Ben Moody (Composer)
I use the Windows Media Player to listen to a bunch of tracks I ripped from the CD’s on my shelf. This morning I noticed that the rotating ‘information’ the player lists on the title bar was ‘Ben Moody (Composer). The song is Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Because of You’.
When playing, the information that rotates around for that song includes ‘Kelly Clarkson’ and ‘Breakaway’ (the CD Title).
Who was the production engineer? The Distributing company? The company that made the CD blanks? Ms. Clarkson’s business manager? The supporting musicians on that track? The copyright holder? The licensing agent?
I am reminded of the story of the parts of the body arguing over precedence. The brain argued that it provides guidance, without the brain the body wouldn’t learn or accomplish anything. The heart argued that without its function the blood wouldn’t move, the lungs wouldn’t exchange oxygen from the air to keep the brain, the muscles, the organs alive. The eyes argued that without their input the brain wouldn’t be able to see at distance and plan; the skin and hands argued about sensing the immediate environment. The rectum, contemptuously, clamped shut solid and waited. Soon all the organs and parts of the body experienced building discomfort and pain, and apologized and pleaded with the rectum to relent.
Which brings me to the writer’s strike, over royalties for subsequent release of movies on the Internet and other media.
A horse shoer gets paid for routine care of the horse. A hairdresser gets paid for grooming. A car mechanic gets paid for routine maintenance and repair on vehicles. The world is full of people that don’t get royalties for how their work is applied (except those that sell to known criminals, but that is another story). The electricians, plumbers, preachers, and teachers in our communities don’t strike, or obstruct others trying to make a living to invent new streams of income.
Should the projection operator at your local movie theater get more pay when a showing sells out? The people selling tickets or popcorn (the work is harder with longer lines and more spills to clean)?
A screenwriter should make whatever contractual arrangements suit the screenwriter and whoever buys their work. Intentionally harming others to invent a new way of doing business, that is, not to redress a harm, seems kind of .. rectum-like.
Maybe suit-sellers should organize, to get royalties from the work done by those that buy their clothes. I could argue that selecting and providing articles of clothing is a creative work. Doesn’t the professional fitter or salesman hold a copyright on the appearance of the customer?
And why wasn’t it important to tell me who the production engineer was on ‘Because of You’?