The Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) and the Association of Music Producers (AMP) have entered into a contractual partnership that will bring the two industry organizations together, literally under one roof, with each retaining its individual boards and charters. The strategic alliance enables the two-year-old AMP to tap into the longstanding administrative infrastructure and organizational expertise of the AICP. Conversely, the relationship helps the AICP to meaningfully extend its reach into the music and sound design arena.
The national executive boards of the AICP and AMP voted unanimously in favor of the alliance. AICP’s offices in New York and Los Angeles now also become home to AMP, giving the group of music and sound design houses its first full-fledged quarters.
AICP president Matt Miller explained that the partnership was born out of philosophical and practical considerations. On the philosophical plane, he noted that visuals and sound have become inexorably intertwined. From that standpoint alone, it made sense to converge "two groups covering the two main elements of creating broadcast communications: what is seen and what is heard." He added that the alliance also sets a precedent for AICP and could conceivably signal the formation of relationships with other segments of the business—domestically and internationally—when and where appropriate. Miller added that the AICP and AMP can gain strength from combining resources on certain "common ground" fronts such as group insurance and new media initiatives.
Several music and sound design houses have long been part of AICP’s associate member rank and file. Miller noted that those shops could continue their associate and AMP membership status this year. But as the two organizations develop their relationship, Miller conjectured that by next year, the AICP would probably eliminate associate member status for sound design and music companies, leaving AMP membership as the basis for involvement with the AICP.
The alliance was born out of informal talks between Miller and AMP president Lyle Greenfield that began nearly a year ago during the AICP Show and Lecture Series at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Their initial discussion evolved to include other key movers from both organizations during a series of meetings held at the AICP boardroom in New York. AMP national board member Jeff Rosner, producer/partner at New York-based Sacred Noise, introduced Greenfield, founder of bicoastal Bang music+sound design, to Miller. Rosner and Miller knew each other from an ongoing collaborative relationship. For several years running, Sacred Noise composer/partner Michael Montes has composed the music for the opening and closing credits of the AICP Show compendium film.
Greenfield said of the new alliance: "From our standpoint, to be able to access the expertise, advice and administrative support of the AICP represents a quantum leap in terms of what we [AMP] can achieve as an organization. Look at what the AICP has accomplished in terms of production guidelines, the bid form, indemnification and other business issues. It’s the best run, most powerful group in the commercial production industry."
AMP national board member Larry Geismar, executive producer of North Forty Music, New York, concurred that "the model of organization that the AICP provides is valuable. … The alliance between the two organizations is going to help in terms of getting dialogue going with important decision-makers in the advertising world. The AICP has a positive dialogue in place with the 4A’s [American Association of Advertising Agencies] and the ANA [Association of National Advertisers]. My involvement in AMP has been precipitated by a desire to make positive changes in the way music companies are viewed and how we do business. This natural alliance between AMP and AICP advances that cause."
Steve Ford, president of AMP’s Chicago chapter, expounded upon the "natural alliance" theme. "It’s an audio and visual medium," said Ford, president/producer and one of five composers at Chicago-based Steve Ford Music. "We’re coming together with an organization that has goals that are sympathetic and compatible to ours. We’re both looking for many of the same things in two complementary areas. This alliance underscores the importance of audio as being deserving of more attention and respect."
AMP’s West Coast president Dain Blair, executive creative director/owner of Los Angeles-based Groove Addicts, noted that "AICP’s experience and infrastructure will save us a lot of the growing pains that a new organization like ours has to go through. It also gives us even more credibility in the marketplace. It can’t help but bring more momentum to our agenda. Everyone, including the industry at large, will have to take AMP more seriously now. This provides us with the impetus to sign more members. It may also mean that we’ll get more attention from groups like the 4A’s."
AMP has made significant gains in its relatively brief existence, including getting the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) to abolish a so-called "cap" on commercial music royalties (SHOOT, 10/16/98, p. 1), and later lobbying successfully for the election of composer Doug Wood to the ASCAP board. Wood, president of Port Washington, N.Y.-based OmniMusic, became the first member of the spot industry to win an ASCAP seat (SHOOT, 3/26/99, p. 1).
Now, with AICP support, AMP is poised to build upon those accomplishments, reasoned Greenfield. He cited AMP’s efforts to look into development of a standard bid form (SHOOT, 2/18, p. 27) and to formulate indemnification language to protect music houses from copyright infringement lawsuits (SHOOT, 8/13/99, p. 19).
Blair identified another area worthy of exploration. "In the language of their agreements, a number of agencies are requesting an indefinite hold on demos done by music houses," he said. "A lot of our own money goes into those demos. … It’s a little heavy-handed [for agencies] to be asking for an indefinite hold. As a single company, you cannot fight those issues. As an organization, you can deal more effectively. And now we have the strength and expertise of another organization behind us. I take my hat off to Lyle [Greenfield]. He was a driving force behind bringing about this alliance with the AICP."
As alluded to earlier, key to the relationship between AMP and AICP is that the organizations retain their autonomy, each with its own charter, board and committee members. "Music producers do, in fact, have issues that are unique to their profession, like composer royalties and the language of rights agreements," noted Miller. "They have to define their position on these issues, and then we can work together to help make things happen."
The AICP has close to 300 production company members and about the same number of associate members. AMP has approximately 60 member houses nationally, with chapters in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
