You wander what those thugs TAKE is?
I bet it's 50%...Then the organizations (pun intended) gets their TAKE...10% maybe to the people that should get it!

? does nursing homes count?

Lee S.

This started in clubs I played in Long Island NY 20 years ago!! They came in jotted down the songs I played (did not know they were there) talked to the owner, he paid, put their label on the door (ASCAP)and that was that. Do not remember what it cost.

[This message has been edited by JCkeeys (edited 02-20-2009).]

Yeah Legends didn't either but they got a big fish in Neil Diamond and became "relevant" again and since they had to recoup for THEMSELVES, paying him a fat sum up front, they were very aggressive, Caught a few people by surprise. but after doing some research at the time and checking their rates they were reasonable.

Very successful Writers get very nice checks quarterly from these organizations. In some cases apparently like SESAC and Neil Diamond they are paid up front covering a period of time and then have to collect.

I don;t have a problem with PROs. Without the writers and their success there would be fewer careers. People want to hear songs like Margarita and Sweet Caroline over and over and over again,

[This message has been edited by Kingfrog (edited 02-20-2009).]

Diki ... I don't understand... what do BMI and ASCAP have to do with the government?

And while all of this seems like a pain in the a$$, and the methods used by some of these people are questionable at best, the ORIGINAL intent was to protect the composers from others making money off the use of the composers' material ...
t.

Question: Is one of the criteria "public performances?"

Restaurants, bars, etc. all open to the public, but what about private clubs or other gigs that aren't open?

If I put on a 80th birthday party for my dad and hire Russ to come up and play for us, does ascap/bmi/etc. have grounds?

------------------
Bill in Dayton

Anytime one benefits from the performance of others original works, someone is obligated to compensate the writers of that work.

The best way to ensure those fees are collected are through PRO's. It's no different then mechanical royalties that need to be paid to sell CDs of other's works.

Thanks for your input folks. My complaint is the way these organizations appear to only track the songs of the really big artists. Most of us are so far beneath the radar, even though we belong to one PRO or another, we never see a dime of the money they collect.

My complaint is with how poorly regulated these private corporations are. I agree that the artists deserve compensation. But the way that the performance rights societies go about collection, and the pittance that actually gets distributed, compared to collection and administration costs, is what gets up my nose.

And, it seems, many others here.

Sweetheart deals with major radio and TV corporations are done in back rooms, but small mom an pop operations are bullied and extorted for monies that no artist would consider fair. Let's face it, most artists at the top got their start in little places. And I guarantee, were most of them made aware of some of the strong arm tactics used in their names, they would be appalled.

Well.., without mentioning names and locations I'll shed some back alley justice on this topic.

Story simply goes..., "Rep Goon Squad" goes in.., not met with any problems from business owner and employeed family members. Goon Squad goes all "Saprano's" on them. Result..., Goon Squad got OWNED! Those clowns got their arses put in check End of story. (now I'm not advocating people start beating on these reps.., but they don't always go into a business puff up their chests without incident) These reps do get out of hand.., and at times get a good old fashioned ass whoopin!

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 02-21-2009).]

I certainly have no problem with a FAIR method of compensating writer/performers.

It the implementation I find so objectionable.

And, No one can tell you how the funds are distributed. A few years ago, the National Electronics Show was almost shut down because one of these organizations insisted the night before the show opened that anyone showing a product that required a DVD, tape, or recording of any kind pay a fee.

I threw a couple of these guys out of a club years ago. Did the same to a couple of musicians union reps, but that's a whole different story.


Russ