Dear PCAM Member,
This is the latest in a series of Newsletters that we publish five times a year, following meetings of the PCAM Committee.
Each Newsletter contains a brief report from the recent Committee meeting, plus other current news and views and an edited version of a recent query to the PCAM Helpdesk.
We would like to receive more contributions to the Newsletter from PCAM members. If you want to write something for inclusion or send us a link to something interesting you have read or seen, please contact PCAM Administrator Bob Fromer on: bob.fromer@outlook.com
Best regards,
The PCAM Committee
CONTENTS
— PCAM at the Second PRS Media Music Workshop
— Final Three PCAM Podcasts Released
— Feature Story: Update from ECSA
— BAPAM Survey
— New PCAM Committee Members
— Notes from the PCAM Committee Meeting: 1 October 2024
— Virtual Assistant
— Remaining Committee Meeting Date in 2024
— Case Study from the PCAM Helpdesk
— PCAM Q&As Volume 4 Now Available
— PCAM Social Media
PCAM at THE SECOND PRS Media Music Workshop
PCAM Committee Member Becky Wixon writes: We had a fantastic session at PRS for Music in early October, providing emerging music professionals with an in-depth look at the gaming industry’s opportunities, focusing on music licensing and the creative aspects of creating gaming music.
The event began with an introduction to the industry, followed by talks from composers Becky Wixon, Richard Jacques, and Chris Green on the role of music in video games.
The sessions covered topics such as writing music for indie and AAA games and the importance of sound effects, as well as offering practical insights into securing favourable licensing deals. The session concluded with a Q&A, PRS sign-up opportunities, and an informal networking event, allowing attendees to connect with industry experts and peers.
Each expert also provided a music brief related to their specific line of work, providing attendees with an opportunity to compose in a real-life setting. The applicants were given two weeks to respond to a brief of their choice, with the experts offering their time to provide feedback on each piece of work. The event was a great overview of the games music industry — well attended and favourably received by those who joined.
FINAL THREE NEW PCAM PODCASTs RELEASED
The final three episodes in the new series of PCAM Podcasts were released at the end of July, August, and September. They were:
- One Bite of the Cherry (Responding to a Brief)
- Show Me the Money Part 2 (Quoting and Budgeting)
- The Minefield That Is … Soundalikes
The episode titled “One Bite of the Cherry” explores the briefing process for both short form and long form projects, how briefing has changed over the years, how to get the most out of the briefing process, and the benefits of forming collaborative creative relationships with clients. Taking part in the conversation are PCAM Chair Paul Reynolds (Senior VP, Massive Music), Sam Heath (Executive Creative Producer, Sounds Like These) and Bankey Ojo, composer and sound designer. The host and moderator is PCAM director, composer, and producer Chris Smith (The Barbershop Music Co).
The episode titled “Show Me the Money Part 2” talks about how to construct, negotiate and justify a music budget, how to interrogate a fixed budget to ensure it is sufficient to do the job, and the framework that PCAM provides to enable a detailed budget to be properly calculated and presented to the client. Taking part in this conversation are Bankey Ojo (composer and sound designer), Sam Heath (Executive Creative Producer at Sounds Like These) and PCAM director, composer, and producer Chris Smith (The Barbershop Music Co). This episode is hosted and moderated by Greg Owens (Creative Director at Gas Music).
The final episode in the current series, “The Minefield That Is … Soundalikes”, explores the science and art of creating Soundalikes, the perils and pitfalls to avoid, tips for managing client expectations, the role of the musicologist, and the potential impact of AI. Taking part in this conversation are composer and producer Simon Elms (Eclectic Sounds), PCAM director, composer, and producer Chris Smith (The Barbershop Music Co) and Greg Owens (Creative Director, Gas Music). This episode is hosted and moderated by PCAM Chair Paul Reynolds (Senior VP, Massive Music).
The PCAM podcasts are available on https://shows.acast.com/65be364c8911d3001780e396 and on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer.
We hope you enjoy them and find them helpful. If you do, please subscribe, leave a review, and spread the word!
Previous episodes in the current series are:
“There & Then to Here & Now” — PCAM Past, Present & Future
“Can You Hear Me Knocking?” — How to get into the Industry
“Show Me the Money” Part 1 — Royalties & Publishing
FEATURE ARTICLE: UPDATE FROM ECSA
The following update from ECSA, the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance, has been sent to PCAM by ECSA Secretary General Marc du Moulin.
Dear ECSA Member,
We would like to take a moment to bring you up to date with the latest developments in the EU institutions after the European elections in June, and share some updates about our most recent and future advocacy efforts. This update includes: a) a general overview of the EU landscape; b) information about EU and ECSA activities on Artificial Intelligence, as well as recent developments related to the 2019 Copyright Directive; and c) updates about our forthcoming advocacy activities, including ECSA’s manifesto and our future report on harmful contractual practices facing composers in the audiovisual sector.
Most of our activities and updates feature in our monthly public newsletters. Please find here our newsletter for September here. if you have not subscribed yet, you can do so here, and see all the recent ones here.
- General overview of the EU landscape
European Parliament. Following the results of the European elections, the European Parliament (EP) committees appointed their new Chairs and Vice-Chairs in July. Chairs play an important role, as they represent and coordinate the work of their committees and oversee legislative negotiations on their behalf.
Despite the surge of far-right parties, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in the CULT Committee (competent on culture) prevented the election of a far-right candidate and elected MEP Nela Riehl (Greens/EFA–Volt, Germany) as the new Chair for a two-and-a-half-year term. In parallel, the Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee, whose competences include IP and copyright, elected Ilhan Kyuchyuk (Renew, Bulgaria) as its new Chair.
In general, we can clearly see a stronger influence of the far right on the debates in the European Parliament. However, it is still likely that an alliance between the EPP (conservatives), the Socialists and Democrats, and Renew (liberals and democrats) will prevail as the governing majority in support of the European Commission, as shown by the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as Commission President on 18 July. We will continue to closely follow the activities of the European Parliament, meet relevant MEPs, and look forward to working with them on advancing important issues for music authors.
Following the election results and the departure of various MEPs who have been very important allies for us over the years, such as Iban Garcia del Blanco (Socialists and Democrats – Spain), ECSA is working actively on building new alliances and contacts in the European Parliament. Together with a coalition of cultural and creative sector organisations, we are trying in particular to gather support among newly elected MEPs for a Creators’ Intergroup.
Intergroups allow for informal exchanges of views on specific issues across different political groups, and between MEPs and civil society organisations. They are formed at the beginning of the legislative term and must include representatives of at least three political groups. You can find here the joint letter in support for this intergroup. In addition, alongside this joint effort, ECSA is meeting with relevant MEPs to introduce our key priorities (which will be featured in the ECSA Manifesto – see below) to newly-elected MEPs.
As shared in our August newsletter, ECSA is also monitoring the launch of a Joint Working Group on the implementation of the EU AI Act between the EP committees on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), and on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO). The Group will be led by MEP Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy), who was one of co-rapporteurs on the AI Act, and another MEP from the LIBE Committee.
If successfully set up, the Working Group will influence the other institutions with respect to copyright and to uphold the AI Act obligations. In this regard, it is important to recall that the European Parliament has been a supporter of creators’ rights during the AI Act negotiations, introducing various provisions on compliance with copyright law and on transparency.
New European Commission. On 18 July, Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as Commission President with 401 votes in favour and 284 against. After EU Member States announced their candidates for Commissioners, Ursula von der Leyen announced the portfolios of each of the Commissioners-designate on 17 September. This followed the unprecedented and unexpected resignation of Commissioner Thierry Breton (responsible for digital policy and copyright), who was replaced at the last minute by Stéphane Séjourné as France’s Commissioner-Designate.
The distribution of portfolios in the new College of Commissioners undoubtedly shows a more centralised approach: there are only five Executive Vice-Presidents who are reporting directly to von der Leyen, and powerful portfolios have been divided among multiple Commissioners. Importantly, the portfolio for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy was assigned to Henna Virkkunen, a former centre-right MEP from Finland, who is also one of the Executive Vice-Presidents. Among various matters, her powerful portfolio oversees issues related to artificial intelligence, media and copyright (DG CNECT).
Another Commissioner of relevance for ECSA is Glenn Micallef (Malta) who oversees the portfolio for Education, Youth, Sport, and Culture (DG EAC). Interestingly, his mission letter states that he should work closely with Ms Virkkunen on developing an AI strategy for the cultural and creative industries and focus on improving the working conditions of artists and cultural professionals.
he next step will be for the Commissioners-designate to go through parliamentary hearings, a process whereby each candidate is questioned by MEPs before one or two EP committees. The hearings are an important way for Parliament to showcase its strength, as it can approve or reject the proposed College of Commissioners in what is, of course, a highly political process. This is also an opportunity for us to make our voice heard by MEPs so that they can influence the political agenda on our core issues (see below). In the past, Parliament has successfully managed to get certain candidates to be replaced, although it can only approve or reject the College as a whole. Once approved, the new European Commission is expected to take office on 1 December.
- Artificial intelligence
In July, ECSA drafted and coordinated a joint letter on AI — together with 12 organisations representing authors, performers, and cultural and creative sector workers across the cultural and creative sectors — to introduce our position to newly-elected MEPs in the CULT, JURI, ITRE, LIBE and IMCO Committees. The letter was sent on 23 July and in early September and is available here.
In the letter, we outlined our position on generative AI, urging MEPs to prioritise consent, transparency, and remuneration across all their work on AI. We also urge MEPs to question the flaws and misinterpretation (in particular around the reservation of rights) of the current EU copyright framework / text and data mining exception (TDM) in relation to generative AI, and to ensure that the AI Act is implemented in an effective way to preserve fundamental rights, promote the highest level of transparency, and enable authors to exercise their rights. The letter also calls on MEPs to engage in a debate on establishing a clear legal framework that preserves the rights of creators and the integrity of their works. In relation to this, please find in this folder a reply to one of our previous letters from the European Commission’s Kilian Gross (Head of Unit, AI Office).
On 30 July, the European Commission announced two consultations that will contribute to the drafting of a code of practice for AI providers, one of the requirements introduced by the AI Act. Set to enter into force in August 2025, the Code will specify the rules for developers of general-purpose (generative) AI models to comply with EU copyright law, and will provide a template for the summaries of the content used for training that AI providers need to make available.
he first consultation focuses on the drafting process of the Code of Practice, and will take place in three meetings (plus a kick-off plenary) spanning from September 2024 to April 2025. Approved participants will come together in four working groups to discuss specific aspects of the code. After submitting an application on 23 August, ECSA’s participation was confirmed by the AI Office on 24 September. We are coordinating with a coalition of other authors, performers, and creative workers organisations to adopt, when possible, a common position. On 30 September, the AI Office will hold a kick-off plenary to inform participants (including ECSA) about the logistical aspects of the working groups.
The second consultation consisted of an online (public) form through which industry players, civil society, rightsholders, and others (academia, independent experts, public authorities) could submit their input and comments on the Code of Practice. The results of this consultation will inform a first version of the Code of Practice that will serve as a starting point for the drafting process. ECSA submitted its answers on 18 September.
Lastly, ECSA was present at two events on AI earlier this month. On 5 September, the German association Initiative Urheberrecht presented a study on AI and copyright at the EP. Authored by researchers and AI experts Professor Tim W. Dornis and Sebastian Stober, the study provides important insights into why the training of AI models constitutes copyright infringement, and argues that the TDM exception (Art. 4 of the DSM Directive) does not apply to the training of AI models. You can consult a summary of the study at this link, and you can find notes from the presentation in this folder.
On 10 September, IFPI hosted an event on copyright and AI which included the participation of Emmanuelle du Chalard (Head of Copyright Unit, DG CNECT — European Commission), Renate Nikolay (Deputy Director, DG CNECT – European Commission), and MEP Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy, co-rapporteur of the AI Act), at which the Commission reiterated its focus on ensuring the practical functioning of the reservation of rights put in place by the TDM exception. Ms Nikolay also highlighted the challenge posed by music streaming, discussing the lack of transparency of DSPs, the manipulation of streaming data, and the need to identify rightsholders to accurately distribute royalties. Please find some notes in this folder.
Overall, while the European Commission is still defending the TDM exception and its application to generative AI, there is a growing recognition that the reservation of rights is not working and/or simply ignored by generative AI models. We can also expect more lawsuits from different categories of rightholders against generative AI companies in the near future.
- 2019 Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market: prejudicial questions from the Belgian Constitutionnal Court to the Court of Justice of the EU
On 26 September, the Constitutional Court of Belgium referred various preliminary questions to the Court of Justice of the EU, following five lawsuits (from Google, Spotify, Meta, Streamz, and Sony) against the law implementing the CDSM Directive in Belgium. Those preliminary questions concern Articles 15 (publishers’ right), Article 17 (transfer of value / value gap), and Article 18 (principle of appropriate and proportionate remuneration).
In implementing both Articles 17 and 18, Belgium introduced a new unwaivable right for authors and performers to receive remuneration from online content sharing service providers for Article 17 and from streaming platforms for Article 18 – both subject to mandatory collective management. The claimants argue that this leads to a double remuneration, whereby those platforms would have to pay both the third party to whom the right was transferred (labels, producers, etc), as well as authors or performers. They also claim that such provisions go against constitutional rights and freedoms, such as the freedom of contract and the freedom to conduct a business.
While it is hard to predict the timing and content of a future judgement by the Court of Justice of the EU, it is clear that the Court will now have to provide guidance on both Articles 17 and 18 CJEU. Such a judgment will have very important consequences across the EU on the interpretation of the CDSM Directive (and the whole EU copyright framework), as well as on national laws – already adopted – implementing Articles 17 and 18.
- ECSA Manifesto
Our team is in the process of finalising the ECSA Manifesto, a document which will present and describe our Alliance’s four key priorities for the coming years: artificial intelligence, music streaming, contractual practices, and working conditions, and the EU strategy for the music sector. Please note that the Manifesto will be based on the work of our Alliance in the last years. It will outline a main objective and a list of actions to be taken to achieve that goal. The Manifesto will include information on ECSA’s past advocacy activities for each priority in a visually intuitive and succinct overview of the four priorities and their objectives.
The purpose of the Manifesto is to introduce our Alliance to newly-elected MEPs and to the new Commission, showcasing our priorities and putting them on the agenda of policymakers for the coming years. In addition to directly sending it to policymakers and advertising it across all our communication channels, we plan to distribute it in person at advocacy events, including at meetings with MEPs later in the year. After discussions with our Board, we expect to publish this Manifesto around mid-October, so that it can influence the MEPs early on in the legislative term.
- Report on harmful contractual practices for composers in the
audiovisual sector
As a follow-up to various discussions on the topic, our team is also working on a report on harmful and unfair contractual practices for composers in the audiovisual sector. The report will deal with two main issues in the sector: buyout contracts and other harmful contractual practices, such as coercive publishing. Since our first report on buyouts in 2021, policymakers in the EP, Council, and Commission have paid increasing attention to these practices. Building on these efforts, the report – which will draw on evidence submitted by ECSA Members — aims to continue to highlight those issues and encourage policy makers to act, taking into account that the DSM Directive has been implemented in all EU Member States and that the European Commission study on contracts is soon to be published.
A draft of this report will be submitted and discussed with the FFACE committee at our next session in Paris before its final approval by the Board and its publication before the end of the year.
We look forward to providing you with more information and discussing these topics in person at the ECSA Session in Paris on 12-13 November. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out for any questions or comments.
BAPAM SURVEY
Understanding your health needs: a new survey from PCAM and BAPAM
As part of PCAM’s commitment to support health and wellbeing, we are collaborating with the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) to increase our understanding of the work-related health needs of our members.
BAPAM is a specialist medical charity, supporting people working in the creative arts with concerns about work-related health issues, including mental health and physical health, pain, hearing, vocal health, or returning to creative work after illness or injury. BAPAM provides free, expert health services and plays a vital role in supporting healthy careers.
To get a clearer sense of the overall health and wellbeing of PCAM members, we have co-designed a short anonymous survey with BAPAM which we are inviting you to complete. Our aim is to identify the most appropriate types of support, and respond to health concerns in our industry.
Take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G9SRWVH. Learn more about BAPAM here: www.bapam.org.uk.
NEW PCAM COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The PCAM Committee has taken on two new members, who will attend their first Committee meeting on 19 November.
One is composer and music producer Karina Byrne; the other is ilā Kamalagharan, a multifaceted transgender mixed-race artist, producer, and creative director.
As well as joining the Committee, both Karina and ilā have volunteered to work with Becky Wixon in setting up a PCAM mentoring programme for female composers.
NOTES FROM THE PCAM COMMITTEE MEETING: 1 OCTOBER 2024.
The PCAM Committee’s most recent get-together was a remote meeting held on 1 October.
Those present were Paul Reynolds, Simon Elms, Chris Smith, Tony Satchell, Blair Mowat, Amelia Vernede, Greg Owens, Becky Wixon, Simon Surtees, and Bob Fromer. Apologies were received from Bankey Ojo, James Bargent, Jonathan Watts, Chris Green, and Michelle Murchan.
The main discussions and decisions from the meeting are below.
PCAM participation in PRS Education Outreach Project. As reported above, the second in the series of outreach sessions for young composers from disadvantaged communities, organised by the PRS, Lewisham Music, and PCAM, took place on 2 October and focused on music for games. PCAM’s games music consultant, Chris Green, took part along with new PCAM Committee member Becky Wixon. Sign-ups for these sessions have been high – there is a core group plus others who sign up for particular topics — and this is a great target audience for PCAM: talented young composers on the cusp of entering the industry, and by taking part in this initiative, we are also expanding our contacts within PRS. The next session – on sonic branding – may be held in November, but no date has yet been fixed.
PCAM Socials: how many times a year? The consensus was that trying to hold PCAM social events in the pre-Christmas period is a non-starter, but we are keen to continue to hold summer socials (attendance at the social event this past June was encouraging, albeit almost entirely male!. In future, we are looking at less food, more money behind the bar, and special efforts to attract a more diverse attendance.
Attendance at the ECSA Conference/Camille Awards in Paris in November. It looks like there will be various panels and discussion groups at the upcoming ECSA Conference on increasing the number of women in the industry, and new PCAM Committee member Becky Wixon, who is attempting to increase diversity on the PCAM Committee, will attend along with our ECSA representative, Chris Smith. PCAM Committee member Blair Mowat will also be there, as a nominee for a Camille Award.
Good practice in commissioning original music for commercials. PCAM Committee member Simon Elms has written a short paper, designed for presentation to the IPA, arguing that the pitching process for music for TV commercials has become unsustainable for music production companies and freelance composers alike, and offering some solutions around payment for demos.
In the end, we want to challenge the IPA, and the agencies it represents, over practices that mean composers are often working for less than minimum wage, contrary to the Social Responsibility Charters of many of the companies involved. A finalised version of the document will be taken to the IPA shortly.
Internet and streaming royalties. The PRS has subcontracted ICE Services to provide reporting information from music used on all major streaming platforms, and the PRS position is that if usage is reported, it will pay. But the problem is a lack of reporting from music used in advertising, because platforms won’t release the necessary data.
Dave Newton, Media Member Account Manager at PRS, has invited us to pose questions on this and other issues of concern (blanket licensing, demands for writer’s share, etc), and they will attempt to provide answers from their point oi view.
With regard to blanket licensing, we would like the PRS to insist that reporting on branded content becomes mandatory when licenses are re-negotiated. Otherwise, licenses will need to be frontloaded, because there’s no back end.
Podcast viewing figures. As of the beginning of September, there had been a total of 303 downloads for the first five episodes of our new podcast series – 214 from the UK, but also 89 downloads from six other European countries plus the US, Turkey, and India. We want to begin work on the next series of podcasts early in the new year, and are currently defining a list of topics and who will take them on.
Meeting on AI with UK Music. Paul Reynolds, Blair Mowat, and Simon Surtees recently held a productive meeting recently with Florian Koempel and others at UK Music to discuss the dangers (and potential) of AI in the music industry. We learned that there is already an All-Party Parliamentary Group looking at the issue, set up to advise the new Labour government with a view to future legislation. The Group, for which Florian is providing a secretariat, seems to be pro-creator and pro-copyright, which is a good start. The EU, the US, China, and other countries are currently looking at legislation to protect the rights and livelihoods of people in the creative industries in the face of generative AI, with the aim that it becomes a servant rather than a master, and though there is a lot of fear among creatives, positive things are happening (see ECSA Report above).
PCAM Seminar on AI. We are keen to work with the PRS to host a Seminar on AI, which we think would draw a lot of interest from our members and others, and Florian Koempel, who is UK Music’s expert on the subject, has indicated a willingness to be involved.
We hope to hold a number of other Seminars in 2025, and suggestions from members on potential topics are welcome (please send to bob.fromer@outlook.com). Some possibilities are:
- Peer-to-Peer Mentoring
- Advice on Common Legal Issues
- How to Use Soundmouse.
SACEM changes. Information has recently been sent to a PCAM member by PRS relating to a query about royalties due to his company from SACEM, the French Collection Society.
According to PRS, “It transpires there has been a very recent change to the way we receive funds from SACEM, due to tax reasons. Although they submit the data to us, SACEM now require the member tax deductions to be calculated before they remit the corresponding monies. The process of requesting the tax certificates for this happens once a year. This, of course, has a significant effect on the timeline for distributing the relevant French royalties. Unfortunately, this is the way SACEM now wants to operate and our hands are tied. At this stage, we are unable to provide any indication of when the royalties for this work will be paid. I guess it’s an issue of wait and see, which is far from ideal for our members.”
There is further information available from the PRS website (https://www.prsformusic.com/members-news/french-tax), and though the process requires the production of a Certificate of Residence, there is an online form for this here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-a-certificate-of-residence#how-to-apply.
MUSIC ASSISTANT WANTED
Everything from project research, diary and file management, and social media to bookkeeping and much more!
Many years of invaluable experience from working in the creative industries, with BASCA/Ivors, BBC, ACE, TV production, and for many media composers.
Be good to hear from you!
Thanks,
Michelle
penpapermouse@gmail.com
PCAM Committee meeting dates in 2024
The final PCAM Committee meeting in 2024 will be held on:
- Tuesday 19 November, 4.00-6.00 pm (in-person at Massive Music)
Any PCAM member interested in attending any PCAM Committee meeting should contact PCAM Administrator Bob Fromer (bob.fromer@outlook.com).
PCAM HELPDESK Q&A
Below are two question-and-answer exchanges from the PCAM Helpdesk (the questions are in black type and the Helpdesk answers are in blue).
Q1: After approaching a potential client recently, I was asked if we have a rate card on blanket usage. I’m assuming this term implies a worldwide usage in perpetuity? This is something we have previously covered for online only projects for around the £1-5k mark, but just wanted to double check what you think would be an appropriate response if this was to cover TVCs as well.
A1: The PCAM Recommended Rates (based on percentages of an individual composer’s Composition Fee) are a sort of rate card (see the PCAM website, assuming you’re members, for details).
Clients love to ask for Worldwide usage but they rarely want it, especially when they find out the cost! Also, they like to ask for “Buyouts”, which is a thing you should NEVER do — hence the point of licencing for Terms of one, two, three years etc. You need to concentrate your client’s mind so that you are only quoting for what they actually need.
Current Composition Fees are between £1,500-£5,000. So, on an average £3K Composition Fee for example (on top of the Production costs and Composition Fee), a One Year Licence would be:
- Worldwide, All Media @ 2,500% = £75,000
- USA, Canada & Europe, All Media @ 1,400% = £42,000
- Europe, All Media @ 800% = £24,000
- Worldwide, Internet only, incl. Social Media @ 600% = £18,000
I hope this helps.
Q2: I just wanted to ask a quick question regarding licensing a cover version we recently did. We were asked to do a piano cover of a well-known track which differs quite a lot from the original piece but is still definitely recognisable. Originally, this was for a director’s cut, however this has now been bought by a French agency and they are asking for a quote for a one-year licence.
This is the first time we have submitted a cover version and not entirely sure how it works in terms of licensing, so any light that could be shed on this would be greatly appreciated!
A2: The short answer is that legally you have no right to grant a broadcast licence for non-original works. You can’t licence the track as you are not the copyright owner, unless you want to be sued and maybe lose your house! The French client needs to obtain a licence from the original publisher AND clear your arrangement with them.
As the recording was done without any clearance from the original publisher. they might well hike the price or outright refuse permission. Normally, one obtains a quote and permission for the cover prior to any recording.
I hope this is clear.
Thanks — I should’ve mentioned that we were told the Agency has been using the original track as a ‘brand manifesto’, so I would assume they already have some agreement in place for licensing. I’m not sure whether this would impact at all on using cover versions?
I’m being put in touch with the Agency, as I’ve previously only spoken to the directors on the job. Aside from asking them about their original agreement with the track’s publishers, is there anything else I would need to find out about?
A: I’ve never trusted what I’ve been told unless I see it in writing from the horse’s mouth (assuming the horse can hold a pen or type)!
Other than making sure that the Agency has a licence that covers France, you need to check if their Agreement allows them to use re-arrangements or whether arrangements have to be ok’d by the Publisher and/or the original Composer – often the case.
Assuming that’s all good, then you just quote for a licence for your recording, making it clear that it is their responsibility to obtain the Publishing Licence.
Also, if (and assuming) you own the recording and assuming the original Publisher grants a licence, you should also charge a licence for them to use your recording. The PCAM recommended rate is: 1 x Year, All Media, France @ 125% of your Composition Fee.
Good luck with the job!
PCAM Q&As VOLUME 4 NOW AVAILABLE
Over the past few years, an edited selection of questions sent to the PCAM Helpdesk, and the answers provided by PCAM Committee member Tony Satchell, who runs the Helpdesk, have been published annually on the PCAM website.
A new selection of Helpdesk Q&As from 2023 is available here: https://www.pcam.co.uk/pcam-helpdesk-faqs.
Because people in the industry often run into similar kinds of problems and ask similar kinds of questions, perusing these questions and answers may be helpful, especially for new members.
PCAM SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest news on PCAM seminars and workshops, our new series of podcasts, plus industry-wide events and initiatives, be sure to follow PCAM on our socials.