Ethan Riley
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2005
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- Ethan Riley
We've all read and participated in endless posts about this or that series being held from dvd because of music rights. But in looking at certain releases, it almost seems to be a non-issue.
Case in point: 3rd Rock from the Sun. I have finally viewed through the entire 2 seasons: it's absolutely LOADED with pop songs. Endless songs. Sometimes these songs become a major part of the story, such as the time when John Raitt led the cast in a full production number of "Oklahoma!" And not only that, but some of them weren't even terribly important to the storyline, in that they were simply hummed, whistled or otherwise barely sampled by different cast members. Other times, popular songs are heard when characters are listening to the radio, or bits of songs are played at the tail end of episodes, their titles pointing out the "moral" of each story.
In the dvd episodes, I've noticed at least 40 different songs used, probably more. And yet, the 3rd Rock sets aren't terribly pricey.
Even other, minor recent releases seem to have their fair share of pop songs. "Wild Palms," a dvd cheapie, is also loaded with classic 60s rock. I had viewed and videotaped the original mini in the 90s; all the songs I remember from that mini are on the dvd, (5th Dimension, Supremes, Dylan, etc.) Obviously, MGM had to clear and pay for all those songs, yet the dvd only retails for about $15. Hardly an indicator that MGM went broke retaining the original tv series soundtrack, as it was intended.
I'm asking for all of your opinions here: Are the dvd royalties paid for popular songs overstated? Is is way less of a big deal than it's rumored to be? If seeing's believing, the 3rd Rock producers had NO problems gathering and clearing all those songs. The fact that the sets aren't very expensive says to me that the royalties weren't very expensive either.
So why is it often said that Ally McBeal will never make it to dvd because of its heavy usage of music? Or the rest of American Dreams? Or dozens of other recent shows? All I'm saying is, if 3rd Rock can do it, why not the rest?
Case in point: 3rd Rock from the Sun. I have finally viewed through the entire 2 seasons: it's absolutely LOADED with pop songs. Endless songs. Sometimes these songs become a major part of the story, such as the time when John Raitt led the cast in a full production number of "Oklahoma!" And not only that, but some of them weren't even terribly important to the storyline, in that they were simply hummed, whistled or otherwise barely sampled by different cast members. Other times, popular songs are heard when characters are listening to the radio, or bits of songs are played at the tail end of episodes, their titles pointing out the "moral" of each story.
In the dvd episodes, I've noticed at least 40 different songs used, probably more. And yet, the 3rd Rock sets aren't terribly pricey.
Even other, minor recent releases seem to have their fair share of pop songs. "Wild Palms," a dvd cheapie, is also loaded with classic 60s rock. I had viewed and videotaped the original mini in the 90s; all the songs I remember from that mini are on the dvd, (5th Dimension, Supremes, Dylan, etc.) Obviously, MGM had to clear and pay for all those songs, yet the dvd only retails for about $15. Hardly an indicator that MGM went broke retaining the original tv series soundtrack, as it was intended.
I'm asking for all of your opinions here: Are the dvd royalties paid for popular songs overstated? Is is way less of a big deal than it's rumored to be? If seeing's believing, the 3rd Rock producers had NO problems gathering and clearing all those songs. The fact that the sets aren't very expensive says to me that the royalties weren't very expensive either.
So why is it often said that Ally McBeal will never make it to dvd because of its heavy usage of music? Or the rest of American Dreams? Or dozens of other recent shows? All I'm saying is, if 3rd Rock can do it, why not the rest?
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