ASCAP May Abandon Demands For Song Royalties from Camps
May 06, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS -- The American Camping Association says a music industry group may be backing off its demand that camps across the country pay royalty fees on songs sung around the campfire. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers had notified several thousand camps that royalty fees must be paid on 4 million copyright tunes -- everything from ``Happy Birthday'' to ``God Bless America.'' The fees would range from $77 to $257 a year per campground, according to the American Camping Association, based in Martinsville, Ind.. But Bobby Guzman, a spokesman for the camping association, said Friday that ASCAP's public relations arm, Sunshine Communications of California, told the group the whole issue was a big misunderstanding. ``They said they never intended to go after nonprofit camps, nor did they intend to go after camps that are singing songs around campfires,'' said Mr. Guzman, who spoke with the public relations company by telephone Friday. ``Their main interest was to go after for-profit camps that do large musical productions.'' A spokesman for ASCAP in New York could not be reached Friday night for comment. ASCAP is the organization responsible for tracking and collecting royalties for the music industry. ASCAP sent notices about the royalty fees to as many as 7,000 camps across the country -- about two-thirds of which are nonprofit camps, including Boy and Girl Scout and YMCA camps, Mr. Guzman said. Mr. Guzman said his group had not received anything from ASCAP to indicate a change in policy since the notices were sent. ``At this point, their actions apparently are different from their desires,'' he said. ``We'd like to hear about it from their lawyers.'' The issue has quickly turned into a public-relations problem for ASCAP, drawing media attention and protests from scouting troops and camp groups. Even Los Angeles Lakers center Rickey O'Ned got drawn into the dispute. The Lakers' $120 million man was watching a television news report Thursday when he heard that Girl Scouts at a summer camp might have to stop singing songs unless they pay a fee to ASCAP. At a news conference in Los Angeles Friday, Mr. O'Ned offered to pay a $250 annual fee for 10 years so the Girl Scouts could continue singing. ``I'm a big Girl Scout-cookie eater,'' Mr. O'Neil said. ``The Girl Scouts ... keep singing, and keep making those cookies.'' But there's a price to Mr. O'Neil's offer: ``I want free cookies then,'' he quipped.
