Glee Cast Members Claim They're Being Stiffed On Royalties From Glee CD
from the sing-a-song-of-copyright dept
AdamR alerts us to the news that a bunch of castmembers from the hit TV show Glee are apparently quite upset that they're not seeing royalties from the super successful CD from the TV show.After their latest record, "Glee: The Music -- Journey to Regionals" landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in June, star Mark Salling said he'd seen "not a dime" of royalty payments from label Sony Music.Well, that's how RIAA accounting works. Though, amusingly, the article notes that this is leading castmembers to make sure not to sign directly with Sony for recording deals, choosing to work with competitors instead (of course, with the major labels, they all cut deals like this). Either way, with the cast suddenly learning about music royalties, it makes you wonder if the show will stop ignoring them.
Co-star Corey Montieth told Toby Knapp's DC 99.5 radio show: "I got 400 bucks from it going No. 1. But you know what, that's OK, because if I'm patient, and if this thing does really well, maybe I'll see another 400 bucks."
... "The 'Glee' cast is furious because they feel they were misled by Sony," a source said. "They have all complained to Ryan that they want a bigger share of the royalties."
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http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20070115
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Okay fine that was the writers not the cast. Still really bugs me though. The show could actually be quietly educating people about the ridiculous restrictiveness of copyright instead of perpetrating the false impression that copyright doesn't apply if you're just having fun. Or it could at least ignore the issue entirely. But calling Madonna "public domain" the same week you are cutting her a massive cheque is just wrong...
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Why would Hollywood lie to me!?! Why!?!
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Can't see it.
Can't hold it.
Can't resist it.
Can't do without it.
Don't want to lose it, while not being able to choose it.
Regardless if it exists everywhere or not.
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Yes, yes, I know it's ridiculous, but frankly your sarcasm is unwarranted. The fact is that most people don't know how restrictive copyright law is -- and it actually DOES seem sensible that a group of high-school kids with an amateur glee club would be allowed to perform popular songs without licensing them. It's not at all hard to imagine a lot of people believing a ridiculous statement like "Madonna is public domain."
But in reality, any glee club that did what they do on the show would have to have millions of dollars in the licensing and lawsuit budgets. Few people realize this. It would actually be really nice for the show to remind everyone that it is a fantasy and that in real life you would be sued into the ground for doing what they do.
That's one of the biggest problems with copyright law. People very much do think that it's not so bad, because they can't believe that our shared culture is a locked up, restricted resource. They sing Madonna in the shower, so they assume they can sing it anywhere.
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http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100608/0254339727.shtml
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On top of that the school could declare bankruptcy, I'm not certain what public schools would do though.
That would be the worst that can happen.
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The point is, at the very least, the club in the show would definitely need a lawyer in real life. But the show doesn't just ignore that aspect (which would be fine -- lots of writers leave out the boring realities of something in order to make a good show) but actively contradicts it by saying dumb things like "Madonna is public domain, you can't stop us" when in fact a lot of people definitely could stop them or at least make it prohibitively expensive.
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That would make a good episode, actually.
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Your final point is the important one: it would be great for them to do an episode, without getting too intense or complex, that points out some of the legal bullshit these kids-having-fun-singing would have to face in the real world.
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Alrighty Then ..
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Too bad they believed the songs,
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I'd never have guessed you were pursuing a career in law...
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Yep. What exactly were they expecting to get? And weren't these kids nobodies before glee? I'm sure they are locked into crazy contracts...so sing and dance....sing and dance. lmao
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I'm not sure where I stand on this issue as a whole (I mostly agree with the AC who says they should get better agents) but the crux is definitely not the fact that they didn't write the songs themselves.
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Surprise!
The performers only get performance royalties - and then only after the recording, producing, and mastering costs have been taken out. Probably half of the promotional costs as well. If the cast went on tour (did they?), then tour support would also be taken out of royalties.
This is standard operating procedure for all recording contracts, regardless of label. So it doesn't really make a difference that they're on Sony, the other "big three" work exactly the same way.
The songwriters, on the other hand, get mechanical royalties (sans deductions), and all the royalties from airplay. This is the only way most musicians have ever made money off of recordings.
A lot of those songwriters (e.g. Maddonna or ABBA) licensed their music to use for free on the show. Kind of puts a new spin on their "generosity," doesn't it?
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Most can'
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Most can't sing
So Lea has every right to complain. The others don't. They're getting far more money than they would otherwise. If they don't like it they can quit and then they won't even get $400.
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