Cash flow of music performance royalties

[MarkTaylorSongs]

new to taxi, really enjoying it so far! Through this process I have begun to get my "docs and ducks in a row", and this includes registering and activating my PRO account w/ ASCAP. I feel pretty confident with everything, but i have one quick question:

What is the cash flow path to receive the writer's share of performance royalties? I specifically ask this because on the ASCAP website it states that you should only register your work in question under the publishing account if you own the writer and publishing share. Furthermore, it states that even if an outside publisher gets your work placed, that they should be the only one w/ the work registered. They want us to do this because it will prevent delays in payment. If this is true, how would the writer get paid if it's not registered under their account? I thought I read in Passman's book that the writer's share DOES NOT flow through the hands of the publisher whatsoever....

[mazz]

Here's the basics as I understand them from the standpoint of a fairly prolific instrumental composer writing for and/or pitching to libraries and publishers via Taxi:

The library/publisher will register the pieces they sign from you with the PRO. They will register them to themselves as the publisher and you as the writer. Also, if they place a piece before they register it and it shows up in ASCAP's office on a cue sheet, it will still be registered by ASCAP off the cue sheet information, which, if it's correct, should list the library/publisher as the publisher and you as the writer (this has happened to me several times).

If you register the pieces yourself as both writer and publisher, and then you assign the publishing to a library or publisher (which is the most common deal out there in my experience), then they need to have the publishing assignment fixed, which can take a long time and would delay any payments to both of you while the paperwork is going through. It's a slow enough process getting paid, you don't want to prolong it if at all possible.

I would imagine things are a bit trickier for artists who have a smaller catalog (singer/songwriters, some bands, etc.) that they self publish. If they decide to have someone else publish their material for film and TV placements, then they need to work something out, and I'm sure there are ways to do it. In fact, my understanding is that this exact situation is why re-titling was "invented" in the first place. Artists that were marketing their music directly to the public via iTunes, shows, etc., would put a song in a library and the library would re-title it and would be able to market it to their production clients, which is a completely different market than the artists' direct to the public one. Of course, the re-titling thing got out of hand, but that's another story.

So depending on what types of music you are going to do, that will kind of guide your strategy of registering with your PRO. I have a bunch of music signed out there with different libraries, and I don't register any of it myself. The publishers either register it ahead of time or it gets registered when and if it gets used.

HTH and good luck on your journey!!

Mazz

PS: The writer's share of the Performance Royalties does not flow through the publisher, the writer is paid directly by the PRO.

[MarkTaylorSongs]

thanks for the reply! that actually helped clear up a few things that i thought i understood completely already....

I guess my only question left is why does ASCAP recommend (via their website) me to NOT register the songs under my writer's account? If the writer's share flows directly to the writer, how would it get there if it's not registered?

[mazz]

Let the publisher register it to you as the writer. It will be cleaner that way. IMO, the only reason you would register it yourself is if you were also publishing it yourself and registering it as the publisher as well.

They are probably saying that so that you would avoid duplicate registrations, one from you and one from the publisher.

Maybe matto can help clear this up if he swings by.

Mazz

[Casey H]

thanks for the reply! that actually helped clear up a few things that i thought i understood completely already....

I guess my only question left is why does ASCAP recommend (via their website) me to NOT register the songs under my writer's account? If the writer's share flows directly to the writer, how would it get there if it's not registered?

Because when you register a song you have to specify who gets the publisher's share. If you are planning on collecting the publisher's share yourself(*), then you can (if you want) go ahead and register the song. This would apply mainly if you were marketing your song directly to end users (such as film/TV music supervisors). IF you signed with a library or publisher, THEY would register the song with you as the writer and them as the publisher, as mazz said.

(*) Check with your PRO on how to to this. With some PRO's, you can only do this is you create a publishing company with them- I think ASCAP is like that. I've been told that BMI lets you collect the publisher's share without having a publishing company.

Keep in mind that domestic PRO payments are 6 months (sometimes 9 months) behind broadcasts so there is plenty of time between an actual usage and when a track needed to be registered. Payments for international usage typically take 18 months - 2 years.

Casey

[matto]

Mark, I think the thing that is confusing you is this:

When a publisher registers your song with ASCAP, they have to indicate who the publihser(s) is/are, and they have to indicate who the writer(s) is/are. For any writers who are also ASCAP members, ASCAP's database will automatically copy that entry (with both writer and publisher info) into the writer's account as well.

So, without you moving a finger, the song WILL be registered in your ASCAP account.

HTH,

matto

[mazz]

Always cutting to the chase, that matto!!

[peeyo]

I always register every song I complete with ASCAP. Should I forgo registering any new songs all together and wait until a library/publisher picks up that song and let them do it? I was under the assumption that us registering our own songs was part of getting our ducks in a row....I want to make sure I'm making it as easy as possible on whatever library or publisher might want to sign one of my songs.
Learning something new everyday,
Paul

[matto]

Paul, you may wanna read this thread too...

http://forums.taxi.com/topic26657.html

[peeyo]

Thanks for the link matto. Still very confusing and daunting stuff. I have always registered my songs in a collection when I copyright them. Let's say I am lucky enough to hit the lottery on one of these ad agency listings, is the fact that the particular song is copyrighted in a collection going to kill the deal? Can I take a song that is already copyrighted in a collection and copyright it on its own as well?
Paul