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Over the winter holiday, my wife and I took a trip to Disney World in Florida. Besides the usual attractions, two things impressed me the most: the customer service and the excellent quality of the music.
In many of the attractions multi-tracked music and effects streamed constantly throughout. The superb writing talents of composer Bruce Broughton, known mainly for his Hollywood movie scores, are engaged in some areas of the park.
As implied in “French Horns in ToonTown,” the Disney amusement parks in a sense represent a Utopian ideal and the music certainly lends a hand in sustaining that effect. The quality – and quantity – of music at Disney is impressive.
An enjoyable evening
On one evening we enjoyed a package deal of food and entertainment. It began with a meal and a show at the Germany Pavilion. A polka band entertained and at one point the trumpet and tuba players pulled out alphorns and performed a nice duet.
The evening continued with a concert of Christmas music with a full orchestra, herald trumpets and chorus. Actor Edward James Olmos narrated. The quality of playing and singing was very good, and I presume that the orchestra musicians were all seasoned, local professionals from the Orlando area.
While I missed the horn players, I did spot the microphones behind the horn section and took a picture. These types of omni-directional microphones work well with a placement behind the bell.
Copyright and licensing
Overall I was left with a strong impression; all the music from top-to-bottom was composed, arranged, performed, and produced at a highly professional level. I imagine too that everyone involved – from the musicians to the arrangers and composers – were fairly compensated for their work and in some cases, receive regular residual payments and royalties.
In contrast I have participated in a number of groups over the years that used arrangements of popular material for similar purposes. Some of these arrangements were purchased, while most others were self-produced.
Most recently I played a concert that left me in a bit of a moral dilemma. It was an orchestra pops concert comprised of television, movie and radio hits from the Golden Era of entertainment. It included music from Disney films, Beatles repertoire and classic tunes from Las Vegas and the Brat Pack.
No information was printed on my part to indicate that these arrangements were licensed in a proper manner. With the vast amount of music involved, it was very difficult to believe that all of it had been licensed and secured properly.
Thinking back about my Disney experience, I started to feel as if I was part of a hustle – that this arranger was making a living off the backs of other people and not being very responsible about it. As a musician participating in this venture I even felt somewhat responsible. This was a gig that I could have turned down.
While I cannot say with any certainty that this was the case, it certainly served as a strong reminder. Proper licensing and purchasing of music is not only the right thing to do, but it also keeps our industry from cannibalizing and collapsing on itself.
To do otherwise as a practice is not only irresponsible, but also criminal – on many levels.
