There area total of three performance rights organizations in the United States, they are known as The American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publishers (ASCAP); Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI); and The Society of European Stage Authors & Composers (SESAC). All three were formed to protect the legality in different uses of music and created a system of royalty collection for the authors.

All three organizations have various differences, none of which are better than the other. Rather, it is the author’s personal opinion that matters in choosing which to join and who they want to work with. Songwriters are forced with the tough decision of only choosing one organization to affiliate themselves with but publishers have the privilege of being affiliated with all three. Here, we will discuss the ins and outs of SESAC, what distinguishes it and sets it apart from the rest.

Founded in 1930, The Society of European Stage Authors & Composers began by helping European composers in the United States that were having problems finding adequate representation for collecting their performance royalties. In 1985 SESAC moved their company headquarters from New York to Nashville and they have continued to expand and develop ever since.

Today, SESAC’s headquarters remains in Nashville and they have also expanded out to having offices in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, and London. They represent musicians and authors alike, most famously known for Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Robert Johnson, RUSH, Cassandra Wilson, Bryan-Michael Cox, Nate “Danja” Hills, Jack Knight, Jason Perry, and Swizz Beatz.

SESAC has since dropped the meaning of their acronym and continued on representing songwriters and publishers from all backgrounds whether European or not. Their main purpose is to represent the right for an author’s music to be played in public places and to receive adequate royalty payment from it. According to their website, SESAC keeps track of songwriters and publishers royalties through various systems including, “state-of-the-art monitoring, computer database information, and broadcast logs.” Once they have brought all of the money in, it is then distributed out to the clients based on how much their songs are played.

All music-licensing needs can be met at SESAC. From general needs like amusement/water parks, bowling centers, college and university’s, concert promoters, convention centers, etc.; all the way to internet licensing, broadcast, television, mechanical, and synchronization licensing.
One of the main differences that sets SESAC aside from the rest is their selective organization process. There are no fees or payments involved if a songwriter or publisher wishes to join the organization, however, SESAC chooses who they want to be affiliated with. The company prides itself on having a catalog based on quality, not quantity. They are only interested in making personal relationships with those who are serious about their craft. Because of this point, SESAC is the smallest performance rights organization in the business, but that never slows them down.