ASCAP, BMI, GMR, SESAC expand Songview PRO database

The four major U.S. performing rights organizations (PROs) have announced the expansion of Songview PRO database. This public performance copyright data resource was launched by ASCAP and BMI in 2020.

UPDATE: The MIC Coalition of venues and services who use music publicly responded with tentative approval (more below).

ASCAP, BMI, GMR & SESAC expand Songview PRO database

Songview will soon include data on the 38 million songs licensed by four major performing rights organizations. ASCAP, BMI, GMR, and SESAC are the largest PROs in the U..S. Over the coming months, the goal is to provide an authoritative view of public performance copyright ownership and administration shares.

U.S. Copyright Office Inquiry

In February, the Copyright Office published a “Notice of Inquiry” to collect information on all U.S. PROs. The inquiry came at the behest of Congress and organizations representing venues, promoters, songwriters and music publishers

Of interest to the Copyright Office is the growing number of PROs. They note the license to play music that each one requires. Furthermore, there is a lack of transparency about what songs are covered by each licensee.

Songview appears designed to address the issue of transparency.

Under the current system promoters, venues and artists pay all US PROs for every show. This occurs even when the songs performed were registered to a single organization. Many artists and live music presenters want more targeted licensing based on the music actually performed. Songview could also be a first step to making that a reality. Thus, it could also compensate artists more transparently for songs perfumed.

“I have long called for greater transparency into music licensing to ensure businesses have the information they need to make informed licensing decisions. This is because music ownership data has for years been fragmented and opaque, compounded by continued growth in the performing rights industry,” said Congressman Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05). “With today’s announcement, we take a giant step towards transparency, and towards my goal of a complete and authoritative database.”

“Our copyright system is the backbone of our creative economy. Clarity and transparency are essential to ensuring creators have the compensation they deserve while licensees have the predictability they need,” said House IP Subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa (CA-48),  I congratulate ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR on the launch of a new and improved Songview to enhance clarity and transparency in music licensing.”

MIC Coalition Responds

The MIC Coalition of associations whose members provide music over the nation’s airwaves and in stores, hotels, restaurants, bars, wineries, taverns, concert halls, and live entertainment venues signaled their their tentative approval of the new Songview database.

In a statement the MIC Coalition said: “We look forward to reviewing the updated database’s functionality and providing input on any areas where improvements would enhance the user experience and functionality for those seeking to rely on the database for business licensing decisions.Previous iterations of Songview have suffered from several deficiencies that limited the database’s utility for licensees, including:

• The lack of a blanket guarantee regarding the accuracy of the data, and;
• A legal disclaimer that limited a licensee’s ability to rely on it for protection against copyright infringement.”

Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot. He is also a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor, and founder of Skyline Artists.

ASCAP, BMI, GMR & SESAC expand Songview PRO database first appeared on Hypebot.com