SESAC
Encyclopedia
SESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers, is the smallest of the three performance rights organizations in the United States
. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second-oldest performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the United States. Based in Nashville, Tennessee
, SESAC deals with all aspects of the business, from creation to licensing and administration. The company also has offices in New York City
, Los Angeles
, London
, Atlanta
, and Miami
.
SESAC touts its small size:
Whereas ASCAP and BMI
operate on a not-for-profit basis, SESAC retains some income as profit. While ASCAP and BMI distribute all income from performance royalties
to their composer
and publisher affiliates (less an administrative fee), SESAC retains an undisclosed amount of performance royalty income. SESAC is also unique among the US performing rights organizations in that it does not offer open membership – one must be approved to join.
As its original objective diminished in the 1960s, the company entered other musical genres. Since that time, the company has represented a wider range of writers and genre
s. SESAC's affiliates roster includes Bob Dylan
, Neil Diamond
, Robert Johnson
, Bryan-Michael Cox, Nate "Danja" Hills, Rush
, Byrde, Coheed & Cambria, Young Love
, The Faint
, Rapture
, Telekinetic Walrus and The Pride of Ions, and more.
In the 1930s SESAC helped broadcasters satisfy FCC requirements, supplying them with Gospel recordings. The business began its evolution in the 1940s and in the 1950s SESAC established its electronic transcription series.
The company moved into new headquarters in Columbus Circle
in Midtown Manhattan
and opened an office in Nashville, Tennessee
in 1964. Six years later, the company began representing songwriters in addition to its traditional business of representing publishers. With a focus on Christian songwriters, the company was an early player in the Contemporary Christian music format. That evolution led the company to move its headquarters to Nashville in 1985.
In 1993, the company was purchased by Stephen Swid
, Freddie Gershon
and Ira Smith
. The new owners once again shifted the company's focus toward more mainstream music and later television.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second-oldest performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the United States. Based in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, SESAC deals with all aspects of the business, from creation to licensing and administration. The company also has offices in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, and Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
SESAC touts its small size:
- 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.
Whereas ASCAP and BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
operate on a not-for-profit basis, SESAC retains some income as profit. While ASCAP and BMI distribute all income from performance royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
to their composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and publisher affiliates (less an administrative fee), SESAC retains an undisclosed amount of performance royalty income. SESAC is also unique among the US performing rights organizations in that it does not offer open membership – one must be approved to join.
History
The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers was founded by Paul Heinecke, a German immigrant in New York. SESAC originally strove to support underrepresented European stage authors and composers with their American performance royalties, hence the original name. Heinecke continued to lead the company over the next four decades until his death in 1972.As its original objective diminished in the 1960s, the company entered other musical genres. Since that time, the company has represented a wider range of writers and genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s. SESAC's affiliates roster includes Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given...
, Bryan-Michael Cox, Nate "Danja" Hills, Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, Byrde, Coheed & Cambria, Young Love
Young Love (band)
Young Love is an American dance-rock band formed in 2005 in New York City, New York. Dan Keyes handles the majority of the production and songwriting in addition to providing lead vocals...
, The Faint
The Faint
The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Jacob Thiele, Dapose, Joel Petersen and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst...
, Rapture
Rapture (band)
Rapture is a doom metal/melodic death metal band formed in 1997 in Helsinki, Finland.-History:In 1999, Rapture signed a contract with Spinefarm Records and released their debut album, Futile, in late 1999. The album was also licensed to Relapse Records for distribution outside of Finland. In early...
, Telekinetic Walrus and The Pride of Ions, and more.
In the 1930s SESAC helped broadcasters satisfy FCC requirements, supplying them with Gospel recordings. The business began its evolution in the 1940s and in the 1950s SESAC established its electronic transcription series.
The company moved into new headquarters in Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle, named for Christopher Columbus, is a major landmark and point of attraction in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South , and Central Park West, at the southwest corner of Central Park. It is the point from...
in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
and opened an office in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in 1964. Six years later, the company began representing songwriters in addition to its traditional business of representing publishers. With a focus on Christian songwriters, the company was an early player in the Contemporary Christian music format. That evolution led the company to move its headquarters to Nashville in 1985.
In 1993, the company was purchased by Stephen Swid
Stephen Swid
Stephen Swid an American businessman and investor. He currently serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SESAC, Inc., one of the three performing rights organizations in the USA....
, Freddie Gershon
Freddie Gershon
Freddie Gershon was an entertainment attorney, lecturer in entertainment law, published author of Sweetie, Baby, Cookie, Honey, a hugely successful roman a clef novel about the music industry of 1960s thru 1980s, and former COO of the Stigwood Group of companies and current co-owner of and CEO...
and Ira Smith
Ira Smith
Ira Smith is an American public address announcer best known for his work for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association.Smith shares duties as the voice of Kings games at Power Balance Pavilion with Scott Moak....
. The new owners once again shifted the company's focus toward more mainstream music and later television.