Performing Rights Organizations:
Benefits You Need To Know About

by Chris Florio

If you have joined a Performance Rights Organization (PRO) such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC (the three PROs in the US) and only think about them four times a year when you examine your mailbox to see if they have sent you a check, then you may not be taking full advantage of the many services that these societies offer in addition to fee collection.

Before we look at some of these opportunities in more detail, let’s quickly recap the main function of a Performance Rights Organization which was covered in detail in Performer’s May 2003 issue.

When you join ASCAP, SESAC, or BMI (you can only join one), you are giving them the right and responsibility to license your songs and track their public performances on radio, television, Muzak, and in foreign theaters as well as in live performances by major acts. Each organization that licenses songs pays the PRO a fee for a “blanket license” to use the compositions of any of its members. After taking a little off of the top to cover its expenses, the PRO then mails (or direct deposits) each of its members a payment based on where and how often their music was performed. (For a more thorough examination of how this works read Donald S. Passman’s excellent book All You Need to Know About the Music Business).

In addition to their primary role, the PROs also provide financial, creative and educational support services to their members. The first places to go to check out some of these resources are the websites of ASCAP (www.ascap.com), BMI (www.bmi.com) and SESAC (www.sesac.com). All three of these sites offer troves of information and resources, some for members only but many available to anyone.

“Our website is our face and establishes our credibility for a large percentage of our members and the musical community,” says Barbara Cane, Vice-president of Writer/Publisher Relations for BMI. “It is important that it is easy to use, up to date, and filled with the most useful resources we can offer.”

In this BMI succeeds admirably. In addition to good information about how BMI works and how to join, the site offers a listening room with audio clips of members and their music. There are also many video clips of BMI events and artists. It’s really fascinating to watch the legendary Motown team of Holland-Dozier and Holland talk about how symphonic music influenced Motown Arrangements or see Merv Griffin (Merv Griffin?) talk about composing the Jeopardy Theme Song.

BMI and ASCAP both have a legislation sections of their sites. “The issues being decided right now could have very positive or disastrous effects for our affiliates,” says Cane, “We try to work at the Federal and State levels of Government to inform legislators on the issues from our affiliates perspective and we encourage our members to do the same.” To this end BMI has placed much valuable information on their website regarding copyright law and other current legislative topics. There is also a page of very useful links to government agencies.

BMI, ASCAP and SESAC all have online databases of their members catalogs that are searchable by song, writer, and publisher. Members can submit new songs online and licenses can also be obtained online.

Like BMI, ASCAP has lots of great articles, interviews and audio clips (although not much video yet) on their site. There are profiles and conversations with ASCAP artists like Dave Matthews, Aimee Mann, U2, and Branford Marsalis. The ASCAP site has lots of career information, financial, and legal advice. It even has songwriting lessons. There is a large area of the site for Junior ASCAP Members (JAM), with loads of resources for young people aspiring to careers as composers and songwriters. ASCAP also presents Morton Gould Young Composers Awards annually to Concert and Jazz writers under 30.

“We are the only Performing Rights Organization that is owned by its members,” says Phil Crosland, Senior Vice President of Marketing for ASCAP, “because of this, we have a strong motivation to provide meaningful services and to go the extra mile for our members. Two examples of this are MusicPro Insurance and our Member Card Benefits Program.”

MusicPro (www.ascap.com/benefits/musicpro.html), which was started by ASCAP, offers affordable instrument, studio, tour, and personal insurance policies for musicians.

The ASCAP member Card offers discount memberships to Songwriters Associations and other professional organizations. It also offers discounts on a wide range of products and services which are listed on their respective websites. Both BMI and SESAC offer similar discount programs for members, but of all the PROs, ASCAP’s list is by far the most extensive. Offering discounts from 15% to 50% on everything from Berklee Music online courses and JBL speakers to instrument insurance and van rentals. (The full list can be found at www.ascap.com/benefits/) “We try to make all of the member benefits meaningful, valuable, and specific to the needs of musicians,” says Crosland.

While SESAC’s website is not as extensive as BMI or ASCAP’s, it is worth a visit for its useful career info, songwriter profiles, and database. The main thing that SESAC can offer over BMI is a more personal service. “Because we represent a far smaller number of artists than either BMI or ASCAP, we are able to have a personal relationship with our writers,” says Tim Fink, Assistant Vice-President of Writer/Publisher relations for SESAC Nashville. “If I know an artist is looking for a song, and one of our writers, in say, Michigan has just sent me a demo CD that I thought was a good fit, it is a lot more likely that I would make the connection for him than if he were a member of ASCAP or BMI. With SESAC we really can be part of the Songwriter’s personal team. You can come into our offices and talk to us personally, or you can call and talk with someone you have a relationship with.”

In addition to their websites, the PROs support their members in a variety of other ways. All three organizations do showcases of new member talent in venues throughout the country.

ASCAP members who have established careers and whose works have established value but who are not played on radio or television may be eligible for special payments under the ASCAP Plus Awards program which gives out over $2 million dollars a year to eligible members.

All three PROs offer phone support and say they are willing to offer member info and career advice to members who call with questions. “Our purpose,” says Cane of BMI, “Is to support the writer so that they can work to create not just good, but great songs. They should be able to do this wherever they choose to live, not just in New York, LA, or Nashville. Our online resources, live showcases and events, and affiliations with local organizations can greatly help our artists to develop their talents and thrive.”

Anyone who is already a member of one of these three organizations should be sure that they are making full use of the great resources that they are paying for. Any songwriters with professional aspirations who are not members should spend some serious time at the websites of all three organizations. In addition to learning about the benefits of membership that are available when you feel you are ready, you will also be able to get the equivalent of at least a semester towards a music business degree.