[Fmpro] Global Competition

Sun Dec 2 23:24:36 GMT 2007

Ha Pete,

Ever the smart arse..........  I did, I am only in ASCAP for the USA.

I have also been 'asked' to leave  ASCAP I think it is 7 times  
now !  ;-)

More to the point.. are you going to continue to lose money by  
sticking with your buddies?

L

On Dec 2, 2007, at 3:18 PM, Pete wrote:

> So, with all due respect, why haven't you done it? I
> bet ASCAP would even help you pack :-)
>
> P e t e
> S u r d o v a l
>
> --- Mark Northam <mnortham at gmdgroup.com> wrote:
>> 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
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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