Re: copyright

[BarMusProd <BarMusProd...>]

Dear Eve,

Thanks for writing back so quickly.

In a message dated 12/29/03 8:49:30 PM, SICULAR (at) aol(dot)com writes:

>Steve,
>
>you may have misunderstood me: you still have to pay the rights fee, but
>you 
>go right to the owner rather than through Harry Fox if it's less than 5,000
>
>copies. if I'm wrong, then Music Sales Corp has been very cooperative on
>this 
>basis for several CDs with us.
>
Dear Eve:

I'm afraid that you are incorrect. First of all, you always have to pay 
mechanical royalties to the copyright owner--we both agree on that--unless the 
copyright owner agrees to waive mechanical royalties, which they have the power 
to 
do. Secondly, no one has to use the Harry Fox Agency as the intermediary for 
*any* recording. The American Music Publishers Association set up the Fox 
agency as a clearing house for any publisher that chooses to join (not all 
publishers even belong to Harry Fox). It was and is a convenient way for 
publishers 
to collect royalties from people using copyrighted material. It is also a 
relatively convenient way for a someone who is issuing a CD to contact all of 
the 
publishers (or the current owners of copyright) in one place. To insure that 
the Fox Agency makes a minimum profit for their efforts, they require a minimum 
payment for 500 (not 5000) CDs, and they require this payment in full and in 
advance of sales--no matter how many you sell. Even if you are only pressing 
100, you must pay as if you are pressing 500 *in full and in advance.* 
Obviously, if you are pressing more than 500, you are paying in advance for the 
total 
number that you are pressing.

But, and here is the big but: you have the right to contact the copyright 
owners of the songs yourself and *negotiate* a fee for mechanical royalties for 
each copyrighted song you use no matter how many or fee CDs you are pressing. 
You do not have to use the Fox Agency at all. Legally you will never pay more 
than the statutory rate, but you can negotiate a lesser fee, or no fee at all 
(talk to the permissions department at the publishers in question). You always 
pay the statutory (highest ) rate at Fox (even though they themselves have 
probably negotiated a lesser fee). Not only that, if you do this on your own, 
you 
are only liable to pay royalties on those recordings *sold* or otherwise 
disposed of (given away free for promotion, for example), and *after* (not 
before) 
they have been sold. If you only sell three copies, that's all you pay 
royalties on. 

So it's your choice. Do the legwork yourself, and possibly pay much less in 
royalties, or shop at the one stop Fox Agency and pay in full and in advance 
for the convenience.

I hope that I have been clear here. I didn't see the original question, but I 
was reacting to the minimum number that is required by the Fox Agency. And 
that is only 500, to the best of my knowledge.

Best wishes,
Steve

Steve Barnett
Composer/Arranger/Producer
Barnett Music Productions
BarMusProd (at) aol(dot)com 

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