The iconic 1982 rock anthem \u201cEye of the Tiger\u201d was written for the \u201cRocky III\u201d soundtrack before taking on a life of its own in sports arenas and television commercials. Now, like the punchy ambience that framed the music, Chicago rock icon Jim Peterik is fighting for the ownership of the song. <\/p>\n
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\u201cEvery song I\u2019ve written, I feel like they\u2019re my children,\u201d said Peterik, who co-wrote \u201cEye\u201d with Frankie Sullivan as members of Survivor.<\/p>\n
A little-known copyright law enacted in 1978 set a 35-year limit for ownership of music, beginning with songs released in 1978. The deadline for songwriters and performers to exercise \u201ctermination rights\u201d to take back copyrights they signed away to labels or publishing companies is Dec. 31. Instead of making a fraction of the royalties in many cases, they\u2019ll be taking 100 percent.<\/p>\n
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Ailing record and publishing companies are expected to push back. Using legal arguments, they will try to hold on to songs that can still make them money.<\/p>\n
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But Peterik, in a conversation on his backyard patio in the southwest suburbs, said the matter \u201cis about saving artists and writers from unscrupulous publishing deals. It\u2019s a godsend for the songwriter.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cEye of the Tiger\u201d was a hit when released and it has had amazing stamina: TV shows, ads and other films have used it. The song is also a staple at sporting events \u2014 it opens with driving guitars and crashing drums and cymbals. With its declaration of \u201cRisin\u2019 up to the challenge of our rival,\u201d it provides a stirring soundtrack to live athletic contests.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhen I get my publishing back, I\u2019ll be making twice as much on a ball game that uses \u2018Eye of the Tiger,\u2019 \u201d Peterik said.<\/p>\n
Bart Herbison, executive director of the Nashville Songwriters Association, told Peterik about \u201crecapturing\u201d control in 2007. Through Herbison, Peterik met Brent McBride, who co-founded Copyright Recapture in 2004 with his brother Wes and their father Jim McBride, who wrote the Alan Jackson No. 1 hits \u201cChattahoochee\u201d and \u201cChasin\u2019 That Neon Rainbow.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey knew I have a lot of friends in the business, especially from the \u201970s and \u201980s, which is central to this,\u201d Peterik said. \u201cI\u2019ve turned on Sammy Hagar, Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special to this, other musicians who don\u2019t know anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Peterik, who was born in blue collar Berwyn and is now 60, wrote \u201cVehicle\u201d in 1970 as a member of the Ides of March, a band he started with his high school classmates. He would go on to co-write the .38 Special hits \u201cHold on Loosely\u201d (1981), \u201cCaught Up in You\u201d (1982) and \u201cWide Eyed Southern Boys\u201d (1983), with the band\u2019s guitarist Dan Barnes. Peterik also wrote \u201cHeavy Metal\u201d with Hagar (1981).<\/p>\n
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The artists who already have served notice of termination or have already got songs back include Bryan Adams, Bob Dylan, George Jones, Tom Petty, the Estate of Buddy Holly and the Estate of Ira Gershwin.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf you signed your publishing deal after 1978, you get your publishing back 35 years from the signing,\u201d Peterik said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you signed prior to 1978, it\u2019s 56 years. When I registered for recapture there was a controversy with Warner\/Chappell [his parent company] if it was 1978 or 1977. They issued the contract in 1977. But I didn\u2019t sign it until 1978. I got in under the wire. So under this clause, in 2017 [35 years after publication] I get my publishing back for \u2018Eye of the Tiger,\u2019 which is enormous.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cEye,\u201d he said, is \u201cone of the biggest copyrights of all time \u2014 it\u2019s in the top five with \u2018White Christmas\u2019 and \u2018We Will Rock You.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Regaining the song would give him \u201cthe option to keep it with Warner if they make me the right offer, keep it for myself, but I would have to administer it [solicit spots, do paperwork for offers, etc.], which is not what I do. Or I could sell it to the highest bidder \u2014 any publishing company that would want it. I\u2019ve already had pre-offers. But it ain\u2019t a bird in the hat until it\u2019s the bird in the hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Recording Industry Association of America declined comment. But record labels may argue that performers were \u201cworkers for hire\u201d as employees of the label rather than authors or owners of their art.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThere have been issues when publishers in the late \u201970s or before that would throw in \u2018work for hire\u2019 in a standard publishing agreement in an attempt to retain those works for perpetuity,\u201d said McBride. \u201cThey\u2019re not. They never paid health insurance, taxes, Social Security. It was strictly a rider contract.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cWork for hire is usually a fee and luckily I didn\u2019t settle for a fee,\u201d said Peterik. \u201cThey give you $15,000, you don\u2019t get anything else. I wouldn\u2019t have done that and nor would Frankie.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Los Angeles music attorney Chris Castle predicts, \u201cWhat\u2019s going to happen is that these artists will show up and say, \u2018I\u2019ve got this right.\u2019 The labels will say, \u2018I\u2019ll fight you to the bitter end \u2014 but how about we take another look at your deal?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2020 \u2020 \u2020<\/p>\n
How does this affect Jack and Jill Music Fan?<\/p>\n
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\u201cA lot of these acts who have had their titles deleted from the physical catalog can\u2019t get CDs made to sell at shows,\u201d said Castle, who serves on the legal committee of the American Association of Independent Music. \u201cThat is a big beef with a lot of artists. We have independent artists who make at least half their revenue from selling CDs at shows. All those issues will come out now.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Jingle usage is Peterik\u2019s biggest source of licensing.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuarter of a million for a good campaign,\u201d he said. \u201cFor movie usage, anywhere up to $100,000. For television, $15,000 to $25,000 for usage.\u201d The front of Peterik\u2019s jet-black hair is dyed purple. He smiled and ran his fingertips across his eyes.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI just did an \u2018Eye of the Tiger\u2019 for Maybelline,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was a good paycheck. These things are always coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEye of the Tiger\u201d has been used in spots for Starbucks and a Spirit Airlines campaign based around golfer Tiger Woods.<\/p>\n
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Peterik shares the copyright 50-50 with Sullivan. \u201cEvery opportunity needs cooperation from his publishing company and mine,\u201d Peterik said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrankie and I share custody if his name is on the copyright. I gave him permission to use \u201cEye of the Tiger\u201d on Starbucks. I could have vetoed it. I didn\u2019t. . . . What\u2019s good for Survivor is still good for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Although ownership to \u201cEye\u201d is in play, and he has filed for recapture of his .38 Special tunes, \u201cVehicle,\u201d his hit for the Ides of March, \u201cwasn\u2019t subject to recapture because that was in 1970. I won\u2019t get that back in my lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Copyright Recapture has 125 songwriters, songwriter estates, artists who are writers and artists who are terminating their masters, according to McBride.<\/p>\n
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Though Peterik no longer is a member of Survivor, he lives a very comfortable life. But some songwriters looking to recapture their songs need the money.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe have a number of Hall of Fame writers who are coming around and saying, \u2018We need to do this for ourselves, we need to do this for our family,\u2019 \u201dMcBride said.<\/p>\n
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Source: Chicago Sun Times<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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