ASCAP vs BMI vs SESAC—A Look at the PROs
Editors Note: All Performance Rights Organizations ("P.R.O.s") do essentially the same job. They license the work of writers, particularly songwriters, for commercial use. They all use relatively the same methods to calculate and pay royalties to the copyright owners (writers and publishers) on the public performance of their works on radio, television, movie soundtracks, jukeboxes, live shows, etc. In talking with many different songwriters affiliated with all three of the "major" P.R.O.s about their satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction with the particular P.R.O. which represents them, the only real concensus seems to come from new, unestablished artists. Highly successful writers who are accustomed to seeing steady income from the licensing of their works seem to be pretty content with their P.R.O., regardless of the affiliation. This is likely because at this point in their careers, the job that they expect to be done by their P.R.O. is largely an administrative one. They monitor the use of the writers' works, report to them, and pay them. Pretty routine, actually. However, among new artists, those who haven't yet established themselves -- those who are still striving to create that "mailbox money" that the P.R.O.s collect and distribute -- the concensus seems to be: Go with the P.R.O. that has a representative (an Artist Relations Rep) that YOU can get to know. One that likes your music and offers to be even minimally involved in your career. One that you can get on the phone and develop a relationship with. P.R.O.s have direct contact with all the major publishers and many of the major recording artists, and their management. Your P.R.O. rep can introduce you to important people in the music business. P.R.O.s sponsor songwriter and performer events in the major music centers: New York, Los Angeles and Nashville. Sign with the company that offers to do more than collect and pay your royalties. Sign with the P.R.O. representative that expresses belief in you and offers to help you develop as an artist. Join the P.R.O. that champions you! Performance Rights Organizations panel discussions, which include representatives from all the major P.R.O.s, are a staple of the very popular Durango Songwriters Expo. Click on the player below to hear an excerpt from one of these informative panels. (The topic of this portion is Setting Up Your Own Publishing Company hosted by Linda Lorence of SESAC and Gabrielle Vitellio, a Music Attorney). More Durango Songwriters Expo educational programming can be accessed by joining DurangoSong.com. Setting Up Your Own Publishing Company [15:29] Related Article: "How Bands And Co-Writers Divide Percentage Shares In A Song" What Do ASCAP, BMI and SESAC Do? Below Myles Lewis (R) with BMI LOS ANGELES, Loretta Munoz (C) with ASCAP NEW YORK, and Shannan Neece (L) with SESAC NASHVILLE, explain briefly what their respective Performance Rights Organizations do. Hosted by Steve Garvan (far R) of Garvan Management. Recorded live at the Durango Songwriters Expo Santa Barbara 2008. About ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) ASCAP is the largest American Performance Rights Organization (PRO). ASCAP is a membership association of over 240,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind of music. Through agreements with affiliated international societies, ASCAP also represents hundreds of thousands of music creators worldwide. ASCAP is the only U.S. performing rights organization created and controlled by composers, songwriters and music publishers, with a Board of Directors elected by and from the membership. ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works. ASCAP's licensees encompass all who want to perform copyrighted music publicly. ASCAP makes giving and obtaining permission to perform music simple for both creators and users of music. "...Since it was created in 1914, ASCAP has become a vital component of American culture. I recall when my first song was published, and I joined ASCAP. I was thrilled to be part of the society that represented the works of so many of the songwriters I had long admired, such as Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen, and Jerome Kern. Today, ASCAP is still the society of the most accomplished and successful music creators in the world, from Garth Brooks to Dr. Dre to Bruce Springsteen to Madonna to Stevie Wonder to James Horner to Joni Mitchell to Wynton Marsalis to Beck to Stephen Sondheim to Tito Puente, and so many others. Yet ASCAP is not only about musical greatness, but also about fostering the creative environment and incentives that are the wellspring of innovation. Whether in the office, nightclubs, or the halls of Congress, ASCAP is constantly working to nurture the careers of its members, and as we look to the future, we will meet every new challenge with the same dedication..." —Marilyn Bergman, President and Chairman of the Board
About BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) BMI is the second-largest American P.R.O. BMI is an American performing rights organization that represents more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music. The non-profit-making company, founded in 1939, collects license fees on behalf of those American creators it represents, as well as thousands of creators from around the world who chose BMI for representation in the United States. The license fees BMI collects for the "public performances" of its repertoire of more than 6.5 million compositions - including radio airplay, broadcast and cable television carriage, Internet and live and recorded performances by all other users of music - are then distributed as royalties to the writers, composers and copyright holders it represents. BMI's roster of affiliated songwriters and composers is unsurpassed and includes outstanding creators in every style of musical composition: from pop songwriters to film and television composers; from classical composers to commercial jingle writers; from library music to musical theater composers; from jazz to hip-hop; from metal to meringue; classical to classic soul; from rock to reggae, and all the categories in between. BMI was founded in order to open the door to performing rights representation for songwriters and composers and to provide the business and broadcast communities with a music catalog of unique and lasting value. We continue our commitments to both the creators of music and those who bring it to the ears of the public.
About SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers) SESAC is the third-largest American P.R.O. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second oldest performing rights organization in the United States. SESAC's repertory, once limited to European and gospel music, has diversified to include today's most popular music, including R&B/hip-hop, dance, rock classics, country hits, the best of Latina music, Contemporary Christian, the coolest jazz, and the television and film music of Hollywood’s hottest composers. SESAC's corporate headquarters in Nashville houses all of the company's divisions, from creative to licensing to administration. The company also has offices in New York, Los Angeles and London. If the phrase 'quality vs. quantity' ever mattered, SESAC is the place. While SESAC is the smallest of the three U.S. performing rights organizations, size is its largest advantage. SESAC prides itself on developing individual relationships with both songwriters and publishers. Licensees benefit from the intimate atmosphere, with a licensing staff dedicated to meeting the needs of music users quickly and satisfactorily. And because our repertory concerns itself only with quality copyrights, the music user doesn't have to sift through the millions of infrequently-used copyrights common to other performing rights organizations to access the usable copyrights. SESAC was the first P.R.O. to employ state-of-the-art Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) performance detection. SESAC utilizes BDS in conjunction with other cutting edge performance detection technology, providing SESAC’s writer and publisher affiliates with the fastest, most accurate royalty payment available anywhere. The system required to compute compensation is based on many factors, including music trade publication chart activity, computer database information, and state-of-the-art monitoring.
|
