AMCOS
An Interview with the Manager of Production Music Licensing, David Sheils
Geoff: Can you give us a brief history of AMCOS?
David: AMCOS was set up in 1979 by the Australasian Music Publishers
Association Limited (AMPAL), to license and collect royalties for the mechanical
reproduction of its members’ works. Before AMCOS, this work was done by a
division within AMPAL. AMPAL (Australasian Music Publishers Association Limited)
– formerly known as Copyright Owners Reproduction Society Limited (CORS) - was
established in 1956 to protect the interests of its Australasian music
publishers.
In 1997 AMCOS and APRA (the Australasian Performing Right Association) signed a
management agreement with the objective of merging their back-office functions
to save money and maximise operational efficiencies for their members. Since
then, APRA has managed the day-to-day operations of the AMCOS business. Each
organisation has retained a separate Board of Directors, however we share common
operational facilities and processes.
Geoff: How long have you worked for AMCOS and how did you come to work
for it?
David: Nine years – the first six in the Research Section within the
Distribution Department and the last 3 in Broadcast Services. I answered an ad
looking for someone who liked music and research and, as I’d just finished an
Arts Degree where I spent most of my free time going to gigs, I figured it was
right up my alley.
Geoff: What is your particular specialty within AMCOS?
David: I manage the Production Music Department within Broadcast
Services. We license PM wherever it is used, be it a TV programme, Ad, DVD,
mobisode or pretty much anything else you can think of.
Geoff: People often get confused when it comes to music rights. Can you
explain what rights AMCOS looks after specifically?
David: AMCOS is the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Ltd.
It is a not for profit organisation which administers the right to
mechanically reproduce music. AMCOS collects and distributes mechanical
royalties for the reproduction of its members’ musical works for many different
purposes. These include the manufacture of CDs, music videos and DVDs, the sale
of mobile phone ringtones and digital downloads, the use of production music and
the making of radio and television programmes. Our membership base includes
music publishers and composers and our clients range from television networks
and record labels to sound studios and independent producers of content who want
to use music.
Geoff: There has always been confusion between AMCOS and APRA. What is
APRA’s function?
David: APRA is the Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd. APRA
collects and distributes licence fees for the public performance and
communication (including broadcast) of its members’ musical works. Public
performances of music include music used in pubs, clubs, fitness centres, shops,
cinemas, festivals, whether performed live, on CDs or played on the radio or
television. Communication of music covers music used for music on hold, music
accessed over the internet or used by television or radio broadcasters.
Essentially, anyone who communicates music to the public (TV station, concert
promoter, website operator, ringtone provider, etc) generally requires a licence
from APRA to do so.
In essence, APRA is all about when music is broadcast or communicated to the
public and AMCOS is all about when productions using music are made.
Geoff: You’d work closely with publishers. Where is the line drawn
between you handling a particular job or them?
David: With Production Music we handle everything except when it is used
as stand alone tracks for commercially released CDs (i.e. where no
synchronization occurs) or when adaptations are made (e.g. adding lyrics to an
existing track). These are referred back to the individual Production Music
publisher.
With commercially available music, generally speaking APRA|AMCOS administers
their rights for commercial recordings (CD & Audio-Visual) and for blanket
licences with TV and Radio Stations. Certain uses of commercial music are
excluded from the mandate given to us by members – these include the use of
commercial music in adverts, films and TV theme music, adaptations and most
print rights.
Geoff: How do you go about tracking a mechanical right?
David: We have various agreements in place which require accurate and
timely reporting of music use. We also have a compliance project which monitors
things like music use at studios and new product coming into the market which
may use music. Because of the relationship with APRA we also see the big picture
of everything being broadcast.
Geoff: Basically tracking still comes down to an honesty system. The
producer or studio fills out a form. Are there any moves to get electronic
tagging of music, so it can't be misused?
David: Firstly, APRA|AMCOS conducts random audits of Production Music
clients to ensure that all uses of PM are being licensed appropriately.
Electronic tagging, watermarking, etc, is a great idea and APRA|AMCOS have
investigated a number of options in this area but have yet to find one that
works for us across the board.
You are always going to get non-compliance but we feel that, generally, the
people using Production Music are creative types themselves. They don’t want
their own copyright infringed so are less likely to infringe ours.
Geoff: Most of our clients would be familiar with production music for
TV/radio. Is this a big part of your business?
David: Yes, apart from blanket licences for TV and radio stations we also
license independent producers. As long as the production is made in Australia,
AMCOS can license Production Music for pretty much any exploitation anywhere in
the world. Our other main areas of Production Music business are advertising,
audio visual production (not for broadcast) and online use.
Geoff: Do you also handle pop song use for commercials/TV shows etc?
Who/how decides how much the price for use is?
David: No, the publishers and record labels generally handle these
licences themselves. It is worth remembering that there are two rights to clear
with commercially available music – the musical work (usually controlled by the
publisher or composer) and the sound recording (usually controlled by the record
label and artist). With Production Music both rights are controlled by AMCOS and
so can be licensed in one process.
Geoff: Who/how are the rates for production music set?
David: Production Music rates are set by APRA|AMCOS. APRA|AMCOS
Production Music staff meet with clients all around Australia and we take their
views into consideration when setting rates.
For 2007, Production Music rates have been frozen at 2006 levels and we have
also introduced a per campaign discount for advertising. In brief, this offers
clients a discount of between 20% and 30% whenever they produce a series of four
or more ads as part of a campaign. This discount applies across all broadcast
mediums and territories, provided all ads are licensed at the same time.
Geoff: What happens to people who are not under the control of a
publisher?
David: In Australia the Copyright Act provides protection to musical
works (and other copyright material) automatically without the need for
registration. That is, a writer does not need to be published in order to claim
copyright in their songs and collect licence fees on uses of those songs. That
said, publisher representation can help.
A publisher can look for opportunities to maximise the income for their writer –
this may include synchronisation licensing or placement of songs on albums.
AMCOS now accepts writers to its membership. This means unpublished writers can
collect mechanicals through AMCOS and save themselves the effort of licensing
each use of their music individually.
Geoff: Speaking of control, we often see ‘control’ after a composer’s
name on a CD. What does this mean?
David: At the time a CD is released for sale, the ownership of all or
part of the work may not be known. The word “control” is used to signify this.
Royalties due on sales of the CD are accrued to a control (unidentified) account
until such time as ownership is known.
Geoff: Is the market increasing at present? i.e. you’re getting more
income for distribution?
David: The market has been steadily increasing over the last few years.
Geoff: Is this because productions are opting for a cheaper choice of
production music rather than hiring a composer to do the job?
David: The market has increased due to a number of factors, including:
· Population growth,
· New business ideas
· New technology – there is an ever-increasing demand for new media content,
including on platforms such as mobisodes, podcasting, new TV channels, etc, and
many of these require music that is readily accessible and easy to license.
Geoff: Does most of the money you distribute go overseas, or stay here
in Australia?
David: Most of AMCOS distributable revenue is paid to local publishers,
whether that be for works they publish themselves or those they represent
through agreements with overseas publishers.
Geoff: How is original Australian composed production music going?
David: There are a few local Production Music Libraries but most is
produced overseas. I would put this down largely to differences in population
size.
That said, the local libraries perform well both here and overseas.
Geoff: The Internet has thrown some curly issues at every part of the
music industry. How has it affected AMCOS?
David: A full answer to this question would likely fill a book! In short,
as with any new development there are threats and opportunities. APRA|AMCOS –
with the support of their Boards – have sought to minimise the adverse impacts
of the net (mainly piracy in the form of P2P services) and exploit new revenue
sources (e.g. ringtones and downloads). The physical record market has shrunk
significantly over recent years – and so the growth of revenue from new income
streams has been timely.
Geoff: I've seen an American web site with very good quality
production music, that offers a 'one off' license fee of US$7 per 'song'. That's
a three minute track which can be cutdown etc. The license extents to any
territory for any use, as many times as you want. All they require is that the
music is logged for performance income. Do you think this sort of under-cutting
will become more prevalent? And, how do these sort's of businesses affect AMCOS?
Are there plans in place to tackle these new ideas so as to protect your client
base?
David: “Under-cutting” has been around for quite some time as new
composers and companies try to get a foothold in the market.
I wouldn’t say they don’t affect us at all but most of our clients seem happy to
have access to a huge amount of high quality music at reasonable rates.
We aren’t trying to tackle these new businesses at all. In fact, our view is
that competition in the market is a very healthy thing. We also feel that as
long as we get our rates right and continue to provide a high level of client
service, people will continue to use Production Music.
Geoff: There are new music creation tools available now like Apple’s
“Soundtrack” and Sony’s “Cinescore”. They both offer royalty free music. How
does this affect AMCOS?
David: Production Music is well produced and has a very professional
sound. While these programmes allow anyone to create “royalty free” music it
still takes a fair amount of skill to create a great sound.
I think that it has had a small impact at the lower end of the market, where
price rules, but people who value quality music at a reasonable price are still
out there.
Geoff: What’s the future look like for AMCOS?
David: The future looks good – so long as AMCOS can consolidate its
strong performance in recent years. This means continuing to improve our service
to clients and developing more efficient back-end systems to process royalties.
Geoff: What’s your worst moment in the business?
David: Worst moments tend to be those that throw up curly copyright
questions but these can turn into good moments when you work them out.
The truly worst moments are having to explain to clients that they have not
licensed the music they have used and knowing that they have not budgeted for it
at all.
Geoff: What’s your best moment or most satisfying aspect of your work?
David: My most satisfying moments include:
· Realising that a client has understood what you are saying and knowing that
they’ll get it right from then on.
· Getting my first Rate Card out last year, and totally redoing it this year to
make it, hopefully, a much more user-friendly document.
· Seeing staff step up and take on more responsibility.
Find out more about AMCOS.
Maybe you have a particular question for
David.