Dave,

Thank you for initiating this. We have also been subjected to repeated 
calls/letters from BMI, and are planning on attending the AAM session as 
well. It is important that we all get on the same page and feel 
comfortable handling a situation that is new for many of us. A webcast 
sounds like a great idea!

Anna

Anna Carringer
Martha's Vineyard Museum
www.mvmuseum.org


Claudia J. Nicholson wrote:
> Yes, Dave, I sure would like to participate. I think you’ve identified 
> the points of contention between us.
>
> The music industry feels empowered these days because they have caught 
> and prosecuted a good number of infringers who have been illegally 
> downloading music. They need to know that we are not them. And WE need 
> to know what’s o.k., and what’s not.
>
> And BMI needs to get off everyone’s back unless they have proof 
> positive that their artists’ rights are being violated.
>
> Sign me up.
>
> Claudia
>
> -- 
> Claudia J. Nicholson
> Executive Director
> North Star Museum of Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting
> 2640 E. Seventh Avenue
> North St. Paul, MN 55109
> 651-748-2880
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Celebrate the Boy Scout Centennial in 2010 and the Girl Scout 
> Centennial in 2012 with us!
> www.NorthStarMuseum.org
>
>
>
> On 3/26/08 10:39 AM, "David Harvey" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>     Hi Everyone,
>
>     Since I have been involved with several prominent musicians and
>     songwriters in Los Angeles for a few years now, and about a month
>     ago I started in my free time as the volunteer director of
>     marketing and PR for Songsalive! - a non-profit that supports
>     songwriters and composers worldwide with over 14,000 members, I
>     know established folks who know many of the people in the industry
>     - especially in music publishing and licensing.
>
>     I am interested in trying to open a conversation between the
>     museum community and the artist and music publishing community's
>     on this issue. It is my opinion that a conversation could open the
>     way to recognize the needs and limited resources of small
>     non-profit museums while still preserving the rights of the
>     artists and the music publishing companies. No one should be
>     harassed unless they are in serious violations of copyright and
>     museums should not be put into making a choice to eliminate music
>     entirely because of the inflexibility of the licensing structures.
>     Yet, if music is being used to generate revenue - either directly
>     as in a concert - or indirectly as in any museum product such as
>     an exhibit, CD, or video, then there has to be clear permission
>     for that use, that may involve some sort of fee. Remember, many
>     museums license and charge fees for photography in their archives
>     and collections.
>
>     If I was able to organize a panel discussion with selected artists
>     / composers and Industry representatives in a live webcast where
>     museum folks could either call in or send emails to participate
>     would you all be interested in that? (Show of hands??)
>
>     Cheers!
>     Dave
>
>     David Harvey
>     Conservator
>     Los Angeles, CA
>
>
>     On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 6:28 AM, Karen Eckhaus
>     <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>         We had a similar situation at a small museum I work at. BMI (and
>         ASCAP) harassed us endlessly. When asked which music in our
>         exhibitions was under their domain, their reply basically
>         amounted to
>         all music being under their copyright. Their endless calls and
>         letters
>         only stopped when our lawyer drafted them a letter stating
>         that all of
>         the music used was public domain or composed by a former
>         employee who
>         had granted us permission and that if they felt that we were
>         not in
>         compliance, they would have to send us an itemized list of the
>         songs
>         we were using that were under license with them.
>
>         About a year later we were in a similar situation and ended up
>         negotiating a fee for a minimum license.
>
>         Other colleagues said they felt as though they were being
>         extorted.
>
>         On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 7:14 AM, Carol Ely <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>         >
>         > We had our lawyer send a "cease-and-desist" letter to BMI, to
>         try to end the
>         > harassment. So far, I believe that it has worked - we're off
>         their call
>         > list.
>         >
>         > We had told them repeatedly that we did not do anything on
>         the site that
>         > could possibly involve them, and they kept calling and
>         writing, to the
>         > confusion of our volunteers who would answer the phone, think
>         that it must
>         > be important, pull me out of meetings, etc. Something has to
>         be done about
>         > this - I hope that the AAM meeting is effective.
>         >
>         > Carol Ely
>         > Historic Locust Grove
>         > Louisville,
>         KY=========================================================
>         > Important Subscriber Information:
>         >
>         > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
>         > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain
>         detailed
>         > information about the listserv commands by sending a one line
>         e-mail message
>         > to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message
>         should read "help"
>         > (without the quotes).
>         >
>         > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line
>         e-mail message to
>         > [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
>         read "Signoff
>         > Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>         >
>         >
>
>         =========================================================
>         Important Subscriber Information:
>
>         The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
>         http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain
>         detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a
>         one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The
>         body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
>         If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail
>         message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the
>         message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>
>
>     =========================================================
>     Important Subscriber Information:
>
>     The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
>     http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain
>     detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one
>     line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of
>     the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
>     If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail
>     message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message
>     should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>
>
> ========================================================= Important 
> Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at 
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed 
> information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail 
> message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message 
> should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message 
> to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read 
> "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).