On Mar 9, 1:05*pm, klu...@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> Herman Gunther *<gunth1029...@entermail.org> wrote:
>
> >On Mon, 8 Mar 2010 06:46:41 -0800 (PST), blackbu...@aol.com wrote:
>
> >> This happens. "WKRP" on TV included lots of bits of real music; but in
> >> DVD release, most of that has been replaced!
>
> >It probably has something to do with that SOB Harry Fox.
>
> No, quite the opposite. *The fact that synchronization rights aren't
> like mechanicals is why you can't just go to Harry Fox and pay your
> statutory fee. *Once you start talking about synchronization with images,
> everything is completely negotiable and nobody _has_ to do anything on
> either side.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. *C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
Yep. I'm in the small niche of creating scores for DVD releases of
early silent movies. I compile the scores from old orchestra scores
that were owned by movie theater music directors, making new scores
using the same music repertoire used in the 1920s. The general rule is
"if it was written before 1923, you're fine. If it was written in or
after 1923, DO NOT USE IT," which means that there's about six years
of good published silent film music I need to avoid. (This date is due
to US copyright expirations, as modified by the Sonny Bono copyright
extension act.) Syncing one copyrighted piece would often cost more
than the entire budget for these projects, and trying to plead that
your project is small doesn't get you very far -- it would still
require many hours of legal time on the part of the copyright owner,
so it's not worth their time to even talk to you unless you're going
to spend several thousands of dollars.
There was an interview on NPR a few weeks ago with George Lucas, who
talked about licensing songs for American Graffitti. According to him,
he got quite a good deal on sync rights in perpetuity (as I remember).
When the movie was a huge hit, prices for sync rights went way up, and
he felt that has had made an excellent investment.
And on the other hand, I can play anything in a live-performance score
without any trouble, as long as the auditorium has an ASCAP and BMI
license, which most do. And the cost for recording the music on a CD
is set by law, so you just pay Harry Fox the statutory rate. If you
want you can try to negotiate a deal with the owner that's lower,
which I was able to do on one occasion. But sync rights are a totally
unpredictable zoo. I'm still unclear about whether DVD Menu background
music counts as needing sync rights. Does it depend on whether it's a
motion menu?
Rodney Sauer
Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
www.mont-alto.com
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