How Was Your PRO Payment For January 2013?

[Blind]

I’m with ASCAP and my placements are 90% cable (MTV, Bravo, etc) at least for now. Is that what we are talking about here that BMI seems to do better with than ASCAP? Just clarifying… MichaelL, I know you mentioned syndication and I didn’t know if that meant major network shows playing on channels that do a lot of re-running of old network shows, which would be a different deal I assume…

If you contact BMI will they actually analyze your placements and let you know if they would do better than ASCAP?

[euca]

@Glen. Yes, night, morning, afternoon and primetime. Night paying the least and primetime the best. NBC primetime will pay much better than TLC primetime, but the repeats on TLC will add up over time.

 

[MichaelL]

@Blind, no it isn’t just reruns of old shows.  This article explains syndication better than I can. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_syndication

As far as most of your music being on cable, there is far more cable programming than network programming. It’s a safe bet that the majority of writer’s placements are on cable.

 

[greg]

So once you inform your pro you are leaving, at what point do you reregister your cues with the new pro?  Do you contact retitle libraries to have them update your pro info?  Lastly, how do old cue sheets to changed to your new pro?

 

Sorry for all the q’s.

[MichaelL]

So once you inform your pro you are leaving, at what point do you reregister your cues with the new pro?

You don’t. If your removing works, you have to provide ASCAP with a complete list of the works to be removed and ALL THE PARTIES IN INTEREST, which would include other writers and publishers. You give the same information to BMI, along with a confirmation of release from ASCAP, and they handle it. YOUR PUBLISHERS HAVE TO AGREE TO MOVE YOUR WORKS.

Do you contact retitle libraries to have them update your pro info?

I don’t know the answer to that. I’ve never re-titled, probably never will. But I think that would be pretty messy. But I think….ALL of your publishers would have to agree to move  the re-titled works. You cannot have the same work in ASCAP and BMI.

Lastly, how do old cue sheets to changed to your new pro?

The producer of the shows that I write for was kind enough to update the cue sheets.

If you read the full thread. You’ll see an explanation of how things work. ASCAP has very clear rules about when you must notify them. You can elect to leave cues with ASCAP. If you want to move cues the publisher(s) must agree. In that case, they have to notify ASCAP that they are removing the works.

Several things to consider:

1) I only moved removed works from ASCAP that are published by my own publishing company, and are part of my own library.

2) All of my older library cues are staying with ASCAP, and the respective libraries’ publishing companies. ASCAP will still pay me for those. I just did a new collection for an exclusive library that I’ve written for before. All of my old tracks stay with their ASCAP publishing entity. The new ones will go to their BMI publishing entity.

3) Moving made sense for me for very specific reasons. 

4) I think moving cues from several different re-title libraries would be very difficult. You have to get all of them to agree and cooperate.

5) I’m a lawyer. I’m used to filing documents and fighting to get things done. The process was far from easy….because I was removing works.

6) It’s much  easier if you just switch going forward.

Hope that helps,

MichaelL

 

[Blind]

Assuming BMI is not getting more money from the cable channels and networks than ASCAP, I guess that they just dividing it up differently. If so, where is the ASCAP money going? To the bigger names, higher operating expenses, feature vocal performances, something else?

[MichaelL]

OK…like I said…no conspiracy theories.

A lot of people including Mark Northam  (FMN) and Moses Avalon have written on this subject. The sad fact is that  background music on cable TV is at, or near, the bottom of the food chain. (I think that been replaced by internet /youtube).

Here is a three part article by Moses Avalon the discusses ASCAP, BMI and SESAC>

http://www.mosesavalon.com/why-you-should-wait-to-join-ascap-bmi-sesac/

http://alarm-magazine.com/2011/moses-supposes-why-you-should-think-twice-before-joining-ascap-bmi-or-sesac-part-ii/

http://www.mosesavalon.com/why-you-should-think-twice-before-joining-ascap-or-bmi-part-iii-who-pays-more/

The answers are out there. You only have to look.

_Michael

 

 

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