[Dixielandjazz] arrangement copyrights

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

Hi Folks:

In reality:


You can actually copyright anything your send them a check for, nothing will 
ever happen unless you get a hit recording with lots of traceable airplay and 
somebody actually checks it out to see who should or should not be screwed out 
of the royalties.

They drop your paperwork in a file cabinet or possibly the circular bin next 
to their desk and cash the check.

Same thing goes for the Wonderful Harry Fox Agency, my recommendation is 
don't send any of them any money up front, make them earn what they get if in fact 
they should ever be entitled to get anything.

Go do a goggle search for Books:

Find buy and read a book called:

"Just For the Record" By Shad O'Shay
Creative Counterpoint Studios/ Publishing
Cincinnati, Ohio.

It will change your idea forever about trying to play with ASCAP, BMI, HARRY 
FOX, and the Library of Congress.  Get the real truth from a guy who has been 
there and fought with all of them in the publishing/recording business.  And 
paid more wasted money to Philadelphia lawyers than most of you will ever make 
in a lifetime of work in the music business.

Unless you are already a multi millionaire and need large tax write-offs, and 
you have lots of visible assets to attach and lots of money to hire lawyers 
to talk to other lawyers, until you get smart enough to stop shelling out the 
money.

For the most part if some smart lawyer sees you are trying to make a living 
as a songwriter, arranger, they will run the other direction laughing because 
they know you will almost never have any money.  You have about the same 
chances of winning the big lottery, however there is a difference, they will 
actually pay you for winning the lottery, minus the tax money of course.

At the current average rate of about $250.00 per letter, no lawyer with any 
brains is going to pursue some wanna be songwriter, much less come to Timbuktu 
and file a lawsuit against you for making and trying to sell five hundred CDs.

If I seem to be belaboring this issue folks, it is simply because I have been 
there and done that and participated in arrests and lawsuits with the FBI, 
RIAA, BMI, ASCAP, and won and never got a nickel for my troubles, and I also 
paid the legal fees and expenses for my own lawyer.  RIAA took all the glory from 
the win after I came up with a strategy to actually win the case when the 
judge refused to even give the Copyright Lawyers the time of day and refused to 
even consider reading the 750 pages of fine print in the Copyright law 
revisions book they use as a Bible, that absolutely no one understands.

It was great press coverage for the RIAA to try and scare off others 
interested in going into the illegal manufacturing and distribution business, however 
it turned out to be mostly BS and a way to spend a lot of money for their 
staff and lawyers to travel from New York to Chicago and act like they were doing 
some major bust.

The major International Record label EMI distributor from New York was a co 
plaintiff with my company against these folks that we caught duplicating our 
products and selling them worldwide.  EMI would not even bother to participate 
and support their distributor because they knew they would never get any money 
from the deal, so why bother wasting attorneys fees and expenses to pursue it.


Just a bit of Free Advise, which must be what you want if your asking on this 
list rather than spending $350.00 an hour to talk to an entertainment lawyer, 
who should be kind enough to cash your check for $350.00 and tell you the 
same thing, unless of course they are just part of the system and want to milk 
you for several thousand dollars in consulting fees as well.

I have known some wealthy folks who fancied themselves songwriters who 
actually had lawyers on retainers to handle their publishing, and after 40 years of 
never having a song recorded or sold to anyone they gave up the business.

I actually had two of them once offer to pay me to record their songs just so 
they could say they had some success in the business, one fellow finally died 
and his lawyer had all his file cabinets full of his "compositions" hauled 
off to the dumps and sent a bill to his estate for disposal of them.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins


PS don't answer any of those classified adds seeking songwriters, poets, and 
lyric writers for Nashville recording artists either.  Buy or steal a copy of 
the book I mentioned above and read it from a guy who spent his life IN the 
Real Business not going to seminars on HOW to Make it in Show Business and 
writing a book to sell to others who did not attend the seminar.