Pollstar Panel Pulls Curtain Back on Music Licensing Process

BMI participated recently (2/21/14) in a panel at the Pollstar Live! Conference that took an inside look at the music licensing process from the perspective of a music publisher, a songwriter and two performing rights organizations. The session focused on the “circle of life” in Nashville after a venue owner or promoter has paid their public performance licensing fees. BMI songwriter Barry Dean, who has written hit songs for Hunter Hayes and Little Big Town, spoke about how those fees allow him to make a living writing music, and Nashville-based publisher Beth Laird, who served as the moderator, talked about how those monies are what fuel the creative process in Nashville. The conference, which has been in Los Angeles the last few years, was held for the first time in Music City at the brand new Omni Hotel.