By ErikT.O. (64.228.108.42) on Saturday, March 15, 2003 - 04:30 pm:

About a week ago, a Toronto daily newspaper reported a Quebec company hired an ad agency from Quebec City to produce a tv ad- the company used Frank Zappa's 'Watermelon In Easter Hay' in the ad, a Zappa fan in the province saw the ad and got in touch with Gail Zappa who's in charge of Frank's estate & sure enough the Zappas weren't asked or paid or even aware of this ad until this fan brought it to her attention.
Now, to make this relevant to Soulfuldetroit.com, there's a local tv station (Omni tv?) which has been using Len Barry's 1-2-3 in their station ads ('1-2-3! You're watching Om-ni...') and I was wandering if this was at least arranged with the acquiescence of Len Barry or someone involved with the track (hey, Bobby Eli!)... /Erik

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Sunday, March 16, 2003 - 11:42 am:

That brings up an interesting sub-question. I assume that the rights fees to use the individual songs are paid through ASCAP or BMI, but what about performance rights on individual recordings used in commercials? They're different issues.

By Eli (151.197.5.72) on Sunday, March 16, 2003 - 11:58 am:

Ad agencies generally contract out song usage through their respective publisher(s) and the publissher(s )then pay the writer(s) their respective share . In some cases the publisher and writer are the same.
It is usually done on a fee basis and the amount is based on the class relative to popularity of the product.
Chevrolet used "I'll be around" in several of their adverts and Thom Bell and Phil Hurtt received $450,000 a piece from it's usage.
Personell involved in the studio production, ie musicians, singers etc., receive a residual based on airplay paid by the ad agency.

By Fred (205.188.209.38) on Monday, March 17, 2003 - 06:37 pm:

If a pre-recorded song is used in a commercial or a soundtrack, the producer must obtain two licenses, one for the composition and one for the recording itself. ASCAP and BMI don't negotiate the fees on the composition, that's up to the publisher, and the split between the publisher and the songwriter depends on the terms of the songwriter's contract. 50-50 is the norm these days, but often the songwriter's share could be lower or higher, depending on the writer's clout.

The license for the recording itself is negotiated with the record label. As Bobby points out, the size of the fee depends on a lot of factors; is it a local or national ad campaign, how essential is that particular performance to the ad campaign, how long the campaign is going to run, etc. For one specific song, it can range from $5,000 for a regional commercial used in a thirteen-week campaign, to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a national campaign that could run for a year or more.

Although the industry standard for splitting the license fees on synch licenses is also 50-50, there are a lot of recording contracts that never considered this kind of use, and for years many artists received nothing. For instance, Bill Pinckney of the Drifters was unaware that "White Christmas" had been used in "Home Alone" until he saw the movie.

Sometimes an ad agency will consider substituting a "sound alike" recording for the original, but they have to be careful about sounding "too much" like the original. Bette Midler sued Ford over the use of a sound alike "Wind Beneath My Wings" and won an award that was probably four or five times what licensing her original version would have cost the agency.

Some artists have gone into direct competition with their former labels, re-recording their hits for use in commercials. Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round In Circles," used in a national campaign featuring Tiger Woods, is actually a re-record where Billy owns the master, although it sounds very close to the original.

In many cases, the songwriter and the performing artist has absolutely no control over where the song or recording is used in a commercial, as their contracts normally give up those rights to the publisher or label. Some writers and artists have negotiated a term in the contract commonly known as the "ATF" clause, which prohibits the publisher or label from licensing the song or recording for promotion of specific classes of goods (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms being the most common, hence the initials).

By stephanie (64.63.221.84) on Monday, March 17, 2003 - 07:09 pm:

I wish I had written Ill Be Around then I could pay for Sue Whithall to go to Aruba and take a vacation and she could be a travel reporter for a while...
Stephanie

By Michael Cleoharvey (160.79.83.208) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 02:07 pm:

Thanks for the great information, Fred. A lot of us are not aware of some of the things in your post.

By Livonia Ken (136.1.1.101) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 04:15 pm:

It's my understand that there is a similar situation for movies and TV shows. This can sometimes hinder the release or broadcast of a film heavy with source music on video. My understanding is it can be particularly grueling if previous negotiations did not result in terms suffcient to cover new media (such as a deal for VHS tape releases that did not anticipate DVD) or if the rights expire. Either can result in having to renegotiate fees for use of recordings.

Sometimes you get a different song (such as the generic disco tune that replaced K-Jee in some TV broadcasts of "Saturday Night Fever") and sometimes it just holds up any release or broadcast until agreements can be reached.

Regards,
Ken

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 04:38 pm:

I have a couple of Cruzin' LP's around here (Robin Seymore, Robert W. Morgan) that I had to replace. The replacement LP's had re-recordings of some of the songs. Same problem with payment and rights?

By Sly fan (67.115.72.48) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 02:15 pm:

Eli..I was watching TV one night and I heard Larry Washinton's congas on a commercial for Kraft Salad Dressing. It was from the O'Jays "I Love Music", I thought I would let you in case they didnt clear it.

By Sly fan (67.115.72.48) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 02:16 pm:

it was last Sunday nite when I saw the commercial, its a pretty new ad. It kinda has a "new age" vibe to it.