I'm just grateful that it was such an insipid little tune that I
can't remember it...doo doot doo doot de doo doot da da da da doo
doot....aaaarrrrgh!
Thanks, Jessee, you actually made me laugh out loud.
If it makes you feel any better, when I did ACC Chicago (the last
one before they gave up on it), the cavernous space had no music
piped in, and, with the relatively small crowds, it was
disconcertingly quiet. I felt it really did the show harm. On the
other hand, it would be my concept of hell to be trapped in “It’s a
Small World After All”.
Thank you everybody for sharing your opinions and with
me about “music at my booth”. Through your help I found BMI
(Broadcasting Music Incorporated), who told me that it is the
promoter of each show who has to take care of getting a license and
paying the fees, it is not the artist!
I briefly considered music in my booth, then realized Ive would
be be at the same show, and my fire insurance would not cover the
ensuing conflagration. JUST KIDDING! I did decide to use gentle
soothing scents as mood-enhancers. The first time I used it, it was
lovely and a great addition to the booth that most folks didn't
notice except subliminally.
OH WELL, so much for soothing lavender and jasmine scents wafting…
Roseanne - I had to respond to this, being a survivor of
adult-onset asthma, who nearly died of it,(“cured” now, thanks to
last-ditch treatment with acupuncture and Chinese herbal meds after
years of escalating drug treatment), I implore you to reconsider the
use of scents, “subliminal” or otherwise. You never know what will
trigger an allergic reaction. I adore Lavender, but Jasmine , e.g.,
will trigger intense headache, disorientation, and an uncomfortable
sensation of itching. In fact, while I’m totally good with "woody
scents like sandalwood, vetyver, and even patchouli (which sends a
friend of mine into fits), anything with florals makes me literally
sick. Once, on a cross country flight, some bimbette sitting next to
me pulled out some cheesy roll-on scent from Hawaii to prepare
herself for meeting her boyfriend, as we went into our descent. The
stink triggered the first asthma attack I’d had in several years.
Ironically, I do wear scents, I love aromatherapy, etc. , but I
prefer to make my own voluntary choices based on my personal
knowledge. Unsolicited assaults can literally put one of your
customers in the hospital.
I am extremely sensitive to smells - although I do have a lavender
garden and I do often take a few sprigs of it to every show and just
crunch it to let out scent … Most of the time when I smell ‘pretty
smells’ I run before I get a screaming headache!
On the other hand, it would be my concept of hell to be trapped in
"It's a Small World After All".
oh great, thank YOU very much! well, some good news: the brain loop
formerly occupied by “i’m too sexy…” is gone. bad news: “it’s a
small world after all” has moved in! accompanied by a video loop of
the nightmare boat ride through that hideous tunnel with no escape -
and the water too shallow to drown in! people, let’s all pick
another thread before some of us succumb to our all-too-vivid
experiences at art shows, convention centers & that behemoth
destroyer of a great state: disneyworld.
Ironically, I do wear scents, I love aromatherapy, etc. , but
I prefer to make my own voluntary choices based on my personal
knowledge. Unsolicited assaults can literally put one of your
customers in the hospital.
ACK! First, this post was meant in FUN AND HUMOR and I didn’t expect
to start any long threads on the merits of scent versus no scent. But
I don’t assault anyone with scents. I don’t burn huge bonfires of
incense like an ersatz hippy. It’s a tiny little pot of oil in the
far back of the booth, under my packing table, barely discernable to
anyone at all, far less scent than any blooming tree, and certainly
FAR LESS than most women who slather on perfume by the gallon these
days. I too am very sensitive to scent assaults. But please all - it
was HUMOR, really!!
I’ll second what Marggi said about scent sensitivities - for me,
certain scents, esp. strong perfumes and potpourri are enough to
make my eyes burn and to bring on a migraine almost instantly.
(Broadcasting Music Incorporated), who told me that it is the
promoter of each show who has to take care of getting a license and
paying the fees, it is not the artist!
PLEASE contact them again. It sounds like you ended up talking past
each other each thinking one meant one thing when they actually meant
another (and you may have talked to a “mere” receptionist who was
trying to be helpful, and goofed, too). Do you have the response IN
WRITING so you can POST it for us to see? By “artist” BMI most likely
means the performer and/or songwriter, NOT a jeweler and by
“promoter” they likely mean a
performance-artist-promoter-who-is-selling-a-show-for-that-performanc
e-artis t and who would deal with all song and performance rights
licensing and payments ON BEHALF OF the performance artist, NOT a
jewelry show “promoter.”
Since YOU would be playing the recorded music to BENEFIT a
COMMERCIAL endeavor YOU will be the one LIABLE for any Copyright
infringement and/or royalties and/or penalties. Have you read EVERY
word in the show contract? It may very well address the issue, if not
specifically, by stating that the show promoter’s responsibilities
are LIMITED to ONLY what the contract spells out thus leaving (as it
should be) YOU fully responsible for everything else about your
booth, presentation, products, etc.
It sounds to me like you are only listening to the advice you WANT
to hear—a very dangerous game. PLEASE, get your advice from an
ATTORNEY specializing in Copyright and LICENSED to practice where you
wish to be playing the music. IANAL but I’m pretty certain you will
find U.S. practice is VERY MUCH like German practice, that is why BMI
and ASCAP exist and what they do is very much encoded into the law.
(Of the about 10 responses you got on Orchid about 5 were from
knowledgeable, intelligent people and about 5 were from ignorant
idiotsdo you know how to distinguish between the two? Does it
not BOTHER you that the RATIONALEs you heard for NOT paying DIFFER
substantially between the several folks WHO you apparently CHOSE to
“hear”?)
I should add that if the music you are playing IS NOT under the
auspices of BMI or ASCAP but is German and under the auspices of GEMA
you very well may have to pay via GEMA just as you did in Germany
depending on appropriate reciprocal country agreements. Again,
contacting an appropriate attorney will get you to at least an answer
you can rely on with far more certainty (and less penalty if wrong:-)
than what you’ve gotten here or via BMI.
The Merry Music Box Shoppes in Freeport ME says its recordings of
vintage music boxes are playable anywhere with no royalities to fuss
with. I mention this in reference to previous postings asking about
playing music at show booths. I have not listened to them, I have
not purchased any; I only pass along what I was told. www.musicalwonderhouse.com