Should I List My BMI Name or LLC Name on Copyright Application?

Dear Rich: Basically I was wondering whether I should use the BMI approved name of our publishing company, or the actual legal name of our LLC when filing the copyright for all my sheet music. BMI initially said that I should use the BMI name EVERYWHERE to avoid confusion. But recently I was told that I should use the legal name of the LLC on copyright filings, and not the DBA. 
When completing the application, you should list the songwriters as "Authors" of the song and the copyright owners as the "Claimants." If the publishing company (your BMI name) is a DBA for the LLC, then you can list the LLC (or if you want, "[LLC name] dba [Publishing Company name]"). If the Claimant is different than the Author, you must indicate how the Claimant acquired ownership. In your case if the song was transferred by a copyright assignment or by a contract, you would choose “By written agreement." By the way, we explain how to register song copyrights in our Lynda.com course.

How Do I Register Cover Songs With BMI?

use Limelight when covering a song

Dear Rich: So, my first question is whether your answer to the question about registering a song with BMI and ASCAP is still the right information. I mean I signed with BMI but my co writer, the singer, he is with ASCAP. My second question is how do I register a cover song with BMI? I heard I can do that with Limelight. But if I do that with Limelight do I still have to register the cover song with the BMI or not? We stand by our answer regarding joint registrations at BMI and ASCAP. And as we indicated, if you run into problems, check with the performance rights organization: ASCAP Member Services (1-800-952-7227); BMI Member services (newyork@bmi.com (212-220-3000); Los Angeles losangeles@bmi.com (310-659-9109))
How do I register a cover song with BMI? You can cross that off your to-do list because you can't register a cover song with BMI or ASCAP. These performing rights organizations are for songwriters who are registering original songs. (They collect money when the song is played publicly). If you are covering someone else's song you would need a license from the owner of the song. Limelight is an organization that facilitates (for a fee) those types of mechanical licenses.

How Do BMI and ASCAP Co-Writers Register Songs?

dividing the songwriting pie

Dear Rich: I am part of a musical duo. We've made a CD (that has't been pressed yet), which features songs written by both me and my bandmate/duo-mate. I'm affiliated with ASCAP. I've got a publishing company also affiliated with ASCAP. My bandmate/duomate is affiliated with BMI, but rather than starting up a publishing company, he just claims 200% of songwriting credits in order to receive full royalties. Here's my question: How do we credit his songs? Should he claim 200% songwriting ownership under BMI, or should I claim them under my publishing company? Is there any benefit to have a particular album/CD/recording under one publishing company (mine)? According to a BMI rep, your partner registers the song as a writer (with BMI), and you register the song with ASCAP (as a writer/publisher). In other words, the same song can be registered at both societies (something we weren't aware of). Writer/publisher information should be cross-indexed on each registration -- that is, when filling out the ASCAP registration form, you would enter your partner's BMI affiliation under "Writer." And vice-versa when your partner completes the registration. If your goal is to split the revenue evenly, you should either:

• have your partner create a BMI publisher. We're aware that's' pricey -- $150 -- but that will allow each person to receive an equal split of both publisher and writer revenue from their respective PRO, or 
• make your ASCAP music publisher entity the band's publisher and give your partner half of the income you receive from your ASCAP publisher checks.

Crowdsourcing welcome ... We're interested in verifying this answer with our readers. Has anyone actually registered the same song at both PROs? You can also follow up with your respective PRO as follows: ASCAP Member Services (1-800-952-7227); BMI Member services (newyork@bmi.com (212-220-3000); Los Angeles losangeles@bmi.com (310-659-9109)).

Dividing BMI Songwriting Royalties

Dear Rich  So we have a band and we've done most of the formalizing to make it a real company and make sure everyone is taken care of fairly. One of the things we've run into in trying to register our songs with BMI is that it wants the songwriter percentages. We are a four piece and plan to split everything equally once we are profitable (until then, the money we make from the band helps fund the band so we can keep doing band stuff) But as far as songwriters, that generally falls about 80% to one, 20% to another and all four contribute to the music composition. Lyrics are credited to the band name. Again, everyone agrees to this. But BMI wants people names and SS#'s, Tax ID #. You've said in some of your articles that the band can decide to split the royalties however they want, but how does that work from a practical standpoint if BMI wants to send checks to individual band members? Are the members supposed to sign the checks over to the band? Also, it doesn't seem to be an option to register a band as a songwriter. If BMI will only allow songwriters to be individuals, does that mean we have to have all members registered and credited 25% each so that it reflects our equal split band agreement? And then handle it internally (collecting from band members as specified in the band agreement until profitability is reached?) Performance royalties refers to the money collected by performance rights organizations like BMI and ASCAP and paid to songwriters and publishers. It's revenue derived from charging a license fee to businesses -- radio stations, stores, and taverns -- that publicly play your music. As we explain in our book -- Music Law: How to Run Your Band's Business -- even if you set up a system whereby everyone (songwriters and nonwriters) shares equally in song income, it’s still possible that a credited songwriter will receive more money from BMI. That’s because in the case of performance royalties, BMI and ASCAP split the revenue for each song and make separate payments to music publishers and songwriters. In other words, with performance royalties the songwriter’s portion is paid directly to the songwriter and does not pass through the band’s publishing company. Therefore, if a song is a big hit on the radio or in a TV show, a credited songwriter will probably receive more money than a nonsongwriter. It is possible, as you suggest, that your agreement among the band (or between the band and the publisher) could deal with this share. For example, you could create a music publisher, register that with BMI and the publisher would receive half the income. Then, the songwriters getting checks could kick those into the pot as well. Alternatively you could forget the publisher and just have the members contribute their BMI income. These alternatives require some diligence and bookkeeping which is why it's often overlooked in band situations.

Can We Report Neighbor for Blasting Copyrighted Christmas Music?

Dear Rich: Every year, my neighbor blasts Christmas music (and some non-Christmas music) with a synchronized Christmas light show. As you can imagine he goes overboard and drives most of the neighbors crazy. We've asked him to turn it down (or off), complained to the authorities, and none of it does much good. We're thinking of suing him as a nuisance. One of the neighbors wondered if we could report him for playing copyrighted music without permission. Is that possible? To whom do we report it? That's the Christmas spirit! We can totally relate. We once visited a Dear Rich Staff member in the hospital at Christmas time and somebody down the hall was blasting 'Silent Night' on a toy piano (talk about an oxymoronic choice of material). What is a 'humbug,' anyway?
Right, you had a question. The neighborhood blasting of copyrighted music would likely qualify as a public performance (sidebar on right) under U.S. copyright law. In other words, it falls into the same category as playing music at a ballgame or at a bar, and requires permission. If it is done without permission, it would be considered an unauthorized use of the music -- that is, an infringement. The gatekeepers for almost all of these public performance rights are two organizations, BMI and ASCAP. They grant permissions on behalf of thousands of songwriters. They also enforce rights and sue organizations and individuals who publicly perform music without permission. You could report your neighbor to the appropriate organization although you would need to identify the copyrighted songs from the performing rights organization's repertoire -- for example, BMI has over 7,000 registered songs with the word "Christmas" in the title. The organization could then choose to enforce rights. That's where you might run into a problem. Following the strange flap over the Girl Scouts/Macarena debacle, performing rights societies might be gun-shy about going after a homeowner playing Christmas music in his cul-de-sac. We think you and your neighbors would be better served by handling this in the traditional American way -- small claims court.