Ben Sisario, writing for the New York Times:
Ascap, which stands for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, was founded by a group of composer luminaries including Irving Berlin and Victor Herbert. Its 100th birthday is this week. BMI, or Broadcast Music Inc., was created by broadcasters in 1939 as a competitor.
After federal antitrust investigations, both groups agreed to government supervision in 1941.
This system has hummed along for decades. But with the rise of Internet radio, publishers have complained that the rules are antiquated and unfair. They point to the disparity in the way Pandora compensates the two sides of the music business: Last year, Pandora paid 49 percent of its revenue, or about $313 million, to record companies, but only 4 percent, or about $26 million, to publishers.
I had no idea the structure was so byzantine. Fascinating.