Question about film/tv licensing deal

[adrianne76]

Hmm. That seems strange, Zircon. And perhaps worthy of a new discussion thread. If the majority of the $$ is made on the performance royalties, this is a huge bummer. Why would it depend on the company? Doesn't ASCAP work completely separate?

[Casey H]

Hi Zircon... I'm also curious about why this happened with your placements. I have to assume you've contacted the libraries, ASCAP, etc...It comes down to whether proper registrations were done with ASCAP and cue sheets were filled out properly by the TV folks. It's in the best interest of the library to get the registrations right and check on cue sheets because they get paid the same way (if they share in performance royalties as most do). But lots of screw-ups are possible in the process. When you look at your ASCAP songwriter registrations, do these show up either as original or re-title?Casey

[zircon]

The libraries claim they have not heard anything from ASCAP either. I haven't contacted ASCAP, but I think obviously if the library hasn't heard anything, and I haven't, then ASCAP hasn't collected on our behalf. All my registrations are fine, too.I'm not saying ASCAP would work differently on a library-by-library basis, just that the clientele for any given library might not lend itself to ASCAP royalties. For example, getting a song placed in a video game = 0 royalties. Feature film = 0 royalties. Corporate video = 0 royalties. Small cable TV outfits = most likely 0 royalties.As you might imagine, I make 0% of my money from performance royalties. However, buyout fees and sync fees have been quite lucrative for me, so I'm not complaining at all. Just pointing out that 75% of nothing is still nothing.

[neuphoria]

hey zirconif u know the shows that used your stuff, google them & see when/where/if they've aired, and then send the info to your library or even send info to ASCAP.unfortunately you have to be very proactive and keep on top of the PRS. and even when you are it can take time-- i'm with SOCAN/ASCAP, but had uses show up in BMI but not ASCAP; i've provided proof that my tracks were used on a major network show (thanks youtube) and had SOCAN going after ASCAP (nearing 3 years w/o royalties on that one); a whole season of a series which used many of my tracks just never showed up w/ASCAP, etc. and these are uses i'm aware of (i.e. show, airdate, network); unfortunately could be many more i'm missing... on the other hand, i just got royalties from slovakia, romania, malaysia, argentina & scandanavia, in additon to the UK,US etc. so you never know!

[Casey H]

Feb 17, 2009, 1:23pm, zircon wrote:The libraries claim they have not heard anything from ASCAP either. I haven't contacted ASCAP, but I think obviously if the library hasn't heard anything, and I haven't, then ASCAP hasn't collected on our behalf. All my registrations are fine, too.I'm not saying ASCAP would work differently on a library-by-library basis, just that the clientele for any given library might not lend itself to ASCAP royalties. For example, getting a song placed in a video game = 0 royalties. Feature film = 0 royalties. Corporate video = 0 royalties. Small cable TV outfits = most likely 0 royalties.As you might imagine, I make 0% of my money from performance royalties. However, buyout fees and sync fees have been quite lucrative for me, so I'm not complaining at all. Just pointing out that 75% of nothing is still nothing.Yes, there are many types of placements that pay little or no performance royalties... It's hard to predict what placements a library will land for you. The good new is, as Zircon alluded to, license fees are often bigger for those venues. Otherwise the libraries would not make enough money on these deals to pay the rent. License fees for TV have gone down a lot the past few years with so much good music available so easily. Some TV networks pay no license fees at all. Then it's all back end. It seems there is an inverse relationship (most of the time) between the two revenue streams.Zirc, I do recall reading that you've made a lot of money with your music... That's great! Money is money whether it's upfront or back end... Casey

[matto]

Feb 17, 2009, 1:23pm, zircon wrote:Feature film = 0 royalties.Actually that's not true, the only part you don't get paid for with feature films is domestic theatrical performances (i.e. US movie theatres).You do get paid for foreign theatrical performances and US and foreign TV broadcast of the movie (including HBO, Cinemax etc).The ASCAP/BMI royalties on a feature film can be quite substantial, particularly if it's a blockbuster movie. It usually takes at least a year or year and a half for the royalties to start rolling in though.