DCI Audio/Video

[leed17]

Mr. Video, the company that has provided video recording for both BOA and ISSMA for a number of years, was not enlisted to provide those services this year. That's as much as I know.

Mr Video was in attendance and they did do video for BOA...they were the ones that produced the live webcast. They also provided videos to each director for archival purposes only. They are not selling DVDs, and BOA/Music for All is attempting to get permission in future months to provide individual video downloads of each band from championships.

[N.E. Brigand]

Did BOA have a video crew at champs? USBands did not even bother recording at MetLife when my band competed this month.

BoA did a live webcast, so there was a full camera crew. All band directors were provided with one DVD of their own band's performance "for instructional and archival purposes", but no DVDs or CDs were or will be sold, apparently ever. BoA used to have an online service like the Fan Network with a decent number of videos from the past several years, but that material was taken down many months ago. However, they have stated that they hope eventually to be able to restore some non-live online viewing options, and it is said that they are working to digitize their videos going back to their origins in the 1970s.

(To go briefly off-topic: USBands was the subject of a fair amount of mockery on BoA's forums a couple weeks ago. The complaints were: (1) they have the effrontery to refer to their major contest as a "national" championship when they regularly serve only a small geographic area; (2) their scores are so inflated as to be "ridiculous" and "degrading", with even the weakest bands earning scores in the low 80s at that event--in contrast to the "healthy competition" of BoA, where the lowest scores at Grand Nationals were in the low 50s--because USBands wants to "pat everyone on the back"; (3) a supposed "lack of transparency" in the scoring process; (4) the participating bands encountering only inferior opponents and thus not realizing that what they see as superior is only mediocre--with the particular fear expressed that Norwin, the USB champion and one of the few at USB to be a regular BoA participant, would "stagnate" if they didn't get out of that "bubble"; (5) the enormous size of the trophies; and (6) the quality of the judges. As regards the last item, the judging that led to Norwin not receiving top scores in Visual and G.E. was specifically identified. When, after checking USBands' website, I pointed out that two of those four judges were George Hopkins and Marc Sylvester, this was the reply: "I'd rather have J.J. Pipitone doing all the captions himself than have George do any of them." As you are a USBands participant, I thought these grumblings might interest you.)

[leed17]

I was informed by someone that USBands does not require their schools to secure arranging/performing rights at all. If that is correct, then I would presume there was a 0% chance that they could ever secure sync rights for State Championships, and probably wouldn't even bother trying.

It is not up to any circuit to require bands to get arranging/performance rights, including USBands. It is the director/schools responsibility. USBands would be responsible for sync rights if they produced DVDs, which they did not this year due to the ongoing issues that all of the circuits and DCI/DCA are having. If a school does not get arranging/performance rights, it is their own fault and the legal troubles will be their own, not USBands or any circuit they perform in. If USBands produced DVDs without securing sync rights, then it is their legal issue. There is a difference...

[Eleran]

It is not up to any circuit to require bands to get arranging/performance rights, including USBands. It is the director/schools responsibility. USBands would be responsible for sync rights if they produced DVDs, which they did not this year due to the ongoing issues that all of the circuits and DCI/DCA are having. If a school does not get arranging/performance rights, it is their own fault and the legal troubles will be their own, not USBands or any circuit they perform in. If USBands produced DVDs without securing sync rights, then it is their legal issue. There is a difference...

Any circuit promoter can certainly require it as a condition to competing in their circuit, if they desire. DCI requires that all its corps, including SoundSport groups, show proof of arrangement/performance licensing before they are permitted to perform in a DCI event. I was informed that some High School circuits do the same.

Edit: From the Band of America Official Procedures:

2.01 Bands of America requires all enrolled bands to comply with copyright laws in regarding Performance and/or use of arrangements of copyrighted music, visual images and other materials, as well as the use of copyrighted audio or spoken text, and the display of copyrighted words and images.

2.03 Bands will not be permitted to perform if not in compliance with the copyright laws of the United States. Bands of America Official Procedures and Adjudication Handbook 4 As such, each participant shall take such steps necessary to obtain and provide Bands of America with evidence that it has purchased or otherwise obtained permission/license to use and arrange music performed by it, as well as any visual and/or audio images presented.

Edited November 19, 2015 by Eleran

[Kamarag]

I was informed by someone that USBands does not require their schools to secure arranging/performing rights at all. If that is correct, then I would presume there was a 0% chance that they could ever secure sync rights for State Championships, and probably wouldn't even bother trying.

I can tell you that your source is absolutely incorrect. I fill out those forms for my band for every circuit we compete in.

[Eleran]

I can tell you that your source is absolutely incorrect. I fill out those forms for my band for every circuit we compete in.

You didn't say that "every circuit" you compete in includes USBands, though I will presume that is the case given your location. What can I say - the source was a band director who only competes in USBand competitions. Perhaps he misspoke or I misheard.

[N.E. Brigand]

Apparently this message was just sent by BoA to people who had order the 2014 DVDs, which still have not been shipped:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

November 19, 2015

Dear Valued Customer:

We are writing to apologize for the continued delay in shipment of your Fall 2014 DVD. We understand your concerns. We have been working diligently to obtain the licenses required to ship these products. Federal Copyright Law bars us from shipping these products until licenses are obtained from all copyright holders. In Winter 2015, several publishers informed us that they require all licenses to be obtained prior to distribution and would no longer honor our practice of licensing products retroactively based on known orders/sales. We are close to resolution of these matters. We assure you that your DVD will ship eventually. We know a year is a very long time to wait.

Again, we apologize for disappointing and inconveniencing you, and thank you for your patience.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I'm pretty surprised to read that BoA had previously been "licensing products retroactively". Was that also true of DCI and/or DCA?

[Kamarag]

You didn't say that "every circuit" you compete in includes USBands, though I will presume that is the case given your location. What can I say - the source was a band director who only competes in USBand competitions. Perhaps he misspoke or I misheard.

I assumed you'd infer that to be the case (it is...we compete in TOB and USBands).

[Shempy]

Mr Video was in attendance and they did do video for BOA...they were the ones that produced the live webcast. They also provided videos to each director for archival purposes only. They are not selling DVDs, and BOA/Music for All is attempting to get permission in future months to provide individual video downloads of each band from championships.

Ah, thanks for the correction.

[31rabbit]

I'll preface by saying I don't believe we'll ever see repertoire restriction rules in DCI. people have talked about Public Domain / Original Composition rules, or forcing the corps to ante up for the synch rights before performing owned pieces. it would require such a radical shift in priorities amongst the corps that I don't think it's remotely possible.

I am annoyed that I don't have a real recording of Madison's 2011 closer. It's one of the most exciting and engaging drum corps moments of the last decade, and it's a little sad that I have to resort to music-only or phone-grabbed videos. THAT SAID, 2011 was a good year with a bunch of other good shows. So I don't lament overly much.

Now, word is that the edits on the 2015 discs are going to be a lot harsher. Go look at the set lists and you can probably identify where the problems are.

Is there a point when the fanbase would say 'enough, please stop playing music that can't be recorded?'

there are no pressures that anybody could put on the big corps to alter their show sets. But to theorize on our own priorities, is there a point where we value posterity and home repeated viewings enough to Want Restrictions?

I'm bother by 2011's lack of my favorite moment, but not overly much. it's a small %.

what if there where 90+ seconds cut from 3 of the top 4 shows?

is there a point where So Much of a year's posterity is compromised that we'd say 'plesae stop it!'

it's a prioritization between, say, a Great Moment that you'll be able to experience live vs. a Very Good moment you'll get to keep forever.

I'm very attached to my 90's/early 00's DVDs. I've practically worn out 99 and 92 and 01 and 06.

so I wonder how I'm going to feel when I see a show and that cracks my all-time top 5 but know that the ballad or the finale is going to have to get blacked out.

Am I going to be glad that they did it, even though I only get to see it 3 or 4 times? or am I going wish they'd picked nearly-as-good choice that I'd be able to take home?

I don't have exact figures, but I know that the at-home dvd-watching crowd is not the majority. A popular vote would say 'Do the Best Show Possible!'

even some other at-home watchers would say that without pause.

But I'm here, and I wonder who else is here, who wonders about how to feel when you know you're going to get less than 6 experiences of a show that would otherwise have become an all-timer that you go to regularly.