Hello Free Culture people,
My name is Nina Paley and I've made an animated feature film called
Sita Sings the Blues:
http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/
It's been invited to over 60 film festivals and has won several
awards, including Best Feature at the Annecy Animation Festival, a
Special Mention at the Berlinale, and Best American Feature at the
Avignon Film Festival.
I'm currently at odds with the entire Entertainment Industry,
artistically, morally, and legally. I (and others) have written a lot
about it (see below), and I hope some of you will join the discussion
and maybe spread the word.
Thanks,
--Nina
http://blog.ninapaley.com/2008/08/26/music-industry-on-culture-killing-spree/
First, read this:
Music Industry Killing Internet Radio.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081503367.html
Now read this:
Spreadsheet of what same Music Industry wants me to pay them (.xls).
View spreadsheet as html here:
http://www.ninapaley.com/musicclearance.htm
To recap "Sita"'s story so far:
http://blog.ninapaley.com/2008/07/18/information-wants-to-be-free-and-so-do-i/
"Sita Sings the Blues" includes 11 songs recorded by Annette Hanshaw
in 1927-1929. The recordings themselves are not protected by Federal
Copyright. The underlying compositions are. So we (my sales rep’s law
firm, to whom I now owe additional thousands of dollars) approached
the so-called music publishers to negotiate rights. After all demanded
$500 per song to permit the film to play at festivals (for which I
make no money and am in debt), here’s what they “estimate” for me to
legally sell DVDs:
$15,000 to $26,000 per song.
Said “publishers,” entrusted with compositions that should have been
in the Public Domain decades ago, include:
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG):
http://www.eff.org/cases/lenz-v-universal
Warner-Chappell: http://www.eff.org/search?text=warner-chappell
Sony-ATV: http://www.eff.org/search?text=sony-ATV
None will accept a royalty based on the film’s revenues. Right now the
film has no revenues, because it isn’t released; but no distributor
will release it without the rights cleared first. Catch-22.
Historically, distributors would sometimes front large sums of money
for such rights-clearing purposes, but not this year. American
distributors are going bankrupt and offering miniscule sums (if
anything) for indies right now.
Of course $220,000 is peanuts to a big studio, but it exceeds the
entire budget of Sita. Do the publishers know that? We’ve informed
them. Do they care? No. It’s fine with them if Sita is never released.
Which makes them a bad parasite. Successful parasites don’t kill their
host bodies. If they actually paid attention and negotiated
realistically, they could make some money. Instead, they ensure Sita -
and countless other independent films - will never have a legal release.
Yes, yes, I’ve already heard this other professional advice: hire a
seasoned Music Supervisor who is on drinking-buddy terms with Music
Industry reps. Over drinks, the Old Boys lower the price. Thus the
money gets spread out over more and more industry middlemen. I’ve also
been advised to just “raise more money” (the music publishers are
likewise advising the internet radio stations they’re killing to “make
more money”). Only by paying off Music Industry extortionists can I
court professional distributors. But given today’s film glut and weak
market, it’s highly unlikely I’d even make money doing this. The Music
Industry would be enriched while I continue to starve.
As long as I’m not making any money (I’m just going further into debt,
actually) I’m sure as hell not going to pay any to the Entertainment
Industry. I can not make money on my own just fine, thankyouverymuch.
Pirates grow more attractive every day.
P.S. - To the well-meaning ignoramuses who keep sending me helpful
emails telling me to “just swap out the music”: shame on you. I know
you mean well, but you should actually watch the movie before telling
an artist to destroy a work of art in order to satisfy extortionists.
Your advice only confirms the artistic and moral bankruptcy of the
movie business. Beyond that, the authentic songs from the 20’s make a
point inherent to the film, which fakes inherently cannot make -
possibly there’s a Fair Use argument there. But my first point is more
important._______________________________________________
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