The August 4th decision by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) not to modernize the consent decrees that govern performing rights societies ASCAP and BMI, and its plans to force a “full-work” licensing model into the market, are the equivalent of an earthquake for the global music community, and most of all for songwriters. It opens a new era full of uncertainty for the music industry.
CISAC, which regroups 239 societies from 123 countries, including ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and AMRA in the United States, has been monitoring the evolution of the licensing ecosystem in the US with much concern. Because of the size of the US market and its influence in the world, any changes in the way our US members operate has consequences for sister societies, songwriters and music publishers worldwide.
We had high hopes that the DoJ would have taken these factors into account and come up with solutions to ensure a better, more efficient licensing system in the US in its two-year review of the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees. Yet for some reason the much-needed reform of the US licensing landscape took a wrong turn at the expense of creators, music publishers and their societies.
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Artist Rights Watch--News for the Artist Rights Advocacy Community 
In reviewing this new DOJ decision, it appears the songwriter’s are being forced to forge personal agreements between them selves before they start a writing secession. Agreeing that they will open books to a 50/50 split and a 1099 at years end to protect their individual and combined talents to keep them within DOJ rulings. One problem is that in not all instances are the co-writers sitting in the same room and sometimes collaboration takes months maybe years to reach a point where both a satisfied with their combined efforts. Secondary to that is only one PRO (ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC) are 100% in the driver’s seat in such co-writing adventures,while the other PRO’s and their artist are left to the mercy of the “Business End” or 100% DOJ ruling. Therefore, I foresee an agreement between the three PRO that recognize the contribution of the writers regardless of the 100%ed PRO and simple recognize an agreement signed and sealed by all that allows PRO to disburse funds to various PRO’s to compensate writer’s for their contractions agreement with writer’s from a different performing group. We can discuss how wrong the decision is for years and never change anything within the DOJ. What we can do is work together as a team of professionals to prepare ourselves for the changes that allow us to take 100% advantage of the DOJ ruling. On the other hand, every artist becomes their own PRO and independent record label completely omitting the existing PRO’s to fight the DOJ as we struggle Aline trying to make sense of it all.
Keep spittin dat country, Twisted Up Studios and Productions
Jim Yarbrough
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