Every now and then, something happens during the darkest of times, to renew my faith in mankind…My band is involved in producing our 3rd compact disc. Part of my personal extra-musical duties is to deal with copyright issues. To date, royalties have been required and have been paid.
Among the tunes on the disc are a tune named ‘Sarah’s Jig’, by Bob McQuillen - and ‘Maija’s’, by Steve Schneider. I have had much friendship with Steve, over the years, but Bob was a stranger…
I always try to contact the composer, first - before getting the Harry Fox Agency, of New York, involved…On one day - Saturday, past - I was able to contact both composers for permission to include their tunes, and for information concerning royalties.
Bottom line: Both men gave their permission, and both asked for no royalities, whatsoever. Incredible. The folk music community rules, again…It truly is about the music, is it not…
I’ve been amazed and heartened by the same spirit on the part of whistle makers. There is a remarkable willingness to share technical information, even when it gives away details that might help another whistle maker compete for potentially the same customers (thank heaven for WhOA).
Like you said, Byll. It really is about the music.
Bob McQuillan is an incredible guy. I don’t really know him but he used to appear at the Augusta workshop in a truck. I think it was a used postal truck. Anyway, it had an upright piano bolted inside. He would stop the truck somehwere and start a session. People would gather inside and around the back of the truck and play. He won an National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 200s, as did Kevin Burke. There’s a program by his band Old New England on the Kennedy Center videos. I’m not sure when it was but you can search for it. His tune The Dancing Bear has always been a big hit.
Byll that sounds great, especially as you hint at hard times, but there’s one thing about this story that puzzles me. It’s very hard for a musician who isn’t right at the heart of the mainstream to make a living from music and getting roylaties from whereever one can is one of the ways of putting jam on the bread. Every time a song of yours is played in a shopping mall, you earn the right to a few cents and after a while it all adds up. Why would someone who has gone to the trouble to copyright a tune waive the right to receive royalties on it? To put my point a different way, should your CD shoot to the top of the charts and make you millions, I take it you’d return the favour and cut them back in on the deal.
Wombat: But of course…At one point in my life, I made a significant amount of my living through royalties on my published school choral music. I understand that many others do the same…Anyone who works with a band and records CD’s, having them duplicated 1000 at a time, taking a year or three to sell them at concerts, knows that making a profit is not the reason for the existence of the CD. The CD is a kind of affirmation of the band and the music, and is a service to the band’s followers…
I thought about it, and cannot really speak for Bob McQuillen or Steve Schneider, but I would hope that the sharing of their music with the public is important to them. Many times, I waive rights for performance royalties, because I am truly honored that my music will be performed…
You bring up a good point…In the end, we all serve the music. Sometimes it is simply nice not to let anything get in the way.
A note: The dark times I allude to are not personal. I find world news unnerving, of late…
Thanks for clarifying Byll. I thought small sales was probably the reason, but I do find this side of the business quite puzzling and personally a bit hard to negotiate. Even greater thanks for taking my post in the spirit of genuine curiosity in which it was offered; after posting I feared that it might have looked small minded and churlish which definitely was not my intention.
Let me wish your project every success and express my relief that the hard times of which you speak are not personal. I share your concerns about the world at large.