performers rights - mechanicals

[rblmusic]

I know that performers are entitled to income via PPL for broadcasts of performances. Why is there no equivalent of MCPS for performers in respect of mechanical reproductions of their performances?

[CopyrightAid]

I'm not quite sure I follow your logic here..
Royalties on copies sold would be paid via the publishers exactly the same as they would for any other recordings, - or have I misunderstood you question?

[rblmusic]

What I mean is:

for writers / composers:

performance / broadcast royalties = PRS
mechanical royalties = MCPS

for performers:

performance / broadcast royalties = PPL
mechanical royalties = ????????

Does the Copyright Act not give mechanical rights to performers?

Thanks

Peter Rowan

[Lee-Anne333]

I know that this was an old post, but if you guys are still around I'd love to hear your experiences with these royalty collection agencies.

I am considering registering but have my doubts/concerns.

I'd appreciated any advice/experience that you can give me on sorting out the pros/cons of registering.

[rblmusic]

I know that this was an old post, but if you guys are still around I'd love to hear your experiences with these royalty collection agencies.

I am considering registering but have my doubts/concerns.

I'd appreciated any advice/experience that you can give me on sorting out the pros/cons of registering.

PPL - You have nothing to lose, as it's free to join, but you'll only get any money if you performed on a recording that gets reasonable amounts of airplay (or has had since 1997).

MCPS. £50 for life. - only worth joining if your compositions have been released on a CD or DVD with reasonable distribution. Self-releases don't count.

PRS. £100 for life.
1) If you are receiving national airplay for your compositions - 2 or 3 plays will pay for your membership (if they are sole compositions). If you only get played on Radio Worcestershire then it's not worth it.
2) If you are playing more than around 25 gigs per annum of all your own material in pubs & clubs, it's worth joining.
3) If you are doing regular support slots at big venues (like a tour support), it's probably worth joining. 3% of the box office goes to the composers, so if you play one third of the songs on the night you get 1% of the box office.
4) Alternatively you could join a small claims scheme. The one I am involved with has no upfront fee but takes 20% commission instead. Additionally, they can back-claim 3 years' PRS and 6 years' MCPS, whereas you can only back-claim 6 months as an individual.
[declaration of interest: I work in this area, the scheme pays me commission for introducing clients].

Hope this helps

Peter Rowan
RBL Music

[rblmusic]

I keep hitting blank walls with my question about mechanicals for performers. I know it's partly satisfied by a record company's contract with an artist, but that doesn't usually have any royalties provision for session musicians etc.

Peter

[Lee-Anne333]

Thank you Peter for your invaluable information.

I hope you don't mind, but could I engage your expertise once more by asking another question?

First off, let me explain my situation. I am in a group who have written/recorded/produced our own Album and Single. I will be selling these CDs by an online distributor and iTunes. I will also be sending the Single from the album to Media to hopefully get Radio Play. We have also filmed a music video that I will be distributing. After that, I am going to be gigging around the UK all this year (hopefully 3 gigs per week).

So with this in mind I'm guessing that I will need PPL/PRS/MCPS/VPL?? What do you recomend?

In addition, I have heard that some small venue owners are detered from booking you if you are registered to PRS as this means that they have to pay royalties. What do you think?

Also, I am assuming that if I use a third-party royalty collection agency such as yours, it would be more thorough in collecting royalties from small radio stations and venues???

This is the first time I have heard of a company such as yours and would be interested in knowing the benefits.

I hope I am not asking too much. Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

[rblmusic]

Hi Lee-Anne. In a nutshell - every member of the band should join PPL (but don't expect any money unless you get a hit single!).

I can't see the need for MCPS as you're self-released.

Because of the way their deadlines work, there's no point joining PRS for a few months. You won't lose any money if you wait until November, by which time you will have seen whether big airplay has materialised, and how many gigs you're doing.

I'm not sure using an agent makes a difference re: radio stations. What it does do is minimise the amount of form-filling you have to do yourself, ensures that all your tracks are properly registered, that all your live performances are logged, and that you haven't missed any sources.

I've not heard that one about small venues. If they're putting on live music then they should be registered - it's a legal requirement. PRS will catch up with them eventually. I'm firmly on the side of businesses having to pay for the music that helps them run their business.

Happy to talk further with you away from the public forum. Just Google RBL Music and you can find all my contact details.

Good luck!

Peter Rowan
RBL Music