Several personalities, including former and current Kapamilya employees, came to ABS-CBN’s defense, after some instigated the network’s practice of royalty avoidance, amid the ‘Gento’ incident on noon time show, ‘It’s Showtime’, last June 10.
The ‘Gento’ incident proves to have opened a can of worms, as more and more personalities jump on the ‘royalty’ bandwagon. It can be recalled a contestant on the noon time show, It’s Showtime, requested to perform a dance cover of SB19’s ‘Gento’ alongside host, Jhong Hilario. The request, however, was not granted, as the show could not longer play the track, over copyright restriction, which prompted hosts, Anne Curtis and Vice Ganda, to ask why they are barred from playing it.
“Naningil na sila…” said Vice Ganda, to which Curtis responded with “…hindi ba good promo ‘yun?”. Such an exchange did not sit well with netizens, especially with fans of SB19, who claimed the discussion between the hosts spurred negative judgment online against the boys. The incident spawned calls on Twitter to ‘RESPECT LOCAL ARTISTS’, a trend that stayed as one of the top trending topics, in the Philippines, for days.
Personalities, including composer, Thyro Alfaro, singer Sam Concepcion, and rapper Quest, joined the call, with some even dropping intriguing insinuations.
“Pay artists their royalties”, said Sam Concepcion. Alfaro wondered why many seem unknowledgeable of the music royalties.
Other personalities, however, especially those who previously worked in various ABS-CBN shows, tried to come to ABS-CBN’s defense.
“Kwento ko lang, I worked for ABS-CBN for 26 years. Five years of those from 2010-2015 was with #ItsShowtime. I was the first AdProm and Social Media Manager for the show. Ako nga nag register ng #ItsShowtimeNa here on Twitter and FB,” said Twitter user @BaunchTumale, beginning a series of tweets that chronicle his experience as a former It’s Showtime staff..
Kwento ko lang 💛💛💛
I worked for ABS-CBN for 26 years. Five years of those from 2010-2015 was with #ItsShowtime. I was the first AdProm and Social Media Manager for the show. Ako nga nag register ng #ItsShowtimeNa here on Twitter and FB. (1 of 3)— Baunch Tumale (@BaunchTumale) June 12, 2023
Tumale attests that every copyrighted songs performed on the show cost ABS-CBN royalties, which, as he insisted, are rightfully settled.
“Good thing back then, we had DJ MOD. Kaya kahit kami, ako, sumisigaw sa artista/hurado na “bawal!” Kasi nga, babayaran o mababawas sa budget ng show. Just like pag mag overtime kami, may bayad yun. So sa isang fandom, utang na loob, don’t flatter yourselves too much,” he added, calling out the attention of SB19’s fans.
TV producer, Gerrome Esguerra, meanwhile, tried to explain how royalties work under different circumstances.
“Hirap kasi di naman nila alam how music rights work. And under Live Airing naka Filscap yan. Iba pag digital component. Mas may responsibility,” his post reads. His response was addressed to another netizen who insinuated that the rival noon time show has budget, because it was able to play the SB19 track, in full.
Hirap kasi di naman nila alam how music rights work. And under Live Airing naka Filscap yan. Iba pag digital component. Mas may responsibility.
— gerrome esguerra (@gerromeesguerra) June 12, 2023
Erwin Aurella, who claimed to have worked in the TV industry, long time ago, shed light on why Disney songs rarely get chosen as audition pieces in TV competitions. “As a lumang tao sa TV prod ang alam ko lang na iniiwasang gamitin ay mga Disney songs kasi mahal talaga ang bayad. Pansin niyo sa dinami dami ng singing competition sa ‘Pinas walang nagdi-Disney song,”.
https://twitter.com/erwinaurella/status/1668203012676808706
He also explained how some copyrighted songs are automatically allowed to get played during a promotional period.
“And yes, may mga kanta gaya ng mga OPM songs na may blanket license ang program to use kasi may binabayaran sa FILSCAP. So pag mga ganon, more or less OK gamitin yan. Tapos siyempre yung mga bagong songs na naka promo. Meaning promo period. Usually libre yan. Dati pinapadalhan pa ng mga record labels ng sampler CDs ang mga tv producers para alam nila anong mga songs ang pwedeng gamitin ng libre at hanggang kelan pwede,” he tweeted, adding paying yoyalties is not a foreign concept in the entertainment industry.
Similarly, writer @scorsaguin argued that newly-released tracks, undergo a ‘promotional period’, wherein they can be freely used in a commercial environment, provided the publishers have not began demanding royalties yet.
“May “promo period” kasi ang mga newly-released singles. Pwede patugtugin yung track for free, and even yung guesting/appearance ng artists libre lang kasi nga may pino-promote silang single. Baka tapos na yung period na yon, kaya nasabi na “bawal NA”, “maniningil NA”,” his tweet reads, offering a possible explanation to Vice Ganda and Anne Curtis’ wondering reaction.
May "promo period" kasi ang mga newly-released singles. Pwede patugtugin yung track for free, and even yung guesting/appearance ng artists libre lang kasi nga may pino-promote silang single. Baka tapos na yung period na yon, kaya nasabi na "bawal NA", "maniningil NA". https://t.co/WIDxTuTQZI
— miss scor (@scorsaguin) June 12, 2023
The two ‘It’s Showtime’ hosts are yet to issue an official statement addressing the incident, although Vice Ganda has repeatedly made cryptic jokes, that many netizens believe to be alluding towards the ‘Gento’ incident.
