What Happens if Member of ASCAP but a Publisher Is SESAC?

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  • #35420
    Tbone
    Participant

    I’m wondering how this situation would be handled:

    Let’s say you are a writer member of ASCAP and you have tracks with two publishers. One of those publishers is also at ASCAP and that’s all fine for registrations and making sure you get paid.

    But what if the other publisher is at SESAC? As a writer, you can’t be a member of more than one PRO in the same territory, and as far as I know, SESAC can’t pay your royalties to ASCAP for you, so how would you as the writer get paid in this situation?!

    Would it be that your publisher who is a member of SESAC would have to collect all performance royalties and then send yours on to you?

    Any help from those with experience or knowledge of this would be really appreciated!

    #35422
    johnnyboy
    Participant

    When you sign with a publisher, you’ll have to give them your PRO membership info. So, your royalties would be paid through ASCAP. At that time, if the publisher is with SESAC, they may turn you down, or using your ASCAP info, send your royalties there. No experience with this, but it’s reasonable to assume this. Either way, at the time of signing with a publisher, it would be settled.

    #35427
    Tbone
    Participant

    I made a couple phone calls to ASCAP and SESAC to find out more and apparently they can’t pay each other for royalties owed to a composer at the other society. For example if I’m a member at SESAC and I have royalties at ASCAP through another publishers, ASCAP won’t pay those to SESAC for me.

    I’m thinking more and more that the publisher at ASCAP would have to collect them for you and pay them to you, but I don’t know for sure.

    #35428
    johnnyboy
    Participant

    Makes sense Tbone

    #35429
    Kubed
    Participant

    If i’m not wrong, the US publishers/libraries have accounts in all 3 US PROs (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC) so, they’ll register your tracks to your PRO. At least that’s what i can tell from the libraries i work with.

    #35436
    Music1234
    Participant

    Tbone, any serious publisher will be “Publisher members” (i.e. affiliated as a publisher) at all 3 PRO’s because they are most likely representing the works of writers from all 3 PRO’s.

    If someone is a “writer” at ASCAP, but a “publisher” at SESAC all they have to do is apply to become a publisher at ASCAP to resolve their conflicts.

    #35440
    Tbone
    Participant

    Hi Music1234,

    I understand this is how it works in most cases, but I’ve just checked the ASCAP repertory, and as strange as this seems, this particular publisher doesn’t seem to have any tracks registered there at all. They seem to only be with SESAC. I’m not sure how this works.. They are a big publisher and not new either.

    When I looked them up on ASCAP, all it said was that this publisher was a member of SESAC. I can’t figure this out.

    #35445
    Michael Nickolas
    Participant

    Wouldn’t they have to be using a different company name on ascap?

    #35447
    Music1234
    Participant

    @Tbone, well they clearly do not know what they are doing. If they represent works by an ASCAP writer, the only way to collect publishing royalties for that writer’s works is by having a publishing entity affiliated with ASCAP. This is the case worldwide, at every PRO.

    My ASCAP publishing entity can not collect publishers royalties for a SESAC or BMI writer.

    My Hunch is that maybe there is a weird scenario where the publisher moved an entire catalog over to SESAC and there is a glitch in the system (for now).

    The easiest solution for all is to be a publisher member at all 3 PRO’s.

    #35449
    Tbone
    Participant

    Maybe Michael Nickolas is on to something here.. I’m guessing they use a different name at ASCAP? Is that because they’d need to have a different IPI there? That would explain why I can’t find them by searching for their normal name.

    #35450
    johnnyboy
    Participant

    Yes, I know one of my publishers uses a different name for ASCAP than BMI.

    #35451
    Art Munson
    Keymaster

    Yes, I know one of my publishers uses a different name for ASCAP than BMI.

    Yes, it’s not uncommon.

    #35519
    Tom Rule
    Guest

    Corrwct, tbone. A friend, Joey Stuckey, and I co-created an album (wrote, produced, etc.). I’m ASCAP, he’s BMI. We agreed for him to act as publisher – he has two companies, one for each PRO.

    #37697
    briangoral
    Participant

    Hello,
    I find myself in a similar situation. I am an ASCAP writer and completed an album of tracks at the end of last year for a large publisher. I just discovered that a few years back they removed their entire catalogue and affiliation from ASCAP to SESAC. I couldn’t figure out why months after the release my tracks did not appear in my dashboard portal or in the repertory search. They do appear when I try to register them myself and can see my IPI, splits, and that said publisher is with SESAC. From my understanding from the ASCAP site, international royalties will eventually appear via ASCAP but I’m not sure how I will get anything domestically in the US as SESAC is an exclusive invite only PRO. I read that SESAC should disburse royalties to the writer, but there is no way to see any statement of usage. I only know of usage because of Tunesat. Anyone have any further experience with this?

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