Re: copyright

[TTova <TTova...>]

Thank you Steve and Eve,
I was about to ask what the Harry Fox referance meant...

thanks for the clarification and the contact info..

tova

http://www.theresatova.com
On Dec 29, 2003, at 10:08 PM, BarMusProd (at) aol(dot)com wrote:

> 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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