ASCAP to SESAC

[bradymusico]

Hi Folks-

Just figured I would update this thread, in the event that there are others attempting to make the switch at some point. I did give my notice of resignation to ASCAP this week and, after discussing some of the complexities of migrating works (much of what MichaelL outlined above), have elected to leave my current catalog at ASCAP and start fresh with SESAC in April 2015.

More to come…

Happy Muziking! 🙂 – B

[Musicmatters]

Hey Bradymusico. Best of luck with your move, is there a reason why you have left your current catalog with ASCAP ? Thanks

[MichaelL]

Hey Bradymusico. Best of luck with your move, is there a reason why you have left your current catalog with ASCAP ? Thanks

I’m sure Bradymusico will fill you in on his experience, but here’s a recap of what I advised him, to which he refers to above.

It’s not easy to move an entire catalog, unless you are the publisher. If not, each publisher of your works has to agree to remove those works. Additionally, the timing of works removal is based upon each publishers affiliation date with ASCAP. If you have a lot of works, and a number of different publisher’s, it could be a nightmare. Plus, they might not all agree, and you can’t have the same works in multiple PROS, unless there are multiple authors and multiple publishers.

When I went from ASCAP to BMI, I only moved my TV catalog, for which I own the publishing. Older works, published by various WFH exclusive libraries, stayed at ASCAP. I’ve been with BMI for two years now, and I still get ASCAP royalties for older works, some going back 15 or 16 years.

A friend, who has contributed some cues to my TV catalog, also switched from ASCAP BMI. After checking with some of the NE libraries that he writes for, he also decided to leave his old works in place.

Cheers,

Michael

[bradymusico]

Hey Bradymusico. Best of luck with your move, is there a reason why you have left your current catalog with ASCAP ? Thanks
I’m sure Bradymusico will fill you in on his experience, but here’s a recap of what I advised him, to which he refers to above.

MichaelL said it all (thank you, sir!). 🙂 Even though my catalog is smaller compared to others here (500+ titles), it was enough of a hassle given the WFH and other pubs I’ve worked with. Though I am a bit bummed to leave some of the good money cues at ASCAP where I just “hope for the best” on the surveys, I guess that’s incentive to write better cues and have them at SESAC! – B

[Mark_Petrie]

What would you do with music that you own but has been re-titled? Come up with new names and register them with the new PRO, to potentially give them to new non-exclusive libraries / projects? Is this ok?

[Advice]

Nothing to say… Just unchecking “Notify Me of follow-up replies by email”…

Nothing to see here… Move along… 😉

[MichaelL]

What would you do with music that you own but has been re-titled? Come up with new names and register them with the new PRO, to potentially give them to new non-exclusive libraries / projects? Is this ok?

I don’t have any music in retitle libraries.

But, I would say that retitling the same works again, and registering them with a different PRO would not be a good idea, that probably violate your agreement with both PROS and cause significant problems down the road, when digital detection is the norm for BMI and ASCAP.

In bradymusico’s case that could be now, because SESAC, I believe uses tunesat (or at least accepts) data.

[bradymusico]

What would you do with music that you own but has been re-titled? Come up with new names and register them with the new PRO, to potentially give them to new non-exclusive libraries / projects? Is this ok?

That’s an interesting question, Mark. Early on I chose to go the exclusive route, so I haven’t dealt with a ton of NE retitled cues. I guess, right out of the gate, I would think that if ASCAP is representing a “work” even though the title can change, this would mean that “work,” in whatever form it exists, is subject to ASCAP’s agreement and can’t be rep’d by another PRO. I’m no expert on that, though…just my initial thoughts.

I agree with MichaelL that the fingerprinting would also present a major headache if they did allow that.

[Musicmatters]

Tendered my termination to ASCAP and will hopefully move to SESAC or BMI, if that does not work out. Leaving old catalog at ASCAP. Thanks MLR, for the help and info. Looking forward to better days.

[MichaelL]

Just a heads-up.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6281846/sesac-settles-television-class-action-for-58-million

[bradymusico]

Just a heads-up.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6281846/sesac-settles-television-class-action-for-58-million

Thanks MichaelL. I read that over the weekend! Any thoughts on what you think this could mean for SESAC moving forward…? I still feel like they have a leg up but this case has me questioning how that will translate down the road.

[Musicmatters]

Thanks MichaelL, that is quite revealing. Not sure what to make of it though. I suppose the settlement should not affect the cash flow, since it gets taken from the escrow account. One can only wonder what the future agreement with TLMC bodes for us. On the other hand, SESAC seems to be getting into all sorts of other things and is getting very corporatized and is losing that personal touch. Thanks for posting !

[bradymusico]

Tendered my termination to ASCAP and will hopefully move to SESAC or BMI, if that does not work out. Leaving old catalog at ASCAP. Thanks MLR, for the help and info. Looking forward to better days.

Good luck MM!! 🙂

[MichaelL]

I could mean that SESAC payments will be more in line with what BMI and ASCAP pay.

How much you receive would still come down to which PROs do the best job of detecting performances.

IMO, many agree, both BMI and SESAC are better at detecting and crediting library cues used as background music in TV shows than ASCAP.

But…there are a lot of variables.

[MM1]

I’m headed to sesac I’m not quite sure what to expect but after the transition happens from …….I’m looking forward to the tools and advanced approaches and fresh ways to meet composers and writers like myself….any advice?

[Author]

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