Fans' favorite song comes with legal legacy

The University is against supporting child molesters economically, but a song played by the Herd of Thunder at football games results in royalties paid to an internationally convicted child sexual predator.

Gary Glitter is a convicted child molester, and every time the HOT plays his song, "Rock and Roll Pt. 2," (the "Hey" song), during a televised game, he gets paid a small royalty from USF.

A University spokesman has said that USF is against supporting Glitter's lifestyle, but it is unclear whether his song will continue to be played during the next football season.

The relationship between the University and Glitter stems from the way USF - and any other organization that uses copyrighted music - pays to use songs at sporting events.

USF pays thousands of dollars each year to buy song licenses. Once they are paid for, the University has permission to use the song. Without these fees, HOT would not be able to play any copyrighted music.

The University pays almost $12,000 a year to the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). Glitter is licensed by this company, and therefore, theoretically, receives some of that $12,000. All of the money collected goes straight to the artists, minus a 12 percent deduction for operating expenses, according to ascap.com.

Ray Schwind, an employee from the licensing department of ASCAP, said that how much each artist makes is "extremely confidential" and that the amount of money Glitter receives from the University could not be disclosed to the Oracle.

The process for deciding how much goes to each artist is a "massive process" and "millions upon millions of data" is considered, Schwind said.

USF does not report how often they play each song, rather ASCAP decides how much to charge USF by sampling different tapes from the games then estimating how much to charge the University in royalties.

"That's the beauty of the license. There's no reporting exactly," said Seth Saltzman, senior vice president of membership management at ASCAP.

If the University stopped playing Glitter's music, it would not make an impact, ASCAP said.

"You are blocks and blocks away from supporting him directly," said Saltzman. "The only time a performance of the USF band results in a royalty to him is if the program is televised."

During the 2007 football season, 12 of the 13 Bulls' football games were televised. At press time, five out of 12 football games during the 2008 season are slated to be televised as well.

Feature performances, such as halftime shows, result in a higher payment for licenses, said Jim Steinblatt, the associate vice president of special projects at ASCAP.

Background music - or music played in the stands - is not considered a feature performance because the main programming is focused on the game and not on the music being played, he said. The only time HOT plays Glitter's song is during the game and not for a halftime show.

"It's the kind of thing where (the whole organization) puts a ban, then Gary Glitter's check goes down," said John Schnettler, assistant director of athletic bands at USF, saying that the University's payments to Glitter may be minimal.

"I don't like the idea of supporting - indirectly - his lifestyle," he said. "I am fine with not playing that song for that reason."

Schnettler said he was familiar with the controversy surrounding Glitter's song and will bring it up when he and director of athletic bands Michael Robinson discuss HOT's playlist with the University.

"We are going to bring that up next year and see how the University feels," he said. "I would lean forward to it not playing."

Robinson and Schnettler said they do not have complete control over what songs they play in the stands. HOT works with USF athletic marketing to decide what songs are played, said Ayodele Taylor-Dixon, assistant athletic director of marketing and event management.

"If the marketing people at USF think we should keep it in our repertoire, then we'll keep playing it," Schnettler said.

Taylor-Dixon said that athletic marketing suggests songs that will add to the game atmosphere. In reference to Glitter's song, he said he did not know about Glitter's criminal past before he spoke with the Oracle and said that his song would be an "item per review" when they discuss the song list for 2008-2009.

"I would need to call my colleagues and other schools to see what they're doing to make an informed decision," Taylor-Dixon said.

HOT, however, does have the power over what songs will be recorded on their upcoming CD, and Glitter's song will not be included.

"Dr. Michael Robinson (and I) have decided to not include the 'The Hey Song' in our upcoming CD release because of the controversy surrounding the composer," Schnettler said.

The student musicians in HOT have a say in what music they play during their field shows. They send in suggestions, and then vote on the most popular themes and ideas. This past football season, they performed a Queen tribute show, a Latin music show and a jazz music show. Themes from previous years have ranged from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Pink Floyd.

"It's all student-driven," Schnettler said.

When it comes to the music they play in the stands, the music band directors and staff work with USF athletic marketing in choosing songs.

Certain songs are meant for certain points of the game, such as the Bulls earning a first down or making a defensive stop, Schnettler said.