'Bill' Clarifies 10 Core Rights Held By Every Music Creator

Advocacy and Awareness-Building Initiative Urges Music Industry Participants
and Legislators To Remember and Defend Rights of Music Creators
New York, NY, April 17, 2008: To remind the public, members of the music industry and U.S. legislators of the
central role and rights of those who conceive and create music, ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers)
today officially launched a 'Bill of Rights for Songwriters and Composers.'

SNIPS

1)
I've been a member of ASCRAP for a long time as well, & I never seen a cent. Once
I went so far as to send them a cassette tape of my music being played on the radio. The
tape contained several different DJ's mentioning my band, song name, etc, and I believe I
may have even included a copy of one stations log. (This was back in the days when they
kept the log in a 3-ring binder.) Not a word from them. I realize all of what I sent them
could have been faked, but none-the-less it should have at least given them reason to
check into it. But - as we have all discussed here many times - I was not on a major label,
therefore I didn't count.

2)
Apply for ASCAP Plus Awards
Those are meant for people who don't make much, or any, from broadcast play, especially for
those who play live a lot, doing original material. I've applied for those
for probably at least 5 years running now, and have consistently gotten
either $150 or $200 each year from that. I've also never gotten a cent off
the airplay I've received, but I have to say that, even if I had, it
probably wouldn't have added up to that much as most of my airplay (that I'm
aware of anyway) has been on fairly small stations, and, in most cases,
fairly isolated stuff, as opposed to consistent, frequent play over a long
period.

3)
Article 5 was the deal maker for me.
As long as I get to sign waivers so I CAN play clubs without killin' 'em with fees & ditto for the smaller internet broadcasters who can't afford PRO fees.
Someone promoting my music for free is a good thing. Someone PROFFITING from my music without giving me a share is NOT.
Revenue streams are different for the indie artist. Marketing has to be done outside the box until enough noteriety is generated to justify application of conventional marketing & distribution strategies. Why should I pay thousands of dollars to a radio promoter when "giving away" my music to specific small/niche markets provides the same or better exposure?
That's what the lil' webcasters are all about. THEY have fans because they are tastemakers.
If they had to pay for every minute of music they played, they'd be broke in a heartbeat. But if all they play is great music from people who allow them to play their stuff free, The indies win, unless the majors follow their example. & even then, if the webcaster still does not like the music, the major artist still may not get in even if it's free.
Sadly, we're back to payola again with that. But because (hopefully) a real fan can identify selling out when the music changes, & because there are always thousands of other tastemakers to find, payola will only work in the short term.

4)
I wish they'd add this to their list of our "rights":
"We have the right to play our own songs in venues of our choosing without excessive fines and threats to said venue by PROs."

and this:

"We have the right, regardless of how 'famous' we are, to get paid for airplay of our songs and not be overlooked because our songs were played on independent radio."

I'm sorry, but having been a member of ASCAP for over 10 years, I haven't
seen one thin dime from them, and they only thing they've done is hassle our
venues and threaten to fine them when we play live, which makes them stop
having live music, which puts me out of a job. ASCAP's rationale is that
they are "protecting the artist and making sure that they get paid their due
performance rights..." yeah, right.

When this bill of rights applies to me as an independent, and not just Bonnie Raitt and Jay-Z, then I'll play along.


5)
we had ascap as a sponsor for lvma for at least 2 years, we dropped them after many complaints from regional musicians and a venue that no longer has music because of their bullshit.
in the age of computers, there is no good reason for ascap not paying all their members who get radio play, even if it is a wee bit.
they should make their "royalty payment structure" public, their darkness allows them to get away with mucho theft.
they are not a non-profit in the real world, they are big business gangsters who control the gold and whoever controls the gold makes the rules.

6)
Well, just like most everything, the rules favor the big players. I was in the Seattle musicians union for several years. At that time, all the good clubs in the area required the bands to be union. That was because the union would forbid their bands from playing in the clubs if the clubs hired non-union bands. So, the bands joined the union to get to play in the good clubs. Viscous circle.

The problem was, most of the clubs could not/would not pay union scale wages. So, the bands and the clubs filed phony contracts with the union that inflated their pay, and the musicians had to pay work dues based on the inflated amount on the contract. Screwed again!

The union's priority was clearly to serve the union. Seems the same with the big "copyright protectors" such as ASCAP and BMI. IIRC, I saw a statistic that 95% of the members get nothing.

And so it goes with all unions and organizations formed that have highly-paid CEOs and other officers at the top. One of the things on the "Musician's Bill of Rights" should be "I have the right to play somewhere without them having to pay royalties, if I so choose." But, ah, then they don't get paid. The only way to be an indie is in EVERYTHING. Good riddance to the music business!