Rumor has it they did a good job of shutting down 3 Jams this week.
best..........joe
Rumor has it they did a good job of shutting down 3 Jams this week.
best..........joe
I am, for one. Jaycat Publishing, member in good standing since 2001.
It's the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. The idea behind their founding was to help songwriters get the royalties due to them. No disputing that they become overzealous from time to time.
BTW, another ASCAP member you may be familiar with is one Chris Thile.
"The paths of experimentation twist and turn through mountains of miscalculations, and often lose themselves in error and darkness!"
--Leslie Daniel, "The Brain That Wouldn't Die."
Some tunes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa1...SV2qtug/videos
Ex-member here; my bandmate is a member in good standing since 1970-something. They are indeed over-zealous at times and I've come to think of them as self-serving and superfluous in the age of file sharing (but I digress). I also let my Union membership lapse, if that matters.
If the events were indeed simple jams, then it's likely just a rumor. There's no money in jams and they're all about the money.
Dedicated Ovation player
Avid Bose user
Well, Im sure they are a good assc, but they got a little intense with a building owner that has supported open and beginner jams at 3 locations and he shut down, pretty good deal huh ?
Best/joe
This is a hot button for me, so I'm out. Sorry to hear about your trouble.
Dedicated Ovation player
Avid Bose user
Im out too, moderator close this thread at your convience.
Best.......joe
Good call, Joe.
Dedicated Ovation player
Avid Bose user
ASCArrangersP.
Len B.
Clearwater, FL
They went overboard in 1996 when they wanted to charge the Girl Scouts for songs they sing around campfires. Story here.
The story began in 1995, when Ascap approached the American Camping Association and said it wanted to charge for copyrighted music performed at the group's 2,300 camps. ''You've got to be kidding,'' said the association's executive vice president, John Miller, who quickly found a lawyer well versed in the details of Federal copyright.
The law says songwriters are entitled to royalties for copyrighted work used in ''public performance,'' which it defines as a place ''where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered.'' The lawyer determined that Ascap was indeed within bounds, and that nonprofit camps, like the Girl Scouts, were not necessarily exempt from music licensing fees.
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
At the Black Swamp jam in Woodburn, IN, every song or tune we play must be in public domain.
The moderator makes that quite clear before the jam begin
Joseph Baker
I just checked out the ASCAP website, looking for some sort of guidelines or rules that amateur players should follow in order to keep this organization's minions at bay. I didn't see any obvious link to such. Does anyone have a link to some source information on what the rules are? I would think that with thousands of jams going on in this country, they would want to let people know where they draw the line, or what the exceptions are.
Ascap? Haven't worn one of those for years!
Objects in mirror are closer then they appear.
- Buick, 1986
Their definitions and exemptions are listed here:
http://www.ascap.com/licensing/licen...q.aspx#general
In particular, check the section on "What is a public performance?" where exemptions are listed for worship services (not transmitted) and face-to-face instruction in educational institutions. If you're playing in a jam at any venue that would normally qualify as a business, like a restaurant or pub, ASCAP (and BMI) will consider that fair game for licensing.
Lebeda F-5 mandolin, redwood top
Weber Yellowstone F-5 octave mandolin
Good to know, thanks. Sounds like they've got quite a lock on this.
I'm still a little confused as to what's protected and what's not. For example, I used their "Clearance Express" page to look for a commonly-played song, Whiskey Before Breakfast. It looks like there are a number of artists who lay claim to recordings of it. So what happens if I play this tune in public without paying their extortion fee? How do they separate their protected version from any number of public variations of the tune?
This comes around every now and then. Here are some older message threads. One of the places I played a lot in the past had a license. For those that mistakenly think that music in the public domain is untouchable, it appears you can copyright an arrangement and those could get you into trouble.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Jams having to go underground!...What's next? Identification badges with "Juden"
or in my case "Negroid" on them?
Can I die already and get this over with!...
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
"There are two refuges from the miseries of life: music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer
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Lots of good points brought up here.
I'll be sure to browse through the info given.
I'll shut up now before I go on a rebellious ramble.
That is why your local restaurant does not sing the traditional version of Happy Birthday. They sing their own version.
The traditional version is owned. You cannot sing it or play it at a public performance or at a jam in a public business. It is against the law to sing Happy Birthday in public without paying a royalty.
I've heard that before, Jeff, but I've also heard "Happy Birthday" sung lots of times in public places and in restaurants, even by the serving staff. That is, unless "their own version" just has a single word subtly changed in it, so it isn't exactly the same as the traditional one... I dunno. Seems like a "stupid law" that's just itching to be broken.
bratsche
"There are two refuges from the miseries of life: music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer
GearGems - Gifts & apparel for musicians and more!
MandolaViola's YouTube Channel
Just posted this on a related thread:
I was just informed that this can be used to counter ASCAP/BMI:
"...He successfully rebuffed ASCAP on this matter some years ago. The exemption used is that the jam on Thursday night is considered a music class, and falls under an educational exemption...."
Our jam is a "beginner" friendly jam in which instruction is given out/offered consistently throughout the evening by those of us who are more accomplished to beginners...how I got my start was at this jam.
Hope someone can use this info, maybe draft a jam guidelines document that includes education as a provision, then go for it!
Hope this helps!
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
That sounds perfect, actually.
Well Great! We,ve devised a way to cheat the songwriters of their due. They all live in Beverly Hills don't they? Way to stick it to the Man! MMc
I assume Marilyn Monore paid to sing happy birthday to Kennedy???
Bob
re simmers
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