BMI & ASCAP Initiatives

I would like to take time and shine some light on some efforts of BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) and ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) for the world of music. For those who are not aware, BMI & ASCAP are organizations that help protect the copyrights of their members. They basically issue licensing fees from those who use the protected content of their members, which funnel back to the members as royalties.

BMI currently has an upcoming workshop for music in commercial media. This workshop is a three-day seminar geared towards teaching composition and producing techniques for advertising along with corporate branding and music production libraries. This approach is important to BMI because they believe that “These areas constitute the world’s most heard music and provide major revenue streams for composers”. This line of thinking is very logical and makes sense, especially on a marketing aspect.

ASCAP currently has a new initiative entitled “Creativity in the Classroom”, which is partnered with i-Safe (a foundation that advocates online safety for the youth). The program provides teachers with lesson plans that teach students in grades 3, 4, and 5 basic intellectual property concepts. The program also instills the importance of creativity and it’s ownership. Along with teaching students, these lessons fill them with a sense of power in their intellectual ability and creative genius.

 

The efforts of these companies further aid in the world of music and all of those involved in creative efforts of the arts. As a musician and entertainment business professional I see these activities as bridges that mend the gap between creativity and education. They also focus on the forward progression of technology's affects on the music entertainment world and digital production opportunities that are now readily available for everyone to use. I applaud these initiatives.