Bonafide Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 Any one with any experience with any of these companies? Any personal real life experience would be very helpful. I really need to sign up with an Agency like this soon. I was a member of ASCAP years ago but really don't remember anything. [url=http://www.rodneygene.com][b]Official Rodney Gene Website[/b][/url] Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvster Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 I'm an ASCAP Writer member and have had good luck. I've had two music licensing deals for the past ten years with companies that spot my music into [mostly] television shows, and -- though it's impossible to be 100% sure -- it looks like I've been getting the proper royalites. As a matter of fact, one of the companies is Japanese and ASCAP handles the payments for me through JASRAC (Japan's big performing rights society). I've also found ASCAP's ancillary services and customer service to be great. Amazing what you get for a $10/yr. membership fee. Had *one* big problem where they cut a large royalty check by mistake and didn't tell me there was an error for three months (someone misplaced a decimal point). The repayment was deducted from future statements. All that said, this is a commercial composer's view. Don't know how songwriters and artists -- folks who need to make a lot of dough through radio surveys and such -- feel. Hope this helps. Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curve Dominant Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 I'm both a writer- and publisher-member of ASCAP, Rod. BMI seems to be a runner-up. I don't think you have to worry about Harry Fox, because they distribute to ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, et al. (I believe; anyone want to confirm or deny? I have some cash-flow charts around here somewhere that explain all of that.) I went with ASCAP because they took me, and all of the heavy-hitters are there. I actually get checks from ASCAP, for works that I've published which aren't even in stores. Non-profit arts type stuff. Pretty cool. But if one of your songs gets on the radio, or TV or the web or whatever, whether it's you or some other artist performing it, you'll want to be in ASCAP. That's how you get paid. E [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] Eric Vincent (ASCAP) www.curvedominant.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvster Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 [quote]Originally posted by Curve Dominant: [b]I don't think you have to worry about Harry Fox, because they distribute to ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, et al. (I believe; anyone want to confirm or deny? I have some cash-flow charts around here somewhere that explain all of that.)[/b][/quote] Doesn't quite work that way. Harry Fox collects *mechanical* royalites and distributes them to publishers; ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC collect *performance* royalties and distribute them to publishers and writers. If I'm not mistaken, the rights societies in some countries handle both mechanical and performance (or there's not a legal distinction in that country), but in the US they're different channels. But I'm far from an expert on this stuff. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonafide Posted September 7, 2001 Author Share Posted September 7, 2001 Hey Curve and Marv, Thanks for the help, That is great. I have a few friends that have gone through the ropes in the biz and most recommend ASCAP. I appreciate the feedback. [url=http://www.rodneygene.com]Rodney Gene[/url] Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 Why is ASCAP better than BMI when collecting radio play royalties? I always heard the other way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonafide Posted September 7, 2001 Author Share Posted September 7, 2001 I just signed up with ASCAP. I read over both (ASCAP and BMI)info online today and just got a cooler vibe From ASCAP. Thanks again for the help. [url=http://www.rodneygene.com]Rodney Gene[/url] Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curve Dominant Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 [b]quote: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Originally posted by Curve Dominant: I don't think you have to worry about Harry Fox, because they distribute to ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, et al. (I believe; anyone want to confirm or deny? I have some cash-flow charts around here somewhere that explain all of that.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Doesn't quite work that way. Harry Fox collects *mechanical* royalites and distributes them to publishers; ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC collect *performance* royalties and distribute them to publishers and writers. If I'm not mistaken, the rights societies in some countries handle both mechanical and performance (or there's not a legal distinction in that country), but in the US they're different channels. But I'm far from an expert on this stuff. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. Marv[/b] Marv, You are exactly right, I remember now, thanks for that clarification ie: Harry Fox. The only $$$ I ever got was from performance fees, so I was a little shaky on the mechanical side. ASCAP collects more $$$ than any other PRO, and a much higher ratio goes out to artists. I've gone to their annual meetings in NYC. They are truly aggressive in finding new ways to collect fees for artists. A little too aggressive sometimes, if you talk to a club or bar owner. E [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] Eric Vincent (ASCAP) www.curvedominant.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvster Posted September 8, 2001 Share Posted September 8, 2001 [quote]Originally posted by Curve Dominant: [b]A little too aggressive sometimes, if you talk to a club or bar owner.[/b][/quote] Or the Girl Scouts. ;-) Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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