SFZFAN Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I had a conversation with Madison Scouts' Executive Director Chris Komnick and corps arranger Robert W. Smith and found out something that may be of interest to many fans. As fans who have been reading DCP know all too well, music licensing seems like an increasingly annoying problem for corps.This came to a head last season when Madison Scouts’ popular closer, “Empire State of Mind” had to be blacked out on the DCI DVDs because the corps couldn’t secure mechanical licensing rights. (More about what really happened later.) DCI corps aren’t the only entities running into music licensing difficulties. Last winter, Burger King had to pull a commercial with singer Mary J. Blige over rights and earlier in the year, former presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was sued by the owner of the “Rocky III” theme song, “Eye of the Tiger,” for using the work without permission at campaign rallies. A brief history of how we got to where we are The way music is produced has changed dramatically since digital media has taken over. Madison Scouts’ arranger Robert W. Smith states, “The record companies lost the keys to the kingdom as soon as the first CD was pressed. It wasn’t all that long ago that Napster and other file sharing services were under attack for causing record companies to lose a lot of money.” But now, according to Smith, the music companies are “almost giving away the music,” making their money through concerts and merchandising…even receiving a share of the beverages sold at concerts. Much more so than before, licensing is a cash cow for the holders of music copyrights. In DCI’s earlier years, corps didn’t have to worry about licensing and didn’t pay the statutory rate for mechanical licenses. Corps have gone from barely being a blip on these companies’ radars to becoming very much a part of their income stream. (According to Smith, popular speculation that the move from G bugles to B-flat horns was responsible for increased licensing issues is an unfounded myth.) While corps must receive permission to arrange a piece of music, mechanical licenses are not required for live or audio broadcasts. However, they kick in once a performance is recorded for sale to the public. (Why is it called a “mechanical” license? The name originated from the use of mechanical machines that used to copy the recordings.) Additional problems arise with synchronization licenses, which are required when pre-recorded audio is fixed to a moving visual image…something that occurs in television shows and commercials…and DCI DVDs. Such a license is not required for live performances, which is why those who attended DCI’s “Big, Loud & Live 7” Quarterfinals broadcast were able to enjoy watching Scouts’ “Empire State of Mind” in its entirety. That is where things become more difficult for those requesting a synch license. A publisher has the right to say “no” for whatever reason. Which leads us to… What really happened with “Empire State of Mind” Until now, drum corps fans blamed a variety of sources as the problem for why Madison Scouts couldn’t obtain the synch rights to “Empire State of Mind,” which resulted in the blackout on the DVDs. Rap artist Jay-Z was often blamed for this, as he is the original recording artist. This is still a topic of conversation as the corps has scheduled the piece to be performed as an encore. “In our case,” according to Smith, “State Farm Insurance knew well in advance that on 9/11/11, they were going to put out a nationwide television commercial using ‘Empire State of Mind’ as the central statement, with school kids singing the song at a New York City firehouse. It was in the best interest of the insurance company to obtain exclusivity and they paid a lot of money to get it. If someone else in the popular media had come out using the piece, it would have lessened the impact. “I tried assisting Scouts by using my channels in the publishing industry to get the synch rights, but I kept getting the same answer. When someone turns down a request for a synch license, they just say ‘no’ and that’s it. The reason for our problems became abundantly clear the moment I saw the commercial on September 11, 2011, understanding why utmost confidentiality had to be maintained. Generally, such exclusivity lasts a year and is so expensive because the publisher can’t make money from anyone else during that time.” Madison Scouts Executive Director Chris Komnick recounts, “By the time the publisher gave us the definitive ‘no,’ we were already into May. We made the decision that the music in the live show was more important than the DVD and so we decided not to change the last third of the show. We thought they were telling us ‘no’ because it was such a hot piece of property at the time. It typically isn’t that hard to get such licensing. “We are continuing to pursue the licensing of “Empire State of Mind” with the expectation that the synch rights will eventually be granted. We’re hoping that sometime in the future, we can make available a full recording of our ‘New York Morning’ show in conjunction with DCI.” I hope this clears up some of the confusion I've read on DCP regarding this increasingly important issue. Obviously drum corps fans must boycott State Farm Insurance. I'll start... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roark1 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Thank you for posting this. I am glad to see that they have been and still are pursuing the sync rights. ESOM has become an iconic Madison piece in a very short time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo67 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I have received numerous letters from Nigeria, and England stating how someone thought of me so much they left millions to me. They would be glad to deposit in my banking account provided I send them all my information...Yep..right on that...**sarcasm** It is becoming a sad state of mind, because even the cast of Happy Days are claiming they should be receiving royalties. GREED GREED GREED! I am just speechless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Thanks very much for this information! According to a post that Chris Komnick kindly made on DCP on July 11, 2011, DCI and/or the Madison Scouts* were still attempting to secure the synchronization rights at that time. Would it be fair to describe that post as overly optimistic, given that he now says they had a "definitive 'no'" in May? *It was said repeatedly on these forums that DCI rather than the individual corps arranges the mechanical and synchronization rights, but it sounds as if Mr. Komnick was describing the Scouts as the entity actually pursuing those rights. Which is correct? Despite having a "no" in May, Chris and Robert W. Smith hoped that by continually pressing the issue, they might have gotten word to the right people and get the decision reversed. You've got to give them credit for not giving up on the issue. When it became clear there was a problem, it was far more efficient and hopefully effective for the Scouts people to focus on getting the permissions necessary. DCI does indeed work on getting those permissions, but when there is a difficulty and an absolute roadblock, the corps is informed and then they can pool their resources of time and energy to try to get a resolution. God love them...Scouts sure tried and they had to be really frustrated not knowing what was really going on. Only upon seeing the State Farm commercial did everything make sense. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roark1 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Despite that fact that they were not able to get the sync rights, I am glad they chose to go forward with keeping ESOM in the show. I can’t think of any other piece of music that would have brought the same amount of power to the end of that show. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Obviously drum corps fans must boycott State Farm Insurance. I'll start... I suspect you're joking with this, but you do raise a valuable point. In the recent past, some DCP members, in an effort to affect good and also due to the passion that lovingly exists in our community, have instigated letters, e-mails and other assorted PR campaigns to shame certain entities for decisions those enterprises made that were perceived to have negatively affected individual corps and the activity. Doing so to State Farm might kill any chance Scouts have to reverse the initial decision. With our luck, such input might just make it to the "right" person for the first time, perhaps influencing their decision to not grant the ability to present the entire show on DVD or Fan Network. That might not be as effective as suggesting State Farm consider utilizing a drum corps in their next video, as they utilized OK Go in that remarkable "This Too Shall Pass" video. They paid for the whole thing and instead of plastering their name over everything, decided that the only time the State Farm logo would be seen would be on the toy truck that was used to set off the chain reaction. State Farm is a good company. I hope we don't turn them off on drum corps before they even find out about it. (I doubt they even know what happened regarding "ESOM" because all interaction had to go through the company that granted them the exclusive on the piece.) 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 OK - I understand the legal stuff, but how did DCI manage to get the appropriate rights before they came out with the Legacy Series. Or is that a question that should perhaps not be asked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 OK - I understand the legal stuff, but how did DCI manage to get the appropriate rights before they came out with the Legacy Series. Or is that a question that should perhaps not be asked? It's very different now, and far more complicated. The paperwork yesterday is blown away by the paperwork today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Wow you are not entering some pretty small lotteries! I have won millions from lotteries that I did not enter!!! You should send a letter to the complaint department of the group that is not entering you into their lotteries, and tell them that the next time you want to be not entered into much more lucrative lotteries than that small one! Well, the morning was still young when I wrote that. We both must be very, very lucky. I pity the poor fools out there who never win a single lottery. Perhaps we're being greedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 (edited) You've got to give them credit for not giving up on the issue. Absolutely. Thanks for the follow-up response. (Edit: would either of the two people who voted my earlier post down care to explain what about it they found offensive?) Edited July 2, 2012 by N.E. Brigand 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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