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Welcome to your source for information of special interest to our Theatricals Customers. You may choose from any of the articles to the right: The Most Important Clause What's the most important clause in your license agreement? Most of our licensees would probably answer: Royalties! Yes, royalties do seem to be among your major concerns, but the correct answer to the question is: There is NO clause that's more important than the others. Every word in the license you sign, no matter how small the print, is a vital part of the agreement we forge when we agree to your performance of one of our musicals. But there is a clause that is at the heart of the agreement. Paragraph A on the rear side of the agreement states in part: "You shall not interpolate into the Play any other music, dialogue or lyrics nor in any way alter, change, delete from or add to the book, music or lyrics without the Library's prior written consent." One of the great joys of working at R&H is going to see performances we license. Many of us travel near and far to view your productions. In the past year alone I saw OKLAHOMA! in Vermont, CAROUSEL in Chicago, SOUTH PACIFIC in Washington, D.C., THE KING AND I in Niagara Falls, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR on Long Island, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN in Maryland, PAL JOEY in Philadelphia, CINDERELLA in New Haven and THE WILD PARTY in Boston. It's thrilling to see the creativity and enthusiasm you bring to your work. But our unfailing support of your endeavors does not alter the fact that you may not make changes to our musicals without first obtaining the proper approval. We have heard that unapproved changes occur in productions of all musicals, but it seems to happen most frequently with THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Perhaps it is because changes in the original Broadway production were made for the phenomenally popular film version. This might cause some to think that they are free to make the same changes. But that is not true. In this era of revivals and revisicles, a little tweak here and a little tweak there may be seen by some as no big deal. In fact it's a very big deal.Any alterations you may have seen in a Broadway revival have been authorized and approved after careful consideration, specifically for the Broadway production. Will any of these alterations be permitted again? Perhaps yes; perhaps no. But in no instance may you assume that because an alteration was approved in one production, it will be approved in another. This may seem like the work of the big bad copyright police, but we are required to protect the integrity of the musicals we license. Moreover, we are also looking out for you. When you make changes and interpolations, you may well be infringing on more than one copyright. First of all, cuts made to the authorized performance materials we provide to you violate our authors' rights to have their work performed as written. As for interpolated material, you may be using copyrighted material without the approval of that copyright owner. This is the case, for example, if you alter the stage version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC licensed by us to include elements from the motion picture owned by th Century Fox. In pursuing these violations so aggressively we are actually keeping you out of trouble. Believe us when we tell you that you'd much rather get a call or a letter from us than from the legal department of a film studio or other such entity. We encourage you to read and re-read every license you sign. Know the terms of the license agreement we offer you. And come to us with your ideas. Though we cannot always approve your proposal, it is much better to know up front what is permitted than to be discovered in violation of your license after performances have begun. Charlie Scatamacchia Director, Professional Licensing The R&H Theatre Library |