Canada's 'second national anthem' silenced

[Kat Stevens]

Jeez, I dunno if we can afford it, $500 is kinda steep for a province with the limited cash we have.  Seriously, they can take my next prosperity bonus checque to fund an episode.

 

[the 48th regulator]

I think Alberta just volunteered to fund keeping the song on the air.

Wow,

Rather brave.
Central Purchasing is Ontario, it won't even get close tot he purchaser who issues a purchase oreder.  Especialy when they are engaged in a lawsuit.

dileas

tess

 

[PMedMoe]

Hockey Night In Canada to search for new theme

'The ultimate Canadian Idol'

Article Link

The CBC is set to launch a song-writing contest open to all Canadians in hopes of finding a new theme song for Hockey Night In Canada, the head of CBC Sports said.

With negotiations faltering between the public broadcaster and the agency that represents the famed theme song’s composer, the CBC will next week kick off the contest with Vancouver-based Nettwerk Music Group — if the two sides can’t hammer out a new licensing agreement in the next few days, CBC Sports executive director Scott Moore said.

More on link

Say it ain't so, Joe!!!  :'(

 

[Greymatters]

And how much does it cost to hold such a competition?  Im sure the organization's goal is to pay $1.00 every time they play the new tune, but by the time they have arranged for a competition, advertised for entrants, hire judges, pay for advertising, paid for hotel rooms and food and travel for dignitaries and entrants and a host of others, written up legal contracts, etc.etc.etc.,  I doubt will it really be cheaper than $500 a pop now...

 

[big_castor]

And how much does it cost to hold such a competition?  Im sure the organization's goal is to pay $1.00 every time they play the new tune, but by the time they have arranged for a competition, advertised for entrants, hire judges, pay for advertising, paid for hotel rooms and food and travel for dignitaries and entrants and a host of others, written up legal contracts, etc.etc.etc.,  I doubt will it really be cheaper than $500 a pop now...

Chances that they would retain the rights to the new song and not have to pay to use it.

 

[Greymatters]

True - and then they would have to hire an army of lawyers to prevent anyone else from using the new song worldwide or on the Internet.  There goes the savings... 

 

[40below]

And how much does it cost to hold such a competition?  Im sure the organization's goal is to pay $1.00 every time they play the new tune, but by the time they have arranged for a competition, advertised for entrants, hire judges, pay for advertising, paid for hotel rooms and food and travel for dignitaries and entrants and a host of others, written up legal contracts, etc.etc.etc.,  I doubt will it really be cheaper than $500 a pop now...

It will likely be the same as any other creative contest – entrants will sign boilerplate agreeing that the organizers will have the right to use the resulting song as they see fit, in whatever medium they see fit, for as long as they see fit, in exchange for a one-time cash payment. The winner may also cede copyright to the CBC, that will be up to the lawyers.

Compared to the cost of commissioning a professional composer to write a theme – and those guys aren't starry-eyed enough to sign away the rights, they would insist on the same royalties Ms. Claman has been banking every week for the past 30 years  – and the fact the cost will be spread out over however many years CBC chooses to use it – it will likely turn out to be a bargain, especially when you figure out all the free press this contest is going to get them.

 

[midget-boyd91]

So who's up for throwing a couple cases of beer and hockey sticks in the back of a pick-up and driving down to protest at the CBC?
I'll pay for gas (if you buy the beer)


Midget

 

[OldSolduer]

The CBC gets about $1 BILLION of OUR money. The should Pony up...we as taxpayers can demand that of them, or no new money for the CBC

 

[McG]

The CBC gets about $1 BILLION of OUR money. The should Pony up...

I don't know very much about the music rights & theme song industry.  I suppose it is possible that the owner of the song is demanding astronomical compensation in proportion to market norms.  As a tax payer, do you want your money being poured into the most expensive song?  If Dolores Claman wants to price herself out of the market, then we should not commit tax dollars to keeping her song for our emotional pacification.  Extrapolate this to any short tune or icon of cultural identity & you are in fact advocating not only for the role of the CBC as charity safety network for Canadian entertainment media, but also for charity to the well-off.

Remember,the articles do not say that the cost is $500 per game, it is $500 every time the music plays.

 

[OldSolduer]

If she wants $500 every time its played, the solution is simple.

Play the tune ONCE and only ONCE every HNIC...at the beginning. Does anyone know how man HNIC broadcasts per season, including playoffs?

 

[McG]

If she wants $500 every time its played, the solution is simple.

Play the tune ONCE and only ONCE every HNIC...at the beginning. Does anyone know how man HNIC broadcasts per season, including playoffs?

... but this still may be grossly over-priced.  If she has priced herself out of the market, why would you think it is okay for our tax dollars to protect Dolores Claman from normal competitive business practices?

 

[big_castor]

... but this still may be grossly over-priced.  If she has priced herself out of the market, why would you think it is okay for our tax dollars to protect Dolores Claman from normal competitive business practices?

If there's enough popular fury surrounding the possible removal of the theme, Ms Claman will be in a very strong position during any future negotiations with the CBC.  She might get 500$ a pop now but the price might go up in a dramatic way (IE : "Give me 1 000 000 $ or an angry mob of hockey fans will sack your offices !" )

It's also possible the CBC threw out the idea of scrapping the theme to put pressure on Ms Claman regarding her lawsuit.

 

[McG]

There are lots of possibilities.  So far, nearly every poster to this thread has demanded the CBC throw more money out to keep the song, but nobody here knows the full dynamic.  We should be looking at this as business & not something that should be decided on emotion. 

 

[VM]

... but this still may be grossly over-priced.  If she has priced herself out of the market, why would you think it is okay for our tax dollars to protect Dolores Claman from normal competitive business practices?

It would probably still be grossly over-priced...compared to the market. Yet she is kind of in a league of her own, the title of this thread is 'second national anthem'. There is no market for second national anthems in Canada out there. I kind of see it as a few actors getting huge dollars to act in a big hollywood movie, yet most actors don't make a ton of money...which is more true to what the market pays actors for their work. Of course, there are limits, but the CBC has an obligation here to pony up even when they feel like they are overpaying.

 

[OldSolduer]

Then maybe CBC should use its spin doctors on her the same way the CBC uses them on the military.
So far its CBC getting the blame, when they could have spun it the other way round.

 

[lone bugler]

Why re-invent the wheel? this is terrible news, last time I checked everyone loves the song, ya I hear it all the time ;D but can you get sick of the song? NO! this new direction is probably downhill in my opinion.

 

[McG]

It would probably still be grossly over-priced...compared to the market. Yet she is kind of in a league of her own, the title of this thread is 'second national anthem'. There is no market for second national anthems in Canada out there. I kind of see it as a few actors getting huge dollars to act in a big hollywood movie, yet most actors don't make a ton of money...which is more true to what the market pays actors for their work. Of course, there are limits, but the CBC has an obligation here to pony up even when they feel like they are overpaying.

Does CBC also have an obligation to top Hollywood star wages with guaranteed employment to Don Cherry & Red Green if they are identified as national icons?  Shake your head.  Even Hollywood movie stars get passed over when they price themselves to high over the competition.  The CBC has no obligation to pay ransom to somebody because many Canadians identify something as iconic of the nation.  Would you be making the same statement if the person were demanding $10,000 per use of the song?  There is absolutely no obligation on the part of CBC to fund someone that has priced themselves well out of the market.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Though it has been suggested that the composer of this iconic tune may be attempting to overcharge for her intellectual property, I thought that the amount she wanted for renewal of the license to CBC seemed reasonable and in fact, owing to the iconic nature of the music, even a little low.  What does an organization have to pay for the right to benefit from someone else's work.  As this composition has a narrow focus, licensing rights are probably not available under the SOCAN umbrella, but what do we have to pay if we want to play music.

http://www.socan.ca/jsp/en/resources/tariffs.jsp

1.B  Commercial television
Monthly fee: 1.9% of station's gross income.

9.  Sports Events
Fee per event shall be the lowest of:
a) 0.05 per cent of gross receipts from ticket sales, exclusive of sales and amusement taxes, or
b) Twice the amount that would have been payable pursuant to Tariff No.9 in the year 2000.
c) Where no admission is charged: $5.00 per event.

 

[VM]

Does CBC also have an obligation to top Hollywood star wages with guaranteed employment to Don Cherry & Red Green if they are identified as national icons?  Shake your head.  Even Hollywood movie stars get passed over when they price themselves to high over the competition.  The CBC has no obligation to pay ransom to somebody because many Canadians identify something as iconic of the nation.  Would you be making the same statement if the person were demanding $10,000 per use of the song?  There is absolutely no obligation on the part of CBC to fund someone that has priced themselves well out of the market.

Of course i wouldn't be making the same statement if she was demanding 10,000 per use of song. As you should have noticed in my post, i fully admitted that there are limits. I was, however, stating my opinion that it is quite obvious that this song, being considered a "second national anthem" and all, ranks above most other songs in the market. Therefore, her payout should be above what the market calls for as an average. And maybe obligation was a bad word to use, but i didn't mean obligation to her but more to the people of Canada. As well, i don't believe she has priced herself well out of the market, just above the market value, and in my opinion, rightfully she should.