| In 2008, the 3 U.S. performing right organizations collected close to Two Billion Dollars with ASCAP and BMI both in excess of 900 Million Dollars each. Close to 88% of that money was distributed as royalties to songwriters, composers and music publishers. However, as these three U.S. organizations are organized differently, have entirely different payment formulas, owners, contracts, and philosophies, and collect different amounts of money, the decision as to which one a writer and publisher should join or affiliate with should not be taken lightly, as millions of dollars in royalty income can be at stake if the wrong decision is made.
Two of the most important considerations in this decision should be which organization will best protect your copyrights over their entire copyright life and which organization will compensate you best, both in the short term as well as the long term, for U.S. and foreign performances of your works.
The primary areas that need to be considered include the length of a writer's or publisher's contract and the procedures to terminate that contract if one wants to leave, fairness and equality of treatment in the distribution of royalties; recognition of the value of all of a writer's and publisher's copyrights whether they be new or old works, procedures whereby each organization changes its payment rules, relationships with foreign performing right organizations, maximum and accurate collection of foreign income; internal procedures for handling foreign money, transparency of payments and rules, adequate and experienced staffing in the member relations area, and overall licensing strategy in both the traditional as well as online worlds.
Although many writers at the start of their careers fail to appreciate the importance of this decision, it represents one of the most important ones they will ever make, as it will affect performance royalties for the life of the copyright of a composition. Mistakes can be costly in this area, and it is far better to learn the basics at the start of one's career rather than midway or at the end.
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