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Question About BMI

TnyjMuzic	Date: May 17, 2008 @ 9:56 AM Is anyone here signed with a Preforming Rights Socitey like BMI, ASCAP, etc? I was on the web getting ready to sign with BMI as a writer and wanted to know if i should. They were asking for all sorts of information like Mother's maiden name, Social Securtiy Number, etc.
GeneHilbert	Date: May 17, 2008 @ 11:02 AM Unless you are getting national radio, television, or you are receiving monies for licensed use of you musical works. It is useless to sign up, or you would be rejected. I am an ASCAP member - and have been so for years...... They don't do shit for you - unless you are receiving licensed royalties. Even then I have heard horror stories about them being slow to pay and/or being totality delinquent.
GeneHilbert	Date: May 17, 2008 @ 11:08 AM Also let me add, they have a practice strong arming, essentially extorting monies from club owners who offer live cover music. A highly questionable and counter productive practice for preforming musicians.
TnyjMuzic	Date: May 17, 2008 @ 12:27 PM Gene what about if your getting Internet Radio airplay?
GeneHilbert	Date: May 17, 2008 @ 9:14 PM The internet is still the new frontier and the same set of standards don't apply - at least not yet. Even tracking and attempting to enforce such a thing would prove to be monumental. Hell to my knowledge there is still a debate going on about terrestrial vs satellite radio. I have heard of no definitive answer either way. But I suspect that if you follow the money, those are the players with all of the aces. Bet with them.....
leflaw	Date: May 17, 2008 @ 9:20 PM The real issue, imho, is whether to join sound exchange
zedsalt	Date: May 18, 2008 @ 3:23 AM The Bowel Movement Index is a formula which provides a rough idea of how well your body is metabolizing foodstuffs by taking into account... Ooops. Sorry. Wrong BMI.
ShadowMom	Date: May 18, 2008 @ 6:35 AM Not if you consider sound exchange as the toilet.
Rodrica	Date: May 18, 2008 @ 7:24 AM To be honest...if you want to go down the route of making money from songs via radio, TV etc, you are probably better off trying to get yourself a deal with a publisher who will take care of all that stuff. Sure, publishers take a cut, but then having been in situations where I've had to handle a load of publicity or financial negotiations, I'd say it's money worth sharing - the hassle and time alone can put you under huge stress - and publishers have all the experience you need. Publishers have better contacts and a better set up in order to protect your rights...and of course it's in their interests to make maximum money for you (and themselves). If you have a publishing deal, then they ensure money is collected on your behalf and you don't necessarily have to be a member of BMI, ASCAP or whatever yourself.
GeneHilbert	Date: May 18, 2008 @ 9:14 AM That's good advice Rodz...
TnyjMuzic	Date: May 18, 2008 @ 10:11 AM What exactly in Sound Exchange? I had heard of them and from my understanding they do the exactly what BMI and ASCAP does. from what i read here i don't think it would be worth it for me to sign to BMI as a writer since i thought i could possibly earn royalities from Internet Radio play.
GeneHilbert	Date: May 18, 2008 @ 10:35 AM If that were true a lot of use here would be a very wealthy people.... Sorry Dude.... I have to research sound exchange. I have no idea what they do.
Distilled1	Date: May 18, 2008 @ 1:33 PM I thought Sound exchange was the one that counted units sold? or is that sound ____.
ShadowMom	Date: May 18, 2008 @ 2:11 PM According to Wikipedia, "SoundExchange is a non-profit performance rights organization that collects royalties on the behalf of sound recording copyright owners (SRCOs) and featured artists for non-interactive digital transmissions, including satellite and internet radio." Disbursing the moneys is another thing entirely.
zedsalt	Date: May 19, 2008 @ 3:35 AM The only times I've heard anything that contradicts what Rodrica said, I was listening to people who didn't properly check out the publisher. What I've been told is to apply many of the same standards I would to finding a good auto mechanic and make darn good and sure that the publisher meets those standards. Oh, and Dis'- Soundscan are the folks who track every recording with a UPC code.
zedsalt	Date: May 19, 2008 @ 3:46 AM Interesting fact: RIAA releases are (or at least, were at one time) logged as sales when they're "transported from the point of manufacture", even when that means just going to a warehouse. And they're still tanking compared to Indie releases.
ShadowMom	Date: May 19, 2008 @ 5:01 AM One would suspect that their warehouses must be full.
Distilled1	Date: May 19, 2008 @ 5:51 AM tha it soundscan!
southwing	Date: May 24, 2008 @ 6:45 PM Well, for about three years I've been an ASCAP member. I get a quarterly report revealing $0 dollars paid to (insert my name here), cause we never did anything with our music.. I paid nothing for this account, just signed up with ASCAP (and got a membership #). For a long time I thought, What do I need this for? Now, we have a CD on the 'AMI Entertainment Internet Jukebox'. The member # is the only way we can get paid the royalties due us for each time a KNIGHTMOODS song is played on the jukebox. It pays really poor, pays a mere fraction of the dollar you have to spend to hear it in a bar, but shit, mere, is better than nothing. & Besides, we stream out stuff for free on the net...but you don't get the 'net' in a BAR! so why not get something for hitting the jukebox and telling the locals..... Hey Tim, Thats US!
Tattoomom	Date: October 1, 2008 @ 4:24 PM BMI? Body Mass Index?! That's not a cool thing to ask a girl about!
zedsalt	Date: January 8, 2009 @ 9:35 AM It's more fun to just squeeze and guess...
Distilled1	Date: January 8, 2009 @ 1:35 PM southwing, how did you get into the AMI Jukebox? Empire Day are in about 100 old school CD juke boxes at bars and lodges that we played or went to and asked the owner to put it in. But I always wonderd about the new mp3, internet based jukes that are over priced lol.
zedsalt	Date: January 9, 2009 @ 9:26 AM Man, that would be cool! I'm pretty sure I've never been in a jukebox, solo or as part of a group. But a tape from my last "real" band was highly requested at a "floatation center" (kind of like a tanning booth business, only with sensory deprivation tanks like the one in the movie "Altered States).

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