[Dixielandjazz] MORE ASCAP .

[AL LEVY]

This may bore you but here we go.
I was a volunteer for a computer club at Javits Center in NY.
Huge show P.C. Expo.  I always brought my computer and
handed out copies of our newsletter to passers by.
This perticular year I had started getting into midi. I wanted
to play songs at the expo.
I called and wrote to ASCAP asking for a license.
They had a form that allowed me to play at 6 or 8 shows for a fee
of $100.00. All well and good. I sent in the form with a check.

My money was returned with a notice that it had to filed by the show producer.
They asked for 7% of the gate. (Tickets ran from $35 to $75 a day) Perhaps
50,000 people attended each day for a week.

I repeated the same routine with BMI. Same results.
The show:
The show producer of course refused. -Some of the big companies played
mp3's all day.

I started by playing p.d. midis. (clasical, Stephen Foster et al) All my own work.
After a while I decided to play other tunes (ASCAP and BMI) licensed.
Nobody said a word. I did this for one solid week - 10 hours each day.

Sent a letter to both organizations (I am a member of both).
"Shame on you guys." I told them what I did and added "you lost, the composers lost and so did I.

Never heard form them with respect to this matter.


Cheers,
Al
Pianist, Composer, Arranger, Conductor, Teacher and Music Prep.
Please visit me at
http://alevy.com