At 5:25 PM -0400 8/2/08, Blake Richardson wrote:
From: John Howell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2008 15:49:10 -0400
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Finale] Score Binding Question
Are we really talking about "donation" here, or plain and simple
deposit with LC as part of the copyright process? And are the
copyrights in the names of the composers, or in the names of the
movie companies?
To tell you the truth, I didn't really look into it that far. I found them
on file and when I went in to look at them, the rare materials librarian
gave me the admonishment against copying them because of their fragile state
(the Horner score is literally scotch-taped together and it seems to have
been done back in 1986 when the score was first penned because the tape is
all yellow and brittle with age). Since there were people all over the
reading room with laptops, I asked if it would be okay to do it that way and
she said it would be fine and mentioned the bit about the permissions and
research purposes.
I figure I've covered my bases and since these copies are only ever going to
be in my own home it's not like anyone will ever really notice it.
I think you have, too, and please forgive me for raising what seemed
like logical questions at the time.
As an aside, the reluctance of the studios to allow publication of their
vast wealth of orchestral film scores is inexplicable to me. I once spoke
with John Williams's agent and he confirmed to me that the demand for his
scores is deafening and the market would be quite lucrative-- certainly
enough to more than balance out the cost of typesetting them all-- but the
studios won't allow it, choosing instead to keep them locked away in a vault
somewhere where they don't make a penny for anyone.
I suspect you're too young to remember this, but the special
arrangements that made the Big Bands famous in the '30s and '40s were
never published either. They were--properly--considered proprietary
arrangements that gave the bands their distinctive sounds and gave
their audiences what they wanted to hear in person. They also made
it possible for a band to retain its sound and identity through many
changes of personnel. Instead there were "stock arrangements" in
sort of the prevailing style, which did NOT duplicate the proprietary
arrangements.
In fact, the only reason a lot of them are available today is that
they were pirated by arrangers with good ear and subsequently
circulated, perhaps legally but more likely not. With the possible
exception of military arrangers (some of them quite brilliant), who
seem to be able to get away with anything without tripping over
copyright laws.
And believe it or not, there was also a time when the producers of
Broadway musicals refused to permit ANY performances outside of NYC
and outside their own strict and absolute control in the theaters
they were designed for. Not even road companies. Their attitude was
that if you wanted to see New York theater, you could jolly well come
to New York. And of course the typical musical comedies were written
BY New Yorkers, FOR New Yorkers, and ABOUT New Yorkers. My father
was one of the first high school directors in the Pacific Northwest
to get permission to do a Broadway show, in the early '50s, and the
negotiations were "interesting" because the New York agents had never
done it before!
But I'm not entirely sure I believe what JW's agent said, because his
music is widely available both in arrangements made (by permission,
of course) by experienced orchestral or band arrangers (which are, of
course, typeset), or in the John Williams Signature Editions (which
cost about 10 times as much). And don't forget that those charts
were written for studio recording and studio mixing, and not
necessarily for stage performance.
Have fun in Thailand, and you needn't worry about replying.
John
--
John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music
Virginia Tech Department of Music
College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
"We never play anything the same way once." Shelly Manne's definition
of jazz musicians.
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