Most of you will be aware of the APRS organisation which studios, manufacturers, pressers and duplicators, and audio educational establishments can join. But did you know that there is an organisation which represents the interests of the creative personnel involved in making recordings? The Guild of Record Producers was set up some years ago by a small group of the UK's top producers under the auspices of the APRS. If you are a Midi programmer, a re-mix engineer, or a DJ making records with Cubase and an Akai sampler - or if you are working in film sound or TV post-production or whatever - you could be forgiven for not being aware that the Guild has now been renamed as 'Re-Pro - The Guild of Recording Producers, Directors and Engineers' and that the scope of the membership has been widened to include all those making professional recordings of audio or music for whatever purpose. When the organisation was first set up, it was perceived by some as a rather elitist organisation solely representing the interests of a few well-established mainstream record producers. This is no longer the case and has not been for some years now. The organisation has grown to include over two hundred members drawn from all sections of the recording community and an international Re-Pro organisation has been set up to foster world-wide co-operation between similar organisations in other countries.

Re-Pro is the first organisation to provide an online solution to the urgent problem of acquiring information about recordings. The music industry has forecast that around 15% of its revenue will be lost over the next 6 six years if new computerised copyright management systems are not implemented swiftly. A section of the Re-Pro International World Wide Web site now includes a form which can be used by any visitor to the site to register a broad range of information about new and old sound recordings. This information, which will be useful to help track archived material and to facilitate copyright protection and management systems, will be collected by Re-Pro and eventually made available to the appropriate studios, record companies and royalty distribution bodies.

This move anticipates a growing realisation that in the new world of digital delivery systems, payment for sales and broadcasts of products will increasingly rely upon electronic encryption, automatic usage measurement and data correlation. Also, forthcoming changes to the handling of what has previously been called 'PPL income' will introduce new responsibilities to provide accurate information about recordings. The need to upgrade the industry's data is especially important to facilitate the acquisition of overseas 'neighbouring rights' revenues for the use of UK recordings abroad.

"This initiative is only the beginning of a series of refinements to data collection and handling in which Re-Pro is expecting to work with other industry organisations including MCPS, PPL and PAMRA." said Re-Pro Vice Chairman, Peter Filleul. " There are still a few teething problems which need to be be sorted-out but we thought it was important to get the ball rolling. That way, we can respond to suggestions for improvements from users and those who will need the data." Referring to the implementation of the Rental and Lending Directive, Filleul suggested that, "Whatever political solutions are hammered out in the future, we will all need to put significant effort into setting up UK systems that can lead the world in copyright management - it'll be a slog but the sooner we start, the better for everyone."

I managed to interview Peter Filleul and a couple of other members just before the Christmas break. Filleul started off by talking about Re-Pro International and why this was set up. "Re-Pro International is an umbrella organisation for all producer and engineer organisations throughout the world. It was first set up around two years ago and has attracted ten existing organisations so far. It is hoped these will soon be joined by a soon-to-be-formed "Re-Pro USA". Re-Pro International was established to co-ordinate the efforts of the profession to re-inforce the status of record producers and recording engineers, to broaden contacts and collaborations, and to provide services and benefits that will be of use to practising professionals." So why is it felt that the international dimension is so important? "The music and audio industries work in a global way so it is important for contributers to the recording process to respond quickly to changes in legislation and recording practices that are constantly taking place around the world and which affect us here in the UK." And what does Re-Pro International do about all this? "Basically it encourages and supports the domestic activities of the local organisations. For instance, there will be a Re-Pro International stand at all the major international events and meetings - so this support could take the form of contributions towards travel expenses for representatives of the local organisations to attend these meetings. And one of the main facilities which Re-Pro International provides is its World Wide Web site which offers an opportunity for anyone involved in the audio profession to share ideas, obtain specialist information and keep in touch with what is happening."

Moving on, I asked Filleul to talk about Re-Pro UK and to spell out the main aims of the organisation. "Re-Pro represents the interests of and provides a range of services for record producers, engineers and others here in the UK. The main aims of the organisation are to promote the value of the profession within the industry as a whole, to provide a contact point for individual professionals who rarely have a chance to interact with each other otherwise, and to represent and lobby for the interests of the profession in the broader context of the music and audio industries. In addition to the broad aims, Re-Pro UK is able to provide a significant range of benefits for its members - many of which are of particular help to those starting off in the industry."

I come in contact with lots of independent producers and remixers who are making records for the first time and are not too sure about some of the business or the technical aspects. I asked Filleul to tell me more about the kind of help that Re-Pro can offer. "Perhaps the most important assistance any organisation like this can give is access to the accumulated experience of its membership. So, whenever a producer at any stage of their career has a problem they can seek help from their peers. We do, of course, provide specific guides to various activities such as budgeting, A & R contacts, and contractual matters, along with free advice telephone hotlines provided by lawyers, accountants and financial advisers. One of the most important aspects of Re-Pro's activities is communication - and this is helped by the quarterly newsletter and regular focussed meetings on particular issues."

OK, so now it's time to debunk a myth! The original Guild of Record Producers and Engineers was perceived as an elitist organisation during the first couple of years or so of its existence, but membership is now open to all those involved professionally in recording music - whether they be producer, engineer, programmer, re-mixer, or even DJ. Why was it decided to open the organisation up in this way? "It was recognized that the same production skills are used by many others involved in broadcast work and in the making of film and TV soundtracks, so it seemed a good idea to include all these people. It also became clear that more and more people were making great records in far different ways to the conventional way with a producer and engineer in a studio like Abbey Road. And we realized that the time people probably need most help is when they are starting their careers. So to encourage younger members even more, we are currently considering a provisional membership category for those undertaking audio training." But why was the drive to increase membership seen to be so important? "Obviously an organisation with more members will be better funded - which will allow the range of services to be enhanced and expanded - but, most importantly, there is a need to establish Re-Pro as truly representative of all those involved in professional recording work so that the organisation can act more effectively when lobbying on their behalf."

Knowing that Re-Pro have been actively involved in setting up the new Performing Artists Media Rights Association, PAMRA, I asked Filleul to explain why Re-Pro became involved here. "PAMRA is a collection society focussing principally on new rights that performers have acquired as a result of some recent legislation. Re-Pro got together with other performer organisations (such as the MU and Equity) to help set up this new collection society. Re-Pro's particular role within PAMRA is to look after the performance side of a producer's work. There are two aspects involved here. Producer's frequently, although not always, make a musical contribution to the the recording themselves - in other words they play on the record. Then there is the producer's work directing the performance of others. This can be regarded as equivalent to the conductor directing the orchestra. Historically the conductor's contribution has qualified for performance royalties, so our argument is that this producer's role should qualify for a share of performance royalties in just the same way. Other situations arise where one person makes all of the instrumental contributions to a recording - which cannot be reflected in current royalty distribution systems. The overall thrust of our work with PAMRA is to encourage recognition of the realities of the recording processes in the 21st Century - so that all performers (not just record producers) are paid in a way which reflects their actual contribution to a recording. It is also likely that producers will take on the responsibility of collecting and verifying information about who has performed on the final mix of a sound recording. This is a new service which producers will be able to provide for both performers and record companies."

So this is the newly-established Recordings Register you are referring to here? "Yes, our new Recordings Register has been online for several months now. This been set up to provide an accessible gateway through which recording data can be accurately and easily collected at source. Because of recent changes in legislation, there is now an urgent requirement to collect information about every single sound recording that has ever been released so that accurate payments to all the contributers can be made. It is recognized by all the interested parties that the person responsible for the mix will be best placed to verify whose contributions were actually included."

The information from Re-Pro's Recordings Register will be used in conjunction with the International Standard Recording Codes which are used within the recording industry to identify particular recordings when they are broadcast. An ISRC number (or a version of this) can be embedded in a CD, for instance, then used to help royalty collection organisations relate to files held in an industry database to identify who should receive payments. But it is not only useful to facilitate royalty payments, as Filleul went on to make clear. "An ISRC is simply an internationally-agreed unique identifier for a sound recording - but it is fundamental to implementing new electronic copyright management systems. It will also make it possible to implement systems which automatically log uses of the recordings. If we attach a unique number to each mix, that number can be used to trace all sorts of information about those who have a whole range of rights in the sound recordings - whether that be ownership of the copyright in the sound recording or the musical composition or a performance contribution. And, perhaps even more importantly for the future, it can also facilitate tracking of the whereabouts of the physical media on which the mix was made and the multi-track from which it was taken - as this information will also be included in the ISRC data."

But why is it so important to be able to track the whereabouts of the physical media? "Since back-catalogue material has become so important to the industry, especially when re-issuing material in new formats, it is vital to know where the original multitracks are. Similarly, the increase in compilation albums makes it vital that the correct production master is easily identifiable. This is very important to protect recording archives for the future. If you have logged the type of multitrack tape or other recording medium used, it then becomes much easier to be alerted to problems that might have been identified with that particular medium. For example, many 70's multitracks require special treatment before they are useable nowadays. This aspect should be of great interest to all the record companies because it protects their valuable recordings for the future."

Although all the major record companies worldwide have announced that they will support the ISRC system, I am aware that, in practice, there are many CD's released in the UK which do not carry any ISRC code. What are Re-Pro doing to improve this situation? "Yes, it is true that the implementation of ISRC has been pretty patchy here in the UK - but it is vital that every sound recording is allocated a code and that this is encrypted or embedded into the distribution medium, so for the past three and a half years we have been actively promoting its use. We have already sponsored a number of public presentations about ISRC and we will be holding nationwide workshops in conjunction with other major industry organisations to explain and promote its use. We are also developing a CD-ROM that will help producers and engineers with their new responsibilities to register this data. This will include an explanation about why we need to do this and will also feature a database that enables users not only to save their own information locally but also to transmit this to wherever it needs to be sent - with lots of other useful 'goodies' thrown in to make the job easier. One of the most important endeavours in all of this is making people understand why it is necessary. And this doesn't just apply to record producers, it also applies to record company and recording studio personnel. I should also mention that we need to start this process as soon as possible if we are to be able to establish a system that can make payments even by the end of 1998!"

To finish up, I asked Filleul to comment about the Website and the future of Re-Pro. "The Website is a very exciting tool and we are active in trying to find new ways of using this to the benefit of our members and any others who wish to visit the site. The new version of the site is due to be launched in January and will include new features such as a 'Free Classified Ads' section, an expanded 'Links' section, an A & R Contacts list and so forth. I expect that Re-Pro as an organisation will grow not only in terms of increased membership but also in terms of the contribution it can make to the recording industry throughout the world. After all, we are all in this together!"

To get a feel for what other members think about Re-Pro I spoke with one of the UK's leading producers, Nicky Graham - who is a member of the Re-Pro Directorate. With a long list of hits to his name, I asked Graham what he is currently working on. "Well, there is an album called 'Natural' in the charts at present by Peter Andr� with a track I wrote and produced called 'All I Ever Wanted' which was number one a few weeks ago. I also have a single in the charts with a group called Code Red - and we are currently recording the album." So what are the main benefits of being a Re-Pro member for you? "It's just brilliant to be able to share experiences and dialogue with other producers who I would probably not meet so easily otherwise. Also, I particularly value the efforts that Re-Pro are making to improve the status of the producer - particularly regarding the delicate situation which appears to be developing for the future with the rise of digital diffusion and the accompanying possibility that mechanical sales may be greatly reduced or even disappear entirely." Here Graham is referring to the fact that record producers currently cannot participate in income derived from broadcast of their work. This could mean no royalties at all if records were distributed only via the Internet, cable networks or satellite in the future and if this were regarded as broadcast rather than sales of discs which generate income from so-called 'mechanical royalties'. Consequently, Re-Pro is lobbying the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the European Commission to argue the case for record producers to qualify for a share in this income in their role as performers. Clearly, as the membership grows, Re-Pro will be able to do this more effectively. To sum up, Graham made the point "I think it is extremely important from a collective bargaining position that every producer in the country should belong to the Guild. I appeal to every producer, remixer and engineer to join up and give your support so that when we do go to negotiate on behalf of people we have the support of as many as possible!"

For another perspective I spoke to Dominic Brethes - an Associate Member who runs a busy project studio in Brixton. Originally from France, Brethes has lived and worked in London for several years. Because he rarely finds time to attend any of the Re-Pro meetings and events due to pressure of work, Brethes particularly values the Website. "For someone like me the Website is much more useful than the meetings because, although I would like to attend these, I always seem to be working through till at least 10PM, so I can never get there in time. On the other hand, after I finish my sessions I can always find a little time to check out the Website." Brethes was particularly pleased to hear of Re-Pro's plans to develop the Website further and had various suggestions for improvements. "What would be useful is an area where I can post messages, like a notice board, with the outcome of the meetings posted there so I could get involved in some discussion about these issues. Also, I would like to be able to post messages about any technical problems, like you can on CompuServe, so that maybe someone out there will post the answers. And adverts about studios for sale or for freelance personnel saying when they are available for work would be useful too. I quite often need to hire an extra engineer in for demanding projects and it is always difficult for me to track down the right person for the job - so a list with CV's online would really take the sweat out of this! And when we read about equipment in audio magazines we never can tell what the gear is really like, so it would be good to have a section on the Website where we can get information about real-world problems - rather than looking to the sanitized reviews in magazines."

So - the picture emerges of Re-Pro as a revitalized organisation with a mission to act in the interests of all involved in recording music and audio professionally. Using the latest technologies such as the Website and interactive CD-ROM to further their aims and with a drive for increased membership under way, 1997 looks set to be a very active year for the organisation. Benefits of membership seem to be particularly applicable to newcomers entering the recording arena while remaining relevant to top producers enjoying massive success at the peak of their careers.

Mike Collins � 1996 [First published in part in the March 1997 issue of AudioMedia magazine.]