Thursday, June 01, 2006

Ass Cap

As some of you probably already know, James Watkins and the good people over at Metrognome (you know, one of TWO vital D.I.Y. venues in the whole Metroplex) have recently been getting harassed for performance rights royalties by ASCAP after they were tipped off that, get this... DJs had been playing songs by ASCAP artists in between sets. Goddamn those DJs! Fort Worth Weekly has this to say about it:

ASCAP is the largest music licensing company in the world, and they'd sue you for singing a copyrighted song in the shower if they could. The Metrognome Collective (1518 E. Lancaster Av.) is much bigger than a shower, and now that the upstart multi-disciplinary organization has become a bona fide destination for music, art, and theater, ASCAP is bringing down the hammer: The Man wants about four cents from every 'Gnome cover charge, which, according to the art group's calculations, will total about $500 per year. It ain't much, but for a group that makes next to nothing and is on its way to becoming a legit nonprofit, it's enough to piss me off. The problem isn't the live bands — 99 percent of them play original music. The problem happens during art openings or between sets, when DJ's brought in by the 'Gnome do what they're supposed to and spin a few well-known records. No, not Beyoncé or Shania Twain singles, but tunes by ASCAP-protected small fries like The Silver Jews, The Fiery Furnaces, and Wolfmother. Funny thing is, ASCAP will take the 'Gnome's money under the auspices of "protecting" the small fries but will use the cash to do nothing but espouse an industry environment that produces more Beyoncés, Shanias, and other cash cows, and fewer Wolfmothers. A possible solution: Play all local indie stuff.


And for your inspection, a copy of the letter that Metrognome received from ASCAP, in pdf format: HERE


And here was James' response to an ASCAP rep via email:

Ann,

I havent heard back from you yet, but I thought I would send you
the write-up about our situation from today's Fort Worth Weekly newspaper for your review. Please let me know what I need to send you next. I am confused. Do I need to remit payment right away? Or just send you the signed form and pay at the end of the first quarter completed? When do the quarters end? I don't have a lawyer or anyone to explain what this contract says.

Please feel free to contact me via email or at the cell number listed below at your earliest convenience.

I'd like to send your blood money and get this settled ASAP to preclude your goons from contacting their lawyers if someone should sing Happy Birthday at our all volunteer performance space. In the meantime we promise we will only play local music from CDs provided to us by local musicians between sets , and if anyone even thinks about playing a cover, we will hoist them from the rafters by their guitar strap and leave them as a warning to others.

Keep up your great work protecting artists!

Thanks!
James Watkins




His closing exclamation points are fucking priceless.

The current system of federal copyright law in this country and the ways in which artists are "protected" as a result of that system are both indicative of what happens when powerful special interests run the show in a particular industry, creating an arcane system of regulations that really only seems to benefit a few big fish with really expensive lawyers, while creating unnecessary roadblocks for people that really shouldn't have to deal with them.

Now, I don't debate that copyright law in general is a fundamentally benefitial thing in many ways. Of course artists need to be protected from those that would use their intellectual property in ways that they do not approve. Such protection is obviously a vital part of maintaining a thriving artistic movement in this country. And even the basic idea of what ASCAP does is a good thing, if only in theory. But to apply the same kinds of regulations to places like Metrognome (D.I.Y., independent non-profit venues) as are applied to places like Nokia or Gypsy Tea Room (albeit on a sliding scale) doesn't seem to advance any of the theoretical goals of copyright, artists rights, or any other system of legal protection for artwork. Exactly what are they protecting artists from in this situation? And exactly who is profiting or even receiving a benefit in any way from playing these records at Metrognome? Does Metrognome attract crowds due to its between set playlists? It seems that the only people that might stand to benefit from such exposure are the artists themselves.

ASCAP's behavior in this situation clearly demonstrates yet another fundamental misunderstanding in the music industry concerning when and how artists should be protected, and who they should be protected from. Do you really think the Silver Jews give a shit if 20 kids at an experimental rock show hear one of their songs in between sets? I doubt it, and in fact, I bet they would encourage such practices. Of course I realize that there are an endless number of variables and different things to consider here, and I hope that James and anyone else with experience in dealing with this kind of thing will post in the comment section and provide us more information concerning how ASCAP works, how artists rights work, if non-profit status affects copyright liability, and any other pertinent issues. Of course there probably isn't a lot we can do about ASCAP or copyright regulations, but we probably can figure out ways to help places like Metrognome deal with these things so that we can continue to enjoy the atmosphere of non-traditional venues without being forced to listen to cover versions of "4'33" all night.

16 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

How the hell did ASCAP even hear about Metrognome Collective?! So there are DJs operating at alternative venues all over the country and worldwide and they pick on Metrognome? What a bunch of malarky!

7:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmm, sounds like a Racket to me. Not surprised though. And as you said... I can't see any indie bands actually recieving any royalty checks from this.

10:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

well hopefully the 501c3 status will clear you guys from messing with this.

james, you should check out volunteer lawyers for the arts (http://www.vlany.org/). i have a friend who is a visual artist who said that he contacted them and someone actually met with him in person and was able to provide the counsel he needed pro bono. i'm not sure what there presence is like here in tx but it would probably be worth checking in to.

11:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The music industry is like the effing mafia!

11:42 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

just to play devil's advocate:

artists voluntarily register with ascap; nobody holds a gun to their head. ascap is just doing their job.

i do think it's ironic that it causes tension between a small independent venue and a small independent artist, both of whom need each other's support.

since ascap is collecting royalties, that money should theoretically go to the artists, but i wonder if ascap keeps a cut too?

never the less, it always looks ugly when a huge corporation hit's up a tiny, struggling DIY for money..

12:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE MAFIA???

TONY SOPRANO FOR PRESIDENT!!!

12:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey james,

maybe "tension" wasn't the best word to use. i was just pointing out the irony of an independent venue being hit up by ascap for playing some independent music.

i'm sure the artist would prefer their music played in your type of venue without you having to pay ascap, but ascap forces forces their hand by virute of their contract..

yeah, it just feels a little fucked up..

3:05 PM  
Blogger stonedranger said...

Interesting.

3:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

my friends venue doesn't pay ASCAP b/c they make each band sign a form that says they understand the venue doens't allow cover songs and it says the song they'll be performing they own all the rights to. it's a popular venue in Utah called kilby court had their lawyer create that document and they'll share it with you if you email them

3:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

reminds me of one of my favorite HST quotes...

The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.
-hunter s. thompson

Good luck to the Metrognome getting that all sorted out.

5:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

it's always great to need to have a bunch of fucking lawiers at your dance party.

sorry, but here's why this sucks. people should stop nickel and diming everyone just b/c the "digital age" has come around. i'm sorry that tower records can't keep itself afloat, i'm also REAL sorry about blockbuster music and virgin megastores and all the other places who blame the "digital age" for why they can't make a buck.

sorry, it's just a load of shit, those stores make no money because they want $20 for a cd that costs less than a penny to make, and should only cost around $10 once all the production/creation costs are set in. we don't need ascap to get money out to musicians, we need musicians and venues and promoters and producers and songwriters to get their shit together and figure out the whole mess themselves.

i know it's a real "out there" theory, but if people would add things that are WORTH money to their product instead of TAKING more money away from the fans/venues/djs who help keep their music in circulation.... well, maybe they'd come out on top.

i think this is just an example of pure laziness w/in the music industry. SURE people deserve to get paid, but not by something that is the EXACT same as what mafias do ("hey, you gotta raise the price of bread 5 cents, then you give us guys 3 cents and you can keep 2... we're gonna make sure you're 'protected'").

...and i'm sorry, but does van morrison deserve a penny for every time i have to hear some shitty bar band do a cover of GLORIA??? are you fucking kidding me? yeah, it's a "classic" but what-fucking-ever. next creed is going to come around and claim that ASCAP has to pay them more because of what happens when THEY play THEIR songs at THEIR shows. why? because they COULD just make up stuff on the spot, and they need to be protected from themselves.

and if you're a songwriter... look at the fucking contract you sign before you let someone put your song on an album and play it live... MAKE SURE you're getting the money you deserve BEFORE hand. not later on.

This is seriously just showing what a joke the big-business music machine is becoming. They don't care if the music is worth a damn, or WHY people might not be buying their albums... they just want to make sure they get paid. I understand, but i think it's totaly out of line.


i mean, has anyone else noticed how stores in dallas like cd world, good records, etc tend to stay in business while selling cd's for around $5 cheaper (ok, not so much in good records' case... but cd world for sure) and actually having people who know SOMETHING (in cd world case... often not much, but SOMETHING) about music in the store..... contrast that to virgin megastore. 15 year old wanna-be pop-punk princess works the front... she doesn't know nuthin about nuthin. they have 1000s of cd's and she isn't about to dig through them to see if they have the one you want, and she has no opinion on it if it isn't some emo shit. add that to 18.99 cd "sales" and THATS why you run a failing business.... not fucking downloaders.

that's somewhat off-topic i guess, but it all relates b/c i think this all has to do w/ the "digital age" of music... and people need to figure out how to make money in OTHER WAYS than just fining people, keeping people from being able to upload your music, and suing those who download.

...this isn't healthy competition between record lables or cd stores... it's a competition w/ an unlevel playing field that is based on using your money and clout in order to insure that you make as much money as possible while putting forth as little effort as possible.

....and isn't it funny that every top 40 song out there now is basicly the same guy or the same girl singing the same genre-based song over and over again... maybe w/ the invention of some new catchphrase every few months.

they just need to realize that it's not fucking pepsi, it's music. and if it had a face maybe more people would be into it (top 40-wise)

5:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

that was ponderous, man

11:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

cd source!

5:42 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this shit sounds like a credit card or some shit.

sign up for ascap pluss for an oportunity to win your money back. the more you use it the more chances you have to win..... fuggin sweet!

...it's like the discover card scam. they pay you, the card owner back money over time, or you earn shit or whatever... where does that money come from? it comes from the excessive fees that any business will have to pay in order to accept discover cards.
...just take money from one place, and pretend like you're 'GIVING IT AWAY!!!"

3:07 PM  
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4:36 PM  

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