PRSPh: Star-studded group shines the spotlight on performers’ rights

Performers were among the first casualties of the country’s ongoing quarantine. While many of them have not had any source of income in almost five months—to pay the bills or put food on the table—a group of artists called the Performers’ Rights Society of the Philippines (PRSPh) has deemed it timely to start advocating for its members’ well-being.

But PRSPh isn’t just another underappreciated group asking the public to take a closer look at its increasingly difficult plight. It is, in fact, a nonstock, nonprofit Collective Management Organization (CMO) for audiovisual and music performers, whose battle cry is “Alamin mo ang rights mo” (Know your rights).If you, dear reader, belong to the related sectors we mentioned, PRSPh can collect remuneration or residuals for you.

What sort of payment are we talking about, you wonder? Performers can demand payment for the use of their commercially released recordings in public (online, played publicly or through broadcast) if the intention is to enhance or make a profit, and—take note—for every subsequent “rebroadcast” after a performance’s original airing.

Under the law, “performers” include actors, singers, musicians, dancers and other persons who act, sing, declaim, play in (like session musicians), interpret or perform literary or artistic work.

To simplify the legal gobbledygook: According to the Intellectual Property Code, their “exclusive” rights include, among others, authorizing the broadcast and reproduction of performances fixed in sound recordings or audiovisual works.

Their “moral” rights include the right to be identified as the performers of their performances and the right to object to any distortion or other modification of performances prejudicial to reputation.

The leaders of PRSPh aren’t just people punching above their weight, that’s for sure.

In fact, its movers and shakers are some of the biggest names in the entertainment biz, led by Leo Martinez (chairman of the board), Mitch Valdes (president), Celeste Legaspi (vice president and treasurer), lawyer Rod Vera (secretary and legal counsel), Debbie Gaite (managing director) and musician nonpareil Mel Villena, who also happens to be the head of the 179-member Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino.

Celeste Legaspi

We admit we didn’t know anything about PRSPh until Celeste told me about it, and we’re only too happy that she and her formidable pals are using their influence and platform to rally behind this cause.

So, to all performers out there, we’re urging you to sign up with PRSPh at [email protected] or go to facebook.com/prsphilippines for more details.

Upon Celeste and Mitch’s invitation, we attended the virtual press conference held last Saturday to raise awareness for the group. The perpetually funny Mitch, who described herself as “a senior citizen who is not used to technology,” had to install the Zoom app three days before the star-studded event.

Its attendees included the likes of National Artists Ryan Cayabyab and Alice Reyes, CCP president and NCCA chair and CCP president Nick Lizaso, CCP vice president Chris Millado, Aktor members Cherry Pie Picache and Iza Calzado, CCP chair Margie Moran-Floirendo, HFPA’s Ruben and Janet Nepales, actor Bodjie Pascua, Mowelfund head Rez Cortez, musical theater luminary Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, top songwriter Louie Ocampo and Itchyworms’ Jazz Nicolas.

Mitch Valdes

As Mitch disclosed, the idea for PRSPh began percolating in the ‘90s. “At the time, I noticed that every time I would turn on the TV, I’d see my works being replayed on the channels. So, I wondered if there was any way that I and other performers could be compensated for those replays.

“That’s why we searched for someone to help us get this going—it just took some time to tweak and polish it. We knew that Celeste was related to the late senator Raul Roco. But when we presented our plight to him, he told us that he was already filing a bill on the Intellectual Property Code.”

So, he simply inserted the item about remuneration in the bill he filed at the Senate.

“I was an incorporator, and we formed a board of directors,” Mitch told us last Tuesday. “We were then guided by the lawyers of the Roco Law Office every step of the way.

“Performers’ rights and residuals were very much in place and in practice globally. Our laws came into being around 1998. But they’re constantly evolving and have not been able to catch up with the digital practice.

“PRSPh has about 350 members so far, but we’re steadily increasing every day because of our recent information campaign. We’re very happy with that.”There are issues that need to be hurdled and gray areas that require clarification, of course.

“Our biggest challenge is, since it’s a relatively new concept, there’s resistance from the users of our performances,” she admitted. “We are setting up meetings with different sectors of performers. We also upgraded and redesigned the PRSPh Facebook page to address all questions and put out information.”

During the Zoom meet, the group Aktor, represented by Cherry Pie, expressed its support for PRSPh as it stressed the need to address the plight of beleaguered artists and cultural workers. She cited the huge amount of money, approximately P661 billion, that artists’ taxes had contributed to the country’s economy—and that’s just for 2013-2014 alone.

In a testimony, Rez Cortez told the group how he got residuals for his participation in the 2005 international TV movie “The Great Raid,” starring James Franco and Joseph Fiennes, with the help of PRSPh and its affiliated CMOs around the world.

“I’ve been getting residuals since two years ago,” Rez said. “The first check was worth $1,500—and I’ve been receiving residuals quarterly. The last one I got was $72.59.”

But, as Celeste chimed in, “the PRSPh cannot help you collect remuneration if you’re not a member of the group.”

Louie Ocampo also raised an interesting issue. “Musicians are often asked to sign a contract to give [producers] the right to broadcast our shows in any platform, future and unknown formats included. What should musicians specifically stipulate in the contract so that our rights are protected in future rebroadcasts?”

“Negotiations are always touchy, because you give up certain rights when you enter these agreements,” lawyer Rod Vera noted. “But when you sign a contract, you’re only giving up the right to authorize your broadcast—you’re not giving up your residuals. So, watch out for that provision in your contracts. Moreover, collection can be retroactive. As far as enforcement of economic rights is concerned, the law provides a time limit of four years—so, that can be from 2016 till today.”

“And if there’s a questionable item in your contract, we can help clarify it for our members,” Celeste again interjected.

Producer and talent manager Girlie Rodis (GR) has another valid concern. “As independent film producers, Celeste and I produced ‘Ang Larawan’ [in 2017]. Until now, we’ve only gotten back about 80 percent of our investment, so we sold its digital rights to ABS-CBN for 15 years. But how do we pay [performers] if we didn’t even make any money from the film? What’s our liability as producers?”

The liability, GR was told, falls on the network that “rebroadcasts” the movie. Even better, PRSPh will keep the identity of the member seeking remuneration confidential.

Did PRSPh reach out to the networks, which are expected to foot the bill for the residuals?

“Yes, we did,” Debbie said. “Attempts were made to reach out to them in 2018.”

“Unfortunately, PRSPh was new at the time,” Mitch recalled. “Broadcasters always cited that the Philippines was not yet part of the Beijing Treaty (a WIPO-administered treaty adopted in 2012 that deals with performers’ intellectual property rights). They said that they have the legal right to ownership.

“But PRSPh is not questioning anybody’s ownership or authorship of work. This is an issue concerning performers’ rights to compensation when you rebroadcast the work, as required by the IP Code.

“So, this is a callout for all performers: Sign up with PRSPh because, as they say, there’s strength in numbers.”