Please copy and paste the Complaint below and file it with the
FBI Cyber Division at the link found below.
FBI Cyber Division at the link found below.
ANTI-TRUST COMPLAINT:
Introduction:
We intend to show that music publishers, record labels and other related businesses have been using restriction of trade, price fixing and collusion, all in a plan to limit the royalty earnings of songwriters on a world-wide scale. Our focus will be limited to Nashville, TN.
Companies Involved:
UMG. Publishing & Record Label.
SONY. Publishing & Record Label.
Warner MG. Publishing & Record Label.
These companies (listed in order of size) generally generate about 80% of all income from music royalties. Too many other companies to list here, and many are writer/publisher businesses that do not benefit from anti-trust violations. Publishers gross approx. three billion dollars per year. Labels approx. 30 billion per year.
Restriction of Trade:
If a new songwriter attempts to submit songs to most publishers/labels, they will politely be told: “We do not accept unsolicited material.” Some smaller companies will accept submissions, but it is very rare when one is actually recorded, usually by a little-known artist. If a writer’s work is professional, he/she might be told: “If you lived in Nashville, we might enable you to co-write with established writers.” A new writer might attempt to speak to the major publishers/labels. ALL the major companies, and many smaller ones, will not open their doors – which are locked. Some believe the only reason new writers are told to move to Nashville is so that they will pay rent, buy food and other necessities which will help the local economy.
All the major publishers, and many of the smaller ones, employ the services of what are called “staff writers” and in most cases, the publisher will form a team of two or three similar writers to co-write. To avoid friction between the co-writers, each is paid the same percentage of royalties and is told that is “normal”, or the standard for all co-writers. This means that there is a huge desire by the publisher to “sell” songs from their own library of songs rather than accept submissions from an “outside writer”.
A writer has other options such as paying a “song plugger” a monthly fee for six months or one year to pitch songs to larger companies. The writer has no proof that the plugger is actually working on his songs and, unlike a realtor, is paid whether or not he is successful.
Price Fixing:
We have not been able to establish when it became the rule that writers/publishers split all royalties equally. This is known as the “50/50 split”. However, if a writer’s song is recorded it needs to be registered with one of the “PRO” agencies: ASCAP, BMI or SESAC. PRO means Performance Royalty Organization. When the registration form is filled out it is stated: “writer(s) share must total 50%”. That, of course, means that the publisher’s share is also 50%. We could not find any federal statute stating such a requirement. We called ASCAP and asked if that was required by law. No, they said, but it was their common practice. We have never seen a contract where the split can be written in a blank space. Since everyone assumed this was written in law, all competition between publishers, using a lower percentage, has been impossible.
Another myth that needs to be corrected is the royalty splits between co-writers. Most writers believe each writer must receive the same percent regardless of their contribution. We have found no supporting evidence that this is legal. When registering a song with ASCAP, the form says: “state the percent that each writer is to receive but the total must equal 50%. ASCAP has available “split sheets”, wherein co-writers determine the value of each writer’s contribution to a song.
In addition to the unfair 50/50 royalty split, when a writer signs a contract with a publisher he/she is giving full ownership of the copyright to the publisher for life. Perhaps eliminating all publishers and replacing them with songwriter’s agents would solve many problems. Agents would most likely be happy to receive 10 to 20% of royalties rather than the “normal” 50%.
We hope some method of informing all songwriters about these myths and illegal practices can be established.
Collusion:
We believe all alleged anti-trust violations happen because of collusion among publishers and record labels. It is impossible for hundreds of these companies to open their businesses and decide on their own that the only logical writer/publisher royalty split is 50/50 without colluding. No matter how large or small the company is, or who the owners/stock holders are, this is simply not logical. If we are wrong, and there actually is a federal law that established the current split, why can no one cite a reference? If a company was free to negotiate their split with writers perhaps the smaller publishers could compete with the larger ones and the writers’ songs could be submitted to major labels and artists.
Bundling:
We do not have the resources to verify this, but it appears that many businesses may have some ownership share in related businesses. We know that some of them have partnered with others to start a new business. IRS records might confirm this.
Conclusion:
If the alleged Antitrust violations are corrected it will help thousands of songwriters all over the world. Stockholders of the large publishers/labels will suffer a setback, but the total earnings are so huge they should recover quickly.
Introduction:
We intend to show that music publishers, record labels and other related businesses have been using restriction of trade, price fixing and collusion, all in a plan to limit the royalty earnings of songwriters on a world-wide scale. Our focus will be limited to Nashville, TN.
Companies Involved:
UMG. Publishing & Record Label.
SONY. Publishing & Record Label.
Warner MG. Publishing & Record Label.
These companies (listed in order of size) generally generate about 80% of all income from music royalties. Too many other companies to list here, and many are writer/publisher businesses that do not benefit from anti-trust violations. Publishers gross approx. three billion dollars per year. Labels approx. 30 billion per year.
Restriction of Trade:
If a new songwriter attempts to submit songs to most publishers/labels, they will politely be told: “We do not accept unsolicited material.” Some smaller companies will accept submissions, but it is very rare when one is actually recorded, usually by a little-known artist. If a writer’s work is professional, he/she might be told: “If you lived in Nashville, we might enable you to co-write with established writers.” A new writer might attempt to speak to the major publishers/labels. ALL the major companies, and many smaller ones, will not open their doors – which are locked. Some believe the only reason new writers are told to move to Nashville is so that they will pay rent, buy food and other necessities which will help the local economy.
All the major publishers, and many of the smaller ones, employ the services of what are called “staff writers” and in most cases, the publisher will form a team of two or three similar writers to co-write. To avoid friction between the co-writers, each is paid the same percentage of royalties and is told that is “normal”, or the standard for all co-writers. This means that there is a huge desire by the publisher to “sell” songs from their own library of songs rather than accept submissions from an “outside writer”.
A writer has other options such as paying a “song plugger” a monthly fee for six months or one year to pitch songs to larger companies. The writer has no proof that the plugger is actually working on his songs and, unlike a realtor, is paid whether or not he is successful.
Price Fixing:
We have not been able to establish when it became the rule that writers/publishers split all royalties equally. This is known as the “50/50 split”. However, if a writer’s song is recorded it needs to be registered with one of the “PRO” agencies: ASCAP, BMI or SESAC. PRO means Performance Royalty Organization. When the registration form is filled out it is stated: “writer(s) share must total 50%”. That, of course, means that the publisher’s share is also 50%. We could not find any federal statute stating such a requirement. We called ASCAP and asked if that was required by law. No, they said, but it was their common practice. We have never seen a contract where the split can be written in a blank space. Since everyone assumed this was written in law, all competition between publishers, using a lower percentage, has been impossible.
Another myth that needs to be corrected is the royalty splits between co-writers. Most writers believe each writer must receive the same percent regardless of their contribution. We have found no supporting evidence that this is legal. When registering a song with ASCAP, the form says: “state the percent that each writer is to receive but the total must equal 50%. ASCAP has available “split sheets”, wherein co-writers determine the value of each writer’s contribution to a song.
In addition to the unfair 50/50 royalty split, when a writer signs a contract with a publisher he/she is giving full ownership of the copyright to the publisher for life. Perhaps eliminating all publishers and replacing them with songwriter’s agents would solve many problems. Agents would most likely be happy to receive 10 to 20% of royalties rather than the “normal” 50%.
We hope some method of informing all songwriters about these myths and illegal practices can be established.
Collusion:
We believe all alleged anti-trust violations happen because of collusion among publishers and record labels. It is impossible for hundreds of these companies to open their businesses and decide on their own that the only logical writer/publisher royalty split is 50/50 without colluding. No matter how large or small the company is, or who the owners/stock holders are, this is simply not logical. If we are wrong, and there actually is a federal law that established the current split, why can no one cite a reference? If a company was free to negotiate their split with writers perhaps the smaller publishers could compete with the larger ones and the writers’ songs could be submitted to major labels and artists.
Bundling:
We do not have the resources to verify this, but it appears that many businesses may have some ownership share in related businesses. We know that some of them have partnered with others to start a new business. IRS records might confirm this.
Conclusion:
If the alleged Antitrust violations are corrected it will help thousands of songwriters all over the world. Stockholders of the large publishers/labels will suffer a setback, but the total earnings are so huge they should recover quickly.
To file a complaint with the FBI cyber division, please go to
https://www.ic3.gov/Home/ComplaintChoice and select - Other Cyber Crime
The form has many questions that may not apply to your complaint.
Just skip the questions that do not apply because this it is just a
generic submission form that can apply to many different types of situations.
https://www.ic3.gov/Home/ComplaintChoice and select - Other Cyber Crime
The form has many questions that may not apply to your complaint.
Just skip the questions that do not apply because this it is just a
generic submission form that can apply to many different types of situations.
