Hiya,

Does anyone know when pieces are included in the examination books - do the ABRSM pay something to the composers for including their pieces? What if the composer is dead? What if the composer is still alive?
I know this may seem like an odd question so apologies!!!


Thanks,

OG

The answer is yes. If a composer's work is included and they died after 1938, then a royalty payment would be made to them if they are still alive, or their estate. This is why I am so against photocopying, because everytime a piece is photocopied, then the composer loses out. Sometimes, even if the composer died before 1938 the work may have been edited by someone still alive or who died after 1938 and therefore a royalty payment would be paid in respect of that.

That said, no one get's very much. Roughly 10% of the sale of the book would be divided between the composers contained in it. Obviously, if the book has been sold at trade price, then there's even less to divide. For example, two of my books of pieces retail for £8.00, and I get 10%; that's 80p per copy sold. If I consider the same say for a choral piece which retails at about £1.60, then I get 16p per copy sold. You can begin to see how many copies one needs to sell in order to actually make money as a composer (that is, if anyone buys your music at all...!)

David

Then, of course, if someone buys a copy, no longer uses it, so gives it away (no royalty there), or donates it to a charity shop which sells it (no royalty there) or sells it on e-bay (no royalty there), you composers are losing out all round. Likewise with the sale of second hand CDs, videos, DVDs, etc.
I'm not advocationg photocopying, just wondering what can be done to protect your rights over the other examples. I confess to buying quite a bit of second hand music from e-bay. It's quite big business.

That's fine because what matters is that the original copy was paid for. If you buy a book, photocopy pieces and give those to other people, then two lots of people are using the same material at the same time only having paid for it once. If you buy something and then sell it on then still only one person has ownership of the book which was paid for new originally (hope that makes sense!).

This country has a very damaging attitude towards both photocopying and performing rights all round. It is very different in the US. The publishing of choral music there is big business with literally thousands of pieces being published every year and being purchased in sets. Recently, I learned that one of my anthems had been sung in the Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, Kansas City Out of the pieces published in the UK, I've sold virtually nothing.

Here, the amount of music being published is extremely low, in many cases just a handful of pieces a year in comparison. The attitude that we have to photocopying is very different. It's a vicious circle though because music here is much more expensive here than in the US to compensate for this fact. I think its such a pity, that virtually all my pieces have to be sent abroad to be published, especially with the choral tradition of this country.

David

Ah, I see.
Congratulations on breaking into the UK market! (Will you now be as rich as Leona Lewis? )

Well, out the £500 I've made over the past 3 years, 100% of that has come from the US. Nothing from the UK at all. People just don't buy music these days over here.

Don't let my husband know that He'll be wondering what I'm really spending his money on

I do understand what you mean David but I wonder if it's more to do with availability. For instance if we are not directed towards a piece of music it's sometimes easier to buy what's in stock rather than wait an indeterminable length of time (when buying off line especially).

This is part of the problem. Obviously it would be wrong of me to suggest my music everytime anyone asked for recommendations - I don't want to come across as showing off - that said, whilst people here have been very supportive of my composing and publications (particularly those instrumental ones) when I've asked for advice and help with checking parts etc. it has become clear that no one has actually bought any. The same with people who've said they'll recommend them; never actually comes to anything.

If anyone has any ideas for pushing sales in the UK, then I should love to hear them!

David

Edit 3:15pm - Interestingly I've just read a reasonable review of a set of my flute pieces in the Pan magazine - it all helps!

There is an interesting take on this on the BBC news website today about selling of promotional copies of CDs etc on ebay.

Thank you for the replies!!!!

has the issue of paying to someone's estate always existed - say for example in teh 1920s?

I only use photocopies for teaching purposes eg blanking out notes temporarily, using highlighters on etc but make sure that all my pupils have their own copies of all the music we use. Compared to the cost of lessons, the cost of the music is a small percentage of the overall expenditure and is a basic tool.

I've just taken on a new pupil who arrived with a ring binder full of photocopies, grrr.

I'm not sure. Was their a particular piece you had in mind?

In France inspectors turn up at music schools from time to time to make sure that no photocopies are being used. If they find any photocopies then the pupil, the teacher and the head of the music school all have to pay a fine since they are all deemed to be responsible. Even photocopying an awkward page turn is not officially allowed and it is up to the inspector on the day to decide whether it can be tolerated.

I am examining some compoers music from the turn of the century - British composers. And I was just wondering were they composing for a specific market - ie knowing that the publication of their pieces in exam books would generate income for them from copyright fees.

I doubt it. Even now, I don't know that any composers write specifically with exam books in mind unless they have been comissioned. I guess that we all hope that our music might be included in an exam book or syllabus one day.......(hopefully before it is too late to spend the royalties it would generate!)

David