TV/Film Licencing Companies - some advice please!

[Casey H]

Oct 30, 2008, 11:10am, billg wrote:"One problem I've had with some music attorneys is sometimes they try way too hard to over-protect you"Man that's so true. I was in a band in the 80s that had an offer from MCA/CURB and the lawyer we had messed around and jerked the label around so much they finally just told us to get lost.There are some very good ones out there. I think they need to understand both current trends in music licensing and the fact that someone is just starting out and, unless the deal is truly a bad one, most new artists would want to enter the deal (as long as the understand the terms they are signing to). The level of protection that I need, for example, on a music library contract is not the same as a major label contract with an up and coming artist.I had a bad experience... My company had landed a deal for a young singer-songwriter for music to be used in an on-line TV show with possible add-ons- books, CDs, etc. The artist spent at least $500 (guess) having it reviewed by an attorney who ripped the contract to shreds. Most of the attorney's issues were not really major when it came down to whether or not this could help or hurt the artist-- percentages, exact wording, additional clauses in case of nuclear holocaust, etc. I would never have wanted an artist to sign anything that would be bad for their career. After all that haggling, the party that offered the deal withdrew. It wasn't worth the hassle. What pissed me off the most was at the end the attorney said, "well it really wouldn't have hurt him/her had they signed it". Well, wasn't that the freakin' point? A while back, it was mentioned that taxi may have some plans to help with referrals to entertainment attorneys. I'm not sure where that ended up. ML knows that his members need good music attorneys but not ones who tend to just be deal-killers.What you really want from a music attorney when it comes to contracts such as a film/TV library one is:(1) Clearly explain what everything means, what they possibles ups and downs are, etc.(2) Identify high priority items, if any, that absolutely make it worthwhile to politely ask the library for a change, is possible.(3) Identify lower priority things that are"nice to have" and you can choose whether or not to bring them up based on how flexible the library is and how much they mean to you. It's a fine line between being reasonable and annoying.Casey

[davewalton]

Oct 31, 2008, 4:16am, barber wrote:Great advice from all. Thank you.New to this forum...how do i send a personal message to someone on this forum?I'd be interested in knowing more about how the non-exclusive deal and re-titling of a song works?Thanks,Miranda xClick on their name, then on "Send Personal Message" on the page that comes up.

[aimusic]

Oct 31, 2008, 6:46am, davewalton wrote:Oct 31, 2008, 4:16am, barber wrote:Great advice from all. Thank you.New to this forum...how do i send a personal message to someone on this forum?I'd be interested in knowing more about how the non-exclusive deal and re-titling of a song works?Thanks,Miranda xClick on their name, then on "Send Personal Message" on the page that comes up.Or alternatively ask em what their address is an mail em a letter - couldn't get more personal than that....

[spaceeagle]

The deal reads well too me,you have to fill in a form and send it too the IRS in London you will then get an american tax code, the code enabels you to not pay the amican tax side of things unfortunaly you will still have to pay the UK side.The paper work is hell, good luck !!!!

[barber]

Sorry I've been out of the loop for a bit. Recording some new material, some of which will make it onto here in good time. Have had a couple more forwards too in the last week which is lovely.I have to confess i have still not faced the paperwork, but I'm about to.I notice from the last post that i can send the W7 tax form for the relevant US tax number to the IRS in London? Is that true? There is an office here? That would make things alot speedier.My accountant tells me that no matter what I am likely to be taxed in the US despite filling out all these bloody forms! However, that can be weighed up against my tax return here at a later date, so we'll see. Nothing may come of it anyway, but i guess you have to be in it to win it.Thanks again,Toodle pip,M x

[Pinkstar]

Congratulations! That's great news. Oct 30, 2008, 5:11am, davewalton wrote:Hi Miranda,I think that somone like Gitarrero here on the forum can answer all your questions. He's a Swiss citizen living in Switzerland and has music placed in various US television shows. In general I'll throw out my bit of thinking when it comes to these types of things. Unless it's an out-and-out scam or I'm signing my life away, until I have enough credits that I can pass on these things, I try to consider what it might lead to rather than the value of the deal in and of itself. Let's say I'm next in line to get the deal if you pass on this. So in the next couple of months my website would say "Featuring songs on XYZ show on the WB". And your website says... what? "I could have had music on the WB but I decided not to"? That doesn't read well on the old bio. Regarding my credits, no one has ever asked what I got paid or anything about the deals... the credits are what people look at. I see film and TV credits as currency that I can spend later when those credits lead to bigger and better things. That's the way its worked with me at least. Anyway, congratulations on that potential placement. Having the patience and foresight to ask questions like this before committing to any decision, those are qualities that will serve you well in your music career. HTH,DaveWell said Dave! I agree. J