Ah, just crossed off another LARGE item on my to-do list. I just finished filling out the form, writing a letter and attaching various documents and a copy of the first chapter of the documentary, to Universal Music Enterprises. This is in order to gain permission to use a segment from the master recording of White Christmas, as sung by Bing Crosby. Wish me luck.
I gave them my sob (but oh so true story), about my very limited budget, and hope they will have pity on me and grant me use of the tune, for very little of no money.
Here is what I wrote:
===========================
Universal Music Enterprises
2220 Colorado Ave.- 3rd Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90404
October 19, 2009
Dear Universal:
Attached please find copies of:
1)Clearance Request Form
2)Copy – Slide 44 – voice-over – Dick Fietz – from documentary
3)Copy – Permission letter Nancy DiTuro, Williamson Music – publishing company
4)Copy of documentary segment – DVD
I am writing to gain permission to use a segment from the master recording, White Christmas, as sung by Bing Crosby. The selection would be used within the first chapter of the several-hour documentary series I am writing and producing myself. The production, No Bridge Too Far, is dedicated to my father and his fellow World War II combat engineers, and is basically a labor of love.
The song in question, holds a special place in the heart of one the veterans, for it brings back precious memories of the first time he heard White Christmas, while desperately trying to get through to his folks on Christmas 1942, from Camp Tyson.
My hope is for some lenience in regards to cost, for the entire series is being produced from my home office, with very limited budgeting. At present, I rely on the kind contributions sent my way by the WWII veterans, their families and private donations received, via my website. I will be applying for grants over the next several months, and am also trying to procure corporate sponsorship, but there are no guarantees.
Nancy DiTuro from Williamson Music (see attachment), would license White Christmas, for $100.00 for up to 1,000 DVD unit sales. However, I asked if she would be willing to wait, until I received word from you, for I didn't want to pay for licensing in advance, only to be turned down by Universal. But in the interim, she said I could provide a copy of our correspondence, for your perusal.
The vast majority of musical selections within the documentary, are either tunes
with expired copyrights or
royalty-free
Many royalty-free compositions were made available to me for free from such sites as Incompetch.com, or purchased from Neo Sounds, Muse Open, Free Play, etc., for very reasonable rates, helping me keep costs down.
I was pleased and delighted to read the following (quoted from your website), and sincerely hope you will take my above words into consideration. It's wonderful to see in this day and age, companies are still willing to work with low-budget filmmakers.
PSAs, Gratis & Charity Requests
Contrary to the policies of many large music companies, Universal will consider gratis or reduced-fee requests from students, low-budget filmmakers, reputable charities and producers of Public Service Announcements. If for some reason your request is denied, we will not be able to provide a detailed explanation as to why. If we need additional information from you in order to process your request, we will get in touch with you.
To also keep costs in check, voice-overs (other than my narration) are being provided by family members, friends, and students from Saginaw Valley State University, generously donating their time and efforts.
Thank you in advance for reviewing my application, reading my letter and the accompanying documentation. I look forward to hearing from you.
With kind regards,
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter, LLC
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer WWII
http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com
What's going on, you ask?
Plus I wanted to have another chapter completed before I went to Fort Hood, for I am showing my documentary to the troops. They knew all about this too.
