[Dixielandjazz] ASCAP / BMI - The right to play music.

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/12/04 4:14:15 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
barbonestreet at earthlink.net writes:

> Since we poor starving musicians, except for Tom Wiggins, have no money,
> why would they sue us? But you can bet the farm that if they find out
> about his cash horde, they'll sue him too.
> 
> 

AHA but I wish that it were so! :)

If I had Steve Barbone's money I would Throw mine away, :))


I just checked my pockets for walkin' around money, humm! I better not walk 
too far today, if I get hungry or thirsty can't get more than a couple of beers 
at the local pub, which is a two mile walk into town.  Would have to walk 
back too cause I wouldn't have cab fare if I drank too much, By the way, how much 
is Too much?

Polite snip:
I know some of the ASCAP spies locally who visit clubs and write down
tunes that infringe on the ASCAP catalog. Then ASCAP goes after the
club. Many "spies" are musicians who can't make a living playing.

Yep me too, and a couple of them are also ex AFof M union reps and former 
wannabe Booking agents who could not make a living at all of them combined.

Let's not forget about the aspiring songwriter who runs around begging 
somebody "Anybody" to play one or more of their songs and then comes out to hear it 
played and reports the band to the BMI or ASCAP guy for playing it thinking 
they are going to collect some royalties from it.


Even songs in the public domain can require a "license fee" if someone
copyrighted a specific arrangement of it after 1923 and the band in a
club used that arrangement, in whole or part. Scary, even if you copy a
riff etc., from memory.


Yep right again:   Classic example is the tune "Oh Happy Day"  Traditional 
Gospel tune long in the Public Domain, but Edwin Hawkins had Dorothy Morrison 
record it with his group and released it as the Edwin Hawkins Singers, and 
copyrighted the arrangement and now if you use the song he gets all the royalties 
from it if there are any paid that is.

I will go read the article when I get back to my office, got to go do 
Baseball practice with my six year old grandson or he will break my puter.  

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins
"So Broke I can't Pay Attention"