SESAC is a performing rights organization with headquarters in Nashville and offices in New York, Los Angeles, and London.

What is a "performing rights organization"?

Performing rights organizations, such as SESAC, are businesses designed to represent songwriters and publishers and their right to be compensated for having their music performed in public. By securing a license from SESAC, for example, music users (i.e., television and radio stations, auditoriums, restaurants, hotels, theme parks, malls, etc.) can legally play any song in the SESAC repertory. Without a license from a performing rights organization, music users are in danger of copyright infringement.

How does SESAC represent songwriters and publishers?

When a songwriter or publisher affiliates with SESAC, SESAC then represents the right for that music to be played in public. As the technological leader among the nation’s performing rights organizations, SESAC was the first P.R.O. to employ state-of-the-art Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) performance detection. SESAC utilizes BDS in conjunction with other cutting edge performance detection technology, providing SESAC’s writer and publisher affiliates with the fastest, most accurate royalty payment available anywhere. The system required to compute compensation is based on many factors, including music trade publication chart activity, computer database information, and state-of-the-art monitoring.

How do music users secure licenses from SESAC?

In order to comply with the U.S. copyright law, any establishment that plays copyrighted music is legally required to secure permission to use copyrighted music, whether in a live performance or by mechanical means. A music user can do this by securing licenses from the three performing rights organizations recognized by the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976: one of which is SESAC. Getting a SESAC license ensures the music user of complying with the copyright law and also of having access to the world’s fastest growing repertory, worry-free.

Many SESAC licenses can be obtained directly from the licensing section of this website (www.sesac.com/licensing/licensing1.asp), or you can contact the company's headquarters (toll free number: 1-800-826-9996) from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Time. License fees are based on a series of determinants, depending on the type of establishment.

Tell me about SESAC.

SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second oldest performing rights organization in the United States. SESAC's repertory, once limited to European and gospel music, has diversified to include today's most popular music, including R&B/hip-hop, dance, rock classics, country hits, the best of Latina music, Contemporary Christian, the coolest jazz, and the television and film music of Hollywood’s hottest composers.

SESAC's corporate headquarters in Nashville houses all of the company's divisions, from creative to licensing to administration. The company also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and London.

If the phrase 'quality vs. quantity' ever mattered, SESAC is the place. While SESAC is the smallest of the three U.S. performing rights organizations, size is its largest advantage. SESAC prides itself on developing individual relationships with both songwriters and publishers.

Licensees benefit from the intimate atmosphere, with a licensing staff dedicated to meeting the needs of music users quickly and satisfactorily. And because our repertory concerns itself only with quality copyrights, the music user doesn't have to sift through the millions of infrequently-used copyrights common to other performing rights organizations to access the usable copyrights.

Who are some of the artists who perform SESAC music?

Over the years there have been thousands and thousands of artists who have performed SESAC-affiliated songs. A handful of names that you might recognize include Usher, Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Justin Timberlake, Pink, Nelly Furtado, Beyonce, Coheed and Cambria, Garth Brooks, Destiny’s Child, Mercy Me, Ludacris, Jim Brickman, Kenny Chesney, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, U2, Luciano Pavarotti, LeAnn Rimes, Mariah Carey, Alan Jackson, Cassandra Wilson, Jagged Edge, Jimi Hendrix, Christina Aguilera, and UB40.

How can I become a SESAC affiliate?

Unlike the other performing rights organizations, SESAC has a selective process by which to affiliate songwriters and publishers, resulting in affiliates who have personal relationships with the SESAC staff. SESAC's creative staff works with songwriters to develop and perfect their talents.

For more information about becoming affiliated with SESAC, check out the Writer/Publisher Relations section of this website.