August 01, 2009 - MPA, HFA, MENC and MTNA Announce Collaboration for Music Licensing Initiative to Help Educators Navigate Music Licensing
Download PDFThe Music Publisher Association of the United States (MPA) has finalized a historic agreement with the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) to create an easy, one-stop licensing system for educators who wish to record music publishers works and titles on CD and/or record their concerts for fundraisers to produce for sale. This is envisioned to include not only the commercially recorded titles, but also originally composed titles that are in print only.
If a band director wishes to record a high school concert band title that you publish in print only, they can get a license from the MPA/MENC/MTNA/HFA Songfile website. HFA will collect the money and pay your share directly to you with no commission deducted or fees taken. You will receive one hundred (100%) percent of the total licensing money.
Here are the highlights of the agreement:
- HFA will create a special entry page for its Songfile online licensing service, designated for the one-stop licensing of all music used in the educational, church and institutional markets.
- The MPA, MENC and MTNA will announce, advertise, promote and conduct a general information and marketing campaign over the next few years to introduce this system to educators, music ministers and instrumentalists.
- Publishers need to affiliate with HFA for Songfile licensing only, and then provide HFA with a database of their title within n approved format that is simple and easy to prepare. Songfile licensing royalities are paid to all publishers, commission-free. The usual $35 affiliation fee will be waived for MPA publishers.
- Through Songfile, HFA will license directly to the market, charging the user a “processing fee” to cover the cost of the transaction with all licensing money going directly to the publisher.
- The publishers do not have to join or be a member of the Harry Fox Agency. Publisherssimply must cooperate with the MPA in the creation of the database.
We hope to begin this program in the fall of 2009 and will continue to promote the system and encourage all schools, churches and institutions to use this easy and legal licensing model.
Finally there is a way for teachers and schools to easily and legally license titles of band, choral, instrumental and orchestra work from every publisher in a one-stop platform designed for them. In turn educational and standard publishers will have a new source of income for their print composers, licensors and themselves generated by the legal licensing of their works to a marketplace that historically has been too confused on how to license properly.
The MENC and MTNA stated to us that the majority of calls they receive from their members are requests on how to find a publisher and how to license. Yet we know that the vast majority of over 100,000 schools with music programs record their concerts and events and do not pay the publishers even though they want to do it legally.
This exciting opportunity for all print publishers and we look forward to announcing more information as it becomes available.
Please see www.harryfox.com for current information regarding Songfile®.