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Jun252009 | Steve O'Donnell

WKRP in copyright licensing land

If you're old enough to remember when WKRP in Cincinnati was first broadcast you might remember the important role that current music played in the show. At times the soundtrack was almost a character. If you've since caught the show in reruns or have purchased the DVD set (I'm watching it on Hulu) you've probably noticed that the music is changed. Some fault lies in less than ideal licensing work by CBS's attorneys, some of the fault lies in greed.

One problem is that, at the time, no one foresaw the day where studios would sell shows to the public, so when the licenses to use the music were negotiated, the right to include the music in future releases didn't even come to mind. Without those licenses in place, the studio can't reproduce the music on a DVD release.

Going back and obtaining those licenses is an option, but an expensive one. The music copyright holders (who aren't necessarily the performers) are going to want more money, and if the music is integral to the show, they will use that to extract higher licensing revenue, which will drive up the price of the DVDs and likely decrease the number of box sets that will sell. Consequently, the studio will likely make less profit on the box sets since fewer will sell.

This problem is not unique to WKRP, similar licensing issues are keeping a Wonder Years box set off the shelves. Music licensing also was an issue in releasing the Freaks and Geeks box set, but in that case the rights were obtained, resulting in a set priced at $70 for the 18 episode run.

Another option is the one used to bring the first season of WKRP to market, the music was changed or edited out. In the case of a show that so heavily depended on music, the result is horrible to fans. Such backlash may be the reason why the other seasons haven't been released yet.

Still, it's a great show, and if you haven't seen it, or haven't seen it in years, you should check it out.

For the curious, one fan compiled list of the changes made to the episode's music posted at http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2007/03/wkrp-dvd-not-ok.html

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Jun252009 | Steve O'Donnell

WKRP in copyright licensing land

If you're old enough to remember when WKRP in Cincinnati was first broadcast you might remember the important role that current music played in the show. At times the soundtrack was almost a character. If you've since caught the show in reruns or have purchased the DVD set (I'm watching it on Hulu) you've probably noticed that the music is changed. Some fault lies in less than ideal licensing work by CBS's attorneys, some of the fault lies in greed.

One problem is that, at the time, no one foresaw the day where studios would sell shows to the public, so when the licenses to use the music were negotiated, the right to include the music in future releases didn't even come to mind. Without those licenses in place, the studio can't reproduce the music on a DVD release.

Going back and obtaining those licenses is an option, but an expensive one. The music copyright holders (who aren't necessarily the performers) are going to want more money, and if the music is integral to the show, they will use that to extract higher licensing revenue, which will drive up the price of the DVDs and likely decrease the number of box sets that will sell. Consequently, the studio will likely make less profit on the box sets since fewer will sell.

This problem is not unique to WKRP, similar licensing issues are keeping a Wonder Years box set off the shelves. Music licensing also was an issue in releasing the Freaks and Geeks box set, but in that case the rights were obtained, resulting in a set priced at $70 for the 18 episode run.

Another option is the one used to bring the first season of WKRP to market, the music was changed or edited out. In the case of a show that so heavily depended on music, the result is horrible to fans. Such backlash may be the reason why the other seasons haven't been released yet.

Still, it's a great show, and if you haven't seen it, or haven't seen it in years, you should check it out.

For the curious, one fan compiled list of the changes made to the episode's music posted at http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2007/03/wkrp-dvd-not-ok.html

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