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ASCAP & BMI - Protectors of Artists or Shadowy Thieves? By Harvey Reid www.woodpecker.com NOTE: I first wrote this article in 1993 when I became intrigued with the complexity of the music licensing system, and to help educate those who are affected by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. I have been tinkering with it ever since trying to keep it more up-to-date, since I want to help shed some light on a complicated situation that has a large impact on musicians, music listeners and places where music happens.

My experience is that musicians, venues and the general public know almost nothing of this system that has a great deal of influence in the music business, and involves nearly a billion dollars annually. These organizations exist by a strange set of legal circumstances, and are very little understood or regulated, yet they have a wide influence and control a lot of money in the modern music industry and in hundreds of thousands of places of business. A number of publications declined to publish this, not wishing to stir up too much trouble.

Welcome to ASCAP. The worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters, composers and music publishers. BMI, music royalty, music publishing, music licensing, songwriter, copyright, composer | BMI.com. SESAC Home. Copyright Law and Public Domain. Sound Recording Rule of Thumb: There are NO Sound Recordings in the Public Domain in the USA. Songs and Musical Works have always been protected under U.S. federal copyright law. But sound recordings and records were so new and rare in the early 1900s, they were not included in the Copyright Act of 1909. Until 1976, sound recordings were protected by a hodge-podge tangle of state, county, and city laws. Many state and local laws included sound recordings under common law, which meant that ownership was forever and, unlike copyright protection, ownership of a sound recording would NEVER expire.

The Copyright Act of 1976 created a copyright category called Sound Recordings that now provides federal copyright protection for CD's, MP3's, WAV files, records, and other music recordings made after February 15, 1972. These Sound Recordings receive copyright protection for 70 years after the death of the last surviving author. Sure, there are always a few exceptions to every rule. Copyright Limbo | incompetech. I’m sure it is no surprise to anyone that copyright is not a simple thing. When you deal in international law, things get even worse. As base, there are compositions that are under copyright protection, and there are compositions in the Public Domain (no copyright protection). Public Domain If you were to record Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos (written around 1715) – the compositions are in the Public Domain, and you can release your recording with no worries about paying licenses to anyone.

Copyright in Effect On the other side – if you record Regina Spektor’s (who is still alive – and also quite good) compositions – you would certainly need a license. International Limbo And then there’s people in Limbo. So, if I record and release “Also sprach Zarathustra” in the US – I’m all good… until you watch it in Spain. Let’s go to the map… Image by Balfour Smith at Duke University For every new color, there are some composers in a different kind of limbo. How to Run a Copyright Check for Songs. How to Obtain Copyrights on Songs. Future of Music Coalition | Education, Research and Advocacy for Musicians.