[Fmpro] Global Competition

[Mark Northam]

On 12/2/07 1:49 PM, "LesHurdle" <leshurdle at avradionet.com> wrote:

> There is more to the above than I have outlined here.
> Is it practical?
> Sure, just ask those who have huge catalogs and have shifted to SACEM
> & GEMA.. they are making MORE money than they used to.

A good friend of mine who is from Finland recently switched from ASCAP to
the Finnish society and is making 500% more in royalties from Finland.

Affiliating with a Euro society for the world means they become your primary
PRO, and they deal with other PROs around the world who collect money for
your music performances in various countries. If you've got a problem or
question about US collections, instead of calling up Member Services and
getting the runaround, talking to someone who knows less about performane
royalties than you do, or getting no call back, you call or email your Euro
Member Services department and they use high-level contacts with the US PROs
to get the business taken care of.

With ASCAP and BMI, you can only switch during a small window of time before
your contract anniversary date. Switching your writer affiliation is
something you can do without anyone's permission - the publishers cannot
stop you, and the US PROs cannot stop you.

Some advantages of affiliating with a Euro society for the world:

* You can split your catalog among ASCAP, BMI and SESAC as you like
depending on who pays which type of performances better (a right denied US
writer, sadly). This rights is available to all writers whose primary (home)
PRO affiliation is outside the US.

* Electronic deposit of your royalty check into your checking account

* More frequent royalty payouts (ASCAP distributes international royalties
4x/year, many Euro societies pay 6 or even 11 times (like IMRO in Ireland) a
year, so your money spends less time sitting in your PRO's bank account
earning interest for them).

* Better writer representation - some Euro PRO boards are 2/3rds writers

* Better representation at ASCAP, BMI and SESAC - PRO officials of a Euro
PRO have far better relationships and may be treated far better than
individual writers at the US societies are treated by member services. Euro
PROs have high-level contacts with ASCAP and BMI they use for questions and
problem resolution. Sure beats talking to somebody in member services that's
been on the job 30 days and you end up telling them how to do their job...

* Pensions - Currently GEMA (Germany) and SACEM (France) offer members
pensions, even if you're not a citizen of their country. Make your royalties
earn more for you.

* You stand chance of getting the domestic 2/3rds writer / 1/3 publisher
split that some Euro societies pay by default to their members via the Berne
convention which says that foreign members of a Euro PRO must be treated the
same as domestic members. You'll have to push for this, but there already is
a precedent of a US writer getting this from SACEM.

* Get paid in EUROs - with the declining dollar, it's something to consider.

It truly is a worldwide market, and since ASCAP and BMI offer better rights
to those outside the US - specifically, the right to split catalog between
the two and to have catalog at multiple societies concurrently, they're
providing a good reason to consider moving to a non-US PRO for your primary
PRO affiliation. When it's retirement time, you may be glad you did, as
pensions are not available at any of the US PROs currently.

Best,

Mark N.

---------------------------------
Mark Northam, CEO
Global Media Development Group

http://www.FilmMusic.net - Film & TV Music Job Listings

1-800-774-3700 ext. 702 / 310-645-9000 ext. 702
http://www.gmdgroup.com
Yahoo/Skype: marknortham  /  AIM: mnortham