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Got a question? Try Ask the MMA What is a performance rights organization, and what is its role in public music performances?
Q: What is a performance rights organization, and what is its role in public music performances?
A: Performance rights organizations—such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC)—are nonprofit groups that protect their members’ musical copyrights by monitoring public performances—whether live or broadcast—and compensating the members accordingly. The PROs collect licensing fees from users of music created by their members. These organizations pursue infringement actions against entities, including cities and towns, that perform copyrighted music without permission.
Whether a music performance is public depends on the place at which it is performed, according to attorney William Grothe, president of MPL Consultants. Is the place open to the public or is it a place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered? The bolded words and phrases are each open to interpretation and are not defined in the Copyright Law.
How can you tell whether licenses must be obtained from one, two or all three PROs? This requires an analysis of the copyrighted musical compositions actually performed. Through this process, it is possible for some music users to confine the music used to those compositions represented by just one of the three PROs. Doing so, Grothe says, will substantially reduce the music licensing expenses.
Got a question? Try Ask the MMA What is a performance rights organization, and what is its role in public music performances?
What is a performance rights organization, and what is its role in public music performances?
Q: What is a performance rights organization, and what is its role in public music performances?
A: Performance rights organizations—such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC)—are nonprofit groups that protect their members’ musical copyrights by monitoring public performances—whether live or broadcast—and compensating the members accordingly. The PROs collect licensing fees from users of music created by their members. These organizations pursue infringement actions against entities, including cities and towns, that perform copyrighted music without permission.
Whether a music performance is public depends on the place at which it is performed, according to attorney William Grothe, president of MPL Consultants. Is the place open to the public or is it a place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered? The bolded words and phrases are each open to interpretation and are not defined in the Copyright Law.
How can you tell whether licenses must be obtained from one, two or all three PROs? This requires an analysis of the copyrighted musical compositions actually performed. Through this process, it is possible for some music users to confine the music used to those compositions represented by just one of the three PROs. Doing so, Grothe says, will substantially reduce the music licensing expenses.
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