ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC: which one should I choose?

When an artist decides to sign up for their publishing, they usually want to pick the company that is best suited for them. You have the option of having your independent publishing or you can choose from some of the biggest companies to assist you. Those companies happen to be ASCAP (American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers), BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.), and SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers). What they all three have in common is that they protect the publishing rights of all artists included. Their differences however range from where the protect your publishing to how its protected.

ASCAP

More than likely, this publishing company is the most popular within its main membership located in the U.S. However, it is stated that they also cover publishing for artists worldwide; but their ties to the international market is not as strong as SESAC. ASCAP is the only publishing organization who's membership votes for those to be chosen on the board. This organization is representing for the artists and publishers who need coverage to protect their copyrights and work. The pay out system for ASCAP is considered to be more steady.

BMI

This company has a very striking similarity to ASCAP except for the fact that is mainly for broadcasters instead. They also are based out of the U.S. and represent different artists in various areas. However, their payout to the artists appears to more in the beginning and if an artist is receiving mainstream airplay, they can receive bonuses from that later on. The downside of it is that the money tends to dwindle after the money in the beginning is distributed in large amounts.

SESAC

Considered a company that was once limited to European and gospel music, SESAC has expanded its doors to genres that include rock, jazz, r&b, hip hop, and etc. SESAC, in comparison to ASCAP and BMI, is smaller but they focus on the issue of quality vs. quantity in terms of the artists that they deal with for their publishing. In comparison with ASCAP, it is the second oldest company that has been established for artists copyrights and publishing.

In conclusion, I would advise that any artist that would like to get their publishing through any of these companies is to look into further detail. Examine whether or not each company will be suitable for the artists based on how they treat their membership and distribute their finances. Also, each company should be further looked into as far protective rights to publishing for any artists.

Reference(s):

http://www.events-in-music.com/ascap-vs-bmi-vs-sesac.html

http://jagmmp.com/music_articles/should_i_join_ascap_bmi_or_sesac.html

A Look At Sampling And Publishing

The foundation of hip hop production came from being able to sample from artists from different musical genres such as R&B, Disco, Jazz, and Rock. From DJs using two records to restart back from a certain point on a record to the development of technology (such as Akai MPC samplers), it has become a very important aspect of the hip hop genre. It started from using such popular drum sounds (also known as drum breaks) from artists such as Clyde Stubblefield. It has been rumored that musicians such as Stubblefield have never received proper credit or compensation on some of the biggest hip hop records produced that has used pieces of his work.

With this issus, there has been on-going battle of lawsuits between hip hop artists and the copyright owners whenever samples are used without permission. De La Soul was in trouble for using portions of Sgt. Peppers on "De La Soul is Dead". Beasties Boys almost caught a very serious lawsuit from the samples used on their album "Paul's Boutique" but was able to not endure consequences like others have before. In certain instances, artists have been able to get away with sampling because of how there is not enough money made from the hip hop artist that original sampled musician can receive back.

I would suggest for anyone who is either curious about this issue of hip hop and sampling to please check out the documentary, Copyright Criminals. Not only does it give the proper background on the issue of why sampling in hip hop is popular it gives insight on the ownership of publishing. Some of these previous artists mentioned in this blog posts are very big part of this documentary. Even though this more so territory that involves legal infringements in the entertainment business, it is still a an issue that involves music publishing companies. If you look in the liner notes of hip hop albums, you can see credits now that will state sample clearance companies that have cleared any samples used on the record. Hopefully, hip hop artists would be able to use a sampling license in order to be able create more music. However, the issue at hand seems to be that artists that have been sampled from need to be paid for their contribution. As it stands, this battle of hip hop artists and sampling will not be resolved anytime soon.

Reference(s):

http://rollingout.com/1/hip-hop-theft-or-creative-license-film-explores-music-sampling-copyright-law/

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-09-08-sampling-ruling_x.htm