[Dixielandjazz] The Grinches at Ascap go to Camp

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

Happy Birthday Larry,  but you owe me .20 because I own that 
arrangement, send the check immediately or you will hear from my 
lawyers at ASCAP, BMI and RIAA  and it will cost you at least .60 cents 
and legal fees,  :))

cheers,

Tom Wiggins



-----Original Message-----
From: larrys.bands at charter.net
To: Tcashwigg at aol.com
Cc: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Sent: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 2:37 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] The Grinches at Ascap go to Camp

   List-Message-Recipient: tcashwigg at aol.com 
 Today is my birthday so let the tune cops come after us. 
 
 All together now ----- 
 
 Happy birthday to you 
 Happy birthday to you 
 Happy birthday dear Larry 
 Happy birthday to you 
 cha cha cha. 
 
 Larry 
 St. Louis 
 
  ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Barbone" 
<barbonestreet at earthlink.net> 
 To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net> 
 Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com> 
 Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 2:37 PM 
 Subject: [Dixielandjazz] The Grinches at Ascap go to Camp 
 
 > List-Message-Recipient: larrys.bands at charter.net 
  > Just in case we think ASCAP started to go after the little people > 
recently, 
  > check this article from The Wall Street Journal 11 years ago. Note 
the > $5000 
 > penalty and 6 days in jail for willful violations. 
 > 
  > It is well to note that the below action by ASCAP created a furor in 
the 
  > media. Even Shaquille O Neal offored to pay the royalties for 10 
years, as 
  > all sorts of outrage was made public. And BMI offered all its songs 
to the 
 > girl scouts free of charge. 
 > 
  > Net result? The grinch at ASCAP granted a temporary waiver to the 
Girls 
  > Scouts and others who sing songs, including Happy Birthday, around 
the 
 > campfire. 
 > 
  > Wonder if we poor OKOMers could generate some press outrage? Hey, 
maybe 
  > Kenny G or Woody Allen would offer to pay the royalties for small 
venues > who 
  > hire live OKOM bands? Or maybe we could get some Girl Scouts to 
attend our 
 > public performances? :-) VBG 
 > 
 > Cheers, 
 > Steve Barbone 
 > 
 > The Birds May Sing, But Campers Can't Unless They Pay Up 
 > 
 > By Lisa Bannon, The Wall Street Journal AUGIUST 23, 1996 
 > 
  > Something is missing at Diablo Day Camp in Lafayette, Calif., this 
year. > At 
  > the 3 p.m. sing-along in a wooded canyon near Oakland, 214 Girl 
Scouts are 
  > learning the summer dance craze, the Macarena. Keeping time by 
slapping 
  > their hands across their arms and hips, they jiggle, hop and stomp. 
They 
  > spin, wiggle and shake. They bounce for two minutes. In silence. > 
"Yesterday, 
  > I told them we could be sued if we played the music," explains 
Teesie > King, 
  > camp co-director and a volunteer mom. "So they decided they'd learn 
it 
 > without the music." 
 > 
  > Watching the campers' mute contortions, Mrs. King shakes her head. 
"It > seems 
 > so different," she allows, "when you do the Macarena in silence." 
 > 
  > Starting this summer, American Society of Composers, Authors & 
Publishers 
  > has informed camps nationwide that they must pay license fees to use 
any > of 
  > the four million copyrighted songs written or published by Ascap's 
68,000 
  > members. Those who sing or play but don't pay, Ascap warns, may be > 
violating 
 > the law. 
 > 
  > Like restaurants, hotels, bars, stores and clubs, which already pay 
fees > to 
  > use copyrighted music, camps -- including non-profit ones such as 
those > run 
  > by the Girl Scouts -- are being told to ante up. The demand covers 
not > only 
 > recorded music but also songs around the campfire. 
 > 
  > "They buy paper, twine and glue for their crafts -- they can pay for 
the 
  > music, too," says John Lo Frumento, Ascap's chief operating officer. 
If 
 > offenders keep singing without paying, he says, "we will sue them if 
  > necessary." No more "Edelweiss" free of charge. No more "This Land 
Is Your 
  > Land." An Ascap spokesman says "Kumbaya" isn't on its list, but "God 
Bless 
 > America" is. 
 > 
  > Diablo, an all-volunteer day camp that charges girls $44 a week to 
cover 
  > expenses, would owe Ascap $591 this year, based on the camp's size 
and how 
  > long it runs. Another composer group, Sesac Inc., which owns 
copyrights to 
  > such popular tunes as Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind," says it 
plans to 
 > ask camps for another set of royalties this fall. 
 > 
  > So far, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., the national organization based 
in New 
  > York, isn't playing along with royalty demands. But the American 
Camping 
  > Association, in Martinsville, Ind., which includes many Scout camps, 
> advises 
  > members to comply. Diablo's regional Girl Scout Council in Oakland 
is low > on 
  > cash and decided its 20 area camps can't afford the extra expense. 
Rather 
  > than risk a lawsuit, the council told all the camps to scratch 
copyrighted 
  > songs from their programs even though only a few received warning 
letters. 
 > 
  > "At first I thought, 'You guys have got to be kidding,"' says Sharon 
> Kosch, 
  > the council's director of program services. "They can't sing the 
songs? > But 
  > it's pretty threatening. We were told the penalty can be $5,000 and 
six > days 
 > in jail." 
 > 
  > So, the camp's directors have scrutinized its official "Elf Manual" 
and, > in 
  > the section headed "Favorite Songs at Diablo Day Camp," have crossed 
out > the 
  > most popular copyrighted tunes with black Magic Marker. The Scouts 
know 
  > about only a few of the banned songs because Ascap hasn't mailed out 
a 
  > complete list; it comprises four million songs and runs 70,000 
pages. > Ascap 
 > says it has, however, put a list on the Internet. 
 > 
  > After finishing off hot dogs and s'mores for lunch, the Elves -- 
senior 
  > Scouts charged with helping younger campers -- gather in a circle 
with 
 > directors to decide what they can sing. "Is 'Row Row Row Your Boat' 
  > copyrighted?" asks Holly Foster, a 14-year-old Elf with a turquoise 
happy 
  > face on her cheek. "Row Row Row Your Boat" may float, the directors 
> decide, 
  > but "Puff the Magic Dragon" definitely is out. "How about 'Ring 
Around the 
 > Rosie'?" another Elf asks. The directors veto it. 
 > 
  > "We wanted to sing 'Underwear,' but it's set to the tune of 'Battle 
Hymn > of 
  > the Republic,"' says Mrs. King, the co-director. "We're not sure if 
that's 
  > copyrighted; so, we don't sing it." "When in doubt, don't sing," 
advises 
 > Site Director Leslie Shanders. 
 > 
  > Even harder than figuring out which songs are which, directors say, 
is 
  > explaining it all to young Brownies. "They think copyright means the 
'mean 
  > people,' " says Debby Cwalina, a 14-year-old Elf. Mr. Holly explains 
it to 
  > them this way: "The people who wrote it have a thing on it. A little 
'c' 
  > with circles around it. There's an alarm on it. And if you sing it, 
BOOM!" 
  > That explanation doesn't always sink in. Alissa Fiset, age 8, 
crinkles her 
  > nose when asked why she can't sing "Puff the Magic Dragon." While > 
squirting 
  > a friend with a water bottle, she says: "They did a rewrite on it. A 
copy 
 > thing. But why can't they just take the 'c' away?" 
 > 
  > Ascap, which is based in New York, defends the royalties. 
"Songwriters are 
  > small-business people who write songs to make a living," Mr. Lo 
Frumento 
  > says. "The royalties allow them to send their kids to Girl Scout 
camp, > too." 
  > The federal copyright act allows composers and music publishers to 
demand 
  > royalty payments for any public performance of copyrighted material. 
The > law 
  > defines a public performance as "where a substantial number of 
persons 
  > outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances 
is 
  > gathered." Although the law has been on the books since 1909, Ascap 
began 
  > notifying large music users, such as hotels, only a little over a 
decade > ago 
  > and more recently has worked its way down to small users, such as 
rodeos > and 
  > funeral homes. This year, it negotiated a reduced annual fee of $257 
with 
  > camps enrolled in the American Camping Association. For camps, such 
as 
  > Diablo, that aren't association members, the fees are higher, 
ranging from 
  > $308 to $1,439 a year. Small camps that last two weeks or less get a 
> special 
 > rate of $77. 
 > 
  > Penalties for noncompliance can be stiff. The law sets fines up to 
$25,000 
  > or a year in prison, or both, for major infringements. Ascap, which 
sends 
  > monitors around the country, has successfully sued restaurants, 
retailers 
  > and private clubs, Mr. Lo Frumento says. While the law hasn't been 
tested > on 
 > camps, copyright attorneys say even little girls would lose. 
 > 
  > "If you make an exception for the Girl Scouts, you could set a 
practical 
  > precedent," says Russell Frackman, a Los Angeles copyright lawyer. 
"You > give 
  > the impression that a particular use is not an infringement, and 
that can > be 
 > used against you in the future." 
 > 
  > Ascap contends that its members have contributed heavily to the 
Scouts > over 
  > the years. In 1940, Irving Berlin donated all future royalties from 
his > "God 
  > Bless America" to the New York City Boy Scout and Girl Scout 
councils. 
  > Although the Scouts still get royalties from it, Mr. Lo Frumento 
concedes 
  > that, nevertheless, they can't sing it without paying the fee. So, 
it's > back 
 > to black Magic Markers. 
 > 
  > After finishing the Macarena at the Diablo sing-along, one mother 
whispers 
  > that today is the sixth birthday of David Warneke, a camp 
volunteer's son. 
 > "We're not allowed to sing 'Happy Birthday,' " warns Debi Jansen, a 
  > co-director. Huddling with the Elves, the directors come up with a 
plan: 
  > Sing a modified "Happy Birthday" to the tune of "Ninety-Nine Bottles 
of > Beer 
  > on the Wall." But Mrs. Jansen is worried. "I hope that's not 
copyrighted, 
 > too," she frets. 
 > 
 > 
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