[QuadList] 15,000 hours of quad tape to be transfered

[C. Park Seward]

Of course it depends on the contract.

When Disney released "Snow White" on DVD, the Philadelphia Symphony  
that played on the movie wanted money since the term "DVD" was not in  
their contract. They won.

Now, Disney uses language to include any and all playback devices  
including those "yet to be invented".  Rather solid clause. They also  
used that same term as a buy-out to any actors and the like. "In  
perpetuity and universally".

So you can lock in talent an music if you make that deal. Think about  
all the movies that use music. That is a buy-out.

I worked on an HBO comedy special that wanted to use the melody for  
"My Way" with new comedic words. The buy-out was $75,000. They paid it.

Any reality show I have worked on will get a signed release from  
anyone who is recognizable. That agreement gives the production  
company a complete buy-out to use your image or likeness for anything  
they want from now to eternity.

To avoid complications, they avoid even shooting a background painting  
since it might be covered by copyright. Same with music that might be  
playing on a speaker. Even could be extended to the Heinz Ketchup  
label on a bottle on a table.

Who knows what the arrangements were for PTL. Most TV preachers asking  
for money would love their message to be aired over and over again.  
Tammy may have given PTL a blanket buy-out since she and Jim owned the  
network.

 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia about, "WKRP in  
Cincinnati" (1978–1982:

The songs were often tied into the plot of the episode. Music  
licensing deals cut at the time of production were for a limited  
amount of time (approximately ten years). In addition, the show was  
videotaped rather than filmed because it was cheaper to get the rights  
to rock songs for a taped show.[citation needed] Once the licenses  
expired, later syndicated versions of the show did not feature the  
music as first broadcast, but rather generic "sound-alikes" by studio  
musicians in order to avoid paying additional royalties. In some cases  
(when the music was playing in the background of a dialogue scene),  
some of the characters' lines had to be redubbed by sound-alike  
actors. This was evident in all prints of the show issued since the  
early 1990s, which included its brief late-1990s run on Nick at Nite.

As a result, production on a WKRP DVD was delayed for years because of  
the expense of procuring music licenses. It was feared that fans would  
reject edited versions. Sales of first-season DVD sets of Roseanne and  
The Cosby Show suggested that viewers prefer original, uncut episodes.  
However, as was done with many other television series, the DVD  
release of WKRP in Cincinnati - Season One has much of the music  
replaced bygeneric substitutes. In addition, some scenes have been cut  
or truncated and voice overs used to avoid using unlicensed musical  
content.[15]According to TV Guide magazine, creator Hugh Wilson said  
he was "satisfied" with the final product for DVD release.

Best,
Park

C. Park Seward
Visit us: http://www.videopark.com



On Apr 4, 2009, at 8:58 AM, Ted Langdell wrote:

> The problem with purchases off ebay and likely with the PTL tapes is  
> that there are no rights attached to the content purchased.
>
> We're talking about the right to use the image, voice and name of  
> the person or people on-screen, rights to use the songs performed  
> and the music heard (two separate things) especially if union  
> musicians are playing.
>
> Unless there are file cabinets full of papers covering the above, it  
> is much more difficult and expensive to pursue marketing products  
> derived from such purchases.
>
> With the PTL tapes, the things of most potential marketing value are  
> the music performances.  A DVD collection of those might be salable  
> to the public, but without the signed talent releases and  
> performance rights paperwork, one is walking into a legal mine-field.
>
> Without records for the above, can you imagine having to scan  
> through 15,000 hours of PTL tape, noting the people who appeared and  
> what songs were sung, other music used... and then try to determine  
> how to get releases and licenses for all of that?  Between the head  
> wear and secretarial costs, you could dig a pit the sales wouldn't  
> pull you out of.
>
> Tracking down whom to secure rights from or actually getting  
> affordable terms from those people can be a problem.
>
> WKRP had to replace quite a few songs used in the "on the air"  
> scenes before syndication took place because rights to those songs  
> had expired and couldn't be renegotiated at an affordable rate.
>
> A famous black history documentary that aired on PBS—the name of  
> which escapes me at the moment—licensed some important clips or  
> music for a seven year period because that's all they could afford  
> at time of production.  This was before VHS or DVD sales were  
> contemplated.
>
> The program became "unavailable" until just recently when the  
> program had a major anniversary and rights were renegotiated.
>
> I think this is a major reason that more vintage television isn't  
> available on DVD or on the air again.  The original terms didn't go  
> beyond the original airing.
>
> Nobody had a clue in 1957 when the Edsel Show was recorded that A:  
> It might actually be saved on Quad, and B: That people might want to  
> watch the performances 50 years later.
>
> <sigh>
>
> Ted