Copyright board to charge for music at weddings, parades

[Moira]

[QUOTE=CarterJohnsonPiano;315403]

I recently played at a wedding—it was a beautiful wedding. I played some nice music for the prelude, then the bridesmaids and flower girls. And then the bride comes out, and I stop playing...a country song plays on the speakers. The whole wedding went splat. Not only did the beautiful bride walk down the aisle to a country song, but they had to fade the music out because the song was too long.

Some people just don't get it

I conducted a multi-cultural wedding a few years ago where they had something similar, with a live string quartet. The bride however, danced down the aisle to a recorded number very popular here in South Africa, "Mama Themba's Wedding". They didn't fade it, however, I simply indicated to the audience that they should rise too and join the dancing. It really worked well. But that was a very specific context.

[Romantic Geek]

So I was trying to find a video to prove my point about the problems of live musicians sometimes (let's just say the last wedding I went to, the organist was a little flimsy on the pedals leading to some...interesting...harmonies.)

But then I found this video of a wedding where the bride marched in to the Largo from Xerxes by Handel???? I've never heard of this before, but it seems so...inappropriate?

[PetrB]

At least someone will make a bit of money from the music at a wedding. Cynically, I am quite happy about the import of this. People spend crazy amounts of cash at weddings, and then want to pay the musicians pennies, if at all.

[Delicious Manager]

That's completely ridiculous. Whenever i throw a party, i have to hire live bands now instead of playing CDs? Or else i'll be charged for copyrights infringement? Please. The whole wedding industry is already enough of a scam.

Sounds like another measure to get a steady cash flow into the fat pockets of the copyright industry, rather than the artists themselves.

Depending on the nature of your parties, you might already be liable to pay for a mechanical copyrights licence to play CDs. There is nothing wrong WHATSOEVER with making sure musicians get their just dues for the work they do. They have the same bills to pay as everyone else, after all.

The difference between a private party at your house (and, if that's what it is, you WOULDN'T be liable to pay for a licence unless the music was in any way entertaining the general public rather than only your private guests) and a wedding is that weddings take place in public, licenced premises. If you play recorded music in one of these spaces, then of course you should pay - you are, effectively, broadcasting to the general public. The other professionals involved in a wedding don't give their services for free, so why should the musicians (just because their work happens to be on a CD)?

[graaf]

I just love the way people feel self-righteous about defending copyright, even though it is due to reform sooner or later. But they need not worry, for PR is their friend - it will not be said it is due to the ridiculousness of the current state of copyright, oh no, it will be due to the "embracing new realities and the ever-changing way we think about music, film and other copyrighted material, all in the best interest of the consumers and artists". You know, the generic corporate mission statement talk.

[Delicious Manager]

I just love the way people feel self-righteous about defending copyright, even though it is due to reform sooner or later. But they need not worry, for PR is their friend - it will not be said it is due to the ridiculousness of the current state of copyright, oh no, it will be due to the "embracing new realities and the ever-changing way we think about music, film and other copyrighted material, all in the best interest of the consumers and artists". You know, the generic corporate mission statement talk.

I don't think I'm self-righteous about it. I have actually managed musicians for more than 30 years. Did you know they have the same bills to pay as everyone else? When you consider the years of study, practice and hardship many musicians endure compared to people in other professions with similar levels of training, they get paid peanuts for highly skilled, dedicated work. Would you deny them and their families even that by eroding copyright regulations?

[Prodromides]

However, imho, those who willfully use copyrighted media (Pre-recorded Cd's, Lp's, Cassette, Dvd, etc) should be held responsibly for paying the royalties to those musicians or orchestra, and the recording company who owns the copyright.

Hi, Krummhorn:

Hope you don't mind me asking a tangential question about copyrights, for I'm curious to learn what percentages of album sales are alotted towards musicians' unions and copyright holders?

Not certain if you know this, or are at liberty to divulge the info, but input on this subject would be welcomed.

For example, if a customer purchases one classical music CD @ $19.99, then would 25% (say $5?) be dispursed to the current company holding the rights, and then would another 25% go towards a musicians' union's Trust? And so forth...

[Krummhorn]

Hi Prodromides,

A valid question that I too would like to have an answer to. I don't have any statistical figures on what portions of a CD sale go to whatever entity or how it's doled out. That would be the type of information shared between the musician/group and the recording company when they signed a contract. Each contract is probably quite different depending on multiple scenarios, I would think.

Consider the professional musician/group, who would have paid hundreds of dollars to produce a CD, and expecting to earn a living and/or meet expenses for creating the CD, then only to have it copied and distributed to profit someone else's pocket ... I would be quite incensed if that were to happen to me.

Kh

[Couchie]

The other professionals involved in a wedding don't give their services for free, so why should the musicians (just because their work happens to be on a CD)?

Artists also make peanuts - should we start charging whenever their work will be publicly seen on the walls at a wedding?

Charge double if there's dancing in front of them?

I'm all for public endowment of the arts - increase subsidization of opera companies, orchestras and ensembles - but don't create another stupid bureaucratic headache for the government, the overhead for which to manage and enforce will eliminate any benefits.

[elgars ghost]

I'm a little confused - in Canada would discos playing pop or rock music and pubs with their own CD players be committing the same kind of infringement?

[Delicious Manager]

I'm a little confused - in Canada would discos playing pop or rock music and pubs with their own CD players be committing the same kind of infringement?

The buildings in which the discos take place have to have a licence to allow them to play music on the premises to the public. You will find this is universally true (unless someone is doing it illegally, of course).

[Vaneyes]

'Supreme Court ruling scraps royalty for music downloads'

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stor...t-rulings.html

'Supreme Court of Canada Stands Up For Fair Dealing in Stunning Sweep of Cases'

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6588/125/


It appears from these rulings, that the nickel-and-diming dreams and schemes of some were for naught.

[myaskovsky2002]

Is Mendelsohn receiving money?

Martin

[myaskovsky2002]

In Canada we must pay for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g !

Martin

[Delicious Manager]

Is Mendelsohn receiving money?

Martin

No, but then his music isn't in copyright; it is the Public Domain. This doesn't affect the rights of the people who perform his music, however.