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28-512: Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was an American music publishing firm formed in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee , United States. Currently, the company's catalog is owned by Sony Music Publishing . Acuff-Rose was formed by country music performer Roy Acuff and Fred Rose , a major Nashville music-industry figure and songwriter, who had a respected ability as a talent scout. Many country performers had been badly cheated in

56-462: A publishing contract , a songwriter or composer "assigns" the copyright of their composition to a publishing company. In return, the company licenses compositions, helps monitor where compositions are used, collects royalties and distributes them to the composers. They also secure commissions for music and promote existing compositions to recording artists , film and television. The copyrights owned and administered by publishing companies are one of

84-740: A fraction of what it was worth – or earned in the following years. A large factor in the Beatles' breakup was when their publisher Dick James sold his share of Northern Songs , the company they'd formed with him in 1963 (then taken public in 1967, with shares trading on the London Stock Exchange ), to Britain's Associated TeleVision (ATV) in 1969. Neither the Beatles nor managers Lee Eastman and Allen Klein were able to prevent ATV from becoming majority stockholders in Northern Songs, whose assets included virtually all

112-480: A given artist or writer, financially and emotionally. R&B legend Little Richard was largely cheated on his music publishing and copyrights, as were many performers. Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys were crushed to learn that Murry Wilson (father to three of the Beach Boys, Love's uncle, and the band's music publisher) had sold their company Sea of Tunes to A&M Records during 1969 for

140-467: A role in the management of the intellectual property of composers. The term music publisher originally referred to publishers who issued hand-copied or printed sheet music. Examples (who are actively in business as of June 2019 ) include: In the music industry , a music publisher or publishing company is responsible for ensuring the songwriters and composers receive payment when their compositions are used commercially. Through an agreement called

168-503: A shady way." Acuff-Rose Publications, Inc. was affiliated with BMI , while Milene Music, Inc. handled music from ASCAP member composers. Both firms initiated business in 1943 with Fred Rose compositions; Acuff-Rose Publications, Inc. copyrighted four songs (under Rose's pseudonym 'Floyd Jenkins') on January 28, while Milene Music, Inc., published "We Live In Two Different Worlds" in July. Acuff-Rose had its headquarters on 8th Avenue South in

196-884: The Roy Orbison hit song " Oh, Pretty Woman " in a parody . Claiming their version of the song fell under the fair use doctrine of the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. 107, Campbell prevailed in the United States district court in Nashville . However, this was reversed at the appellate level by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit . The case was argued before the United States Supreme Court on November 9, 1993. Handing down its ruling on March 7, 1994,

224-476: The 1960s, the company entered other musical genres. Since then, the company has represented a wider range of writers and genres . SESAC's affiliates roster includes Bob Dylan , Neil Diamond , The Cars , Robert Johnson , Bryan-Michael Cox , Nate "Danja" Hills , Rush , Coheed & Cambria , Young Love , The Faint , Rapture , Mariah Carey (left SESAC in 2020 to join ASCAP ) and Adele (since 2017, formerly

252-625: The Melrose district of Nashville and was something of a landmark to those knowledgeable of the music industry. It was here that Hank Williams , to prove his ability to Rose, wrote what would become a major hit (" A Mansion on the Hill ") while Rose went out to a nearby restaurant for a cup of coffee. Williams proved to be a significant signing, by subsequently releasing a string of both country, and pop hits. On Fred Rose's death in 1954, his son Wesley Rose served as president of Acuff-Rose. Wesley Rose led

280-502: The United States due to a legal dispute between YouTube and SESAC. For some affected artists, only certain songs were blocked, while others remained available. Some artists who are not represented by SESAC, such as Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj , had some of their videos pulled from YouTube due to the song being a collaboration with a songwriter or musician represented by SESAC. On September 30, YouTube announced that they had reached

308-461: The Year, SESAC Country Music Publisher of the Year, and Billboard Country Music Publisher of the Year. Acuff-Rose Music was involved in a landmark copyright infringement case in the 1990s: Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. (510 U.S. 569; 1994). In dispute was the use by rap artist Luther Campbell (then using the alias "Luke Skyywalker") and his band 2 Live Crew of a substantial amount of

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336-589: The company to move its headquarters to Nashville in 1985. In 1993, the company was purchased by Stephen Swid , Freddie Gershon , and Ira Smith. The new owners shifted the company's focus toward more mainstream music, and later television. In 2013, Rizvi Traverse Management acquired a majority stake in SESAC. In 2015, SESAC acquired the mechanical rights clearinghouse Harry Fox Agency . In 2017, The Blackstone Group acquired SESAC. On September 28, 2024, songs by several artists became unplayable on YouTube in

364-422: The composer. Music print publishers also supervise the issue of songbooks and sheet music by their artists. Traditionally, music publishing royalties are split seventy/thirty, with thirty percent going to the publisher (as payment for their services) and the rest going to the songwriter or songwriters. Other arrangements have been made in the past, and continue to be; some better for the writers, some better for

392-532: The court held that the appellate court placed too much emphasis on the commercial nature of the parody. The opinion of the appellate court was reversed and the case was remanded for further proceedings. Subsequently, the parties agreed to settle the case to avoid further legal expense. Music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music . Music publishers originally published sheet music . When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play

420-631: The group's song copyrights. Losing control of the company, John Lennon and Paul McCartney elected to sell their share of Northern Songs (and thus their own copyrights), while retaining their writer's royalties. ( George Harrison and Ringo Starr retained minority holdings in the company.) SESAC The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers was founded by Paul Heinecke, a German immigrant, in New York in 1930. SESAC originally strove to support underrepresented European stage authors and composers with their American performance royalties, hence

448-453: The most important forms of intellectual property in the music industry. (The other is the copyright on a master recording which is typically owned by a record company ). Publishing companies play a central role in managing this vital asset. Successful songwriters and composers have a relationship with a publishing company defined by a publishing contract. Publishers also sometimes provide substantial advances against future income. In return,

476-440: The music industry. The most unscrupulous type of music publisher is the songshark, who does little if any real "legwork" or promotion on behalf of songwriters. Songsharks make their profit not on royalties from sales, but by charging inexperienced writers for "services" (some real, such as demo recording or musical arranging , some fictional, such as "audition" or "review" fees) a legitimate publisher would provide without cost to

504-747: The original name. Heinecke led the firm until his death in 1972. In the 1930s, SESAC helped broadcasters satisfy Federal Communications Commission requirements, supplying them with gospel recordings. The business evolved beyond gospel recordings and European composers during the 1940s, and in the 1950s SESAC established its electrical transcription service. On a monthly basis, SESAC recorded "transcriptions" of its affiliates and distributed them, on disc, to radio stations across America. Among its transcribed artists were jazz and country performers: Duke Ellington , Count Basie , Woody Herman , Coleman Hawkins , Chico Hamilton , Jackie Wilson , Chet Atkins , and Hank Garland . As its original objective diminished in

532-429: The past with regard to copyright and other rights to their creations. Many were unsophisticated and naive and were taken advantage of by unscrupulous agents , attorneys , record promoters, record labels and others. When they started their publishing company, a condition to the gentleman's agreement between Acuff and Rose was that "our company would be honest. The writers would always be taken care of. No one would act in

560-566: The publishers. Occasionally a recording artist will ask for a co-writer's credit on a song (thus sharing in both the artist and publishing royalties) in exchange for selecting it to perform, particularly if the writer is not well known. Sometimes an artist's manager or producer will expect a co-credit or share of the publishing (as with Norman Petty and Phil Spector ), and occasionally a publisher will insist on writer's credit (as Morris Levy did with several of his acts); these practices are listed in ascending order of scrupulousness , as regarded by

588-454: The publishing company for the next 30 years. He was instrumental not only in the success of Acuff-Rose but also in the growth of country music outside the U.S., being the first country music publisher to establish offices overseas. Acuff-Rose Music flourished throughout this period. Lefty Frizzell , Felice and Boudleaux Bryant , Roy Orbison , Don Gibson , The Everly Brothers , Mickey Newbury , Dallas Frazier , and Whitey Shafer were some of

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616-436: The publishing company receives a percentage, which can be as high as 50% and varies for different kinds of royalty. There are several types of royalty: Publishers also work to link up new songs by songwriters with suitable recording artists to record them and to place writers' songs in other media such as movie soundtracks and commercials . They will typically also handle copyright registration and "ownership" matters for

644-468: The publishing company to Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2002. Sony/ATV Music Publishing had previously purchased Acuff-Rose's main Music Row rival, Tree International . The combined catalogs continue to dominate the country music publishing industry. In 2007, Sony/ATV Music Nashville became the first publisher in history to capture BMI Country Music Publisher of the Year, ASCAP Country Music Publisher of

672-482: The significant songwriters signed exclusively to Acuff-Rose in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. Acuff-Rose Music also operated a record label, Hickory Records, Inc. , until 1987. It still exists as a label of the parent corporation, Sony/ATM, which relaunched the dormant label in 2015. Recognizing the frailty of their health and that the company he and Fred Rose had founded in 1942 was in steady decline, Roy Acuff approached Wesley Rose late in 1984 and suggested that it

700-496: The writer, as part of their job. (By comparison, a bona fide publisher who charges admission to a workshop for writers, where songs may be auditioned or reviewed, is not wrong to do so.) Rock-n-roll pioneer Buddy Holly split with longtime manager Petty over publishing matters in late 1958, as did the Buckinghams with producer James William Guercio almost a decade later. John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)

728-399: Was sued by his former publisher Saul Zaentz (who'd also served as his manager) over a later Fogerty song that sounded slightly like a CCR song Zaentz published. (Fogerty won in court.) Several bands and artists own (or later purchase) their own publishing, and start their own companies, with or without help from an outside agent. The sale or loss of publishing ownership can be devastating to

756-552: Was time to sell the catalog. They did not have to look very far for a buyer. By May 1985, Grand Ole Opry parent company Gaylord Entertainment Company purchased the catalogue for $ 15 million. The company returned to prominence during this time under the guidance of Music Row veterans Jerry Bradley and Troy Tomlinson and acquired Tom Collins Music . However, finding itself in need of cash in order to complete construction of one of its trademark convention hotels in Texas, Gaylord sold

784-628: Was with BMI ). The company moved into new headquarters in Columbus Circle in Midtown Manhattan and opened an office in Nashville, Tennessee in 1964. Six years later, the company began representing songwriters in addition to its traditional business of representing publishers. With a focus on Christian songwriters, the company was an early player in the Contemporary Christian music format. That evolution led

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