Registering Songs in PROs Before Signing Library Deals

[andygabrys]

EVERY OTHER LIBRARY, non-exclusive or exclusive will handle the registrations themselves.

As always, Andy, you are a wealth of information!!!
Thank You for your constant help!

So with the above reasoning...
I have a documentarian who is going to use a bunch of my solo tunes for his latest project.
My assumption, since I will be dealing with him directly, is that I will register each tune with ASCAP since I am in control.
Correct???

Here is what I can't remember at the moment, which organization do I upload the tunes to so that they get tracked?
TuneSAT?
SoundScan?

Hi Cass - yes since you are pitching direct to the film, register each piece with you as the writer, and your publishing company as the publisher.

Part of your contract with the film maker should include some language like "a complete cue sheet will be filled out by the film producer and forwarded to you no more than 60 days after final mix of the film" etc and it should also be sent to ASCAP when the film is broadcast (fingers crossed that it is broadcast:)

Tunesat tracks plays, but unless you have never registered any tunes with them and can do the 50 tune free account, don't bother. It's relatively expensive and only makes sense IMHO if you are making a LOT of royalty income.

Soundscan idk. Maybe somebody can chime in.

[cassmcentee]

Thank you Andy!

[cademan7]

EVERY OTHER LIBRARY, non-exclusive or exclusive will handle the registrations themselves.

As always, Andy, you are a wealth of information!!!
Thank You for your constant help!

So with the above reasoning...
I have a documentarian who is going to use a bunch of my solo tunes for his latest project.
My assumption, since I will be dealing with him directly, is that I will register each tune with ASCAP since I am in control.
Correct???

Here is what I can't remember at the moment, which organization do I upload the tunes to so that they get tracked?
TuneSAT?
SoundScan?

Hi Cass - yes since you are pitching direct to the film, register each piece with you as the writer, and your publishing company as the publisher.

Part of your contract with the film maker should include some language like "a complete cue sheet will be filled out by the film producer and forwarded to you no more than 60 days after final mix of the film" etc and it should also be sent to ASCAP when the film is broadcast (fingers crossed that it is broadcast:)

Tunesat tracks plays, but unless you have never registered any tunes with them and can do the 50 tune free account, don't bother. It's relatively expensive and only makes sense IMHO if you are making a LOT of royalty income.

Soundscan idk. Maybe somebody can chime in.

Hey Andy! I have a couple of questions I think you could help clarify. First, I was contacted by a music supervisor for a show and he asked for my ascap info since he was going to use one of my pieces in his show. I didn't register the work, I assumed that was something that someone else would handle (which may be the problem), but I don't see it in my catalog on ASCAP and it aired last November 2015. Did I do this totally wrong? Also, when I sign with a library that uses a different PRO, do they register the work with my PRO? I'm so confused that these questions may not even make sense. haha Sorry if I'm confusing you at all. Any clarity anybody can offer on any of these issues is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Cade

[andygabrys]

...I was contacted by a music supervisor for a show and he asked for my ascap info since he was going to use one of my pieces in his show.

Congrats! That'ts great!

Yes the Music Supervisor wanted your ASCAP info so he could fill out a cue sheet when it was broadcast. A cue sheet filed at ASCAP = you getting paid back end royalty for the placement

I didn't register the work, I assumed that was something that someone else would handle (which may be the problem), but I don't see it in my catalog on ASCAP and it aired last November 2015. Did I do this totally wrong?

Well usually you take responsibility for direct to Super / Agency / Film maker / Producer placements and register them with your writer PRO and your publisher PRO info. You do that because in these situations unless the music supervisor is functioning as a library (which does happen but you would know this as they would have had you sign paperwork indicating that they were assuming the publishing etc) - then you are going to receive both "sides" of the income. Writers and Publishers. Cha-Ching!

If you don't register the piece, then you are depending on a proper registration of the cue via cue sheet. Hopefully the super has your Publisher info as well as I don't think ASCAP lets you collect the publishers share with only our writers account, but BMI does.

We might have to get some other people to chime in here with their experiences, as my PRO is BMI. If there is ever a broadcast of a piece of mine that doesn't already have a registration (and sometimes even if it does if the title is messed up) I get a registration of the piece via cue sheet in my BMI account.

November 2015 isn't really that long ago, and filing of cue sheets and so on often can take some time. First off - a November 2015 placement is part of the 4th quarter of 2015, which is paid out at a minimum of 6 months after the close of the quarter. That would be June disbursement.

So if it doesn't show up in the next 6 months, then you know something is likely wrong, but for the mean time, I would go ahead and register the piece in your ASCAP writer and publisher accounts. If you have a record of what the piece was actually titled when it was placed that should be fairly easy to complete.

Also, when I sign with a library that uses a different PRO, do they register the work with my PRO?

This one is easy. Every domestic library / publisher has several publishing companies. One under ASCAP, one under BMI and likely one under SESAC. So if you are ASCAP writer, they will register the piece as:

writer: CADE 100% ASCAP
publisher: Cool Kats Publishing 100% ASCAP

if you are a BMI writer it might be something like this:

writer: Andy 100% BMI
Publisher: Kats are Cool Publishing 100% BMI

and if you and I co-write a tune:

Writers: Cade 50% ASCAP, Andy 50% BMI
Publishers: Cool Kats Publishing 50% ASCAP, Kats are Cool Publishing 50% BMI

but that is also using BMI's system where a song actually has a total share of 200% - ASCAP I think uses 100%. At any rate, they are functionally equivalent.

Make sense? clear as mud I am sure.

[cademan7]

...I was contacted by a music supervisor for a show and he asked for my ascap info since he was going to use one of my pieces in his show.

Congrats! That'ts great!

Yes the Music Supervisor wanted your ASCAP info so he could fill out a cue sheet when it was broadcast. A cue sheet filed at ASCAP = you getting paid back end royalty for the placement

I didn't register the work, I assumed that was something that someone else would handle (which may be the problem), but I don't see it in my catalog on ASCAP and it aired last November 2015. Did I do this totally wrong?

Well usually you take responsibility for direct to Super / Agency / Film maker / Producer placements and register them with your writer PRO and your publisher PRO info. You do that because in these situations unless the music supervisor is functioning as a library (which does happen but you would know this as they would have had you sign paperwork indicating that they were assuming the publishing etc) - then you are going to receive both "sides" of the income. Writers and Publishers. Cha-Ching!

If you don't register the piece, then you are depending on a proper registration of the cue via cue sheet. Hopefully the super has your Publisher info as well as I don't think ASCAP lets you collect the publishers share with only our writers account, but BMI does.

We might have to get some other people to chime in here with their experiences, as my PRO is BMI. If there is ever a broadcast of a piece of mine that doesn't already have a registration (and sometimes even if it does if the title is messed up) I get a registration of the piece via cue sheet in my BMI account.

November 2015 isn't really that long ago, and filing of cue sheets and so on often can take some time. First off - a November 2015 placement is part of the 4th quarter of 2015, which is paid out at a minimum of 6 months after the close of the quarter. That would be June disbursement.

So if it doesn't show up in the next 6 months, then you know something is likely wrong, but for the mean time, I would go ahead and register the piece in your ASCAP writer and publisher accounts. If you have a record of what the piece was actually titled when it was placed that should be fairly easy to complete.

Also, when I sign with a library that uses a different PRO, do they register the work with my PRO?

This one is easy. Every domestic library / publisher has several publishing companies. One under ASCAP, one under BMI and likely one under SESAC. So if you are ASCAP writer, they will register the piece as:

writer: CADE 100% ASCAP
publisher: Cool Kats Publishing 100% ASCAP

if you are a BMI writer it might be something like this:

writer: Andy 100% BMI
Publisher: Kats are Cool Publishing 100% BMI

and if you and I co-write a tune:

Writers: Cade 50% ASCAP, Andy 50% BMI
Publishers: Cool Kats Publishing 50% ASCAP, Kats are Cool Publishing 50% BMI

but that is also using BMI's system where a song actually has a total share of 200% - ASCAP I think uses 100%. At any rate, they are functionally equivalent.

Make sense? clear as mud I am sure.

Thanks a lot! A lot of great information!

[mojobone]

Congrats, Cass!

[cassmcentee]

Thanks Mojo!

[mojobone]

Oh, and Soundscan is for tracking physical sales via barcodes; you probably don't need it, unless you're a label or you're in tons of retail outlets and you're trying to storm the charts, but there's some value in being able to see a sales spike in a given geographic area; then you can schedule a gig.

You definitely want to register anything that's available electronically with SoundExchange.