Temp Tracks: Understanding the Legal & Financial Risks

Greetings AMP Members -

You will be reading more about last week's Seminar in the trades -
this is an eyewitness report:

The first event of its kind in AMP history (approximately 4 years) the Seminar drew a SRO audience of over 100 agency heads of production, legal and business affairs people and line producers, including many of the agency music producers who attended our meeting in June. Young & Rubicam hosted the event in the Ney Center.

Matt Miller, President & CEO of AICP/AMP moderated, and put the topic in context with "There comes a time when every industry has to 'grow up' - not just continue practices that don't work." (Approximate quote...)

It was a very heavy room and our 'panel of experts' (1 lawyer, 2 insurance agents, 4 musicologists, 1 music company) made a strong case for "Understanding the Risks of Temp Tracks". It was a bit of a challenge to keep 4 musicologists on topic but the lively discussion was a positive gauge of audience involvement. Maybe the best comment from the floor was one that we couldn't have scripted better - an editor rose to say that clearly music companies should be brought into the editorial suite much sooner in the process so that no copyrighted music would be laid back to film as a temp track to which the creatives and clients would then become attached...

The only music house participants in the room were from the NY Board, and we kept a low profile. Jeff Rosner, President, sat on the panel representing the AMP view with carefully articulate contributions.

On the screen above the panelists was the warning on CD labels: "Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws."

The insurance agents pointed out that music company insurance does not cover infringements based on temp track use - that should be the agency's responsibility, and possibly anyone else involved in such use.

Overall, it was an amazing turnout, and certainly strong positioning on temp tracks and the trouble they cause.

Since the Seminar -
Agency music producers have been calling us to request a small group follow up meeting in the next week or so, with the goal of generating a single page of guidelines (cautions, responsibility and alternatives - better business practices.)
Maybe that could serve as the centerpiece of similar presentations by the other chapters of AMP.

Jan Horowitz
David Horowitz Music Associates NY
373 Park Avenue South
212-779-3030
jan1166@aol.com