At what point is arranging becoming original music?

[mikehalloran]

>To tell you the truth, once I thought about dropping SGAE and going to ASCAP or BMI... they seem to be a bit more effective or more organized, but that may be just my own bias.<

I don't know how you go about making that work beyond certain basics: The American PROs collect the monies from American businesses and deliver them to foreign writers through their own PROs. If the monies are generated in Mexico then belonging to ASCAP or BMI wouldn't help. If, however, you are getting airplay on Spanish language stations in the USA, then perhaps you do need to see if joining an American PRO would add to your income. You wouldn't give up SGAE - just like Paul McCartney still belongs to PRS. Only ASCAP and BMI Membership Services will be able to tell you how/if you are to go about this.

>The broadcasters don't "own" BMI per se<

Actually, they do. They don't take a profit from it neither do they run it.

ASCAP is a membership society owned by its members. SESAC is a privately owned for profit company.

I am an ASCAP member since 1986. The views expressed in these posts are my own opinion. I am not a lawyer and am not practicing law.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

FWIW, if I had it to do over again I be ASCAP as a composer and BMI as a publisher.

[mikehalloran]

FWIW, if I had it to do over again I be ASCAP as a composer and BMI as a publisher.

You can be a publisher member of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC (under three company names, of course). You may belong to only one as a writer member, however and the publisher of your songs must belong to the same PRO.

Songwriting teams do this all the time. Each member will belong to a separate PRO while both members own both publishing companies.

Until recently, Lennon was BMI while McCartney was ASCAP. John Lennon's estate switched to ASCAP two or three years ago - about the time that Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond switched to SESAC. I don't know when John Fogarty went BMI but it wasn't that long ago. Usually, when someone switches, he takes the whole catalog with him but old Elton John is BMI while anything after a certain date is ASCAP.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I'm aware of that but I have a lot of stuff coming in under BMI and cannot move it without creating collection difficulties. You don't simply reassign PROs of existing works and expect there to not be substantial problems. I know, I made that mistake with CMI about 15 years ago and have lost a bundle in sub-publishing income from Europe. If I did change, it would be as a writer to ASCAP and I looked into the about 10 years ago. The response from ASCAP was less than welcoming (and that was from the L.A. head at the time). I even started the process and they never completed it so I just left it as it was. BMI has greatly improved classical royalties since then so I'm happy where I am, but I always tell new composers to go with ASCAP as a writer and BMI as a publisher.

[mikehalloran]

Its funny. Neil Diamond tells budding film composers to go BMI but, when he switched from ASCAP, it was to go with SESAC. Go figure.

>I always tell new composers to go with ASCAP as a writer and BMI as a publisher.<

Too bad you can't do that unless you are (or have) a co-writer. It does make a lot of sense for members of songwriting teams to join different PROs, however.

[FMiguelez]

.

I suppose I'd rather stay with SGAE. Otherwise, the transition would most certainly be a mess, and I could loose a lot of money.

It is already VERY complicated, and, frankly, I lost control over this long ago. Every 6 months I get several hundred pages from SGAE showing which countries they are paying, but it would almost be impossible to control who has and hasn't paid. Dates and countries are skewed, sometimes they list by country, sometimes by show, sometimes by piece....

I have been offered a private service where they look at these things under a microscope, and try to control these payments better. They are called "Control Freaks" (my kind of name ), and for a fee, they insist they would make me get fatter checks after they have a heavier control. I'm thinking about it. They told me some very busy composers use them (or a similar service) all the time.

But I must say I'm pretty happy with SGAE. They just gave me a very nice advance on my future royalties (I want to buy an apartment as an investment).

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I have been offered a private service where they look at these things under a microscope, and try to control these payments better.

DON'T DO IT! That's what CMI was about and I lost plenty because of their ineptitude. Their Italy associate is STILL collecting my royalties! My losses to them a quite substantial. All they did was fu(k up my cue sheets. That was about 18 years ago and they're still not right. A nightmare.

[mikehalloran]

I have been offered a private service where they look at these things under a microscope, and try to control these payments better.

DON'T DO IT! That's what CMI was about and I lost plenty because of their ineptitude. Their Italy associate is STILL collecting my royalties! My losses to them a quite substantial. All they did was fu(k up my cue sheets. That was about 18 years ago and they're still not right. A nightmare.

Agreed! Don't do it!

It reminds me of Mick Fleetwood's statement about hiring a manager to watch his agent then hiring a lawyer to watch the other two... only to walk into a room where all three were discussing the best ways to screw him.

Unfortunately for us creative artists, we must take control of - or at least watch very carefully - our business interests.

[David Polich]

FMiguelez, as soon as I read the first post of your thread, I said
to myself, "this chick's gonna cancel anyway cause she wants it done
cheap."

Without exception, when people have approached me with similar "offers", they have always backed out when I told them what it would cost. Why? because
they're so friggin' clueless that they think what they're asking is both
easy and can be done quickly.