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SESAC and GMR are for-profit and you must be accepted.Īmerican Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers represents 700,000 members (songwriters and publishers) and over 10 million compositions.
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ASCAP and BMI are both not-for-profit organizations. can sign up for ASCAP or BMI without being invited or having to apply. This is just how they do it for everyone from Taylor Swift down to you and me. PROs split “publishing” and “songwriter” royalties equally. The PROs then pool all of this money and divide it among all of their songwriters and publishers based on the frequency and “weight” of each song’s “public performance.” The PROs then pay the publishing companies their 50% and the songwriters their 50%. PROs make money to pay songwriter royalties and publishing royalties by collecting money from thousands of venues and outlets (radio stations, streaming services, TV stations, department stores, bars, live venues, etc.) that have been required to purchase “blanket licenses” giving these outlets permission to play music in their establishment (or on the air). These are organizations that collect performance royalties (not mechanical royalties-we’ll get to those in a bit). These performance rights organizations represent songwriters, not artists. Pretty much every country in the world has its own PRO and they work together to collect royalties from each other’s territories. In the United States, these are ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and Global Music Rights (GMR). Traditionally, publishing companies (because they own the composition and represent songwriters) collect music royalties for compositions. Sound recordings are not to be confused with compositions. Traditionally, labels (because they own the master) collect music royalties for sound recordings. Some call this the “master.” It’s the actual recording. A songwriter collects songwriter royalties. Publishing companies represent songwriters. “Diamonds” was written by four songwriters: Sia Furler, Benjamin Levin, Mikkel S. Typically whatever name is on the album is the artist. She did not write her song “Diamonds.” So she is not the songwriter. First some terms you need to understand: ArtistĪrtists record sound recordings. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re getting closer every day.įor indie artists without a label or a publisher, you have to know what these royalties are and know where and how to get them. With physical sales plummeting, people shifting from downloading to streaming, and the rise of digital radio, there are many more royalties out there, but they can be tracked much more easily. To not get into too much history, and really just cut to the chase, before the digital age, royalties were difficult to track, but there were fewer platforms to consume music, so there were far fewer royalty streams to worry about. This is part of the reason why so many established artists and songwriters have jumped ship from their major labels (and major publishers) and headed over to independent entities. They look out for their own best interests and use artists’ ignorance (and blind pursuit of fame) to manipulate and deceive. The major labels have always tried to screw artists out their well deserved music royalties. One of these clauses is the infamous controlled composition clause. And back in the day, when labels started signing artists who also wrote their own songs (which, at the time, was quite unique), they put in clauses in the contract to limit the royalties they’d (legally) have to pay out to their newly signed artists/songwriters. And many of us use these terms interchangeably. The reason I’m putting quotes around “artists” and “songwriters” is because so many of us are both. This is an excerpt from my book How to Make it in the New Music Business. As you study more about the global music rights, you’ll see the distinction over and over again between “artist” and “songwriter.” It’s an important distinction to make because the royalties for “artists” and the royalties for “songwriters” are completely different. How do you make sure you register your work properly and obtain all of the music streaming royalties that are rightfully owed to you? Keep reading. Kobalt calculated that there are over 900,000 royalty streams per song. A 2015 Berklee College of Music report found that anywhere from 20% to 50% of music royalties don’t make it to their rightful owners.