News and Opportunities Compiled for Musicians, Songwriters and Music Professionals by Sandy Serge

Music Morsels encourages all of you with opportunities for musicians to email your press releases to MusMorsels@aol.com for possible inclusion in this column. This column will be featured monthly. Deadline for inclusion is the 25th of the month for the upcoming issue.

Submissions are now being accepted for showcasing slots at the annual Atlantis Music Conference through April 1, 2005. Last year's Atlantis Music Conference hosted over 300 performances during the four-day event. Atlantis is seeking submissions of original music from rock/ pop/ alt/ metal bands, singer/songwriters, soul, hip hop, R & B, rap, gospel, dj's, etc... Mail in an application with your press kit via our website. http://www.atlantismusic.com/showcaseapp.php

ASCAP MEMBERS HIT WITH $13M CUT IN LOCAL TV ROYALTIES
New Broadcaster Contract Makes No Pay Differences for Score vs. Song;
ASCAP refuses to discuss changing 84% penalty for instrumental music
NEW YORK - (Film Music Magazine) -- Performing rights organization ASCAP has agreed to slash their annual music performance license fees to local television broadcasters across the U.S. by $13 million in a sweeping new five-year rate agreement. The decreases will result in lower royalty payments to composers and songwriters whose music is played on local television stations across the country.
The new contract with local TV broadcasters contains no language indicating any differences in pay by the broadcasters for instrumental score vs. song. However, ASCAP distributes these broadcaster royalties in ways not stipulated in the agreement, using their own formulas that are highly punitive for instrumental music including an 84% penalty compared to song for a one minute piece of music used within a television show - a policy seen nowhere outside the U.S.
This punitive treatment of instrumental music by the U.S. performing rights organizations has created an environment ripe for the growth of source and direct licensing where broadcasters cut the performing rights organizations out of license transactions and make royalty deals directly with composers. Under these direct license arrangements, broadcasters can afford to pay composers more than they would have earned from ASCAP while still paying less than they would have paid if the broadcasters had licensed the music through ASCAP for the same music usages.
Under the negotiated settlement between ASCAP and the Television Music License Committee which represents local television stations in the U.S., ASCAP agreed to reduce television industry blanket fees by more than 13% beginning in December of 2004, from an annual fee of $98.1 million to $85 million. The new agreement represented $30 million less than ASCAP's request for $115 million in Federal District rate court proceedings, and according to the Television Music License Committee is the first significant decrease granted to a major industry user in ASCAP's history.
The agreement also covered all music performances on a stationìÛs digital channel and its website at no additional charge unless a station charges a separate subscription fee for these services, which alarmed some in the industry concerned who were concerned about the precedent that this set.
Will Hoyt, Executive Director of the Television Music Licensing Committee, emphasized that under the new agreement broadcasters do not pay any more for songs than for instrumental score. "We do not distinguish among the various types of music in our payments. We pay a flat fee that includes all of the types of music. "
"For film and television composers, the broadcasters are our ultimate clients. They pay the money that funds the entire performing rights system. Last year at our Film Music Network seminar we heard from the broadcasters that the type of music being performed - whether music is score or song - is not part of, and has never been part of their negotiations with ASCAP. Now it's been established clearly that broadcasters pay no more for song performances than score performances under this new agreement," said Film Music Magazine publisher Mark Northam.
Northam continued, "I don't see how ASCAP can continue to penalize a minute of score music 84% compared to a minute of song within the same television program under this agreement. It makes no financial sense, since ASCAP's job is to be a middleman in terms of collecting and paying out performance royalties. For them to skew the royalties so drastically against film and television composers is simply not fair, and it's not right. In performing rights organizations in every other major country in the world, no such penalties exist based on score vs. song, and it's time that these penalties be abolished here in the U.S. With the U.S. being home to many of the most talented film and television composers in the world, why should we settle for being in last place when it comes to the relative rate for score compared to song that we're paid for our music?"
Jim Steinblatt, Director of Media Relations for ASCAP, refused to answer any questions about the agreement or comment for this story.

10th ANNUAL USA SONGWRITING COMPETITION BEGINS
Yes, celebrating our 10th consecutive year, 2005 USA Songwriting Competition is now accepting entries! Winning songs will receive radio airplay in United States and Canada along with great prizes such as a Top Prize of over $50,000. Sponsors of the 2005 Competition are: Rolling Stone magazine, New Music Weekly, Sony, Steinberg, Audio-Technica, Ibanez Guitars, D'Addario Strings, Sam Ash Music Stores, IK Multimedia, Terratec, East West Sounds, MixDownMedia.com, Indie Bible, Garritan Music Software, ASN, Acoustic Cafe, Livewire Contacts, Loggins Promotion, Singer magazine, Electronic Musician magazine, Intellitouch Tuners, Superdups.com and SonicBids.comAlso, there are two FREE 10th ANNIVERSARY early entry bonuses: first 1,000 entries will each receive a FREE Rolling Stone magazine subscription (1 full year!) and Singer magazine subscription (3 issues). That's great value just by entering! Please obtain the entry form at:
http://www.songwriting.net/entryform.html

SHOUTS OF METAL is a webmagazine virtual specializing in reviews of bands in the heavy
metal (black, thrash, doom, death, etc), dark ambient, gothic, folk, progressive, rock, and other genres of music that are far from the norm. The zine has a widespread list of bands both old and new plus you can also find interviews, online radio, articles, and band information. If this sounds like something that would be of interest to you then come read our interviews & reviews, listen to the online radio, and come join the discussion on the forum. You can visit the site here: http://www.shoutsofmetal.com
Labels, bands, zines, send your stuff for a fair review and a possible interview.
Very important and good to know before sending any material !
- Don't send any other formats than CD or CDr
- Include bio, photo and all possible extras, interviews, reviews, etc.
- If you don't receive feedback from us, we are not interested. No reply, no interest!
Yusef Ivancovich. (main editor)
yusefmetal@gmail.com
Yusef Ivancovich Perez
Av.los Andes 950
La Victoria-Chiclayo
Perœ