The two largest performing rights organisations in the US, The
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and
Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), collectively agreed to permit
PayForView.com to stream audio and visual musical programming on
its site through performance licenses. These licenses now provide
PayForView with the legal right to webcast audio and video of
(potentially) millions of songs.
In the US, every AM and FM radio station, UHF, VHF, cable and
television network must carry either or both ASCAP and BMI licenses
in order to air copyrighted music. Since the internet is also a
public forum, new media programmers and content producers in the US
must also abide by these federal rules and regulations.
“It's important to understand that ASCAP and BMI are not record
companies, music publishers, concert promoters, booking agencies or
management companies,” said Dan Scott of PayForView.com. “ASCAP and
BMI are the largest music license organisations which control
performance rights and represent songwriters, composers and music
publishers worldwide.”
Both ASCAP and BMI work on a percentage. These organisations
collect money from any firm that uses their music and then pays out
that money as royalties to the composers and publishers of the
songs and compositions released to the public in any manner. Fees
vary widely among the different kinds of customers. For example, a
local radio station will pay a lower fee than a national television
network.
The equivalent organisations in the UK are the Performing Rights
Society and the Mechanical Royalties Society.
