25 Jan
2004
25 Jan
'04
7:51 a.m.
On Sun, 2004-01-25 at 07:32, linux-audio-user(a)k--b.org wrote:
I don't know what models BMI/ASCAP use. In the rest of the world, there
is only one such body per nation. They are concerned only with
performance rights; the other rights stay with the composer or publisher
(and may be managed by another society: so-called "mechanical rights" -
now there's an archaic term, from the era of the piano-roll - are
managed by MCPS in the UK and Harry Fox in the USA). I would have
thought that it should be possible to make a CC-type licence that was
compatible with the collective management of the performance rights,
while leaving the door open for adaptation/evolution/derivation of new
works inspired by/based on/copied from the original.
Edward
It's not
exactly "how do I get ALSA to work with a 2.6 kernel" but
it will become more of an issue as CC-like music gets produced with
linux (or any, but more likely on linux) based systems.
Indeed... if this discussion is too far off topic, I hope someone will say so.
Speaking of royalties, I called BMI and ASCAP a few weeks ago hoping to figure out if a
Creative Commons license is automatically incompatible with their models. They are
supposedly looking into it but I haven't heard back.
At first I thought that a CC-licensed song could not be included in BMI and ASCAP's
libraries, but the more I think about it, the less sure I am about that. I think this too
comes down to the question of what is "commercial use."
First a bit of background. For those of you familiar with BMI, ASCAP, etc, please skip
this paragraph. BMI and ASCAP attempt to manage royalties for all of their thousands of
artist members worldwide. Radio stations, theaters, and basically any venue that plays
music in a commercial setting pays a fee to BMI and/or ASCAP. BMI and ASCAP then divvy up
the total booty among their artists, based on radio samples and various reports. Some
people consider the companies to be defenders of artist, and some consider them to be
money-grubbing corporations making bank off of others' creativity.
Alongside their management of royalties, however, BMI and ASCAP also monitor the use of
music. They fiercely prosecute when they catch someone stealing another person's song
or using music without giving credit and/or royalties. While royalties are not of so much
interest to me, I might be excited about BMI and ASCAP looking out for my music.
Has anyone tried to register a song licensed under Creative Commons or similar
"free-er" license with BMI and ASCAP? I've emailed a contact at Creative
Commons but he didn't know the answer...
Thank you in advance for any input.
Kris Bergstrom