[Dixielandjazz] Who is BMI?

[Steve Barbone]

sharp-b at clearwire.net asked about BMI (polite snip)

> Just exactly who are these people who show up and demand this money
> and level the fines? Do they actually have the legal authority to do
> so? ?Are they from out of town, just sweeping through, threatening
> people with fines, hoping they'll pay up??

BMI is a performing rights organization which collects license fees on
behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers that it represents
and distributes them as royalties to those members who works have been
performed. They represent 300,000 + composers/publishers and have 6,500,000
songs under their control. ASCAP probably has more.

They issue licenses to various users of music like radio and TV stations,
internet music providers, ringtones, nightclubs, discos, restaurants,
jukeboxes, live concerts, etc. They then track the public performances of
members music and collect/distribute royalties to them. Easily tracked in
large venues, radio, TV, Downloads, etc.

So far, so good. HOWEVER. In restaurant, or other small venue live
performances it is impossible for them to track whose music was played. So
they charge a flat fee to those venues which is calculated on venue size,
and number of performances per year.

ASCAP and SESAC operate in similar fashion.

Who get those live unaudited Royalties? Probably only the top
composers/publishing houses. Probably not the composer or publisher of the
songs we play in the Dixieland genre.

Fees, start around $600 per year for a blanket license plus $35 per live
performance. In essence, assuming all 3 companies go after a venue that has
OKOM on weekends, that is $1800 for the three licenses and $35 times 3,
times 104 or $10,920 per year, plus the $1800 for a total of $12,720 payable
by the restaurant, or pizza hut, or what ever. Maybe that's why Shakey's
quit having banjo groups perform? Who needs to spend an extra $12,720 above
the band cost when you can use radio music without charge.

BMI represents 300,000 + composers, publishers and has 6,500,000 songs under
their control. ASCAP has more.

That's why public domain songs are important. Any song published before
1/1/23 is no longer copyrighted and therefore not subject to license charges
of any kind. However, since Congressman Sonny Bono got a copyright extension
law passed before he skied into a tree, NO SONGS THAT ARE COPYRIGHTED AFTER
1/21/23 WILL ENTER PUBLIC DOMAIN UNTIL AFTER 2019. (Because under the Bono
law, songs copyrighted between 1923 and 1978 are now protected for 95 years.
So those 1923 songs, plus 95 more years of protection = 1/1/2019)

You can probably bet the farm that when 2019 arrives, some "poor" soul
crying about intellectual property will lobby Congress for additional
extensions. It is a shameless rip-off. But it is also quite legal and if
push comes to shove, BMI et al will most always win in court should they
bring a suit and the fines are a lot larger than the licenses.

Partial solution is to carry a list of public Domain Songs with you and play
them, and or write and play your own music. Show the list to Guido from BMI
when he shows up to check a venue. :-) VBG.

BTW, songs copyrighted after 1978 are protected for the life of the last
living author plus 70 years.

Now you know why Michael Jackson bought the rights to a lot of Beatles
tunes. They constitute a money factory for him.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone