Now put that together: YOU are the Executive Producer producing YOU as the Artist; and that's TWO (2) shares of mechanical earnings from record sales paid direct to YOU by the General Licenser or Record Company! Now since YOU are paying all the recording and a share of promotion costs: YOU'RE A FOOL TO RECORD ANYBODY ELSE'S COMPOSITIONS BUT YOUR OWN; and that's another FIFTY PERCENT of a mechanical share from airplay and the publisher! Next, when and if you can blackmail ASCAP, BMI or SESAC (however you're affiliated) into paying you the Public Performance (airplay earnings) as the songwriter: your Return On Investment (ROI) suddenly gets into the "IT'S WORTH THE GAMBLE" business risk level!

Radio air play royalties begin about TWELVE CENTS per logged play times the stations of the same programming in that market. They go up in a series of plateaus until at ONE MILLION accumulated plays, as a songwriter not per song, to FORTY EIGHT CENTS per logged play times the stations in the market being 'monitored' of the same programming format, etcetera.

Now you know why ASCAP, BMI and SESAC spare no effort to gut anyone who isn't in their Pay Cliques! They want to keep all those mechanical and public performance royalties to themselves! If there are no other records available, The Cliques have the entire Field to themselves!

Seven of the Super Nine General Licensers have closed door policies to limit the amount of new releases, artists and songwriters into the market. Walt Disney doesn't have artists as such, releasing only their own television program and motion picture themes (UPDATE: Walt Disney Company recently merged - so things may change!). Aavonica Licensing, Limited is the only General Licenser with an open door policy in all fields of music except pornographic. (UPDATE: Aavonica Licensing, Limited has reverted to it's original Vandor Motion Pictures, Phonorecords and Music Publishing Group (VMG) status following their recent expansion reorganization.) Aavonica's budgets are based on actual cost and do not include any 'front' profits as do all the other General Licensers except Disney. If you can spare the budget to retain publishing, or release on your own label, Aavonica has no objection.

The Grand Liars at ASCAP, BMI and SESAC will give you every reason known to mankind to prevent you from doing business with anyone who permits YOU to own and control your product and primarily with the "paying for publishing" scenario. They'll profess 'not to endorse any record company' and in the same breath tell you that Sony (CBS), Bertlesmann (RCA), Universal (MCA), etcetera, will be a better deal: yet they cannot and will not open those doors for you!

If YOU want to be in the business of making money with your music, then be ready to invest in your music like any other business! Think about it, why should any business, including a record company, finance anyone who won't invest in themselves? Are you going to stay out of music just because The Grand Liars at ASCAP, BMI and SESAC will tell any lie to keep you out of their multibillion dollar per year Super Graft gold mine?

And, tragically, because money talks the entire Industry is overloaded with talentless racket, the Nashville MONOTONE being a bit more palatable than some other fields. Every truly original thought in music since the invention of records has come from the independent 'looking for a break'.

It's a good Industry, with a lot of good people in it, despite The Grand Liars at ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. But be prepared to be your own Executive Producer once you have that all-important EXECUTIVE PRODUCER'S RECORD RELEASE AGREEMENT for you or your Artists. Once you have an ExP Release Agreement (the short term) you can record and produce as many or as few Artists as you want - and get each and every one of them the same Financial Support and distributed!