It Actually Works

Years ago, around the time that we were just forming The Aloha Steamtrain and I was playing shows with Humbert, I joined ASCAP. That's the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. They are one of the groups out there that pays out royalties to, well, composers, authors, and publishers.

I am registered with ASCAP as a composer/author (Henning Ohlenbusch) and a publisher (Rub Wrongways Records). Every quarter, for years now, I receive two mailings describing in detail all the different places that my music was not being played. Very clearly they chart out exactly in what ways I was not being paid any royalties.

I mean, of course I'm not being paid any royalties, our music is not on the radio or tv or movies or juke boxes, we're not having our tunes covered by bands across the country, etc. So, every few months I get these nice reminders of this. I barely even bother opening them any more.

Last week, I was going through my junk mail and tore open one of these ASCAP mailings to find a check inside for 127 bucks. Pause. WHAAA?!?

Buh?

Remember about half a year ago when we had a little snippet of our song Uncomfortable used in the background of an MTV show called MADE? I barely remembered it myself. ASCAP remembered though.

It seems the show was aired 11 times during that quarter, the snippet was 29 seconds long, and luckily I had it registered with ASCAP. A hundred twenty seven bucks, not a king's ransom, sure, but still, how cool is that? A royalty check.

One thing I learned is that the amount of royalties is based not just on the amount of times the composition was played but also on an estimate of the number of people who heard it. The amounts varied per showing depending on the time of day that it is aired. MADE is a fairly popular MTV show so the credits are pretty good. But MTV is a cable channel. If you had a snippet like that on during prime-time NBC or something it'd be a whole different story. I had never thought of that before.

So anyway, the check will go towards paying off the cost of The New You and, who knows, maybe the show will be broadcast a few more times as well.

Anyway, I just thought you should know that the system does seem to work. Also, we are wicked, wicked rich and famous now. Thanks MTV.