MUSIC AND MONEY

MUSIC AND MONEY
The generation of income through public performance is a relatively recent development in human history. Shakespeare enjoyed public support from the entire gamut of the Elizabethan society from Elizabeth Regina herself, to the rabble of London’s dark side. The consumer began during this age to drive the equation about what works would have longevity and which would not, a prototype that continues to this day. Notably a paradigm shift occurred in the realm of operatic literature when in the early years of the 17th Century, Claudio Monteverdi gained success in the public forum. Opera as we know it was born in Florence, Italy in 1597 at the court of Lorenzo da Medici in celebration of his daughter’s wedding to a Prince of France. The recounting of this event is worth telling. Lorenzo (laudably referred to as “Lorenzo the Magnificent”) had an idea of celebrating in a way never before envisioned. He sought the help of Giulio Caccini and Jacobo Peri, the two most notable composer/librettists of the time, to write a musical drama. He commissioned them to write what he referred to as a rapprazzatione con musica (a representation with music). The term opera was not applied to such works yet. He gave Peri and Caccini carte blanche on the project with the caveat that he would choose the story. It is no wonder that he chose the story of Orpheus and Euridice, one of the great love stories of history. The curtain opens with the revelry and ceremony of marriage between Orpheus (son of Apollo) and his lively bride Euridice. One can only imagine the pomp and splendor of that scenic display with the resources and good taste (patrons of Michelangelo and Da Vinci), that the Medici’s could bring to the event. The second takes us into the bucolic countryside where Euridice wishes to be alone. She is bitten on the foot by a viperous snake and succumbs to the poison and dies. Orfeo finds her lifeless body and laments her death. These are dramatic moments that give opera it’s very life breath. Moments, when we can climb into the heart and mind of a character and weep, ponder, laugh or rage with them. Orfeo determines to follow her to the underworld and bring her back. He goes to the River Styx, the separating point between the land of the living and the dead, and seeks the assistance of Charon, who drives the boat to carry him across and bring him back. Charon reminds him of the irrevocable laws which constrain him only to make a one-way trip for his passengers. He reminds him that those who take passage with him never come back. Orpheus persists that the love he has for Euridice is so powerful and unique that it cannot be ceased by death. Charon, having heard such pleadings before, is not impressed and is firm in his resolve. At that point, Orpheus calls upon the magic of his father’s gift...music. He takes up his lyre and begins to sing a love song of such compelling sweetness that he persuades Charon to alter the age old rule and take him to the underworld (Hedes) with the promise to return him with Euridice. Orpheus does just that, and the rapprazzatione ends with joyous revelry. Though the story is based on myth, the principle of music having the power to alter human behavior and thereby history is a point of fact. Medici then gave the world it’s first opera entitled Euridice ed Orfeo, or simply Euridice by Peri and Caccini. If one wanted to participate in such an event, one had to be of the noble circle to be invited by the Medicis to participate. That would change when Monteverdi would open the forum to the public, charging admission and broadening the exposure of the art form. In the mid-18th Century, Handel was magnifying the principle to a very high degree. He rose to celebrity stature with the public and garnered a fortune through the arena of public entertainment. Handel could well have been one of the most financially successful composer of history to that point. To this point in history, composers had comparative control of the performance of their works because dissemination through multiple printings was relatively unknown. That condition would modify in the 19th century, when printing and dissemination broadened to exposure of works. Stephen Collins Foster, living near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, had aspirations of being a successful composer, sent one of his early compositions to E.P. Christy, the principle producer of popular music of the time. It was his hope that Christy could assist in beginning a career. Christy wrote him back that the song showed promise, but was not of the quality to be used as part of his famous Minstrel Show. He encouraged Foster to continue to send his songs to him and let him serve as a mentor for him in his professional growth. Some time later, Foster was present at a performance of the Christy Minstrels when one of his songs Old Folks at Home, was performed attributed to Christy himself. Foster made a scene at the performance accusing Christy of theft of the music. Christy tried to silence Foster by promising that they could “work things out in the future”. Christy did assist Foster in promoting his future, but he continued to keep his name on those early works. This condition seems hard to understand given our present legal protection through copyright, which was decades away from formulation. It would not until the 20th Century, when Irving Berlin and other composers united to originate ASCAP to protect the rights of composers, and poets. It was not met with universal acceptance, but ultimately became ratified and acknowledged. It was essential with the new technology of radio which enabled creative works to have even wider exposure, far beyond the control of the creator. There came to be a difficult consideration relating to royalty payments for works that have widespread exposure. In the days of Monteverdi, it was a simple matter: the people who came to the theatre, paid an admission price. How does one monitor the use of copyrighted materials when it is sent forth over the air waves? It was a dilemma for decades, but agreement was finally determined as to how to levy a royalty payment when broadcast over the airwaves. It is principally linked to amounts paid by sponsors which is based upon estimated, and in some cases, a census of viewership or listening audiences. It has now extended itself to public restaurants, places of business and even medical offices as well. It seemed the challenge of equitably compensating composers and poets was determined once and for all. However, with the advent of the new technology of the Internet, a new dilemma presents itself: how when often times there is no sponsorship or census capability to viewership or listening audience, do you levy an equitable licencing agreement. Is it fair for the creative ideas of composers and poets to become public domain long before the traditionally determined time?