BMI plays a vital role in developing and expanding the global initiatives of CISAC (the International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies), a non-governmental, non-profit organization comprising some 200 societies in 98 countries. Worldwide, CISAC represents 2 million creators of works in the musical, dramatic, literary, and audio/visual arts and other fields of creative endeavor.
Senior BMI executives play leadership roles on the Distribution, Technical, Legal & Legislation, and Communication Committees.
CISAC’s priority pursuit is the coordination of work among its different member societies, which have, for several decades, effectively established a system of reciprocal representation. That allows CISAC member organizations to provide the entire world repertoire to the users of artistic works.
For the past several years, CISAC has placed a great deal of emphasis on the new technologies, taking part in most of the major efforts in digital standardization, defending the interests of its members in inter-professional initiatives, and, currently, deploying the Common Information System (CIS), a world network of databases and standards for the identification of works and participants in the creative process. With BMI executives helping to spearhead the effort, the CIS is aimed at improving member society management by setting up more secure and efficient procedures while also allowing for the tracking of the use of works in the digital sphere and, in particular, on the Internet.
Creators do not belong to CISAC on an individual basis. Only the societies that represent them on a national or regional level may become members.
The governing bodies of CISAC (General Assembly, Executive Office and Secretary General) determine the initiatives to be pursued in favor of creators and their rights, with respect to initiatives with international authorities who legislate creators’ rights, priority actions to be taken in matters of cooperation with developing nations, and the questions to be studied by its diverse technical, professional and legal organs.
CISAC is a provider of services to its members and strives to facilitate and improve the management of creators’ rights by its member societies.