Jim Alfredson Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Our latest video from the upcoming Beatles tribute album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 The scarves are gone, awwwww... But seriously - how did it work getting rights for these tunes. Hoops? Expensive? Or just basic request/form/fee/onward? And again, you guys are into a pocket of your own, as befits an ongoing relationship of all these years. Such a pleasure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 I'm imperfectly familiar with the Beatles repertoire, but I've never heard that piece before (except I HAVE heard 'Three blind mice' :)) and I've never heard OF a Beatles tune of that title anyway. Is it really a Beatles tune? And I thought licensing a tune for a cover recording was compulsory. A composer can't prevent a song being covered, and an arranger can't prevent an approach from being copied because he can't copyright an arrangement. So all it costs is that the record company, Big O, has to pay the composers or their estates, and the music publisher, standard royalties for all copies sold. So I don't understand Jim S's question. Nice performance though. Put me down for a copy when it comes out. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 The song was on Let It Be, one of John's. As for rights, see heree: http://www.ascap.com/playback/2011/01/features/limelight.aspx My question was regarding if the process for getting a license to a Beatles song was more complicated than it would be for, say, A Tommy Gereric song. Probably not, but just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Ah, I never listened to more than the title track of 'Let it be', and then not much, though I have a beautiful cover of the song, sung in Wolof by Cheikh Ndiguel Lo, in several time signatures at once, which I listen to a lot, and still. And thanks for the link on copyright, which confirms that I was about right, though it doesn't mention anything about paying for a license to record a copyrighted song; just how to get your royalty accounting right. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluenoter Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) 1 hour ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said: I'm imperfectly familiar with the Beatles repertoire, but I've never heard that piece before (except I HAVE heard 'Three blind mice' :)) and I've never heard OF a Beatles tune of that title anyway. Is it really a Beatles tune? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dig_a_Pony (the complete history of "Dig a Pony," wherein the variation in the title is explained) Edited March 9, 2016 by bluenoter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 Well, it does say this: As a professional songwriter, you may already be aware that anyone who wants to record a version of your song needs a mechanical license from the copyright owner, usually you or your publisher. Similarly, if you chose to record your own version of someone else's previously recorded and distributed music, you would need to secure a mechanical license. A mechanical license is actually a "compulsory" license granted to users under U.S. copyright law. Usually, music users obtain these licenses through a music publisher or agent (such as Limelight). There are several entities that can assist in clearing mechanical licenses and ensuring songwriters get paid. Limelight is a simple, a one-stop shop to clear any cover song in order to distribute by means of digital downloads, physical albums, interactive streaming, and ringtones. Customers create an account and finalize their mechanical licensing and royalty accounting needs within minutes via a simple three-step process for a service fee of $15 per license (or less based on number of licenses) plus required statutory publishing royalties as set by law. Artists, bands and other musical groups can clear any song and ensure 100% of royalties are paid to the appropriate publishers and songwriters. So it's not free, although it does seem to be a one-size-fits-all formality. And if you release a song without first paying the fees to obtain the licenses, you've done it wrong. And I don't know of any license-clearing operation that is completely free, although there may be some. As for the song, here it is: Sloppy as hell, as were all of those sessions, but John's really into directing the ebb and flow, and it works, at least for me. That and "Don't Let Me Down" are special favorites from this rather sad period of Beatles history. Harry Fox charges more than $15, it looks like: https://secure.harryfox.com/songfile/faq.jsp and http://www.songfile.com/ In addition to royalty fees, there is a per-song processing fee of $16 for up to five songs. If you license 6 or more songs at one time, the processing fee is reduced to $14 per song. Not necessarily a big expense, but it ain't free! But I don't know, Ive never recorded cover songs on my own dime, if ever, except on demo sessions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) VERY underrated song from an oft maligned album. Nicely done, Jim! BTW, Randy is just fucking kicking ASS on this one. Edited March 9, 2016 by Scott Dolan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks guys. As far as licensing, I usually just go through Harry Fox. The only time I've run into trouble is covering a song owned by Malaco. They do all their own licensing, so I had to contact and deal with them directly. It wasn't a big deal, but a bit more inconvenient than using Harry Fox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 So you just pay the flat fee per song plus the per-copy estimate? Or just the flat fee upfront? Doing an all cover song project like this, how much does that run? Just curious...but feel free to answer privately or not at all if it's too nosy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 It's like 10.5 ¢ per tune per disc if it's under 7 minutes, I think. Over that, you have to pay another 2 ¢ per minute (which is stupid, especially on a jazz record where you only play the actual melody (the part that is copyrighted) for maybe 30 seconds). Anyway, for a 10 song CD, it will average to around $1.10 per disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks. Seems like the whole thing could be streamlined, but that's true of so many things these days. And people do need to get paid. But that per-minute thing over 7 minutes, yeah, that is especially stupid. Also not sure about the per/disc fee being paid on manufactured copy basis...seems like a flat fee for volumes X-through-Y etc. would get everybody to about the same place without all the math...but maybe not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 15 hours ago, Jim Alfredson said: It's like 10.5 ¢ per tune per disc if it's under 7 minutes, I think. Over that, you have to pay another 2 ¢ per minute (which is stupid, especially on a jazz record where you only play the actual melody (the part that is copyrighted) for maybe 30 seconds). Anyway, for a 10 song CD, it will average to around $1.10 per disc. Well you could give your improvisations a different name and publish it. That's what Van Morrison seems to be doing and IIRC Gil Evans did it with at least one of his intros to a Hendrix song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 18 hours ago, JSngry said: Thanks. Seems like the whole thing could be streamlined, but that's true of so many things these days. And people do need to get paid. But that per-minute thing over 7 minutes, yeah, that is especially stupid. Also not sure about the per/disc fee being paid on manufactured copy basis...seems like a flat fee for volumes X-through-Y etc. would get everybody to about the same place without all the math...but maybe not. Oh, this is the first time I've heard about royalties (you were talking about royalties, weren't you?) being paid on the basis of manufactured copies, IN AMERICA. It's standard practice in Senegal; BSDA collects royalties from record companies when their stuff is duplicated or pressed, regardless of whether they sell more than half a dozen copies. So record companies are pretty careful only to release albums that they think are well within the spirit of the times. But everyone gets paid. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 What I'm talking about is called a "mechanical license", which is legal permission to record the song for commercial use. That's not anything I've had experience in, but it looks like you do it per song, and there's a flat processing fee + some kind of other fee based on how many copies will be manufactured/distributed/whatever, and that it's all paid in advance. Not sure if that is a "royalty" as I generally think of it (as payment after the fact) or just an upfront permission fee, but either way, you do need to pay somebody something before you release it, not just after. Because, you know, the smart people always make sure to get something up front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Oh, that doesn't seem to be a royalty. BSDA told me they collect from companies on the basis of numbers of K7s manufactured, usually a minimum of 20K copies, plus more moola for each subsequent run. It's only small money; K7 albums were selling there for about $1.50, and everyone was making a (minuscule) profit at that price. No Hollywood production costs; probably no more than one take per song and bloody well get it right first time lads! MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I'm really not sure how the per-copy thing works, I'm sure Jim A. or Chuck is, but it seems like it's a fee, up front. And then when it sells, there's royalties? Starting a separate thread to deal with this, the emphasis here should be on the band and its music....sorry for the detour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Shearn Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 Killing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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