Description:

Todd Brabec is the Vice President and Director of Membership for the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He talks about when an individual needs a license. Whenever music is used for anything outside the home, such as a department store or dentist office, permission must be given. A license must be acquired and a payment made. Brabec explains that the decision of whether ASCAP or BMI collects the money and negotiates the fee depends on the writer of the composition being performed. Whichever organization the writer is affiliated with settles the license. Also in this segment, Brabec discusses negotiating licenses. ASCAP deals with all different users of music. Each license is negotiated separately. For instance, university licenses depend on the number of full time students enrolled. Reciprocal agreements are covered as well. The main countries of the world have their own performing rights organization. Since American writers and publishers receive a lot of their money from outside of the United States, ASCAP has agreements with the PROs of the world. When ASCAP writers are performed outside of the US, the foreign PROs collect as if the American writers were part of their own society.