[Harp-L] Harmonica Documentary Website Update

[Damien Masterson <dzm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey All, Richard,

    In this day and age, I am no longer surprised by how many  
artists of repute would not only supply their music, free of charge,  
to a film of this type, but actually PAY to have their music in it.  
It's very normal. Besides, you can always sue later, that's what  
everyone else does!  %^)
    In the world of publishing, everyone is looking for a break.  
These days, even famous people are killing eachother for the  
opportunity to be heard, and spending quite a bit of their own cash  
to make it happen, when they're not in Africa adopting babies... The  
chances that a great track can take off and have a life beyond it's  
original purpose are much higher than, say, my CD's getting famous  
from iTunes.
    I would gladly supply my own compositions to this movie for  
exposure, (and is he really asking for that, anyway?) but I haven't  
had the fortune to record anything with the words "Pocket full of  
Soul" in the lyrics. Actually, I prefer music without lyrics, unless  
it's unintelligible, ala Lighting Hopkins. I would compose three  
demos to submit to the movie in the hopes of one of them being chosen  
as the soundtrack, but I don't have time. I did just record a tune  
with harmonica called "Pocket Pool"! I wonder if that will count...  
Let me get the mp3 ready....

   For those of you who do have the means, I suggest you get off  
your duff and snap to it, this film could potentially be viewed by a  
lot of people, and the opportunity to have your music be a part of  
that is not to be missed.

    If you're making a living off of music, have an agent, lawyer  
and publicist who are advising you against this type of deal, and are  
making enough money from royalties to not worry about such trivial  
matters, then that's fine. But if that's not the case, put your ego  
to the side, get your four track out, and take a chance. If you think  
you can do better operating from harp-l and MySpace, best of luck.

    My names' not on "the list" either... (what does that mean,  
really?) He was a nice guy, though. Maybe I'll get a quick glance at  
my unshaven mug saying something really embarrassing... that's  
usually how it goes...

Thanks for humoring me!

D


Damien Masterson http://www.damienmasterson.com
or enter my name in any search engine
http://www.myspace.com/damienmastersonmusic
http://cdbaby.com/all/damienzm
415 305 7138 dzm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Damien Endorses Hohner Harmonicas and Audix Microphones



On Apr 17, 2007, at 10:08 AM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Richard Hunter [mailto:turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 07:42 AM
> > To: 'todd slobin', harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Harmonica Documentary Website Update
> >
> > Todd,
> >
> > You're asking for a song for a film intended for commercial release.
> > There are a lot of questions that go with that kind of  
> > transaction. For
> > example:
> >
> > Are you planning to own the copyright for the song, or just to  
> > license
> > it from the composer?
> > Are you planning to put out a soundtrack CD?
> > Are you planning to offer the composer royalties for the use of  
> > the song
> > in DVDs, or for use of the film in theatres and television?
> >
> > Your intention is to make money from this film, I presume?  In that
> > case, it's reasonable to ask whether the composer of the theme  
> > song will
> > have some share of the revenues, either up front (which apparently is
> > not the case) or on the back end (when the film has generated  
> > revenues).
> >
> > It would be a little contradictory, I think, to make a movie that
> > celebrates harmonica players, and then use a song featuring  
> > harmonica to
> > promote the film--without any payment to the composer.