In a message dated 2/17/03 12:59:26 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
KarenSH@webtv.net writes:

> So many shows use licensed music these days; I wonder if someday we
> might be subjected to altered versions of things like GILMORE GIRLS and
> SCRUBS. 

I would say it's fairly likely. My old record industry professor used to work 
for the licensing arm of TVT, and she said that they really went for the big 
bucks in cases like these--where the show is a known quantity and is going 
into syndication, and thus is already completely finished, making it 
difficult to remove a song. They'd ask for a lot more for one of their songs 
in said situation than they would for one that was airing in a new show, 
because the new show is less of a proven quantity and since the 
post-production isn't generally done, it's easier for the show's producers to 
say no and pick something else.

Interestingly enough, she said that the most they ever got for a song was for 
a particular Gravity Kills (ugh) track in some playstation game. Apparently 
the makers of the game had completed everything--including the song and 
all--without getting the proper licenses. That pretty much put TVT into quite 
the favorable position, since it would cost the makers of the game a large 
chunk o change to re-do it. She said TVT/Gravity Kills got something like 
80,000 dollars for that one 30 second tidbit of song.

Incidentally, she knew *nothing* about XTC at all (and barely anything about 
Guided by Voices, who she clearly considered a failure), and was much more 
interested in Default. Record industry people are funny, a lot of them don't 
like music as much as commerciality... but that's not a surprise. -Jason