SONG COSTS FOR SMSO’S 75TH SEASON PART OF FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAWS

By:  Stan Maddux

The cost of songs under federal copyright laws often factor into what’s performed during concerts by musical groups like the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra.

Matthew Aubin, conductor and music director of the SMSO, said one way concert budgets can be stretched is by mixing in pieces from classical music artists like Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose deaths were long enough ago for their music to be available to be played at no cost.

“Sometimes people wonder why we don’t do more new music. For many orchestras, this becomes a budget issue,” he said.

Aubin said he finds out in advance which songs he would like to play during a concert are protected under federal copyright laws, along with the asking price for the music to make sure he doesn’t go over budget.

Some songs can only be rented while others are available both for rent and purchase. Rental prices can vary from just a few hundred dollars or less to well over $1,000 just for one performance, depending on factors like popularity and extent of the music involved in each piece.

In the long run, Aubin said purchasing songs can be more cost effective since ownership gives musical groups the right to play them again at no additional cost.

The SMSO places songs it has bought over the years into a library to look up and play during future concerts.

Money generated from song rentals and purchases are returned to artists or their heirs along with publishers in the form of royalties. “These fees go to both the artist and publisher and sometimes the artist and publisher are one in the same,” Aubin said.

Typically, copyright protection varies from country to country, but music and most other creative works generally enters the public domain for use at no cost 50 to 75 years after the death of the creator. That’s why fees are still attached to the music of another famous composure, Leonard Bernstein, who died in 1990. “His children are still alive and well and they’re receiving royalty checks,” he said.

Aubin estimated the cost of song rental might be in the area of $1,000 if he wanted his orchestra to perform the music Bernstein wrote for the popular Broadway play, West Side Story. “I Dreamed the Dream” from another Broadway show, Les Miserables, is another example of a song that could be cost prohibitive for many orchestras.

Usually, Aubin said the orchestras he’s been involved with have three to five thousand dollars to spend for song rental during a concert season.

However, Aubin said a decision could be made to go over budget on a concert featuring higher cost songs if there’s a belief a program loaded with more popular music will make up for the expense through stronger attendance.

“You might charge a higher ticket price but also you’re banking that it’s going to bring in a bigger crowd,” he said.

The SMSO will wrap up its current season with their Symphony Unexpected performance at The Mendel Center at Lake Michigan College on May 17. Today they announced their 75th season, including Night At the Opera in October, Merry & Bright in December, Mozart’s Greatest Hits in February, and Bernstein & Tchaikovsky in May. Tickets are available on their website.

Aubin is also music director and conductor for the Jackson Symphony Orchestra between Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor and member of the Chelsea Symphony in New York City.

The SMSO also plays on special occasions like every July 3 with a day before tribute to Independence Day at the Shadowland Pavilion overlooking Lake Michigan at St. Joseph.