Brighten The Corner

This might be a situation where I created work for myself. I’d seen friends place their films into festivals without bothering about rights clearance, and a lot of festivals have a “not my problem” attitude towards rights, so they keep mum… But I wanted to have my bases covered…

The steps involved are pretty simple, and they’re summed up nicely here: “Getting Clearance, DIY”.

There are two types of clearance you’ll need, synch rights and master rights… The first pertains to the rights of the song’s author, the second to the actual recording being used.

(Just so you know, once you’ve asked to negotiate a price for a song, the rights owner probably won’t forget about you. I decided to wait on final negotiation and payment of music rights on TEXAS 1960 (which uses two period songs, one by Marty Robbins and one by Chet Atkins) and was surprised when the rights owners (a mighty music conglomerate) contacted me (relatively speaking, a fly speck) again recently to find out when I was going to pay. Don’t get me wrong, they were totally friendly, and agreeable when I told them I planned to finalize only after the film was accepted into a festival… but once on their radar, well, you’re on their radar.)

I wouldn’t bother trying to make a special plea for cheaper rates on your song use, at least not initially. I’d had guidance from a friend who used to work in rights clearance, and most of the time, things are pretty rote… They look at how long you plan to use the song, what your budget is, how popular the song is… Don’t bother with a lengthy explanation of how you can’t afford much, that you’re on a shoestring… Later on, if you do get sticker shock, then maybe try to ask for leniency… Ultimately, though, I thought the figures I was quoted were fair.

Next time though, we’ll record all the music ourselves. Just to be extra safe. And cheap.

A trailer is up on Vimeo now for our recently completed short film, TEXAS 1960, written and directed by Christopher Lepkowski.

Starring Milly Sanders, Shawn Petersen, Dixie Perkinson, and Jessie Birschbach.

From a synopsis: In West Texas circa 1960, two men stumble into the hills after a robbery gone wrong. Witnesses recount details of the crime, but the more the Sheriff hears, the less he really gets.

If you’re looking for something to do this Saturday afternoon, come out for some book swapping action. That’s right, if you’re never going to read that book again, bring it down to the Goodreads Book Swap at Book Soup in West Hollywood and trade it for another slab of tree pulp or treasure. It’s recycling for readers!

The Kogi Taco Truck will be there, and the Narrow Books crew (Myself, Mark, and author Joseph Mattson (Elana couldn’t make it)) will be spinning LPs while you barter. August 15th from 1-4 pm at Book Soup, don’t be late or the good reads may go home with someone else!

UPDATE: Photos from the event. A load of people showing up, of course, for those famous tacos.