YES, SESAC IS AS NUTS AS ASCAP AND BMI

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If you’ve ever wondered if the music industry is a complicated and confusing maze of government regulations and corporate greed, then you have never had to deal with the complexities of securing the rights to use copyrighted music in your movie, television show, radio program, or even your podcast.

There are three major performing rights organizations (PROs) in the United States: ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. These organizations collect royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers for the public performance of their works.

In order to legally use copyrighted music in your project, you must obtain a license from the appropriate PRO. The cost of the license will vary depending on the type of project, the number of songs you want to use, and the length of time you want to use them.

The process of obtaining a license can be daunting, but it is essential if you want to avoid being sued for copyright infringement. If you are planning to use copyrighted music in your project, I highly recommend that you contact an entertainment lawyer for assistance.

Here are the three PROs:

• ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers)
• BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.)
• SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers)

BMI and SESAC are for-profit companies, while ASCAP is a not-for-profit organization. ASCAP and BMI are the two largest PROs in the United States, with SESAC being a distant third.

All three PROs are controversial.

Critics argue that the PROs are too powerful and that they do not do enough to protect the rights of songwriters. Others argue that the PROs are necessary to protect the rights of songwriters.

I have had my own run-ins with SESAC.

We are a small production company, and we have a limited budget. We recently produced a documentary film, and we wanted to use a song by a local band in the film.

We contacted the band, and they gave us permission to use the song. However, we later received a letter from SESAC claiming that we needed to obtain a license from them.

We were shocked. We had never heard of SESAC before, and we didn’t understand why we needed to get a license from them.

We contacted SESAC, and they told us that they represented the publishing rights to the song. They said that we needed to pay them a fee in order to use the song in our film.

We were outraged. We had already obtained permission from the band to use the song, and we didn’t understand why we had to pay SESAC anything.

We refused to pay SESAC, and they sent us a threatening letter.

We ignored the letter, and they never contacted us again.

I don’t know if SESAC was bluffing, or if they simply decided to drop their case against us. But I do know that I will never do business with them again.

If you are ever asked to obtain a license from SESAC, I urge you to do your research and to talk to an entertainment lawyer.

SESAC is a bully, and they will try to extort money from you.

Don’t let them.