anyone have any insite on ASCAP, BMI or SESAC

[P-E-Zmusic]

I needs sign on with one of them when I go back to Nashville in Nov.
Anyone know the advantages vs disadvantages of each?

 

[chazmo]

Hey, Paul,

You might want to look through these threads as some background. The subject has gotten a lot of airtime over the years. To find more, do a site search on ASCAP...:

http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?160779-Cover-Songs-amp-Copyrights

http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?173008-copyright-and-indie-CDs

 

[fronobulax]

Can't recall that anyone ever expressed an opinion over which one to sign with. Most of the discussions seemed to revolve around whether they were A Good Thing or A Bad Thing and the opinions seemed to cluster based upon whether you played originals or covers, whether you got paid, or not, and whether you operated a venue.

 

[chazmo]

Oh, yeah, that's true, frono.... Didn't mean to put the kybosh on the conversation such as it applies to Pez's question...

 

[fronobulax]

Was just trying to suggest that past discussions might not be helpful. I assume PEZ's upcoming gigs in Nashville give him the opportunity to perform his compositions and that either means the venue requires him to be a member of some society or strongly encourages him to be.

I'd probably research ASCAP and then BMI in that order since I've never heard of SESAC and unless I thought my songs were so darn good that someone was going to cover them, I'd pick whichever one cost me the least up front.

 

[P-E-Zmusic]

I need someone to collect my royalities. I saw some comments saying if indie artist and will not deal with them..... guess what that means other people are keeping your money. Indie means not on major label. It has nothing to with collecting your money. They do not cost money to join, they get 10% of what you make. They can helpful in placing songs with artist. I was asking if anyone had personal expirance with them or why they choose the one they did.

 

[tjmangum]

Get the book "This Business of Music" and it will explain everything about the money side of the music industry. Ascap, BMI and SESAC (mostly for gospel and religious music) collect performance royalties for songwriters. Every broadcast station and performance venue pays fees to them for the right to use their writers music. Through different processes they come up with formulas that prorate what percentage goes to each writer.