[Dixielandjazz] BMI

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

Well here is another Novel Idea from the Trenches:))


How about every Traditional Jazz Society and OKOm musician write a 
petition to Congress and collect signatures on it and start the war and 
fight back to save live music.   Musicians have always eschewed and 
hated Business, and this is what they get for it.   We have QASCAP, 
BMI, SESAC, RIAA, and The AFof M and The OFFICE of Copyrights ALL 
protecting  us " From ourselves" and all those folks out there looking 
to operate live music venues and hire us, and they are closing them 
faster than we can open them,  and charging us to do it.   For crying 
out loud guys they are getting more money to protect and collect our 
money than we even make :  Wake the Hell up !



   Hey Dave Hanson  how about getting the Grand Ole AF of M to do the 
same get all the membership to sign it and or start sending out copies 
of the petition individually to their congress person, their mayor, 
Senator, Alderman and every other and the IRS and Franchise Tax board 
top dog pointing out how much money they are losing from tax revenue 
because of this outrageous behavior and Mafioso tactics.

Send it to every Lawyer you can find in the yellow pages  who knows 
maybe we can find a firm to do a class action suit :))

We should be mad as Hell and Not take it anymore :))   Stop being the 
Silent majority of victims and fight back.

Cheers,   viva le revolution !!!!

Tom Wiggins

-----Original Message-----
From: barbonestreet at earthlink.net
To: Tcashwigg at aol.com
Cc: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Sent: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 4:03 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] BMI

   List-Message-Recipient: tcashwigg at aol.com
Published in The American Rag - April Edition:

>"Please remove the Mission Gold Jazz band listing from the Gig List 
Guide
>section. We are no longer officially playing at the Swiss Park because 
of the
>intervention of B.M.I.

>This organization is killing OKOM. I'm going to write and essay on my 
thoughts
>about B.M.I.

>John Soulis, Leader
>Mission Gold Jazz Band
>Fremont, California.

You can bet this has happened all over the USA because BMI, or ASCAP or
SESAC, or all 3 have demanded exorbitant fees from small venues.

If a venue is lucky, they may only have to pay $600 a year per 
organization
to have a live band play. ($1800 per year is $34.62 per week)

However, sometimes, much more is demanded and so the venue just kills 
the
live music and plays the radio which in most cases, is free of license 
fees
at the venue since the station has already paid them.

Below from ASCAP's FAQ.

"Permission for radio and television transmissions in your business is 
not
needed if the performance is by means of public communication of TV or 
radio
transmissions by eating, drinking, retail or certain other 
establishments of
a certain size which use a limited number of speakers or TVs, and if the
reception is not further transmitted (for example, from one room to 
another)
 from the place in which it is received, and there is no admission 
charge."

(Certain size generally means less than 3700 seats)  BOTTOM LINE?

These bastards are killing the performance of live music in small 
venues.
Bars with TV can show the Ken Burns Jazz Show, or any jazz show on 
cable,
without paying a fee. Or tune in to a music radio station, and pipe it 
all
over the Restaurant, without paying a fee. But if your little band plays
live . . . BMI et. al. extort money from the venue. What's wrong with 
that
picture????

You can fight back, (posted previously) by playing songs written prior 
to
January 1, 1923 and not using copyrighted arrangements of those tunes, 
if
those specific arrangement were copyrighted after January 21, 1923.

What I do is keep a list of public domain tunes, along with a statement 
at
the bottom of my list, that the arrangements are my own and therefore 
not
subject to BMI, ASCAP or SESAC music police extortion. I offer this 
list to
venues which have been bothered by, or think they may be bothered by the
music police.

OKOM has enough problems without over zealous music police trying to 
kill
small band, live music.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


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