score for feature film, who submits cue sheets for BMI

[mikehalloran]

>Can you be a member of both PRS's? .<

Read the Uniform Consent Decree: Only one PRO at a time. Most switch the entire catalog like when Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond jumped to SESAC, John Fogarty went to BMI or John Lennon to ASCAP.

But... it is possible to have your old catalog with one PRO and anything newer than a certain date with another. Elton John and Johnny Cash are two examples - in both cases, ASCAP members whose early work is still BMI. When asked why, Elton replied, "I like ASCAP".

>I knew a major-ish band whose two main co-writers were with different PRS's<

Quite common. Until a few years ago, there was "a major-ish band" called The Beatles ... or something like that. Originally BMI, three of the writers jumped to ASCAP, for the last few years it's "All Together Now".

>Maybe we should start our own PRO: B-MOTUCAP???<

Only if you can fool everyone into thinking you were formed before 1939. Again, read the Uniform Consent Decree. Only the three who existed before 1939 are allowed to do business here: ASCAP (1914), SESAC (1930) BMI (1939).

>'m all for switching to ASCAP - my favorite PRO and my peeps.<

No argument from me. I am a member since 1986.

The above opinions are my own and based on information freely available to the public in print and on the web.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Both ASCAP and BMI have told me if I switch my catalogue could suffer income losses. Do it again? Probably ASCAP, but BMI has been VERY good to me as well. I can't complain.

[mikehalloran]

Neil Diamond once said that film composers generally did better with BMI. Since he was with ASCAP at the time and later switched to SESAC, i don't know the source of his information.