on the viewing figures of the programmes, channel, etc... and payments in the UK all come through one orgnaisation which will send all the information to the payment agencies in the US. Keep in mind that they DO NOT screen every programme that is aired and pay for every piece of music used. For National TV and radio they pay for everything. For Cable and regional radio they will screen a percentage of the programmes aired and make payements based on that screening. Technically they should use the playlists that the stations supply they with, but I can tell you from experience, I had to carefully chart the progress of my music and supply them with any evidence of airplay so that I could get paid.I had some music played on Sky Sports. It was on Sky Sports 2 though so the payment was lower than on Sky Sports 1. (around £500 per play for a 5 minute song that I held 100% copyright of). The organisation that controls this information in the UK is called the PRS (The Performing Rights Society) and they can probably help you out with more info on payment scales.You'll need to drill them with specific information such as what cable network, what channel, do they sceen it often? etc.. Technically it's a member only organisation but they might be willing to help if you drop them an email.

[johnodd]

Hey 53, Thanks for the info. Most (all) of my placements so far have been on cable shows. I might have a placement on a network sports event this weekend, but does the UK pay more than cable programming in the USA? I know there are many different variables, but i want to know if the UK market is worth the hassle of getting a day job, saving some $, quitting the day job then flying to Europe for 2 weeks to meet with music supervisors over there.Keep rockin!

[matto]

Quote: Hey 53, Thanks for the info. Most (all) of my placements so far have been on cable shows. I might have a placement on a network sports event this weekend, but does the UK pay more than cable programming in the USA? I know there are many different variables, but i want to know if the UK market is worth the hassle of getting a day job, saving some $, quitting the day job then flying to Europe for 2 weeks to meet with music supervisors over there.Keep rockin!Imo the problem is that it's a lot harder to keep track of placements overseas than it is within the country where you live. The situation 53 describes implies that PRS pays TV by census, so if they miss your plays you have no way of knowing and correcting that. If you lived over there you could record all the shows you know you have music on and check to make sure you get paid. At least Ascap and Bmi pay by the cue sheet (for most film and TV), plus it's easier to record domestic shows and check them to make sure you get paid properly.I know cable TV background rates can be apallingly low, at least on some channels...plus the really bizarre thing is how much they vary from cable network to cable network...I guess in my book it would be easier to try to get your music on US broadcast TV than to travel to the UK and try to do it over there, considering how hard it will be for you to track it over there. But I'm sure you have your reasons.

[johnodd]

Hey there, Thanks for the info!! Its great that we can talk about issues like music placement, im glad i found this board. Have a great weekend!!

[matto]

Glad if any of this is helpful. That's what we're here for.You might find this post helpful (5th from the top):http://taxi.proboards27.com/index.cgi?b ... 5&page=2It contains some specifics, although nothing about the UK .matto