SESAC is a performing rights
organization with headquarters in Nashville and offices in
New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami and London.
What is a "performing rights
organization"?
Performing rights organizations, such as SESAC, are
businesses designed to represent songwriters and publishers
and their right to be compensated for having their music
performed in public. By securing a license from SESAC, for
example, music users (i.e., television and radio stations,
auditoriums, restaurants, hotels, theme parks, malls, etc.)
can legally play any song in the SESAC repertory. Without a
license from a performing rights organization, music users
are in danger of copyright infringement.
How does SESAC represent
songwriters and publishers?
When a songwriter or publisher affiliates with SESAC, SESAC
then represents the right for that music to be played in
public. As the technological leader among the nation’s
performing rights organizations, SESAC was the first P.R.O.
to employ state-of-the-art Broadcast Data Systems (BDS)
performance detection. SESAC utilizes BDS in conjunction
with other cutting edge performance detection technology,
providing SESAC’s writer and publisher affiliates with the
fastest, most accurate royalty payment available anywhere.
The system required to compute compensation is based on many
factors, including music trade publication chart activity,
computer database information, and state-of-the-art
monitoring.
How do music users secure licenses
from SESAC?
In order to comply with the U.S. copyright law, any
establishment that plays copyrighted music is legally
required to secure permission to use copyrighted music,
whether in a live performance or by mechanical means. A
music user can do this by securing licenses from the three
performing rights organizations recognized by the U.S.
Copyright Act of 1976: one of which is SESAC. Getting a
SESAC license ensures the music user of complying with the
copyright law and also of having access to the world’s
fastest growing repertory, worry-free.
Many SESAC licenses can be obtained directly from the
licensing section of this website (www.sesac.com/licensing/licensing1.asp),
or you can contact the company's headquarters (toll free
number: 1-800-826-9996) from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central
Time. License fees are based on a series of determinants,
depending on the type of establishment.
Tell me about SESAC.
SESAC was
founded in 1930, making it the second oldest performing
rights organization in the United States. SESAC's repertory,
once limited to European and gospel music, has diversified
to include today's most popular music, including
R&B/hip-hop, dance, rock classics, country hits, the best of
Latina music, Contemporary Christian, the coolest jazz, and
the television and film music of Hollywood’s hottest
composers.
SESAC's corporate headquarters in Nashville houses all of
the company's divisions, from creative to licensing to
administration. The company also has offices in New York,
Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami and London.
If the phrase 'quality vs. quantity' ever mattered, SESAC is
the place. While SESAC is the smallest of the three U.S.
performing rights organizations, size is its largest
advantage. SESAC prides itself on developing individual
relationships with both songwriters and publishers.
Licensees benefit from the intimate atmosphere, with a
licensing staff dedicated to meeting the needs of music
users quickly and satisfactorily. And because our repertory
concerns itself only with quality copyrights, the music user
doesn't have to sift through the millions of
infrequently-used copyrights common to other performing
rights organizations to access the usable copyrights.
Who are some of the artists who
perform SESAC music?
Over the years there have been thousands and thousands of
artists who have performed SESAC-affiliated songs. A handful
of names that you might recognize include Usher, Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Justin Timberlake, Pink, Nelly Furtado, Beyonce, Coheed and Cambria,
Garth Brooks, Destiny’s Child, Mercy Me, Ludacris, Jim
Brickman, Kenny Chesney, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, U2,
Luciano Pavarotti, LeAnn Rimes, Mariah Carey, Alan Jackson,
Cassandra Wilson, Jagged Edge, Jimi Hendrix, Christina
Aguilera, and UB40.
How can I become a SESAC affiliate?
Unlike the other performing rights organizations, SESAC has
a selective process by which to affiliate songwriters and
publishers, resulting in affiliates who have personal
relationships with the SESAC staff. SESAC's creative staff
works with songwriters to develop and perfect their talents.
For more information about becoming affiliated with SESAC,
check out the Writer/Publisher Relations section
of this website. |