Exploiting Copyrights: Seeking New Avenues for Songs

In the music business, exploitation is a good thing that’s done many different ways. Receiving hit-making radio air play for current singles and selling millions of new records are merely two avenues for getting music out there. Other means of exploiting songs help artists and writers in their burgeoning careers, keep veterans in the public eye, and bring increased revenue and prestige to publishing, as well as recording companies. In the music business, exploitation is a good thing that’s done many different ways. Receiving hit-making radio air play for current singles and selling millions of new records are merely two avenues for getting music out there. Other means of exploiting songs help artists and writers in their burgeoning careers, keep veterans in the public eye, and bring increased revenue and prestige to publishing, as well as recording companies. For instance, Dianne Warren was named ASCAP’s Pop Songwriter of the Year for the fifth year in a row, winning that award and several others for herself and her publishing company, RealSongs, at least partially due to her popular song, “How Do I Live” (Trisha Yearwood sang it for the movie, Con Air).

Besides films, other means of exploiting songs include getting them into commercials, TV shows, and new media such as video games and interactive CD-Roms. To get songs into these outlets, companies use varying marketing tools and strategies, as well as good, old-fashioned meetings. This writer spoke with key people from L.A. to N.Y. and Nashville in-between who work every day in this endeavor.

From his L.A. office, Art Ford, Vice President of Film & Television Music for BMG Music Publishing, talks about Sonic Escape (a showcase of new BMG artists for an audience of independent filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival). He says, “You could hear a pin drop – people were so there to hear the music.”

This first annual occasion proved beneficial to all parties involved. For the independent filmmaker with a limited budget, it proved to be a golden opportunity. Art Ford licensed the songs of artists there for a very economical fee. For the new artist, it potentially gave him a marketing platform which could help launch his career.

Ford has time to arrange such campaign events as Sonic Escape due to a recently implemented tool: the 1-888-BMG-SONG phone line. He explains the system’s convenience: “It allows filmmakers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to preview our copyrights, to listen to them…as they’re running their dailies.” Tied into a 24-hour paging system, it assures filmmakers of getting prompt, attentive service.

As evidence that such tools and strategies are paying off, the company has placed songs in the soundtracks of Men In Black, Boogie Nights, A Life Less Ordinary, Soul Food, Space Jam, Great Expectations and Good Will Hunting, as well as the upcoming films Godzilla, The Truman Show, Bullworth and many others. TV programs such as Melrose Place, Friends, ER, Beverly Hills 90210 and NYPD Blue have also used songs from BMG’s catalogue.

With the latest technology, Ford can conference with a director while driving his car and have his assistant look up a song and play it for that director in real time (all of this over the phone). With so much competition between so many publishing companies vying to place songs in film and TV, his mantra is: “It’s easy to sell a resource. It’s hard to sell a song.”

With divisions in L.A. and N.Y., Famous Music exploits its catalogue from both U.S. coasts. Through a web site shared with Peer Music and Rondor Music, the company is able to bring access to their famous selection of hits and standards to user fingertips. Stacey Palm, senior creative director of film and television music in the L.A. branch, herself employs a personal touch in dealing with clients as well as with artists and writers at the home base.

In the wake of all this “exploitation.” One might wonder if the word rings with a negative connotation for the songwriter and artist. Palm likes to assuage any worries her writers might have.

“Nine times out of 10,” she relates, “new agreements are done with writers and artists where you need written approval from them to license anything. Some you don’t need to.” However, she continues, “I like to consult with them anyway because I like to do things that make people happy.”

Getting the music out there can mean getting a new artist out there as well (of course, struggling artists are generally happy about being upgraded to “new” status). While Palm says it’s rare for an artist’s career to take off as a direct result of a song placed in a film, she concedes that it has happened. Lisa Loeb’s song, “Stay,” which was in the movie, Reality Bites, is a perfect example of when it does happen. Also, though Paula Cole’s seven Grammy Nominations has no doubt served to make her presence known in the music world, Palm says, “The recent thing that was pretty helpful for (her) was … (getting) the Dawson’s Creek promotion.” One of Cole’s songs was played during the opening credits of the first 13 episodes of the new, popular TV show along with the commercial advertising of the program.

Writing for television and movies, Palm says, “takes a particular writer. You’re not writing for yourself. You’re fulfilling someone else’s vision.”

Her advice to aspiring songwriters who’d like to write songs for film and TV is to read these magazines: Hollywood Reporter and Daily Reporter (production notes), Hits Magazine (Dominique Griffin’s “Shoots and Scores”), and Music Report (a magazine in L.A. from Breakdown Services Limited which give information on people looking for music for films). Straight from her mouth: “Never send anything unless you know it’s perfect. If you think it might be right, probably not a good idea to send it. If you know it’s right, send it.”

Hailing from the opposite coast in New York City is Mary Beth Roberts (vice president of catalogue development for Famous Music Publishing). She pounds the pavement in order to get songs into commercials, in compilation albums, for karaoke usage, into new media (video games and CD-Roms), other special projects, and she works with theatrical release cross-promotions as well.

A concert pianist at one point in her life, music has always been important to her. She recognizes its influence on all generations. For some, the word “exploitation” might not sit well, and they may worry how a commercial may diminish the integrity of classic songs. Roberts, however, kindly disagrees while holding the belief that such songs give “a product prestige, credibility, desirability, and distinction.”

In particular, she holds that for Baby Boomers “that have what they call ‘discretionary income’, the songs they grew up with are very important to them.” So, placing these songs in the right commercials is also important.

Currently, Famous Music placed the song, “Mona Lisa” in an MCI commercial. For a Quaker Oats commercial, they placed “Heart and Soul.” As for the latter, song and product seem genuinely well-matched. Roberts points out, “Eating oats has been proven to help your heart. So they tap into that. ‘Heart and Soul’ is a cultural icon, and it gives the product that durability – a feeling of durability and trust. Oh, it’s amazing what songs will do.”

To hit the newest generation, the company has placed various new songs and jingles into commercials. Since they liked the sound of the group, K’s Choice, Pepsi asked them to pen something for the Generation Next ad campaign.

Though many contemporary artists are careful not to appear like they’ve “sold out” to fans, Roberts says they’re starting to be more flexible about allowing their music to be put into commercials. “If it’s the right product, the right feel – if the band feels the public will relate positively to them and their music and the product, they will consider it.”

As for new media, they expect a Mission: Impossible Nintendo 64 game to be coming out. The manufacturer of the game will come to Mary Beth Roberts for permission to use the theme song from the TV show and movie, as well as to negotiate an appropriate rate for its usage. In the film, Apple’s Power Book lap-top computer was featured. Both Apple’s product and the Mission: Impossible were advertised in this example of a theatrical release cross-promotion.

What Mary Beth Rogers really enjoys about her job is, “the aspect of making…songs come alive again, re-introducing them to the public. I really respect the songwriters as creators.”

In the middle of the two major film and TV meccas is Phillip Self of Sony/ATV Music Publishing in Nashville (his position: Director of Film and TV Music). Though he conducts business frequently in Los Angeles and New York City, sometimes he deals with commercials shot in or around Music City. For instance, he got the song, “King of the Road” into a regional Ford Truck spot.

Other songs he has licensed have been “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” for Toyota Trucks; “Hello Darlin’” to Amoco; “I Fall To Pieces” to Wal-Mart; and once again, “King of the Road” to Burger King.

Self travels extensively to meet with music supervisors and other key people involved in this part of the music business “to remain in their consciousness.”

When not traveling around, he is sending out promotional tools and updates. One such tool is a six-CD collection they call The Music Box which Self says covers hit songs in their catalogue from “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956 to “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” in 1992. He says they’re in the process of compiling an updated version. Since Sony is now merged with ATV Music Publishing (which includes Beatles songs and others in genres besides country), he tells me the plan is to come out with a huge new collection consisting of songs from all different kinds of genres. In addition to The Music Box, the company also has a 4-CD box set of masters.

Every quarter, he sends out a newsletter with news of songs they’ve gotten on the charts. Each issue focuses on one writer, telling about that writer’s biography as well as his songwriting accomplishments.

At the company itself are databases. This enables him to look up any song by any artist or writer from any year in various ways. However, he maintains that he himself is the best resource he’s got for recalling songs.

He says, “I grew up listening to country music, so when I got here I was quite familiar with a lot of the songs…I grew up listening to Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty – those guys…”

Also based in Nashville, Suzanne Prokasy (vice president of Licensing at Opryland Music Publishing) like Phillip Self, travels extensively. The company’s goal is to establish one-on-one relationships with its clients, whether they’re in Nashville, New York, L.A., Paris, or London.

Of several songs she’s placed in commercials, a recent one is “Move It On Over” for Ford, and a major deal a couple of years ago was getting “Your Cheatin’ Heart” in a Pepsi commercial which aired during the Super Bowl.

Generally, she tells me, artists and writers don’t mind getting their songs into commercials. However, there was an occasion where a writer or “an estate,” as she put it, “did not want the song used in a commercial because they didn’t agree with the product.” It was either a tobacco or alcohol product or something along those controversial lines.

Prokasy tells me the company’s business philosophy, saying, “We believe it’s real important to service the client.”

That servicing involves sending out a CD sampler kit, a song folio which provides sheet music of the various versions on the sampler kit, a reference guide listing information about Opryland Music Publishing’s hit songs, and updates of new songs from their catalogue of cuts by artists. By allowing all this to be in front of music supervisors and other executives, Prokasy notes, “When they don’t pick up a phone to call you for selections or they already have a concept in mind but want to figure out what song to use, they can just pick up your tool sitting on their desk, and then you’re right in the ball game.”

She points out the competitiveness of this “ball game,” how the slots are finite for commercials for major products. She says that “basically, if a client feels it was a pleasant experience negotiating a track for his commercial, he’s more likely to return the next time.”

Of course, some commercials use jingles instead of contracting a song to be pulled directly from a publishing company’s catalogue. For a Toyota commercial that was recently shot in Nashville, Dan Williams (who owns his own music production house, Dan Williams Music) produced and wrote a “parody jingle,” as he calls it. Since Williams used the Beach Boys trademark sound, they had to license the rights with the famous group. Also incorporated into the parody jingle entitled “Do It Again,” is the Sly and Family Stone classic, “Everyday People.”

Allen Werneken of TCAA (Tony Ciafardini Advertising Associates), which is the exclusive advertising agency shooting television commercials for Toyota in the New England Region, explains “Toyota’s national agency, Saatchi and Saatchi…contracted with the composer of “Everyday People” for the national rights for a year to use that song in any version you want to.”

Though, ultimately, the purpose of a song is for an artist or writer to express a vision to an audience via sound recording device and over the radio and live in concert, music, for good or bad, finds many other outlets. These varying mediums allow a publishing company, a music, film, or TV production entity, an advertising agency, a songwriter to “exploit” songs in order to get the most mileage out of dollar and image.