Are the hockey players doing something for humanity to justify their outrageous salaries?

Why are CMV greedy for asking for top dollar for their product?

Just like an athlete’s “work”, a piece of music is worth what someone will pay for it. If it wasn’t worth it, no one would’ve paid it.

Sports fans need to get a clue about how intellectual property works in the entertainment industry before they shoot off their mouths.

CMV are just being greedy a holes. People will not watch less HNIC because the theme song is different. i really hate the CBC but i hope in this case it ditches the theme song. who are they to demand all this money?

The lawsuit has been public knowledge for a long time but you can’t go to the media in 2006 and say “CBC hasn’t renewed the license agreement for 2008-09 season yet” because there would be no outcry over it. The timing didn’t work until now when they could say “CBC has chosen to go a different direction”. We are at the eleventh hour and they are pulling out all the negotiation tactics they can.

“This kind of stuff happens everyday in America, which is why there are so many lawyers on the market.”

Sure, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

That’s only one instance. There’s been 3 or more other broadcasts that have been named in the lawsuit. Like I said, even if it’s something as trivial as using the same three-note key, it’s not totally inconceivable. A ton of music is played on TV, and 3.5 times a day isn’t really that much.

If the lawsuit has been going on for 4 years, why didn’t Claman and CMV go to the media earlier? The fact that they waited 4 years shows that they were willing to re-negotiate, but because CBC refused to budge on a paltry $2.5m, they took it to the media. If they settle, it won’t be for $2.5m (as CBC is adamant they won’t budge for that amount), but in settlements it is commonplace to shoot for a high benchmark first and then work your way down.

This kind of stuff happens everyday in America, which is why there are so many lawyers on the market. When settlements can’t be made with money, obviously the next course of action is a lawsuit.

Also, yes, ridiculous lawsuits are made all the time and they get settled for more reasonable amounts. It’s like negotiating a contract. But if the two sides can’t find that middle ground they will go to court. Claman and Copyright Music & Visuals are using us all as pawns to get CBC to bend more while making it sound like it was a CBC decision to not pick up the song for next season. I don’t like being used so ditch the song.

Part of the point is that, if CBC is using the song without permission, who’s to say that Dolores Claman / CMV wouldn’t have charged them $2.5 million for the extra use? Not that that’s likely — but it is a valid legal argument. CBC didn’t give them the chance to negotiate the extra rights.

And give poor Dolores Claman a break. The CBC used her greatest hit *free* for 25 years before they started paying royalties. She may be greedy, but nowhere near as greedy as the freeloading CBC.

Part of the problem is, that the song only has value because of HNIC. So it’s really the CBC who has the strong position in the long run. Claman & company are simply trying to bolster a weak position to win more concessions by going public.

Given that, I’d be surprised if the song isn’t back on CBC by the fall. Claman will have a choice between a big (but not huge) stack of money and no money at all — and she’ll take the money.

BTW, $500 per game isn’t a lot. Count up 30 weeks at 2 games each, plus extras, plus 8 playoff series * 6 games each, gives around 110 games a year. $55,000/yr isn’t much to live on in London, England (where Claman lives). And no doubt CMV gets a good chunk of that in agency fees.

Ok, so 10 times on 8 broadcasts equals 80 disallowed broadcasts. Where do the other 1170 misused broadcasts come from in 2004?

Of course it is just about money. Most everything is just about money. But unlike Ron and Don, it isn’t just about their demands on a new contract, it is about an ongoing lawsuit. If the CBC thought that the lawsuit had a basis then they would pay it but clearly they don’t since there is no settlement and they are headed for court. Obviously CBC thinks it owes something measurably less than $2.5 million if anything at all.

On the flip side we have Copyright Music & Visuals who thinks they are owed $2.5 million. They want to collect that $2.5 million and it is my belief that they are attempting to link that lawsuit with a new license agreement. I believe CBC didn’t want to play that game, didn’t want to settle at the amount Copyright Music & Visuals requested, and decided to call their bluff and not renew their agreement at this time. I believe Copyright Music & Visuals retaliated by attempting to generate public support against CBC to help their cause by issuing the press release they did at the time they did it.

Now all this is fair game in the world of corporate wheelings and dealings but I also believe that if Copyright Music & Visuals really truly thought they had a $2.5 million case in the court of law they wouldn’t have to play these games and wouldn’t need to leverage public support to get what they want. So it is my believe that Copyright Music & Visuals is just trying to be greedy and gouge CBC for whatever they can get and are willing to use you, me, the fans, the media, and anyone else they can to achieve that goal. I don’t like it and so I say, ditch the song. I am sure there are hundreds if not thousands of people that will create a new song for next to nothing.

I think this is comparable to MacLean/Cherry because that was about money, and so is this. It involves a corporation that has revenues of over $1 billion annually against the people. CMV is not a household name like MacLean or Cherry, so I don’t really blame them for taking this to the media – it’s a great legal tactic that has been done countless times when trying to fight a big corporation.