Live 8 DVD

I seldom ever read the tripe on Fox411...but this was too interesting to pass up.  Read:

 

Live 8 DVDs: Where Will the Money Go?

Sir Bob Geldof is announcing today that the "Live 8" DVDs will come out on Nov. 8.

The four-disc set includes all of the big performances from London, Philadelphia and Edinburgh. Separate discs from the Paris, Berlin, Rome and Toronto shows will also be available.

That means the DVDs feature Sting, U2, Paul McCartney, R.E.M., Madonna, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder , The Who and the entire set of five Pink Floyd performances.

Live 8 was a huge achievement. But since it was not a charity fundraiser, where will the proceeds from these sales go?

According to a press release, "EMI and the Live 8 organization have agreed that a generous royalty from sales of the Live 8 DVD will go to the Band Aid Trust for the relief of hunger and poverty in Africa ."

"A generous royalty"? Not "all royalties"? That should be interesting. I'd like to be in the accounting office at EMI and at Buzzacott, Band Aid's chartered accountant, when they figure that out.

The goal of Band Aid is listed with British Charitable Trusts as "to relieve hunger and poverty in Ethiopia and the surrounding area." Will the money go there?

According to a BBC report last December when the DVDs for the original Live Aid concert were issued, Band Aid Trust has disbursed $144 million since 1985 to famine-relief projects across Africa.

The projects are chosen by the trustees, who include Geldof, Midge Ure (his partner in Band Aid and leader of the great Scottish group Ultravox) and producer Harvey Goldsmith .

And the rest of it? At the London show, it was generally thought that Bill Gates had donated much of the money to make the show happen. There were also corporate sponsors involved.

And where will the royalties from the songs themselves go? This would be separate from royalties from discs sold. Will the writers of the performed songs donate the publishing royalties to charity, and if so, which one?

Look for a bit of a mess here as a lot of questions are asked and few are answered.

Fascinating.  And to think people said the show was pointless...