Cold Case, Wonder Years & music licensing

[ding12]

I've heard one of the reasons "Cold Case" won't be coming to DVD is because of music licensing issues. The same with "Wonder Years"
For "Cold Case" the reruns are currently being aired via syndication, though and "Wonder Years" ran in syndication for quite a while.

"Scrubs" and "The O.C.", has a lot of music, but it seems the music licensing issues were worked out, in order to get it to DVD. "Scrubs" had mostly newer music, but occasionally a well known or classic song clip, while Wonder Years had a lot of classic music (like Beatles).

Any thoughts if there could alteration (maybe silent out the music), or deals done to provide clearances, to get episodes of Cold Case or Wonder Years on DVD?

 

[wncc]

4 letters ... WKRP

 

[jwk1979]

4 letters ... WKRP

I find it very difficult to watch the syndicated versions of WKRP because of the GENERIC music that is used to replace the classic music because of royalties. The last time is saw the "I Thought Turkeys Could Fly" episode, the scene where Mr. Carlson asked Johnny if he heard dogs barking and Johnny replies "I do", was totally cut. Since they couldn't play "Dogs"-Pink Floyd in syndication and on DVD, that joke would no longer make sense to anyone.

 

[Dave Andrews]

I think a guy at Suncoast told me that The Wonder Years was on DVD in Canada. When I was in Korea I saw the episode where Karen Arnold runs away with some hippies and they play Donovan's "Catch The Wind" when she comes home crying, but on the Arirang station they replaced the song with a remake.

One of the worst incidents of generic replacement was in the Diane Downs story where they replaced the original Hungry Like The Wolf with a version that mostly repeated the title and not much else.

 

[nightfly61]

Another one that was horrible for cheap imitation remakes was Knight Rider. Veeery cheesy.

 

[Dave Andrews]

Come to think of it, I am not sure if Miami Vice is out on DVD either. Possibly for the same reason.

 

[azumanga]

Come to think of it, I am not sure if Miami Vice is out on DVD either. Possibly for the same reason.

At least its first three seasons (maybe more) are on DVD, I think with all or most of its music.

 

[gbranch]

The music licensing issue on syndicated TV shows has gotten way out of hand. Speaking of WKRP, when it was shown on WGN America last summer, the episode with the Russian defector had one of the worst examples of this.

There is a point in the show when the Russian looks at Herb, and says, "Hold me closer, tiny dancer", which of course is a reference to the Elton John song that was played earlier in the episode. In the new versions of the series, the statement is changed to "Hold my order, terrible dresser" which makes absolutley no sense in or out of the context of the show. The shows producers weren't even able to SAY THE NAME OF THE SONG.

IMHO, the music industry just doesn't get it. Many times I have heard music in movies and television, and have then gone out and PURCHASED the music. Who is going to hear these songs and buy them in the future if the music disappears from radio and television? They are "licensing" themselves right out of business.

 

[azumanga]

The music licensing issue on syndicated TV shows has gotten way out of hand. Speaking of WKRP, when it was shown on WGN America last summer, the episode with the Russian defector had one of the worst examples of this.

There is a point in the show when the Russian looks at Herb, and says, "Hold me closer, tiny dancer", which of course is a reference to the Elton John song that was played earlier in the episode. In the new versions of the series, the statement is changed to "Hold my order, terrible dresser" which makes absolutley no sense in or out of the context of the show. The shows producers weren't even able to SAY THE NAME OF THE SONG.

This bastardised version of the episode was also used in all prints of the series circulated after the 1990s, after Pat Robertson's International Family Entertainment acquired British broadcaster TVS, whose properties included MTM Enterprises's library of shows, including WKRP. IFE was so cheap, and the record industry began hiking up license fees in the 1990s, that they couldn't afford to pay the licensing for the music. Also, the phrase "when in doubt, throw it out" applied here -- in the "Real Families" episode, the generic theme music to the fictional program (including intros by Johnny Olsen) was discarded and replaced with another generic piece (with a different announcer, as Olsen died in 1985), as the original music was though to be copyrighted by another party and not free-use.

Of course, this episode was among others that was seen on Nick at Nite when they briefly carried WKRP -- in fact, many thought that Nick at Nite made the changes, when, in fact, it was IFE.

IMHO, the music industry just doesn't get it. Many times I have heard music in movies and television, and have then gone out and PURCHASED the music. Who is going to hear these songs and buy them in the future if the music disappears from radio and television? They are "licensing" themselves right out of business.

As the RIAA and the music industry is supposed to be a "champion" to artists, producers and writers, what good would that do if they charge fees beyond reach for those who want to use their music? I think it's more to do with funding the RIAA and the industry pocketing the money, and not the artists.