(75) BMI AND OTHER REGISTRIES TO PROTECT THE SONGWRITER

In the early 1960's I decided it was time to officially join either BMI or ASCAP. BMI - Broadcast Music, Inc. and ASCAP- The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, were there to make sure that a songwriter got his or her residuals - payment for work that was recorded by others or used by others in a performance. At the time it seemed that most of the younger guys - my peers - were choosing BMI.

Link to the official BMI web site above!

And here's the official ASCAP web site:

http://www.ascap.com/index.html

A songwriter can be a member of one or both of these organizations. It's a choice. You can also choose not to join at all. BMI and ASCAP don't have worldwide authority. There are other organizations that do what these two do for their member artists. For instance, a Canadian songwriter usually signs up with their Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada - SOCAN.

http://www.socan.ca/

In England - the United Kingdom - it's the Performing Rights Society NEW LINK!

http://www.prsformusic.com/Pages/default.aspx

These organizations monitor the use or play of a song and provide collection and pay services for "performance royalties" to the publishers and the songwriters. Each and every time a song is played on the radio or the television there are royalties to be paid to the publisher, to the performer, and to the songwriter(s.)

So if you're a serious songwriter and want to make money from your creative output, the thing to do is to register with a publisher. Now at American Music, I agreed that songs I wrote within the capacity of my job were owned by American Music for a period of time, and then all rights returned to me. And they are - just in the last few years!