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Re: What SESAC Stands For
- Subject: Re: What SESAC Stands For
- From: "David W. Harris" <dwh@totalnetnh.net>
- Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 21:02:39 -0400
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Just as what once was the Columbia Broadcasting System has been
legally known as CBS, Inc., for several years now, what started out as
the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers has been just plain
ol' SESAC for decades. It was founded in 1931 (or 1930 if you want to
believe the company's web site) by Paul Heinecke and initially
concentrated on European and religious material. Over the years (and
especially since Heinecke's death in 1972) SESAC has expanded its
repertoire and really put itself on the map a few years ago when it
added the Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond catalogues.
The confusion over what the initials stand for is understandable.
You won't find the derivation of the acronym at www.sesac.com and
numerous printed sources get it wrong...in a couple cases it's listed
different ways in the same book! Ward L. Quaal and James A. Brown's
Broadcast Management (New York: Hastings House, 1976) lists the name as
above on page 291 but as the Society of European Songwriters Authors and
Composers on page 361. Then there's Who Is Who in Music (Chicago: Who
Is Who in Music, 1951), edited (sort of) by Dr. J.T.H. Wize: SESAC is
Selected European and Standard American Catalogs on page viii but Select
Editions of Standard American Catalogs on page 466! Take your pick,
folks. It is entirely possible, of course, that the company changed its
name a few times along the way. I will vouch only for its original name
and the current name.
While we're dealing with the various initials that turn up on
recordings, collectors of British pressings have probably seen MCPS or
PRS on some labels. They are the Mechanical-Copyright Protection
Society and the Performing Right Society, respectively. Dig out your
old Gordon Lightfoot vinyl and look for CAPAC on the label--that's the
Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada, established in
1925 by ASCAP and PRS. In 1990, CAPAC merged with PROCAN (Performing
Rights Organization of Canada, formerly BMI Canada) to form SOCAN
(Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada...don't
blame me if they can't spell).
Classical fans have no doubt seen BIEM and GEMA on labels like
Deutsche Grammophon or Philips. They are, respectively, the Bureau
International des Societes Gerant les Droits d'Enregistrement et de
Reproduction Mecanique and the Gesellschaft fur Musikalische
Auffuhrungs- und Mechanische Vervielfaltigungsrechte. Such euphonious
appellations!
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<HTML>
Just as what once was the Columbia Broadcasting System
has been legally known as CBS, Inc., for several years now, what started
out as the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers has been just
plain ol' SESAC for decades. It was founded in 1931 (or 1930 if you
want to believe the company's web site) by Paul Heinecke and initially
concentrated on European and religious material. Over the years (and
especially since Heinecke's death in 1972) SESAC has expanded its repertoire
and really put itself on the map a few years ago when it added the Bob
Dylan and Neil Diamond catalogues.
<BR> The confusion over what the initials stand for is
understandable. You won't find the derivation of the acronym at www.sesac.com
and numerous printed sources get it wrong...in a couple cases it's listed
different ways in the same book! Ward L. Quaal and James A. Brown's
<I>Broadcast Management</I> (New York: Hastings House, 1976) lists the
name as above on page 291 but as the Society of European Songwriters Authors
and Composers on page 361. Then there's <I>Who Is Who in Music</I>
(Chicago: Who Is Who in Music, 1951), edited (sort of) by Dr. J.T.H. Wize:
SESAC is Selected European and Standard American Catalogs on page viii
but Select Editions of Standard American Catalogs on page 466! Take
your pick, folks. It is entirely possible, of course, that the company
changed its name a few times along the way. I will vouch only for
its original name and the current name.
<BR> While we're dealing with the various initials that
turn up on recordings, collectors of British pressings have probably seen
MCPS or PRS on some labels. They are the Mechanical-Copyright Protection
Society and the Performing Right Society, respectively. Dig out your
old Gordon Lightfoot vinyl and look for CAPAC on the label--that's the
Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada, established in
1925 by ASCAP and PRS. In 1990, CAPAC merged with PROCAN (Performing
Rights Organization of Canada, formerly BMI Canada) to form SOCAN (Society
of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada...don't blame me if
they can't spell).
<BR> Classical fans have no doubt seen BIEM and GEMA
on labels like Deutsche Grammophon or Philips. They are, respectively,
the Bureau International des Societes Gerant les Droits d'Enregistrement
et de Reproduction Mecanique and the Gesellschaft fur Musikalische Auffuhrungs-
und Mechanische Vervielfaltigungsrechte. Such euphonious appellations!</HTML>
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