Just a few more days left for mixing at Schnitzerland before we go to London for the mastering.

It feels awesome at this point after a long time of composing, rehearsing, fighting, playing live, recording, re-recording and mixing. We've had everything in the last two and a half years, from the most ecstatic moments to close-to-splitups, from being heartbroken to the comfort of a friend, from being the world's greatest band to being shaken to the bones by fear and frost. Freedom and private horror, after all. You may or may not hear that on the album but for us, now it is certainly a good time to move on, to take up playing live again and to work on the new material (we've got lots and lots of new songs waiting to get tailored a fancy costume). To get to the point:

Are you a nice record label or distributor willing to give it a go? Do you like what you hear on this site (with exception of the Joy Division cover which we made exclusively for the Rewind 2 project)? Why not get back to us and ask for more, can't hurt...

Show me more

Song names: Ether Dome, I'll Shine, Enter Return Undo, Received Your Letter, Lie Down, Razer, Ride And Crash, 12:30, Hold The World Inside A Box, Eleven Golden Antelopes.

That's it, we will be waiting in Schnitzerland for you to call.

Sincerely yours,
Mat V Schnitzer

On kind request from Marc from Buffetlibre DJs we have recorded a cover version of Joy Divisions 'Heart & Soul'.
It is now featured among many others in Buffetlibres' very nice tribute-to-the-80ties project Rewind 2.
Go and have a look at it if you feel like it:

Buffetlibre DJs - Rewind 2


Schnitzer back in 1980

Rewind 2 delivers you with almost 100 interpretations (some cover versions, some remixes) of both famous and curious tracks from the good old Eighties. You can either enjoy them online or even download the complete playlist to your computer. Plus, there's a YouTube version of each and every original song included - isn't that nice?

Yours truly,
Mat V Schnitzer

We're sadly announcing that our supposed deal with Harmonix/MTV to place one of our songs in the new RockBand game (Playstation/XBox, European/UK release) has passed away without suffering the night of March 21, 2008 due to licensing issues.

While it was clear from beginning that we wouldn't earn any money by providing our recording of 'Received Your Letter' for the purpouse of the game, it quite took us by surprise that MTV was also not willing to pay for the minimal royalties that would arise from our rights of the composition. Every European artist having a contract with a royalty collecting society (SUISA in the case of Switzerland) knows that there's no legal workaround. On the other hand, if you consider how obsolete the 'M' at MTV has become these days, you might want to call us a little naive.

So what now? - Nothing's really lost. We will continue trying to create the most beautiful music we can. We will continue looking for ways to present what we do to a hopefully growing public. We will continue working towards a product that we can hold in our hands and be proud of. (And I will continue trying to sound as convincing as Martin Luther King). Step by step, of course. But what's the right steps? How about the more recent ways to promote yourself? What is the right thing to do if you don't want to treat your band and music as it was just another business opportunity? Your comments, experiences, critisism and ideas are very welcome!

Fuck, now the sun pours down like honey - let's just all go swimming!

Yours truly
-Mat V Schnitzer

============================================================
start of email conversation (in chronological order - all contact details erased)
============================================================


Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 19. November 2007 19:24:40 GMT+01:00
An: <...>
Kopie: "Alex Rigopulos" <...>
Betreff: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"

Hi Mathias,
 
I spoke with Alex Rigopulos about including a Schnitzer song, "Received Your Letter", in the European release of RockBand.  You understand that the song will be unlicensed, meaning you'll allow us to use the song in our game free of charge.  But, it should be fantastic exposure for the band, so it should be good for everybody.  If you're up for it, then great, let's do it!
 
At the bottom of this email is a spec for the specific tracks we'll need for the game.   I'll want the tracks pretty soon (within the next couple weeks).  When the stems are ready, you can either put them on a DVD and mail to me or we can arrange an FTP delivery. And please feel free to email/call me if you have any questions or concerns.  
 
Here's where to send the stems:
          Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.
          c/o Eric Brosius
          [...]
 
 
Can you also please email me the following information, so we can draw up a release contract for you to sign?:
 
Song credits:
          Song name:   "Received Your Letter"
          Band name:    Schnitzer
          Song writer(s):
          Copyright/publishing info:
          Record label info (if any):
          Anything else you want to appear in the credits:
 
Contact info for the person representing the band who is authorized to sign the contract (probably you):
          Name:
          Address:
          Telephone:
 
Lyrics:  can you send along the lyrics to the song.  I want to make sure we get them correct.

Cheers,
Eric

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 20. November 2007 12:30:37 GMT+01:00
An: Eric Brosius <...>
Betreff: Re: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"

Hi Eric



Thanks for all the information, I will get back to you with everything you need as soon as possible. Also, the delivery of the stems within the next two weeks won't be a problem (but I think it'll make sense to arrange an ftp delivery to make sure we're on the save side).


Cheers
Mathias

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 20. November 2007 12:37:09 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"

Hi Mathias,
Great.  The sooner you can get these to us, the better.  If you want to use your own FTP, that's fine.  If you prefer to use ours, here's the info.
 
         [...]
 
Thanks very much.
Eric

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 3. Dezember 2007 12:03:31 GMT+01:00
An: Eric Brosius <...>
Betreff: Re: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"

Hi Eric,


The stems for 'Received Your Letter' sit on your server now (in the folder Schnitzer_RB). Included there is a semi-professionally mastered version as a reference and an rtf with these mix notes:

************************************************************************************************

MIX NOTES / Realtime Limiting:



> all stems are in stereo, 24 bit, 44.1 kHz exept for Dry Vocal, which is mono
> all relevant stems mixed together need about 4 dB of headroom.
> to come as close as possible to the mastered version, I first reduce the gain in the sum out channel by 4 dB
and then run it through a limiter with a threshold of about -9.4 dB - so this might be a starting point for whatever
you'll be doing in realtime


Of course you are free to do whatever sounds best to your ears to make it fit your context. If you feel that anything
should be done differently or better to get a really nice result, please don't hesitate to get back to me with further instructions.



Thank you very much!
Mat



____________________________________________________________________________________________
Mathias Vetter
[...]

************************************************************************************************


If you've got any questions or requests, please mail me back.

Cheers
Mathias

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 4. Dezember 2007 00:43:23 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"

Thanks very much Mathias.  We'll start working on the song right away!  I'll let you know if there are any problems.
 
Cheers,
Eric

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 15. Januar 2008 16:10:38 GMT+01:00
An: Eric Brosius <...>
Betreff: Re: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"

Hi Eric,

How's it going with the song? Do you still need anything / any information from me? - Just curious about a little update...


Cheers
-Mat

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 15. Januar 2008 16:59:42 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"

It's going great.  The song's in the game and working great.  I'm not sure when the exact release date is, but will let you know when I know.
 
Did you get paperwork to sign from Hillary at MTV yet?  If not, I'll track it down.
 
Cheers,
Eric

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 15. Januar 2008 17:15:56 GMT+01:00
An: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Betreff: Re: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"


Am 15.01.2008 um 16:59 schrieb Eric Brosius:
It's going great.  The song's in the game and working great.  I'm not sure when the exact release date is, but will let you know when I know.

That's nice to hear!! - Thanks!

 
Did you get paperwork to sign from Hillary at MTV yet?  If not, I'll track it down.

No, we haven't received anything yet. I'm in France this week, but will be back in Zurich next Monday.

Cheers
-Mat

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 15. Januar 2008 17:17:52 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"

Ok, thanks.  I'll make sure it gets to you.
 
Thanks.

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 15. Januar 2008 21:35:18 GMT+01:00
An: "Kahn, Hillary" <...>
Kopie: <...>, "Bier, Matthew - Viacom" <...>
Betreff: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"

I don't know.  March I think.  I can't find out if you need a more precise date.


From: Kahn, Hillary [mailto:...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 3:33 PM
To: Eric Brosius
Cc: <...>; Bier, Matthew - Viacom
Subject: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"
 
Hi Mathias- license will follow shortly.
 
Eric- what is the release date for the UK?  Thanks H
 

From: Eric Brosius [mailto:...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 12:50 PM
To: Kahn, Hillary
Subject: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"
Thanks Hillary.
 

From: Kahn, Hillary [mailto:...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 12:39 PM
To: Eric Brosius
Subject: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"
 
Hi.  It was just drafted.  It will go this week.  Thanks
 

From: Eric Brosius [mailto:...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 11:20 AM
To: Kahn, Hillary
Subject: FW: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"
Hillary,
Just a reminder to send a release contract to Mathias Vetter for Schnitzer's "Received Your Letter" which is a gratis song on the UK release.  He says he hasn't gotten anything yet.
 
Thanks,
Eric

============================================================

Von: "Kahn, Hillary" <...>
Datum: 15. Januar 2008 21:41:17 GMT+01:00
An: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Kopie: <...>, "Bier, Matthew" <...>
Betreff: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"

March is fine.  Thanks


From: Eric Brosius [mailto:...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 3:35 PM
To: Kahn, Hillary
Cc: <...>; Bier, Matthew
Subject: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"


I don't know.  March I think.  I can find out if you need a more precise date.


From: Kahn, Hillary [mailto:...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 3:33 PM
To: Eric Brosius
Cc: <...>; Bier, Matthew - Viacom
Subject: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"
 
Hi Mathias- license will follow shortly.
 
Eric- what is the release date for the UK?  Thanks H
 

From: Eric Brosius [mailto:...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 12:50 PM
To: Kahn, Hillary
Subject: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"
Thanks Hillary.


From: Kahn, Hillary [mailto:...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 12:39 PM
To: Eric Brosius
Subject: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"
 
Hi.  It was just drafted.  It will go this week.  Thanks
 

From: Eric Brosius [mailto:...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 11:20 AM
To: Kahn, Hillary
Subject: FW: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter"
Hillary,
Just a reminder to send a release contract to Mathias Vetter for Schnitzer's "Received Your Letter" which is a gratis song on the UK release.  He says he hasn't gotten anything yet.
 
Thanks,
Eric

============================================================

Von: "Bier, Matthew" <...>
Datum: 15. Januar 2008 22:44:34 GMT+01:00
An: <...>
Kopie: "Kahn, Hillary" <...>
Betreff: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

<> 
Dear Mathias,
I hope this email finds you well. Please find one (1) license agreement for the above-mentioned title . Please arrange to have this agreement signed and returned to us at your convenience.
It was a pleasure doing business with you and I look forward to the opportunity to do so again in the future.
Very best,

Matt Bier 
MTV  Music & Media Licensing 
Business and Legal Affairs

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 16. Januar 2008 16:59:48 GMT+01:00
An: "Bier, Matthew" <...>
Betreff: Re: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Thanks Matt,


I'll get back to you with this as soon as possible.


All the best
Mathias

============================================================


Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 24. Januar 2008 21:25:48 GMT+01:00
An: Bolzern Chantal <...>
Betreff: Fwd: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Liebe Frau Bolzern,



Im Anhang das von uns zu unterzeichnende Licence Agreement zur Verwendung unseres Songs in dem Computerspiel 'RockBand' (der European Retail Version). Es ist ausgemacht, dass wir dafür kein Geld verdienen. Selbstverständlich wollen wir dafür aber weder Exklusivrechte vergeben, noch uns strafbar machen, indem wir die Vervielfältigungs- etc. Rechte, die von der SUISA wahrgenommen werden, irrtümlicherweise abtreten. Der zur Diskussion stehende Song wird in den nächsten Tagen bei der SUISA angemeldet.

Ich bin Ihnen sehr dankbar für eine Durchsicht des Vertrags und stehe natürlich gerne für Fragen zur Verfügung. Am besten bin ich per Email oder auf dem Mobile erreichbar ist; falls es sinnvoll ist, kann ich auch schnell persönlich vorbeikommen.


Herzlichen Dank und liebe Grüsse
Mathias Vetter

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 2. Februar 2008 17:00:51 GMT+01:00
An: "Bier, Matthew" <...>
Betreff: Re: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Dear Matt,




Thank you very much for the agreement. After looking through it with SUISA (the Swiss Society for the Rights of Authors of Musical Works) we're quite happy and basically ready to sign it. There's only three little things that have to be corrected or added/specified:


(1) The names and adress at the beginnig of the contract ("Licensor") is misspelled almost totally. it should read:

This agreement ("Agreement") is entered into as of January 14, 2008 by and between Mathias Vetter, Schnitzer, Schoeneggstrasse 5, CH-8004 Zuerich, Switzerland ("Licensor") on the one hand, [...]


(2) Since copyright in Switzerland differs quite a bit from eg. American copyright, we were advised to suggest the following amendment to the third paragraph at the beginning (WHEREAS, Licensor owns, controls or [...] ), just to make things a bit more explicit:

(please forgive my english, I'm not familiar with the correct nomenclature for this kind of agreements. Feel free to rephrase as needed)

The rights in the composition are not subject of this agreement. The Licensor is a member of SUISA, the Swiss Society for the Rights of Authors of Musical Works. MTVN is bound to obtain these rights from the respective association. If, for any reason, that shouldn't be possible [as it sometimes is the case with Harry Fox], MTVN will obtain these rights directly from SUISA.


(3) It might be a good idea to restrict the territory to Europe?



That's it. If you agree to these changes, we're very happy to sign.

Thank you very much. All the best,
Mat

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 11. Februar 2008 18:00:20 GMT+01:00
An: Matthew Bier <...>
Betreff: Fwd: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Dear Matt,


Just to check back quickly if you received my email from feb 2 (see below).


Cheers
Mat

Anfang der weitergeleiteten E-Mail:
[see above]

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 15. Februar 2008 12:49:14 GMT+01:00
An: Eric Brosius <...>
Kopie: "Kahn, Hillary" <...>, Matthew Bier <...>
Betreff: Fwd: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Dear Eric,



Hope everything's going great!
There seems to be a little problem with the email adress I've used for the questions/corrections concerning the license agreement (see below): Since I haven't heard back from Matt Bier I don't know who's the right person to contact with my concerns. Would you know?


Thank you very much and - we're looking forward like crazy to your game!
Mathias



funktion
audio content

mathias vetter
[...]

Anfang der weitergeleiteten E-Mail:
[see above]

============================================================

Von: "Bier, Matthew" <...>
Datum: 15. Februar 2008 12:49:20 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: Out of Office AutoReply: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

I am out of the office today and will return on the 19th of February. I will reply to your e-mail upon my return.

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 15. Februar 2008 15:36:39 GMT+01:00
An: <...>
Betreff: FW: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Hi Mathias,
Seems like you have the correct address.  Hillary just needs time to review your changes.  She says she'll try to get to it today.
 
Thanks,
Eric

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 16. Februar 2008 11:13:55 GMT+01:00
An: Eric Brosius <...>
Betreff: Re: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Thanks a lot, Eric!
Mathias

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 4. März 2008 09:42:47 GMT+01:00
An: Hillary Kahn <...>
Betreff: Fwd: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Dear Hillary,


The license agreement for including 'Received Your Letter' by Schnitzer to RockBand's European retail version is still pending (see my questions below). From what I heard from Eric Brosius about the release date I'm guessing that we should start to deal with it now.



Thanks for your answer, all the best,
-Mathias

============================================================

Von: "Kahn, Hillary" <...>
Datum: 4. März 2008 09:42:52 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: Out of Office AutoReply: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

I will be out of the office until Tuesday March 11, 2008 on vacation.

For all Rock Band inquiries please contact Lisa Sowers at [...].  For all Third Party Inquiries please contact Matt Bier at [...].  All other inquiries should be directed to Connie Howell at [...]
============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 4. März 2008 09:48:53 GMT+01:00
An: Lisa Sowers <...>
Betreff: Fwd: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Hi Lisa,


I was told to contact you with this (see below).


Best
-Mathias

[...]

============================================================

Von: "Kahn, Hillary" <...>
Datum: 4. März 2008 14:19:24 GMT+01:00
An: <...>
Betreff: FW: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band


 
Dear Mathias- Sorry it took a while for my reply, as you can imagine we are quite busy with Rock Band all the versions.  Please see my comments below. 
 
If this is acceptable to you, let me know and I will have the changes made and an agreement sent out immediately for your signature.  We are nearing the point where we have to make our final decisions on music for the European version of ROCK BAND and hopefully we can agree to the language in the license.
 
I will be on vacation as of tomorrow, if you can let me know today that would be great otherwise as soon as possible. 
 
Thanks Hillary Kahn





Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 2. Februar 2008 17:00:51 GMT+01:00
An: "Bier, Matthew" <...>
Betreff: Re: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band
 
Dear Matt,
 
 
 
 
Thank you very much for the agreement. After looking through it with SUISA (the Swiss Society for the Rights of Authors of Musical Works) we're quite happy and basically ready to sign it. There's only three little things that have to be corrected or added/specified:
 
 
(1) The names and adress at the beginnig of the contract ("Licensor") is misspelled almost totally. it should read:
 
This agreement ("Agreement") is entered into as of January 14, 2008 by and between Mathias Vetter, Schnitzer, [...] ("Licensor") on the one hand, [...]  ok
 
(2) Since copyright in Switzerland differs quite a bit from eg. American copyright, we were advised to suggest the following amendment to the third paragraph at the beginning (WHEREAS, Licensor owns, controls or [...] ), just to make things a bit more explicit:
 
(please forgive my english, I'm not familiar with the correct nomenclature for this kind of agreements. Feel free to rephrase as needed)
 
The rights in the composition are not subject of this agreement. The Licensor is a member of SUISA, the Swiss Society for the Rights of Authors of Musical Works. MTVN is bound to obtain these rights from the respective association. If, for any reason, that shouldn't be possible [as it sometimes is the case with Harry Fox], MTVN will obtain these rights directly from SUISA.  Mathias you need to be able to grant the rights we need.  We can not include this language.  This is non-negotiabele. 
 
 
(3) It might be a good idea to restrict the territory to Europe?

Although the disc will be for Europe only, we're planning on offering all of the Euro disc songs as DLC for outside Europe as soon as the disc is released.   We need worldwide rights.
 
 
 
That's it. If you agree to these changes, we're very happy to sign.
 
Thank you very much. All the best,
Mat

============================================================

From: Mathias Vetter [mailto:...]
Sent: Tue 3/4/2008 9:12 AM
To: Kahn, Hillary
Subject: Re: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Dear Hillary,


Thank you very much for your answer. After looking through your comments I can say as much as this:

(1) and (3): ok (sorry I forgot about the downloadable songs - that makes (3) obsolete, and it's perfectly alright with us like this)

(2): The rights in the composition are not subject of this agreement. - as far as we understand this agreement, that's exactly what it is saying implicitly anyway. Only that it is necessary for us to have that written down explicitly, as otherwise we'd be going to violate our own contract with SUISA. Please correct me if I'm wrong: With this agreement MTVN is going to license the rights in the RECORDING of 'Received Your Letter' for the game 'RockBand'. And by signing this agreement, we are _not_ giving away the rights in the COMPOSITION of 'Received Your Letter'. If this is correct, it would be ok with us to have just this very phrase included: The rights in the composition are not subject of this agreement.



I'm very confident that we can agree on this specification as I couldn't think of any reason why it shouldn't be possible.


All the best
Mathias

============================================================

Von: "Kahn, Hillary" <...>
Datum: 4. März 2008 15:30:40 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Actually we would be licensing the RECORDING and COMPOSITION from you.  This is a master and synchronization license.  Can you grant the rights we need?  So all the rights we are requesting are subject to the agreement.  Thanks Hillary


============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 4. März 2008 16:19:27 GMT+01:00
An: <...>
Betreff: Received Your Letter

Hi Mathias,
Looks like we're going to have to pull "Received Your Letter" from RockBand.  While we have your clearance for the recording, we don't have SUISA's clearance for the publishing, and we're not likely to get it in time or without spending money.   Sorry about that.
 
Eric

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 4. März 2008 17:32:48 GMT+01:00
An: Eric Brosius <...>
Kopie: Rigopulos Alex <...>, Hillary Kahn <...>
Betreff: Re: Received Your Letter

Hi Eric,

Ok, I believe part of the problem are the differencies in American and European copy rights nomenclature. Just to make this clear: For us it's not at all about earning money here, but to prevent us from violating our contract with SUISA (and every serious European artist has a similar one, Germans with GEMA, Swiss with SUISA, etc.)

I just had someone from SUISA on the phone and she told me this: If the game was going to be produced in the US, we'd actually still be violating our contract by signing the agreement, but we could take the risk since most probably nobody's going to take notice. But if the game was going to be produced in Europe (UK, Czeck Republic, Germany, wherever), we're absolutely sure to be confronted with action for damages. Which we could not afford since we're still an unsigned indie band...


To be honest, I wonder how all those other bands manage this way of clearance.


Cheers
-Mat

============================================================

Von: <...>
Datum: 4. März 2008 17:32:52 GMT+01:00
An: <...>
Betreff: Delivery failure

Your message has encountered delivery problems
to the following recipient(s):

Alex Rigopulos <...>
Delivery failed
554 Service unavailable; Client host [saturn2.vadian.net] blocked using Barracuda Reputation; http://www.barracudanetworks.com/reputation/?r=1&ip=[...]

Eric Brosius <...>
Delivery failed
554 Service unavailable; Client host [saturn2.vadian.net] blocked using Barracuda Reputation; http://www.barracudanetworks.com/reputation/?r=1&ip=[...]

============================================================

From: Mathias Vetter [mailto: (other email adress)] 
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 11:40 AM
To: Eric Brosius
Cc: Alex Rigopulos
Subject: License Agreement
 
Hi Eric,
 
Ok, I believe part of the problem are the differencies in American and European copy rights nomenclature. Just to make this clear: For us it's not at all about earning money here, but to prevent us from violating our contract with SUISA (and every serious European artist has a similar one, Germans with GEMA, Swiss with SUISA, etc.)
 
I just had someone from SUISA on the phone and she told me this: If the game was going to be produced in the US, we'd actually still be violating our contract by signing the agreement, but we could take the risk since most probably nobody's going to take notice. But if the game was going to be produced in Europe (UK, Czeck Republic, Germany, wherever), we're absolutely sure to be confronted with action for damages. Which we could not afford since we're still an unsigned (but promising:-) indie band...
 
 
To be honest, I wonder how all those other bands manage this way of clearance.
 
 
Cheers
-Mat

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 4. März 2008 18:11:41 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter"
Kopie: "Alex Rigopulos" <...>
Betreff: RE: License Agreement

I understand that it's not about money for you, of course.  It all comes down to who controls the rights to publish the song and who controls the rights to the actual recording of the song.  You seem to control your recording, so that part's all set.   I have no idea what the SUISA agreement says, but it sounds like they hold the publishing rights to your song.  This means we'd have to go through them to get their clearance and we'd likely have to pay their publishing fees for that.  At this point, we just don't have the time to pursue that plus it wasn't part of our budget to include the song.
 
However, doesn't mean all is necessarily lost.  We can look into clearing the song later as a possible downloadable track.  We put up new songs every week online that owners of the game can purchase.  So we can try looking into that after the game is released in Europe.
 
Thanks and I'm sorry it didn't work out for the disc release.
Eric

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 4. März 2008 19:12:22 GMT+01:00
An: Bolzern Chantal <...>
Betreff: Fwd: License Agreement

Liebe Frau Bolzern,


Hier noch die letzte Email-Konversation zu unserer RockBand-Geschichte - nur falls es Sie noch interessiert zu lesen. Offenbar ist das Ding gelaufen, aber irgendwie bin ich mir immer noch nicht 100% sicher, ob da nicht doch ein Missverständnis vorliegt... (wir haben ja keinen Publishing Vertrag mit Euch). MTV und die Grossen halt wieder einmal:(


Herzlichen Dank für Ihre Hilfe und einen schönen Abend
Mathias Vetter

============================================================

Von: Chantal Bolzern <...>
Datum: 5. März 2008 08:31:51 GMT+01:00
An: <...>
Betreff: Re: Fwd: License Agreement

Guten Morgen

Ich bin auch nicht sicher, ob die Amis die Konstellation richtig verstanden haben. Falls Sie möchten, kann ich Ihnen eine kurze Bestätigung in Englisch schicken, so dass Sie diese weiterleiten könnten. Heute Nachmittag bin ich nicht im Büro. Sofern Sie eine Bestätigung möchten, brauche ich Ihre Rückmeldung möglichst schnell, so dass ich sie heute Vormittag tippen kann, ansonsten wird es Donnerstag.

Mit freundlichen Grüssen

SUISA
Chantal Bolzern, Fürsprecherin LL.M.
Rechtsdienst
[...]

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 5. März 2008 09:10:55 GMT+01:00
An: Chantal Bolzern <...>
Betreff: Re: License Agreement

Guten Morgen,



Das wäre sehr nett!!


Ich möchte so oder so nochmals auf den gestrigen Tag reagieren und akzeptiere eigentlich nicht ohne aufzumucksen, dass nach über einem Monat Warten auf eine Antwort von MTVN dann innerhalb von 3 Stunden plötzlich keine Zeit für die Notwendigen Abklärungen vorhanden sein soll. Auch wenn ich da natürlich schlussendlich machtlos bin weiss ich, dass es zumindest bei einer Person einen Nerv treffen wird.



Liebe Grüsse
Mathias Vetter

============================================================

Von: Chantal Bolzern <...>
Datum: 5. März 2008 09:24:49 GMT+01:00
An: <...>
Betreff: Re: Fwd: License Agreement

Dear Mr. Vetter

I hereby confirm briefly the content of yesterday's conversation concerning the copyright on your compositions. SUISA is a royalty collecting society like ASCAP or Harry Fox Agency, not a publisher. Unlike the before mentioned societies we have the exclusive right to grant performing or mechanical rights. SUISA only works in Switzerland but has contracts with more than 105 sister societies all over the world, including the four US-American societies.

When the computer game is produced in the United States or when the downloads are offered from American territory SUISA does not collect any royalties. In the States the producer has to obtain the rights either from Harry Fox Agency or exceptionally directly from you. The producer of the game only needs to obtain a licence from SUISA or an other society when he produces the game for example in Germany or France.

To cut a long story short: as long as the use of your copyright is taking place in the United States, the producer of the game has no additional costs.

I hope I could clarify the situation. If you need further information please don't hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Chantal Bolzern

SUISA
Chantal Bolzern, Attorney at law LL.M.
Legal Services

[...]

============================================================

Von: "Sowers, Lisa" <...>
Datum: 5. März 2008 21:55:45 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: RE: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band

Hello Mathias,
I am looking into this matter and will be in touch as soon as I have more details.
Thank you for your patience.
Best, Lisa
 
Lisa R Sowers 
MTV Media & Music Licensing 
Business & Legal Affairs 
[...]


From: Mathias Vetter [...]
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 3:49 AM
To: Sowers, Lisa
Subject: Fwd: Schnitzer "Received Your Letter" agreement for Rock Band


Hi Lisa,


I was told to contact you with this (see below).


Best
-Mathias

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 5. März 2008 10:43:03 GMT+01:00
An: Eric Brosius <...>
Kopie: Rigopulos Alex <...>, Hillary Kahn <...>
Betreff: Confirmation

Eric, Alex, Hillary


As a last attempt to clear up the situation I send you this confirmation from SUISA Legal Services. SUISA is NOT a publisher!

==================================================================================================
Dear Mr. Vetter

I hereby confirm briefly the content of yesterday's conversation concerning the copyright on your compositions. SUISA is a royalty collecting society like ASCAP or Harry Fox Agency, not a publisher. Unlike the before mentioned societies we have the exclusive right to grant performing or mechanical rights. SUISA only works in Switzerland but has contracts with more than 105 sister societies all over the world, including the four US-American societies.

When the computer game is produced in the United States or when the downloads are offered from American territory SUISA does not collect any royalties. In the States the producer has to obtain the rights either from Harry Fox Agency or exceptionally directly from you. The producer of the game only needs to obtain a licence from SUISA or an other society when he produces the game for example in Germany or France.

To cut a long story short: as long as the use of your copyright is taking place in the United States, the producer of the game has no additional costs.

I hope I could clarify the situation. If you need further information please don't hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Chantal Bolzern

SUISA
Chantal Bolzern, Attorney at law LL.M.
Legal Services

[...]
==================================================================================================

Also, I'm afraid I have to say that I'm very disappointed. Not so much about the fact that our song will not appear on the disc, but a lot more about the policy:

After waiting for over a month for any answer to my questions and concerns and after several attempts to get someone at MTVN to respond, the decision to pull of the song was made within three hours with the argument of not having even two or three days left to make the necessary clarifications. This, in my opinion, lacks of respect for the artist and the music which makes up for an important part of your product. Everything else about majors, the music industry and music television has been said a hundred times before and I don't  want to make a fool of myself by repeating it. Only I still don't want to believe that a company like MTV is not willing to pay the artist for even the most minimal royalty fees like mechanical rights - regulated by law. Who do you think will be able to afford to create music in the future?

As I stated earlier: For us, this wasn't at all about the issue of making money, but we do expect a minimal amount of appreciation and respect and we won't, not on any account, throw this position away.

I'm very sorry that I'm not able to react in a more positive way, and I'm fully aware of the fact that for you and your product it doesn't make a big difference whether we're in it or not. Also, Alex and Eric, I've always been appreciating your fast, friendly and clear communication - thank you for that!


All the best
-Mathias

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 5. März 2008 13:39:17 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Kopie: "Alex Rigopulos" <...>, "Kahn, Hillary - Viacom" <...>
Betreff: RE: Confirmation

We're trying to clear this up, so hang on. This sort of thing arose with one other artist.

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 17. März 2008 12:45:02 GMT+01:00
An: Eric Brosius <...>
Betreff: Re: Confirmation

Hi Eric,


Any news already? Just tell me if you still need anything from me.


Cheers
-Mat

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 20. März 2008 15:12:36 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: RE: Confirmation

Mathias,

We're trying on last time to contact SUISA and see if they will grant us the rights to use "Received Your Letter" in RockBand without any fees. If we can get this clearance within the next day or so, we might be able to still release the song. If not, sadly, we won't.

Sorry this is such a mess.
Eric

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 20. März 2008 18:33:37 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: RE: Confirmation

Hi Mathias,
I had a long talk with our licensing people.

We have no good way to communicate with the SUISA folks; they don't speak English and we don't have anyone in place who know the language we'll enough to negotiate with them. So you'll have to help.

Since you own both the publishing & masters rights to your song, you're the one who can sign the release contract. And as I understand it, you're not comfortable signing it without SUISA's approval. So I think you need to talk to them, and get their approval or blessing, to the point where you're ok with signing this release contract.

The point of putting your song in the game is to help promote a developing band rather than to help us sell more copies of the game. It was intended as a freebie from the start, so we're not going to be able to pay any mechanicals.

If you can get this worked out in the next day or two and sign our release contract we'll try to put the song back in.

Thanks again,
Eric

============================================================

Von: Mathias Vetter <...>
Datum: 21. März 2008 12:35:09 GMT+01:00
An: Eric Brosius <...>, Rigopulos Alex <...>
Betreff: Re: Confirmation

Hi Eric,


I'm sorry we're backing out - for many many reasons. The main of it being that we can't possibly sign a contract that forces us into illegality (*1). The second being the fact that we're profoundly and utterly disagreeing with this licensing policy (*2).


I'm sorry for the inconvenience and wish you and your game all the success that it deserves.

All the best
-Mathias



(*1) I'm sure that your licensing people are familiar with the European copy right: SUISA, GEMA and the respective ones of each European country are royalties _collecting_ societies. They don't own (but only administrate) the rights in the composition and are therefore not in the position to grant them for free. Neither are we, because we have a contract with SUISA (and by that are indirectly bound to all those other European societies and (!) to European copy right law). According to this law, the producer of an audio or AV media HAS to pay the author the royalties for the rights in the composition. This is non-negotiable and in this case pertains to the mechanical rights the moment a media is manufactered. This law is necessary to protect the author's intellectual property from piracy. Needless to say that this is _very_ little money and has more of a symbolic character.

All the other rights (e.g. rights of the recording) ARE negotiable and stay with the artist - unless this artist has a contract with a publisher (which we don't). It was clear and settled from beginning that we would give away all those rights for free. But usually _this_ would be the expensive part, depending on the degree of popularity of the artist.



(*2) If this would have been an agreement with Harmonix three years back (which we considered to be a small independent company of music passionates with little budgets and hillarious products): YES! But now it's MTV... and we are not Top40 and will never be. And despite all understanding of modern economy mechanisms we're not going to PAY MONEY just for playing an irrelevant role in this. (The actual outcome of this agreement would be exactly this: in the end WE would have to pay for the mechanical rights ourselves and beyond that be confronted with action for damages).

============================================================

Von: "Eric Brosius" <...>
Datum: 21. März 2008 12:40:38 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Kopie: "Alex Rigopulos" <...>
Betreff: RE: Confirmation

Thanks Mathias and very sorry it didn't work out.

We wish good luck to you and your band.

Eric
Ps. We really like the song.

============================================================

Von: "Alex Rigopulos" <...>
Datum: 22. März 2008 00:02:39 GMT+01:00
An: "Mathias Vetter" <...>
Betreff: RE: Confirmation

Hey Matthias,

I just want you to know that I'm sorry about how this turned out. Eric and I tried hard to make this work with MTV, but unfortunately we weren't successful.

(And Eric wasn't just being nice. We really did love the song...)

Alex

============================================================
end of email conversation
============================================================

Buffetlibre Dj's release the last chapter of the Verbena Selected trilogy: "Verbena Selected 3: The Aftershow Party". This time, Buffetlibre DJ's have left the task of choosing the tracklist to some of their favourite pop artists of the moment. Pop artists being chefs for a day and picking their favourite electronic track at the moment. Guest selectors include Bright Eyes, Editors, Stars, Kaiser Chiefs and The New Pornographers, amongst others. So, to discover Raveonettes secret love of Miss Kittin or Bright Eyes's weakness for Ninja Tunes's The Bug, just download 'Verbena Selected 3' for free.

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TRACKLIST:
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2. Adventure Kid - De Lorean Motor Company [Selected by I'm From Barcelona]
3. Muscles - Sweaty (Shazam remix) [Selected by Softlightes]
4. T2 - Heartbroken [Selected by The Pipettes]
5. Golden Boy - Rippin Kittin [Selected by The Raveonettes]
6. Uffie - Ready To Uff [Selected by Sohodolls]
7. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - We Are Rockstars [Selected by Zookeeper]
8. Holy Ghost! - Hold ..ed by Irene]
9. Familjen - Det Snurrar I Min Skalle [Selected by Seabear]
10. Lykke Li - Little Bit [Selected by Of Montreal]
11. Autokratz - Pardon Garçon [Selected by Kaiser Chiefs]
12. Schnitzer - 12:30 [Selected by Das Pop]
13. Cassius - Under Influence [Selected by Margot The Nuclear So and So's]
14. Björk - Wanderlust (Ratatat remix) [Selected by Tilly The Wall]
15. The Bug feat Killa P Flow Dan - Skeng (Kode 9 remix) [Selected by Bright Eyes]
16. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Sun Llips [Selected by The Go! Team]
17. Josh and Anand - What Wonderful Snow [Selected by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin]
18. Orange Juice - Rit It Up [Selected by Stars]
19. Gary Numan - Are Friends Electric (Andy Gray remix) [Selected by The New Pornographers]
20. Apparat - Hailin From The Edge [Selected by Editors]

Video by Chrizzelwizz, Live Mix by Susanne (THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!)

We missed by 11 votes... rats! So now we have to do all the booking work by ourselves. If you'd like us to play at your location, write an email by clicking the Booking-link in the upper left corner at our space.

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