Well, I'm going to yet again come and drop my two cents on this one.

This matter is quite simple so I don't really see the need of expanding it to 25 pages and I will say that Skip is quite right on this one.

Any kind of work, in its more pure form, that contains lyrics IS a song, simply by the fact that... you sing to it! Any kind of musical composition with lyrics is a song.

When you have no lyrics, the form can be transformed into a theme, a musical line, a piece. Why it is relevant in DVDP? Simbly by the fact that in this example, Cacavas, as a composer, is allowed to make riffs or variations on the original theme by Mike Post and integrate those into his own score for the episode he's working on. Both composers should go precisely in the 'Composer' checkbox.

Is this the most proper way of doing things? Of course not, the best solution would be to have a Music Theme field for this kind of thing. This does not belong exclusively to TV series, there are also examples in feature films, such as Dante's Peak or the Harry Potter series.

In Dante's Peak, James Newton Howard was originally hired to write the score to the movie but he had a scheduling conflict and wasn't able to do so. His ow solution was, he asked the producers to consider his young protegé John Frizzell to score the entire movie while he would provide a Main Theme to be used as the main statement and Frizzell would incorporate this theme into his own score. So, both composers would get a checkbox into the Composer credit.

In a similar fashion with the Harry Potter films, John Williams wasn't inclined to keep doing these so he left after finishing #3. The subsequent composers in the films, Patrick Doyle on #4 and Nick Hooper on #5, both used Williams' original Harry Potter theme sparingly so the film could enjoy a cohesive texture.

So, I'd be in the opinion that we DO need a 'Music Theme by' field to take care of these things. However, do keep in my mind that a song IS a song, with lyrics. Otherwise, it ceases to be one.

An instrumental theme does not fit either of our current music roles.

It's absolutely excluded from qualifying for composer since the composition is not the original score, as required by the rules.

I believe a case can be made for including it as song writer; however, if you accept the argument that a song must contain words, then composers of instrumental themes must be excluded entirely from DVD Profiler. Excluding instrumental themes from song writer based on the lack of words does not qualify them as original scores.

They really are neither and need a third category.

Quoting m.cellophane:

Quote:
An instrumental theme does not fit either of our current music roles.

It's absolutely excluded from qualifying for composer since the composition is not the original score, as required by the rules.

I believe a case can be made for including it as song writer; however, if you accept the argument that a song must contain words, then composers of instrumental themes must be excluded entirely from DVD Profiler. Excluding instrumental themes from song writer based on the lack of words does not qualify them as original scores.

They really are neither and need a third category.

James hit it right on the head.  The notes for composer say they are for 'the composer of the film's Original Score'.  According the the Acaemy Awards, "an original score is a substantial body of music in the form of original dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer."

To put it simply, the composer writes the music that plays throughout the film, or in this case TV Show, not the person who wrote a single piece.

So, as James says, the person who wrote only the theme does not qualify for that credit.

Unfortunately, the Academy also has this definition, "An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film."  This means that it doesn't qualify for that profiler credit either...

So, again as James stated, it doesn't fit into either profiler credit and we need a third. 

Edited for spelling. 

Quoting m.cellophane:

Quote:
An instrumental theme does not fit either of our current music roles.

It's absolutely excluded from qualifying for composer since the composition is not the original score, as required by the rules.

I believe a case can be made for including it as song writer; however, if you accept the argument that a song must contain words, then composers of instrumental themes must be excluded entirely from DVD Profiler. Excluding instrumental themes from song writer based on the lack of words does not qualify them as original scores.

They really are neither and need a third category.

Good call, James.

Hal:

You fired the firs shot, SIR. 
"You conveniently skipped right over this part."

How convenient, you get to behave anyway you wish and make any demeaning and insulting comment you like. Buty If I take exception and return the fire I become the attacker...I don't think so. Hal. Learn how to behave. I have said it beforte and I will say it again. You want to discuss, great lets; do that.Keep insults and demeaning comments to yourself.

Skip

The theme is just that:  an instrumental  , it is not a song.. ( But I do like Mike Post over 'who's that other guy"? ) 

courtesy of Wikipedia:
An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. Specifically, this term is used when referring to popular music; some musical genres make little use of the human voice, such as jazz, electronic music, and large amounts of European classical music (although in electronic music the voice can be sampled just like anything else). In commercial music, some tracks or songs on a compact disc include instrumental tracks. These tracks are exact copies of the corresponding song, but do not have vocals.

On the whole, instrumentals have been relatively less likely to achieve the highest levels of popular and commercial success in comparison to songs. Only a handful of instrumentals have reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. These include:

"Grazing in the Grass" - Hugh Masekela (1968)
"Love's Theme" - Love Unlimited Orchestra (1974)
"Chariots of Fire" - Vangelis (1982)
"Miami Vice Theme" - Jan Hammer (1984)
"Theme From A Summer Place" - Kool & The Gang (1960)
"Frankenstein" - Edgar Winter Group (1972)
"The Hustle" - Van McCoy (1975)

I found this info on the net:
Theme 6 [1989 ABC End Credits]: "Columbo Theme (Open-Close Theme)(Sig)"
    [since the ABC series used the Mike Post "Mystery Movie" THEME
    as the Open THEME, this THEME was only heard briefly during the
    Open sequence and more fully over the Closing credits; ASCAP title variations...
    aka: "Columbo's Theme"]

Composer: John Cacavas (ASCAP)

2001 Publisher: Universal/On Backstreet Music (ASCAP)
                    c/o Universal Music Publishing Group
                    of Los Angeles, CA