Originally Posted by
Postdoc
Perhaps BA could stop showing the ghastly celeb-laden safety video too and then they wouldn't have to pay them royalties.
Originally Posted by
BAeuro
I heard that BA have stopped paying for the licensing fees on the traditional boarding music. Can anyone confirm is this is true or just a rumour?
If it turns out to be true, it really shows that BA are exploring every possible avenue to reduce costs.
I'd be surprised if they pay royalties on either the boarding music or safety briefing video "stars'. The later would get a set fee for their time. They would know that the video would be used for a set period of time.
With the boarding music, you can pay an orchestra to record it for you and/or buy a license to use it forever. Search the Web for "royalty free music". It's not like its a living composer or artist that has more rights. Even after the death of an artist there is a finite period the family or estate can continue to extract royalties. I worked for a couple of years in a record company 2 decades ago. I thought it was 50 years after the death of the artist you could collect them for. I know that some private equity firms that are buying up copyrights were trying to extend that time frame but I haven't followed the news on that for some time.
Personally I think they should always play music when boarding. Something fast to get people into their seats quickly!!!