Happy Days On DVD remaing Seasons 5-11

[ClassictvFanMH]

Hi All I was just wondering if anyone has head about the reaming season of Happy days on dvd Are the coming out ? I know they will Have to take out alot of the Original music beacse of rights its to bad Parmount does not go the extra mile to get the Orignal songs put on the Happy Days dvd's beacse the songs That where On Happy days are such classics but i have read Some where Most of tv Dvd's that are Put out by Parmount don't have the original Music on the dvd i know that was the case For BH 90210 so if any one has head about more dvd's of Happy days please let me know it would be a shame to stop at season 4

Thank you
Matt Handy

[robyrob]

unfortunately we are all waiting with absolutely NO news from Paramount and no reason to believe that they will or won't release any additional seasons at any time in the future...

[anglemark10]

Aside from the second season, the Happy Days DVD sets have been excellent in terms of inclusion of original music.

[treky]

which proves that Paramount CAN do a good job with original music on TV DVDs if they try.

[Marvo301]

Unfortunately using the original music is expensive. That means Paramount would have to sell a large number of these sets just to recover their investment much less make a profit. In the current economy that would be difficult to do which is why there will probably be no new Happy Days sets until there is a change in this equation. That means the economy must improve so sales projections can go up or the cost of music liscensing must go down. And don't hold your breath for music costs to go down. (And they used a lot of music on this show!!)

[anglemark10]

The thing is, most of the music used on the show doesn't seem to be original recordings by the original artists - more like re-recordings by sound-alike artists. You'd think this would lower costs, but maybe not.

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by anglemark10

The thing is, most of the music used on the show doesn't seem to be original recordings by the original artists - more like re-recordings by sound-alike artists. You'd think this would lower costs, but maybe not.

Anson Williams is probably demanding big bucks for all the songs he sang!

[Dr. Thong]

Back in the seventies, no one foresaw home video or that these would one day end up on a home video format (VHS, DVD, etc), so they only secured the rights for broadcast TV.

I would think that these days, a producer or movie company who was commissioning music or using popular songs in a show would make sure to secure the rights for home video releases, etc. But even that isn't necessarily the case with some modern shows, from what I've seen.

The producers of WKRP In Cincinnati not only didn't secure the rights to music for home video releases, but a lot of the rock songs they used had to be replaced with generic music for the syndicated versions of episodes that began airing in the eighties.

As I understand it, only the original broadcast versions of WKRP had the original music.

But getting back to Happy Days, I hope they figure out something soon, because the longer they wait to release these seasons on DVD, the more likelihood that the audience will fade away and/or lose interest.

[treky]

also with "WKRP IN CINCINATTI" the reason it was shot on tape instead of film, was because shows shot on tape don't have to pay for the music.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by treky

also with "WKRP IN CINCINATTI" the reason it was shot on tape instead of film, was because shows shot on tape don't have to pay for the music.

Are you sure about that? I imagine that tape or not, they had to get some kind of clearance to use the music. Can you point to some obscure copyright law from the seventies that has this provision for shows shot on tape?

[treky]

no, but I read that in a review of the DVD that was in THE NEW YORK TIMES when the DVD came out. THE NEW YORK TIMES is online though; so maybe you can find the review on their website. I think it's www.nytimes.org

[Jason73]

Originally Posted by treky

also with "WKRP IN CINCINATTI" the reason it was shot on tape instead of film, was because shows shot on tape don't have to pay for the music.

That is simply not true. I have a Minor in music business from Belmont University and have taken many copyright law classes. You need a mechanical license regarless if it's tape or film.

[robyrob]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

Are you sure about that? I imagine that tape or not, they had to get some kind of clearance to use the music. Can you point to some obscure copyright law from the seventies that has this provision for shows shot on tape?

i have heard this same story before, but I think it was more along the lines of LESS royalties for shooting on tape instead of film rather than NO licensing costs.

[Jason73]

Originally Posted by robyrob

i have heard this same story before, but I think it was more along the lines of LESS royalties for shooting on tape instead of film rather than NO licensing costs.

The issue has less to do with tape or film rather the royalties involved for putting the actual music on a DVD. (you would need a mechanical liscense for CDs, DVD's, cassetes). All songs are negotiated differently between copyright holders, but there is no exlusion for taped shows by the law. Basically, if you want to use copyrighted music for anything you are going to have to pay the owners their due.

[robyrob]

Originally Posted by Jason73

The issue has less to do with tape or film rather the royalties involved for putting the actual music on a DVD. (you would need a mechanical liscense for CDs, DVD's, cassetes). All songs are negotiated differently between copyright holders, but there is no exlusion for taped shows by the law. Basically, if you want to use copyrighted music for anything you are going to have to pay the owners their due.

oh, i understand that - I was confirming the existence of a rumor that WKRP was shot on film to get around some music licensing issues, and that is also why they went hog wild using real music on the show (which IS pertinent to the current licensing problems preventing any future releases with original music)