Raising our voices does make a difference- BTN

[Music1234]

Remember my epic rant about big ten network here and how I encouraged everyone to relentlessly write to ASCAP to complain? Well, I guess it helped. They finally paid some Big Ten Network royalties. Below is a copy/paste from my last statement. Not much, considering I had cues used on around 500 to 1000 episodes of sports programming since 2016, but I’ll take it. This was ASCAP’s way of saying “Here’s some money, now shut up.”
Bottom line – speak up when you believe that you are owed some money. Don’t be afraid to bring awareness to problems and issues to the Publishers and PRO’s you work with. Their job is to collect and pay royalties for broadcast TV performances.

Cable TV – Blanket (continued)
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BTN LIVE 09/23/2019 1 BG $332.98171

[LAwriter]

Congrats m1234!! But if I had 1000 episodes on line and got paid $330, I’d STILL be screaming. That’s insane…. Hope it continues for you and wasn’t just a “please shut up now” payment.

Be glad that ASCAP is hearing you. I can’t even get BMI to acknowledge I exist or return a phone call after 4 months now….

[boinkeee2000]

congratz! maybe i should try that with HGTV, dont mind getting some “hush money” with the crisis and all…

[Strat56]

I agree Music1234 and I’m glad that you received payment. Remember a few months ago when I posted about my surprise when my FEB. Socan [ ASCAP being the affiliate ] statement paid me $2,000.00 for two tracks on BTN ? I can’t recall the total number of episode placements, I’ll have to go back and check. I just received my May statement amount and it’s higher than usual again so I’m guessing some more BTN placements come in. I’ll know on the 15th when I receive the statement details. I’ve had several tracks on several episodes placed on BTN over the years without seeing a penny. I too contacted everyone, ASCAP, SOCAN and BTN themselves. I was also strongly vocal when I contacted everyone [ in a well mannered way ] about this and I remember the rep I talked to from ASCAP telling me that they were working on the issue about BTN and other Sports Networks to get this ongoing non payment issue finally resolved, so I’m guessing they finally did and we’ll be seeing more payments from these type of shows, so we’ll see. So yes, I agree, a strong unified voice can make a difference at times.

[Music1234]

@ Strat56…I was never impolite, but the tone needs to be firm, slightly challenging in my honest opinion. I still to this day do not understand how the evidence of a cue sheet filed at ASCAP is not enough evidence. Otherwise, why is ASCAP even presenting the cue sheets in our PRO accounts? Additionally, an ASCAP contact did say to me “we are aware of this and many members have been contacting us about BTN cue sheets.” So yes, when we all collectively raise awareness and speak out or really just write e-mails asking why we’re not getting paid, that does help!

We should not give up on the SCRIPPS issue because that too is just disgustingly flawed and wrong. I just do not understand how libraries and SCRIPPS can live with themselves and actually think they are doing business with integrity when they know the writers are not getting paid a single penny. The music is being “direct blanket licensed” and the writers are not part of the deal. JP, SK, and M are most likely a few of the culprits in the SCRIPPS music distribution scheme and it’s just shameful that they can not find a way to compensate us.

I see SCRIPPS tunesat detections every day and it is very disheartening. No Cable TV network supported by major advertising funding should be exempt from performance royalties. SCRIPPS does sell advertising space to big brands, fortune 500 companies. That is what supports their shows and their network. Here is their stock…clearly they are suffering a bit during the covid 19 crisis, but as you can see their stock has been fairly steady 2015 to 2019 .

https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=ssp&qsearchterm=ssp

[Strat56]

Music1234. I wasn’t suggesting that you were impolite, I was just stating my personal mannerism, that’s all. Yes I agree with you, one must be firm in a respectful way and I was very firm. I appreciated my communication with the rep from ASCAP, I believe he was very sincere. I’m from Canada and I think things are different up here than down there in the USA when it comes to SCRIPPS. It might be laws, regulations or whatever it may be ? I don’t know ? Maybe you can shed some light on this ? I do get paid for HGTV, Cooking Channel, Food Network, Travel Channel, etc. HGTV pays not too bad at all, I’m pleased when I see HGTV placements come in. Is this issue you guys have down there with SCRIPPS just an ASCAP thing or is it BMI also ? The big problem I have is with NBC Sports, I have many placements over the years and also not received payment, I also brought that up with ASCAP and SOCAN. The only NBC Sports show I get paid for is ” Mobsteel ” which is now called ” Speed Is The New Black “. Why the others don’t pay, I don’t know ? By the way, my BTN placement that I received payment for was CAMPUS EATS 09 26 2017 CAMPUS IN. It falls under the ” International Audio-Visual ” listing on my SOCAN statement. It doesn’t state how many plays those two tracks got. It goes back a few years so hopefully more is on the way. But, what about the other episodes during that time where I had placements ? So I’m wondering if it was a lump payment that includes them too and they just put them all under one banner, which would be a very strange thing to do, I can’t think of any else ? I’m saying this because of the amount paid for such a low paying channel. I miscalculated the earnings for the two tracks though, I was paid $1,710.00, not $2,000.00 that I previously stated.

[Music1234]

Hay Strat 56, If the initials of your name contain these 3 letters ( not in this order) P O A, I think I know who you are and I do see your name on hundreds of cue sheets I am on too.

Is this issue you guys have down there with SCRIPPS just an ASCAP thing or is it BMI also ?

Seems to be both, but more importantly it’s libraries selling “direct blanket licensing” deals to them who are the grand enablers of that deal. My hunch is that the retransmissions happening in Canada have a different set of rules. There are two things at work here in my opinion as I see it:

1. SCRIPPS does not want to deal with the labor of creating cue sheets, nor the inconvenience of paying USA PRO’s annual license fees, who in turn would pay writers and publishers based on filed cue sheets.

2. Libraries like JP, M, and SK, and a few others see an opportunity to do business by selling a “DIRECT BLANKET LICENSE” to SCRIPPS because..well…profits are profits and afetr all, it cost them nothing to compose the music, and willing composers supplied the music to them…for free of course.

So how is this a corrupt scheme? Well, SCRIPPS is getting PRO Registered music supplied to them, but gee…they don’t have to pay the PROS! how convenient and what great cost savings. Secondly, the libraries peddling this PRO registered music are sending them an invoice, getting paid the direct license fees and then hide behind the excuse “by contract we don’t have to pay writers.”

But, what about the other episodes during that time where I had placements ?

ASCAP survey method is simply ignoring this network and hide behind the excuse that BTN is too small, part of a cable package add on….blah blah blah…Normally though this network is broadcasting games and talk shows in every sports bar across the country as well as inside homes for those who want to watch that content.

But, what about the other episodes during that time where I had placements ? So I’m wondering if it was a lump payment that includes them too and they just put them all under one banner, which would be a very strange thing to do, I can’t think of any else ?

We are all wondering the same thing, and ASCAP writers hope that the cue will be picked up in the ancient “survey” method. At the end of the day ASCAP has 750,000 songwriters and publishers to pay. I guess even in 2020 that can’t figure out how to match up cue sheets to rightsholders to administer payment. I have the same questions, why are we not getting paid for so many shows broadcast where cue sheets are filed? and why is the network filing cue sheets at ascap and why is ascap displaying them to us only to not pay us?

Finally, I never see SCRIPPS cue sheets filed at ascap.

[Strat56]

Music1234. Thanks for your input, much appreciated. Yeah, a bit of a mess this business is ! We can only hope that more composers start speaking up, I never liked the defeatist attitude that so many have. My focus is also starting to shift to the post Covid 19 scenario with this biz. Wondering what changes could be forth coming. no doubt there will be some. I dealt with SK for a very short time years ago but quit dealing with them in short order. There was always something that really bothered me about JP so I just avoided them after a very short time, I know many had success with them but I just had that unexplainable urge to stay away. I don’t who M is. I’m down to just three libraries that deal with TV that are worth the time and a few RF libraries now where I still get sales. No, those initials aren’t mine so I’m not the person who you think I am, but you kind of know me from over at the pending co op thing at LQ, I don’t think you were too impressed with me, LOL !. That’s because I’m 100% certain who you are. Saying that though, I do admire and respect your fight, grit and spirit, and your talents of course. I’ll formally introduce myself to you in the near future. I’m small potatoes compared to some of you guys.

[pluginwasturnedoff]

Thanks for sharing! I have a similar experience with SK, Scripps and BMI, after a couple of mails I decide it was a waste of time, but now that I read this I am going to push a little harder.
I’ve spoken with SK lately and they are flooded with new submissions. So this rigged system seems to be endless 🙁

[Author]

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