Whether they’re from an iPod or a musician on stage, the tunes sounding through The Front Room’s speakers—and those anywhere else on campus—come at a price.
In fiscal year 2013, Ohio University paid $19,793 to three performance rights organizations—Broadcast Music Inc.; the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers—in a blanket fee that allows the university to play songs at public events such as sporting games and shows, as well as background music in The Front Room.
Those three companies then distribute the money to artists they represent, from big names to local artists.
Though the fee covers the cost of playing “The Fox” by Ylvis over Peden Stadium’s speakers, the music department paid another fee when the Marching 110 decided to cover the song.
Richard Suk, director of bands, said the department works with a licensing company called Tresona, which specializes in licensing band music. Tresona has a back catalog of work already covered under its name, but when the 110 wants to play something not on that list, Suk said the department pays $250 per song, on average.
That cost doesn’t include the price of hiring an arranger for both horn and drum parts, which can carry a hefty price tag. When Suk wanted to do a Phil Collins show, the licensing fees cost rang in at about $550, which changed Suk’s mind.
If the department bought prearranged work for bands, the fee would be closer to $50 for the sheet music and the bands could use it an unlimited number of times. Allowing students to arrange pieces carries a much higher fee, and the music can only be used for a certain amount of time.
But if a student picked up a guitar and played a cover of “The Fox” at The Front Room, it is covered under the blanket policy, most likely due to venue size.
“To Sony or EMI or Universal or any of those big label producers, some indie band on a college campus isn’t putting a dent in their paycheck, where as a college band may, because 70,000 people may hear it,” Suk said.
These fees are frustrating to business owners such as Chris Pyle, Donkey Coffee & Espresso’s owner. Pyle pays a similar blanket fee to Broadcast Music Inc. and said he wishes money from that fee went to artists who actually perform or are played in his shop.
“Probably 75 percent of what we play is not major label stuff,” Pyle said. “I was on the phone once with one of these BMI guys and I said, ‘My money isn’t going to the people that we play in here. … How do you decide who gets our money?’ and he said, ‘Well, it just goes out to the top 100 performers of the year.’ ”
Josh Antonuccio, a professor in the school of media arts and studies, is teaching a music licensing class next semester. As an ASCAP member, he said he has received checks and awards for his recorded work in the past.
But many times, it’s the unknown local artist who loses out.
“The whole system needs to be changed because it’s immoral and it may be illegal because how can we be made to pay for something that is not going to the artist that we’re paying for?” Pyle said.
wh092010@ohio.edu
@Wilbur_Hoffman
This article appeared in print under the headline "OU, local venues pay hefty fees for music"
