February 2005 NEWSLETTER A n E n t e r t a i n m e n t I n d u s t r y O r g a n i z a t i o n

The BMI Story Why Does the Have More Than One Performing Rights Society? 50th Anniversary In the late 1930s, the pr imar y li- over Nashville's WSM since 1925, and a The President’s censing body, the American Society of few artists became nationally known re- Composers, Authors and Publishers cording stars, b ut memb ership in ASCAP Corner (ASCAP), founded in 1914, comprised eluded them. Country stars such as only 1,100 writers and 140 publishers. Gene Autry and ja zz grea ts like Jelly Micha el R. M orris To gain admission to ASCAP a writer Roll Morton were rejected for years by Last month the CCC kicked off the had to have published five hit , a ASCAP before finally gaining member- ship. new year by presenting its "Film and requirement that not only precluded the entry of new blood to its member- BMI enter ed this tightly controlled TV Music 2005" to an overflow crowd. ship but also favored a small body of industry in the fall of 1939. Its organ- Kudos to Dan Butler, our VP (and VP established writers. Likewise, the sys- ization was precipitated by the oncom- Business & Legal Affairs - Music, War- tem favored established publishers, a- ing expiration of a five-year ASCAP con- ner Bros. Pictures) for his exemplary bout 15 of which regularly controlled tract, in which radio had agreed to pay moderation. As emphasized at last 90 percent of the most-played songs five percent of its annual advertising month's panel, the licensing of music on net work radio. sales revenues. Radio industry leaders in film and TV is an increasingly s igni- Commercial radio broadcasting, considered the creation of an alternative ficant source of income for writers born in 1920, dominated the American music licensing source, in the event that and publishers, as well as a potent musical landscape. By 1939, radio had ASCAP and the industry could not come means of breaking new acts. I hope become the primary form of family en- to term s. A spe cial rad io grou p me t in Chicago in the fall of 1939 to consider a you were able to attend our January tertainment, and 8 5 per cent o f Ame ri- can homes included a receiver. Three charter for a new licensing body to be meeting and took away some of the networks -- NBC (National Broadcast- named Broadcast Music Inc. drawn up "nuts and bolts" advice offered by our ing Company), CBS (Columbia Broad- by Sydney M. Kaye, a young panelists. Also, if you haven't read the casting System), and the Mutual attorney. That charter called for broad- January newsletter (available at Broadcasting System -- dominated the casting organizations to pledge sums e- www.theccc.org), I highly recom- airwaves. In 1932, ASCAP negotiated qual to 50 percent of their 1937 ASCAP mend your taking a look at both an agreement with the radio industry payments as capital and operating Rand all Rum age's enter taining "Film that established fees based on a per- funds. No div idends were to be paid to Music Biz Quiz" and Steve Winograds- centage of advertising time sales. An stockholders, for BMI's main purpose ky's "Composer Agreement Basics" ar- explosive proposed increase in those was to provide an opportunity for those writers and publishers unable to gain ticle (both featured in that issue). fees led to a confrontation between the radio in dustr y and ASCA P. entry into AS CAP t o share in performing Speaking of performance rights and While the networks dominated the rights revenue and provide an alterna- revenues, tonight the C CC p roudly airwaves, music publishing firms in- tive source for broadcasters and other presents "BMI in the Digital Age." creas ingly were contro lled by motion music users . This panel will be moderated by our picture companies, which sought ac- BMI's charter was filed on October past prez, Teri Nelson Carpenter ( a cess to a ready supply of music to in- 14, 1939, and its offices opened in New Senior VP for the Saban Music Group) corporate in films. However, man y wri- York City on February 15, 1940. This and features BMI executives Alison ters fell outside the compass of Holly- was none too soon, as in March of 1940 Smith (Senior VP Per forming wood's interests, particularly those ASCA P's newly proposed contract called Rights) and Richard Conlon, (VP Mar- working in indigenous and earthy Am- for a 100 percen t increase in radio's keting & Business Development, Me- erican genres including the blues-rag- rates over the previous year. Already between 1931 and 1939, radio had dia Licensing). Our speakers will time-jazz and country music traditions. Country artists had access to the public seen licensing payments rise from (continued, page 3) through the Grand Ole Opry, broadcast $960,000 to $4.3 million, a jump of 448 percent. Not surprisingly, by the end of set up subsidiary companies for such On Mond ay, July 5, 19 54, the #1 1940 650 broad caste rs had signed li- hitmakers as Eddy Arnold, Ernest Tubb, on Billboard's charts was K itty K al- censes with BMI. When ASCAP's license and H ank S now. len's "Little Things Mean A Lot," a contract ran out, only 200 small sta- Acuff-Rose, begun in 1942, was smooth ballad in the style of the old tions still continued to use its catalog, fully committed to the country field; its standards. But a change was in the air. thereby effectively blacking out all AS- founders were Grand Ole Opry super- That evening, in a cramped 30- by-20 CAP r eper toire fo r much of 1941 . star Roy Acuff and veteran foot record ing stu dio in downtown Mem- As ASCAP and the broadcasters Fred Rose. Begun with a $2,500 BMI phis, three young music ians were dog- fought out their new contract, BMI be- advance, Acuff-Rose quickly became gedly trying to come up with a sound gan to build its own catalog. A number one of the most successful country pub- that would satisfy the hard-to-please of major publishers, including E.B. lishers. Among its most-performed, owner of Sun Reco rds, Sa m Ph illips. A Marks, Ralph Peer, M.M. Cole, and Am- most-recorded and best-loved songs is former and radio engineer, erican Music, s igned up wit h the o rgani- "Tennessee Waltz," penned by Redd Phillips had opened his zation. BMI also set up its own publish- Stewart and Pee Wee King in 1947, a 6 in 1950 and started out recording local ing company (later sold when the num- million copy seller for Patti Page and blues musicians, leasing the tracks to ber of publishers became sufficient to eventually a state song of Tennessee. independent record companies like serve writers and composers), and However, Acuff-Rose's most illustrious Chess. Two years later, he started his thousands of arrangements were sent artist was Hank Williams, arguably the own . from the New York headquarters to ra- greatest singer-songwriter the country Long in search of a young white dio stations that used live music. BMI field has yet produced. Before he died in artist who co uld capture the raw energy also began to "grubstake" aspiring pub- 1953 at the age of 29, his mournful, po- of black music yet crossover to a multi- lishers with advances and guarantees to etic brilliance had resulted in such clas- ethnic audience, Phillips listened care- start their own companies. When the sics as "I'm So Lon esom e I Co uld Cr y," fully as the trio fumbled through take 11-month battle between the networks "Honky-To nkin'," and "Your Cheatin' after take until the 19-year-old singer and ASCAP ended by late 1941, BMI Heart." began clowning ar ound w ith "Th at's All was well on its way to establishing a The success of these firms and Right ," a minor blues hit written and re- base o f support for its aim s. others like Jack Sta pp's and Bu ddy K il- corded by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. From the outset, several innova- len's Tree Music and Howie Richm ond's Sudd enly some connection was made; tions set BMI apart. First and foremost The Richmond Organization was a result the music was lively, fun, and fresh. was its open-door policy. BMI welcomed of country's assimilation into the musi- Phillips's attention was secured, and he all individuals, regardless of their cho- cal mainstream. BMI, in turn, benefitted honed the trio's raw sound, urging them sen musical genre and, unlike ASCAP, e- from their prescient support of Nash- through several more numbers, inclu- ven if they had no established success- ville, for bet ween 19 44 a nd 19 54 fu lly ding Bill Monroe's bluegrass tune "Blue ful material. Second, its revolutionary 77 percent of all songs making the Top Moon Of Kentuck y." logging procedure, which incorporated 10 on Billboard's various country charts A week later a single with these samples of non-network program s in were BMI- license d. two songs was playing on local M emp his addition to those broadcast from major With co untry’s simultaneous com- radio, and within a month it was num- metropolitan centers, was designed by mercial ascendency, black musicians ber one in that market. The singer , Elvis Paul Lazerfeld of C olumb ia Univer sity's were comin g into t heir own. The rise of Presley, was headed for stardom. In lit- Office of Radio Research. It involved rhythm & blues in the aftermath of tle over a year, RCA Victor had bought examining 60,000 hours of program Wor ld War II became the m ost impor- Presley's contract from Phillips for the logs per annum, including performances tant wave of black music to join the pop unprecedented sum of $40,000. Phillips of recorded music as well as live musical mainstream, surpassing the earlier ef- went on to record such rock & roll pio- broadcasts. This policy proved to be of fects of ragtime, blues, and jazz. Black neers as Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, particular significance once network ra- bandleader Louis Jordan, whose Tym- Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and C harlie dio dropped live musical broadcasts in pany-Five recorded such hits as "Is You Rich. Elvis went on, of course, to be- favor of recordings. Finally, the advan- Is Or Is You Ain't" and "Caldonia" in the come the catalyst for the rock & roll re- ces against future earnings BMI gave to 1940s, is regarded by many as the fa- volution and the biggest record seller of fledgling publishers and writers helped ther of r&b. He made the blues jump, all time . assist the mushrooming of independent and the style he pioneered, combining a Rock & roll was fast occupying the record labels and publishing houses that driving "back-beat," searing vocals, musical mainstream, as the generation sprouted nationwide in the aftermath of live-wire electric guitar, and honking that would come to be known as the the se cond w orld w ar. saxop hone, w ould lay the path for rock "baby boomers" were mak ing the ir pre- From the start, BMI took an inter- & roll. ferences known. With the development est in the country community. The prac- Radio programm ers recognized of the tr ansisto r radio , they c ould more tice of providing new publishers with black music's increasing public accep- easily listen to the latest hits. Television advances helped m any firms tak e off, tance, which, in turn, benefitted BMI as remained the prov ince of m ature adult including Acuff-Rose Publications, head- it stood virtually alone in serving r&b audiences who responded more readily quartered in Nashville, and Hill and performing rights, licensing more than to the mainstream pop repertoire than Range Songs, based in New York, both 90 percent of r&b radio hits on a week ly the uninhibited beat of rock & roll. In of which would become titans in the basis. Those hits were being produced 1956 when appeared on country field. Founded by Julian and by the proliferating field of independent network television, first on the "Dorsey Jean Aber bach in 1943, Hill and Range record labels, which included the Rene Brothers Stage Show" and Steve Allen's even tually became more active in pop brothers' Modern Records, Art Rupe's program and then scoring his greatest and r&b, yet country provided the foun- Specialty Records, Lou Chudd's Imperial success on Ed S ullivan's Sunday night dation for the Aberbachs' expanding Records, and Herman Lubinsky's Savoy variety show, the demogra phic audience publishing empire, the brothers having label. of television transformed overnight. As Sullivan received his highest audience popular, and, if a conspiracy existed, share to date due to Presley's appear- chairman of the board S ydney Kaye ar- President’s Corner (continued) ance, the source of th e pop standa rd be- gued, it would be "as patent as sunlight." gan to change. Tennessee Governor F rank Clemen t, discuss the current state of perform- None of this sa t well w ith th e wri- speaking in support of BMI, underscored ing rights, both domestically and in- ters and publishers of music in the old the financial support BM I's a ctivit ies in ternationally, including trends in licen- pop style, who felt they were losing a the Nas hville m usic community had given sing and performance income and major share of the market to a group of to his state as well how the lofty lyrical current royalty administration in the "ill-trained juvenile upstarts." Un able to standards the of America digital age. This will be a n en lighten- understand or accept the changes taking defended were not clearly illustrated by ing discussion, and the CCC thanks place about them, they presumed some- Billy Rose's co-written "Does Your Chew- BMI for its support in making this thing underhanded must be going on to ing Gum Lose Its Flavor On The Bedpost evening possible. prevent the "good music" they rep- Overnight." Finally, as the CCC celebrates its resented from being played. In Novem- The anti-BMI bill died in committee, 50th ann ivers ary, I invit e you to jo in ber 1953, a group of 33 c om pos ers c al- yet the war agains t BM I an d roc k & ro ll the celebration by becoming a mem- ling themselves "The Songwriters of Am- did not, as la ter c ong ress iona l inves ti- ber (and if you're already part of the erica" initiated a $150 million anti-trust gations tried unsuccessfully to implicate CCC, please "pass the word," so we action against BMI, NBC, CBS, ABC, RCA BMI in unlawful practices including the continue to thrive as a non-profit mu- Victor Records, , and payment of "payola"-- the offering of sic industry organization dedicated to 27 individuals, claiming a conspiracy of kickbacks to disc jockeys for the playing promoting informative discussions of broadcasters and manufacturers was of certain records. copyright-related issues in th e mu sic keeping "good music" from being re- Governor Clement's defense of business). corded and from being played on the air. BMI's practices illustrates how closely its The plaintiffs included some of the lead- fortunes and those of c oun try m usic ing names in popular songwriting, such were inter twin ed. N ash ville wa s rapidly as Alan Jay Lerner, Ira Gershwin, Oscar becoming one of the nation's major mu- BMI underscored its involvement with the Hammerstein, and Arthur Schwartz, who sic centers. Business was so brisk that comm unity by establishing a branch of- was the le adin g plaintiff . Wh ile this was when WSM announcer David Cobb casu- fice in Nashville. At first, this was a mo- a private suit, significantly all of the ally referred to Nash ville as "Music City dest enterprise consisting of just one plaintiffs were ASCAP members. They U.S.A." during a 1950 broadcast, the person, Frances Williams, now BMI pres i- and other ASC AP mem bers pledged five term stu ck. F urth erm ore, while it has be- dent Frances Preston, who ran the office percent of their ASCAP ro yalties toward come comm on to think of coun try mu sic out of her ho me. legal expenses. However, their sweeping as antithetical to ro ck & roll, it is not only Preston remembers: "During that charges could not be su stained, and 15 one of its main roots but mutually sup- first year, I used to meet with write rs in years and millions of dollars in legal and portive of its development in many ways. coffee shops, because I didn't have an research fees later, the suit was dis- Elvis's signing by RCA Victor was facilita- office and a lot of the writers were work- missed with prejudice -- mea ning tha t it ted by Julian and Jean Aberba ch, owners ing downtown at the W SM studios. So I could not be brou ght again. of the prestigious Hill & Range publishing signed many o f the first people at the At the same time, other actions by firm, in exchange for the publishing Clarkston Coffee Shop next door to forces intimidated and angered by the rights. With his signing, RCA acknow- WSM, because I would meet them after social ramifications of rock & roll's effect ledged the need for a branch office in the they cam e off the radio shows. upon teenagers agitated for control of its Southeast and chose Nashville as the na- "When we opened our first real of- liberating energies. In 1956 they found a tural location. It was there Elvis's first fice, it was located in the Life and Casu- sym pathetic ear in Congressman RCA recording sessions occurred. alty Tower, Nas hville's first skyscraper. Emanuel Celler, chairman of the House A sign of the solidarity of the Nash- We signed everybody. I mean, they of Representatives Judiciary Committee. ville com mu nity w as t he foun ding in came in fro m fa r an d near to join BMI. In hearings Celler conducted, the 1958 of the Country Music Association. When the first statements started com- Songwriters of A mer ica m ade wild Rad io executives, writers, perform ers ing in, som e writ ers c am e in almost cry- accusations against BMI, condemning and mu sic publishers led the organization ing, saying, `You know, this is the first rock & roll and all the music BMI rep- and set about regaining country's place time I've ever received any money like resented. Congressman Celler made no in the public consciousness. From the this, the very first time.' secret of where his sympathies lay, con- start, the CMA made sales presentations "In tho se ea rly days, country song- necting BMI with the overthrow of "good for broadcasters and advertising execu- writers didn't know music as an industry. music" and the rise of juvenile de- tives in major radio markets like New It was stric tly an art form. They wrote linquency. The kind of negative and ex- York, Chicago, and Detroit. It aimed to their songs and kept them in shoeboxes. aggerated testimony the S ongwriters in- convince advertisers that co untry mu sic They wrote about their everyday lives. troduced into the h earin g is typified by cou ld sell products and brought in every- They didn't think about writing a song as veteran ASCAP songwriter Billy Rose's thing from market surveys to top coun try a way to make m one y. If you had told statemen t: "Not only are most of the ente rtain ers t o pro ve it. F urth erm ore, in Hank Willia ms , when he was just starting BMI songs junk, but in many cases they 1961, the CMA established the Country out, that somebody wa nted to reco rd his are obscene junk pretty much on the Mus ic Hall o f Fa me t o ins till pride in song, he would have paid them to do it." level with dirty comic magazines." country m usic's history. Abridged from a booklet published on BMI ’s website . Based on an original text by BMI calmly and eloquently respon- BMI was fully committed to the Paul Kingsbury and othe rs at the Cou ntry ded to such hyperbole by explaining the changes in Nashville and its desire to Mus ic Foundation, with additional text by take a rightful place in the mu sic indus- very proc ess es th rou gh w hich mu sic real- Dav id Sanjek, under the editorial direction ly was chosen for airplay and how neith- try. Its support for the CMA was imm edi- of Howard Levitt. Reprinted by permission. er BMI nor any other orga niza tion cou ld ate: BMI vice president Bob Burton You may find the en tire text at: control that process. Competition, not joined its first board of trustees as direc http://bmi.com/library/brochures/historyb conspiracy determined what music was tor at large in 1958. Th at same year, ook/index.asp