[Fmpro] ASCAP broadcaster agreement: no difference for song vs. score

[Mark Northam]

This should be interesting reading for those who promote the idea that
broadcasters pay more for, or value certain types of music more than others:

http://www.televisionmusic.com/LocalLicense.pdf

It's the blanket license agreement between local television stations
(through their group the Television Music Licensing Committee - TMLC) and
ASCAP which covers their license fees used by hundreds of local TV stations
in the US.

Not a single word about song vs. score vs. CPA.  Those apparently are ASCAP
contrivances, introduced into the royalty system by ASCAP for their own
purposes, apparently to reward some member groups at the expense of other
member groups.

The fees are paid by local TV stations according to their relative Neilson
ratings (viewership). Here are additional documents for those interested:

http://www.televisionmusic.com/licenses.html

This is exactly in line with what the TMLC's Willard Hoyt said in Los
Angeles a few years ago. Song vs. Score vs. CPA never came into the
negotiating process. Never.

It's also interesting to note on the Per Program License that song and score
are treated equally when it comes to the ability for a station to deduct
directly licensed music from their license fee to ASCAP.

If people are going to defend discrimination, fine, let them do so, and it's
a fair debate. But let's not blame the broadcasters here - they, in fact,
are ultimately our clients. In this case, the discrimination is introduced
by the middlemen (the PROs) we hire and pay to collect and distribute our
royalties.

Best,

Mark Northam