WHAT ASCAP WANTS YOU TO KNOW

What would you say ASCAP’s primary function is?
ASCAP is in business to make sure that songwriters. composers, and music publishers are properly paid for the public performance of their music. Because a stronger repertory delivers higher value, we aggressively work to provide our members with the tools to maximize their success.

What makes ASCAP different from BMI and SESAC?
There are a lot of differences but you can’t start the story until you talk about who owns, and, who controls the three performing rights organizations that currently exist in the United States. ASCAP is owned by it’s own members. Our name, American society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, implies that. BMI is an acronym for Broadcast Music Incorporated. BMI was created and is owned by the Broadcast industry. ASCAP and BMI are not-for-profit meaning that monies are distributed back, in the case of BMI to the affiliates, and in the case of ASCAP, members. Again, I have to draw this distinction that ASCAP is the only performing rights organization where you can join and call yourself a member/owner. At BMI you are simply an affiliate.

There are several advantages to being a membership organization. One advantage of a membership organization is the ability to have a Credit Union. ASCAP offers its members a Credit Union with incredibly low priced loans for automobiles, homes, musical equipment, whatever you need to borrow money for. You can also invest your money in various products with the Credit Union at very favorable rates. Our competitors, BMI and SESAC cannot avail themselves of a Credit Union because they are not membership organizations.

Another advantage of a membership organization is that if songwriters and composers are the owners of an organization, it would stand to reason that all decisions made by that organization are going to be in the best interest of songwriters and composers. They have to, by default. Clear Channel, Radio One, ABC, are all on the board of BMI. They are making decisions at BMI based on that ownership. SESAC is a much smaller organization headquartered in Nashville. It’s owned by business people with the distinct objective of making money for SESAC so that is what governs their decisions.

ASCAP has 12 writers and 12 publishers that sit on the board who meet 5 to 6 times a year and all of the key policy making decisions come down from that board of directors. However, we do have an impressive management team with tremendous business skills here at ASCAP. But, we are overseen by an elected Board of Directors

A good example of what sets us apart from BMI and SESAC is how we deal with royalty distributions. Several years ago ASCAP negotiated a wonderful new contract with the cable industry. It was really a breakthrough and included 10 to 12 years of retroactive payments from the cable industry. That money was fully and fairly distributed to all ASCAP members who had performances on those cable channels during those years. Not so with our competitors.

Our competitors do not have a published set of rules for distribution. They keep some money aside and use it tactically to reward some of their affiliates more robustly than others. They will also target new affiliates with that money to lure them into their organizations. There is no real accounting for those monies because their financial records are not publicly declared. This makes possible discretionary payments that benefit some at the expense of many others.

ASCAP, by contrast, issues an annual report in which all of our financial dealings and distribution are published. Our members deserve that information because they own us. BMI and SESAC affiliates get no such reports.

How do ASCAP’s collection methods differ from BMI and SESAC?
It is a very challenging job to track every music performance in the United States. We have a very aggressive program to identify all of that music and to license all of the places where that music is performed. We have some very hard working people in the field. We’re covering broadcasters, we’re covering cable. We license close to 3000 websites with music. We license ring tones now. Every person who creates music wants the assurance that when their music is publicly performed, their performing rights organization will know when and where is was played so they can get a fair amount of money for that. We take that incredibly seriously because we’re owned by our members.

If I were at BMI, I’m not too sure how much I would care about that. Say if I were Clear Channel sitting on the board, my concern would also have to be how much my own company is paying to use music, in addition to how much the affiliates were getting. There is a fundamental disconnect there.

With respect to collections, we have gone into partnership with YES Networks to form Mediaguide, a company that has developed a new fingerprinting technology that allows us to track 2500 radio stations in over 230 markets, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in real time. Although those radio stations only represent about 20% of all the stations in the country they account for 80% of all the royalties we collect. We have monitoring stations in each of these markets that pick up every radio station so we can track what is being played at any given time. In fact, you can subscribe to this information and actually track on your computer exactly what is happening with any of your songs. You can search on a song title and see where and when it is being performed, 24/7. You can pick out a radio station and see what they’re playing right now. It will also accumulate the number of plays you’ve got over a certain period of time.

This represents a 100% accurate, real-time survey. We are now integrating that data into our distribution system and by early next year it will begin to be used as part of our computerized payment system. That is going to bring us light years ahead in terms of both coverage and accuracy of payments.

Another thing Mediaguide is doing is tracking college stations, which means we’re getting information that was never before available with any kind of accuracy. Now, if it’s on the air, we will know about it. This increased accuracy is going to allow ASCAP members who may be just starting their careers to receive royalties that they might otherwise have missed. It will also allow our more successful members to see greater coverage and increased royalty payments as well.

Our competitors do not operate with this technology. They have developed licensing arrangements with companies like BDS or Mediabase to try to duplicate what Mediaguide does but they fall short. And, they are licensing the data, they do not own the data. More importantly, those two companies, combined, do not cover 2500 radio stations. It’s a much smaller operation, and, they use manual listening to identify what is being played.

One more fact, Mediabase is owned by Clear Channel. So think about this: Clear Channel owns well over 1000 radio stations in the US. They also sit on the board of BMI, which is charged with collecting monies for the music played on those stations. And, BMI licenses the information on what is played at those stations from Mediabase, another Clear Channel company.

Another fascinating thing about the ASCAP/Mediaguide fingerprinting system is that it also works for advertising. If you have an audio track, music, an announcer, etc., it can be fingerprinted and matched with 100% accuracy whenever it runs on the radio. Eventually this will also be true for television and the internet. So Mediaguide is building a business with advertisers, tracking their ads and their competitor’s ads. We see it as a company that is not only meeting the needs of ASCAP and its members right now, but it is going to be a money making company in the months and years ahead which will just add more money for ASCAP to distribute to its members. Remember, we have no other owners other than our own members so when money comes in from our entrepreneurial activities like this, it goes to members.

You know, our business team looked at ASCAP and decided that the bottom line is that our members count on us for income. We’re generating money for them so why begin and end with performance royalties? Why not look at other ways to leverage our assets in ways that could deliver us more money. Mediaguide came out of that philosophy.

ASCAP is now offering insurance for instruments and equipment, studio liability, tour liability company, and medical. How did that come about?
This is another entrepreneurial venture we have started. You know, the last thing a young musician can afford is insurance and we wanted to see if we could help out. So, about three years ago we formed an insurance agency in cooperation with Sterling and Sterling Insurance called MusicPro. The idea was: lower rates, higher quality insurance. So, for example, for a $100 annual premium, you can get coverage for up to $10,000 worth of musical instruments and equipment. And that coverage is for anywhere: on the road, at home, in the studio, at a rehearsal room, stolen out of your car, stolen backstage. anywhere. We also offer tour liability insurance, studio liability and health insurance. And, you do not have to be an ASCAP member to get this insurance. It is open to anyone.

You know, if you have a normal Homeowner’s Policy, and have a recording or teaching studio in your home, if there is an accident and someone is hurt, your Homeowner’s does not cover your studio as it would your home. MusicPro has insurance starting at $350 a year that would cover you for that eventuality. We also offer health and dental insurance. You can find out what those rates are by going to our Musicpro website, http://www.musicproinsurance.com

Now we are licensed in every state and to date have sold over 3000 policies. MusicPro is the only insurance company that is devoted entirely to the needs of the music professional. There is no other company like it in the world. And, MusicPro is endorsed by virtually every music organization: AFM, NARAS, even BMI itself.

At what point in their career should someone consider joining an organization like ASCAP?
The minute you are creating music join a performing rights organization. Once you have something you feel is copyrightable you should be registering it with a performance rights organization. Obviously we think there are many advantages to joining ASCAP but you have a choice. But if you’ve taken the time to write a song, establish ownership and join a performing rights organization.

How much does it cost to join ASCAP?
Nothing. You just have to verify that your work has been publicly performed. That can be music that is put on an internet site, including your own. It can be music performed in a club. at a wedding, it doesn’t matter. We’re getting upwards of 25,000 new members a year and a lot of this is coming from the internet. You can fill out some simple paperwork on our website, http://www.ASCAP.com, and that’s all there is to it.

What misconceptions about ASCAP do you think people might have?
One clear misconception is that ASCAP does not represent all genres of music. People think that we have never embraced Urban or Latin Music. That simply isn’t true. We dominate those genres. When it comes to the performance share of Urban, R&B, Hip Hop, and Latin music, ASCAP has close to an 80% share.

How does ASCAP deal with the new Satellite Radio? Can Mediaguide track them also?
ASCAP was the first performing right organization to license satellite radio and we receive digital performance data from them. Mediaguide does have the capability to track them but the priority is currently broadcast radio and television.

Final Question: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about ASCAP? Your music career is too important not to have a voice in the management and direction of your performing right organization. Do your homework and join ASCAP!


For more information on ASCAP click here.