"What a wonderful synopsis of some of the high (and low) points of the FMPRO
 list - a great montage of wit, wisdom, frustration and more compiled all
 so tastefully!  Thanks, Billy!"
 - Mark Northam, in reference to this compilation 08/25/07

"If you have something to say, it is best said where the most people
 can hear it...  The FMPro list only reaches a limited audience and
 for the most part it is preaching to the choir.  We have to make
 our voice heard through any channel that presents itself. Go for it!"
 - Vic Flick  July 7, 2007 Fmpro list

"Can we number these quotes?  Then in the future Les can re-ponder..."72."
 And I can give my usual naively optimistic counter...  "Yeah but, 17."
 And Mark can intelligently add... "Why has it always been 46, and 89?"
 That would really cut down on our redundancy.

 And now, my favorite quote..."

"I have nothing to say" - Oliver Hardy
 - P e t e  S u r d o v a l  08/27/07

"I said something worthy of quoting.  My mommy can finally be proud!
 Cool collection of quotes!"
 - Adriel 08/25/07

"I think we now have ample evidence to demonstrate that at ASCAP,
 'transparency' and 'accountability' are little more than cheap sales slogans
 designed to pacify and impress the uninformed."
 - Mark Northam

"Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free.
  and, while you're at it, throw in a whole bunch of film music composers."
 - Statue of Liberty

"Sadly, our industry needs a strong lobbying organization, if only composers
 weren't so fearful of offending the PROs who pay them at such lousy rates
 compared to songs. If we can ever get over that fear, much could be done."
 - Mark Northam 08/25/07

"I understand the issues.  The fmpro list has given me the power to
   make educated choices my thanks to all."
 - John Stone

"I'm here to assist and cause trouble  ;-)"
 - Les Hurdle 08/28/07

"Keep up the good work!  We need more like Les"
 - Jim Chase 08/29/07

"Some at the PROs like to write off this list as 'misinformation' and
 'inaccurate information' but in fact the well informed group of people here
 quickly get to the truth regarding any issues that are being discussed.
 Congrats to all - this list is a success because of you."
 - Mark Northam 08/29/07

"Pump keeps the publishing though. So, it's just a
 differently structured deal. I agree FMN should (and
 does) have a responsibility. But, in the end, it's up
 to the composer to judge what type of deal he's
 willing to go for.
 - P e t e  S u r d o v a l  08/29/07

"They don't, actually.   They keep 50% of the publisher's share,
 and the other 50% turns up in your statement.   So in addition
 to 50% of the sync fee, you get your full writer's share from
 ascap plus 50% of the publisher's share.  It really is a great
 business model for composers.
 - Kirby  08/29/07

"I stand 50% corrected." 
 - P e t e  S u r d o v a l  08/29/07

"I have never felt that Mark's observations about ASCAP policy were
 anything but the truth.  If we were ever given one iota of evidence
 that progress was being made on these issues, I would be more supportive.
 If Ascap were run equitably it would enable the mid level composer to 
 make a decent living. Instead it is a bonus system for those who need it the least.
 Greed pure and simple."
 - Steve Fawcett 08/19/07

"Impressive. The Force is strong in you, young Padawan.
 Obiwan has taught you well when it comes to recognizing
 the Dark Side. Revealed in time it will be."
 - Yoda, Attributed to

"Amazing.... ASCAP management spends tens of millions of our royalty dollars
 on IT infrastructure and can't come close to delivering that kind of service
 online or otherwise. Millions of dollars down the tube in wasted projects
 like the "International Music Joint Venture" and all that "EZ" internet
 software that would "identify all watermarks". Right. I guess all this
 proves that it's easy to spend money when it's not your own... The joys of
 no accountability.  Perhaps it's time for a new name...

 Arrogant Suits Collecting A Paycheck"
 - Mark Northam 08/15/07

"Maybe ASCAP is reasonably kind.  Not Out Raping The Harem At Midnight."
 - P e t e  S u r d o v a l
 (Sure Uses Ridiculous Defenses Of Villainous Ascap Laws)

"So... a piece of music airs over 150,000 times in a 3 year period,
 and I get not one dime.  Who's got my money?"
 - Les Mizzell 08/29/07

"The songwriters."
 - Les Hurdle 08/29/07

"But hey, who cares, right?  Let's just TRUST that our friends at the PROs are
 treating us as fairly as we deserve to be treated. Why make waves?
 Most composers don't seem to care anyway. Pass the Kool-Aid, Doug  :-)" 
 - Mark Northam 08/29/07
 
"If you're going to make waves, make one LONG wave.  It takes less energy
 to make long waves."
 - Al Weber, Electrical Engineer circa 1970

" 'Control' of the product will seemingly never be in the hands of the
 writer...unless something changes drastically or artificial protection
 is forthcoming.  Music and literature are integral components of a
 free society.  At least this forum gives me hope."
 - John Stone  09/09/07

"Guys... it's over, the world is your workplace and the high
 days of the studio musician is diminishing. Do I like it, no.
 Is it inevitable... sure thing."
 - Les Hurdle  09/08/07

"If we ever "just come to terms with the fact. we do NOT run the business"
 we most surely have lost completely. Go get a job in a factory,
 because it's all over."
 - Chris Alpair 09/08/07

"If you do not specify and confront real issues, what you say will surely
 obscure them.  If you do not alarm anyone morally, you yourself remain
 morally asleep. If you do not embody controversy, what you say will be an
 acceptance of the drift to the coming human hell."
 - C. Wright Mills
 
"... if the artistic folk can't get along, how do we think the 'idiots'
 of the world will get along... politicians, military, religious zealots etc.
 Time to start looking at the globe as 'home' for all."
 - Les Hurdle 09/10/07

"Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do."
 - John Lennon

"I think we're better off negotiating as a group than as individuals"
 - P e t e   S u r d o v a l  08/12/07

"We're ripe for a social revolution but no one seems to be able
 to find the trigger to shoot the overloaded weapon."
 - Fernando Rivas

"What happened to the Ka-Boom?  There was supposed to be an
 Earth-shattering Ka-Boom!
 - Martin, The Martian

"What would you suggest for a young member like myself to do
 to get involved in a positive way to help for that change we all
 agree we need?"
 - Chris Alpair

"Hmmmmmmmm. Lets see a session a day for 365 days a year is
 $36,500 per year before taxes and cost of goods. Does not seem
 quite right does it?  Would whoever suggested that want to live on that?"
 - Mike Vaccaro

"We had a plan to educate via the AACO about a decade ago.
 As ever, it was the composers who let the movement down.
 A bunch of scared ... what did the CA Gov call his Senators... girlymen!"
 - Les 7/17/07

" ASCAP's books are open to all.  ASCAP is the only U.S. performing
 rights organization to provide full financial disclosure to our members
 and the public."
 - http://www.ascap.com/about/ascapadvantage.html

"Pete, I've seen your picture... where are the horns and
 tail?"
 - Les Hurdle 7/20/07

"I have a guy who's really great at photoshop. I pay
 him $50 and he airbrushes out the horns and tail for me."
 - Pete 7/20/07

"I'll pay $1k to put them back !  ;-)"
 - Les 7/20/07

"It's almost like going to buy a new car, and then you read the fine
 print and realize that not only do *you* have to build the car from
 parts you have to provide yourself, but the dealer gets to KEEP the car
 after you pay them for it."
 - Les Mizzell 7/25/07

"For those who want to talk to me directly, here's my phone:
 (516) 883-0121.  My cell is (516) 423-6021.  If you feel I've
 ducked out of the discussion, or if I can help you in any way,
 just pick up the phone and call me."
 - Doug Wood 7/24/07

"I feel like I am in a room full of people who are very well informed.
 I have nothing to add to the conversation so I just shut-up and learn."
 - dean stairs 08/08/07

"There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a
 little worse, and sell a little more cheaply.  The person who buys on
 price alone is this man's lawful prey."
 - John Ruskin (attributed)

"Good luck getting an orchestra to play for credit only, and a copy for their reel."
 - Tracey Larvenz 9/11/07

"I want to keep on trying to be, in the full sense of that wonderful word,
 a musician."
 - Leonard Bernstein  1918 - 1990 

"Until pro composers for film and TV realize that the PROs are
 what are holding us all back then we are doomed to stab each other
 repeatedly in the back for pennies."
 - Michael S Patterson  10/23/07

"Thanks for the candid thoughts - that's exactly what this forum is all
 about. Unlike some other organizations that censor any critical remarks on
 their forums, we don't."
 - Mark Northam 10/23/07

"If you want to compete with me, you had better be ready to work for free!"
 - Mike Post

"I don't think it will be ever over for us, if I know our breed well enough... "
 - Marinho Nobre

"It means a lot when someone speaks up in support of us.
 It makes going back to the picket lines every day at 6 AM a little easier
 when we hear people valuing what we are doing and why."
 - Michael Tabb, WGA Writer  11/24/07

"When you're making love, Sinatra on the radio is NOT a featured
 performance.  Nor when you drive your car.  ASCAP usage weightings are not
 only discriminatory as no other system on Earth, they're founded on
 incredibly stupid concepts that are profoundly destructive to American music
 copyright."
 - Mark Holden  11/27/07 

"You, Mr. Holden, have obviously never tried to make
 love during the theme from Jaws!  ;-)" 
 - P e t e  S u r d o v a l

"Hi Pete-- delighted to see you haven't lost your ability to trivialize the
 momentous and complicate the obvious."
 - Mark Holden 

"It's a gift."
 - P e t e  S u r d o v a l

"Maybe if you lived in LA and had to suffer the Universal tour around  
 20 times one year when family visit, Jaws most certainly becomes an  
 emotional event  ;-) "
 - Les Hurdle

"Can it be that no one knows the orchestral power that makes the
 audience cry on a drama, or jump off their seats on a horror murder scene ? 
 Can it possibly be that the whole world is unaware of an art form 
 that has as much tradition as rock'n roll itself ?
 Maybe I should just slap myself. This has to be a bad dream."
 - Marinho Nobre, Music for Motion Picture

"The trend of 'the business' to manufacture successful 'music' via  
 movies has always been there... it is thanks to the Pro list  
 that the business is now discussed openly."
 - Les Hurdle

"So, 140,160 plays later - not a dime (8 NPR Stations * 16 airs per day *
 3 years). Took me almost a full year for somebody at ASCAP to finally
 say 'We don't survey those stations'."
 - Les Mizzell  8/13/07

"When composers aren't ready to fight for the value of their own music (or even
 specify a value or relative value), why should they expect anyone else to do so?
 - Mark Northam

"... anyone who doesn't want music to be  
 paid equally is very VERY self serving."
 - Les Hurdle

"Thanks Les and Happy Gnu Year...er, New Year"
 - Josh Silver 01/02/08

"Just remember... if you raise your head and ask questions of US PRO's
 you will be Gneutered!"
 - Les Hurdle

"Here's the answer my dear fellows... make sure a chunk of
 your score is song!"
 - Les Hurdle

"I guess if you have a piece on the air every day for ten  
 years, the familiarity will carry over in a concert situation,  
 especially if you have the help of the New York Philharmonic.  Maybe  
 not so much in a coffee house."
- James Ryan 01/08/08

"I will be out of the office starting  12/21/2007 and will not return until
 01/03/2008.  I will be out of the office for the Holidays and will respond to your
 message when I return.   Have a great Holiday season!"
 - Shawn Lemone - 01/02/08

"Thank you, Shawn, for emerging from 'lurk' mode to join in a bit
 of humor."
 - Jim Chase

"I didn't get the humour!"
 - Les

"Hi New Folk... I'm the bad cop on the list  ;-)
 - Les Hurdle

"Just to clarify the Mark thing, my organization sponsors this list,
 but the "other Mark" - Mark Holden - is the moderator
 and administrator of the list."
 - Mark Northam

"Mark Holden is the "Good Cop", to Les Hurdle's "Bad Cop"
 persona... now all we need is someone who wrestles crocodiles
 in their spare time."
 - Jim Chase

"Some musicians are contented with having a full-time job and having music as
 their hobby.  Others look at the music as their only livelihood."
 - Ruth Glover 01/07/08

"In almost every field, this erosion of respect for those who truly put in the work,
 from reality television, to medicine, to politics and even major league baseball,
 can be disheartening.  The bar isn't being raised, rather, it is playing limbo. 
 - Mark McKee  01/09/08

"Don't move that Limbo Bar, you'll be a limbo star, how low can you go?"
 - Chubby Checker

"All of you are right about everything.  I thinks its time for Les to buy us all a round,
 Pete's the second round, and ooops sorry guys, I have a two drink limit.. poof."
 - Brad Heck

"A round of what?  Ammunition?"
 - Pete :-)

"People on this list need to be more careful about
 bashing ASCAP without balance.  You risk throwing out
 the baby with the bathwater.  As composers, we can fight
 for our fair share of the pie, but let's not kill the pie maker in the process."
 - P e t e  S u r d o v a l

"I think, with respect to Pete, this is what 'we' have all found over  
 the years, those who are paid could give a rip about anyone else."
 - Les Hurdle

"Les, say something nice about Pete.  Pete say something nice about Les.
  There now lets all eat our dinner in peace."
 - Brad Heck

"Les and I only say nice things to each other offlist.
 It's our mutual policy. :-)   What's for dinner?"
 - Pete

"Let's hope it's not the Crow Flambe again...  I hate Crow Flambe.
 Screw it, let's just skip to the after-dinner drinks."
 - Jim Chase

"Did more than my share over the decades
 JB nearly went of biz when I quit ;-)"
 - Les Hurdle 01/10/08

"ASCAP is not a union with a specific goal,
 it's collective of uneasy bedfellows."
 - Job Van Zuijlen

"We are a nation of laws, poorly written and randomly enforced." 
 - Frank Zappa


TO BE CONTINUED...