Nashville, TN – August 19, 2009 – SESAC, (“SESAC”), the nation’s second oldest and fastest growing performing rights organization (PRO) representing songwriters, composers, and publishers, today announced that Barcelona Music and Audio Technology (BMAT) has become a technology partner in its new program aimed at utilizing the latest advances in audio-recognition technology to improve the performance rights licensing and distribution supply chain.

SESAC will utilize BMAT’s digital pattern-recognition algorithm known as Vericast to capture performances of its repertory in programming on broadcast and cable television.  Thousands of audio files from select SESAC publisher affiliates will be monitored across top broadcast and cable outlets.  Vericast will be complimented by a suite of other enabling technologies, including watermarking, to develop a technology-agnostic, but holistic solution for performance rights licensing, tracking, and royalty distribution.

Hunter Williams, Senior VP of Strategic Development at SESAC, said, “The technological solution to the challenges we face in the new music economy is multi-faceted.  It is imperative that we continue to utilize leading technologies like Vericast to help navigate the changing tides of music delivery and tracking, and make the royalty payment process faster and more efficient for our constituents.  BMAT’s well-rounded and versatile approach to audio-recognition solutions makes it an ideal strategic ally in this initiative.”

Alex Loscos, CEO of BMAT, commented, “We are currently monitoring content across terrestrial broadcasts and digital streams in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the West Indies. The next logical step was the US and the partnership with SESAC gives us the opportunity to introduce Vericast to this vital market. We are very proud to partner with SESAC, with whom we share the vision for new ways of artist royalty distribution based on transparency and accuracy.”

About SESAC
Founded in 1930, making it the second oldest performing rights organization in the U.S., SESAC’s repertory has diversified to include today’s most popular music, including R&B, Hip-Hop, Dance, Classic Rock, Country hits, the best of Latin music, Contemporary Christian, Jazz, and TV and Film music from Hollywood’s hottest composers. SESAC prides itself on developing individual relationships with both songwriters and publishers. 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, Miami and London. For more information, please visit www.sesac.com.

Url: http://www.nsai.cmt.com/
Nashville, Tennessee – The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) announces the 10th Anniversary of the NSAI Song Contest Presented by CMT. Kicking off August 1 and running through October 31, 2009, the contest boasts unparalleled career-building industry relationships designed to help unsigned songwriters navigate the road to becoming professional hitmakers. The Grand Prize Winner will receive an exclusive mentoring session with The Valory Music Co. recording artist Jewel.

“By offering meetings with major publishers, we don’t just get aspiring songwriters’ feet in the door; we rip the door off its hinges and create an opportunity for them to build relationships with top-notch songwriters, publishers and music industry executives that would normally take years to establish. As we celebrate our 10th Anniversary, we hope to continue that trend and build upon NSAI’s legacy of educating, promoting and protecting songwriters in all genres,” says NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison.

Entering its 10th year, NSAI has created – along with CMT for the past four years – a nationwide platform for aspiring songwriters to submit their best tunes with one Grand Prize Winner and one CMT Listeners’ Choice Winner. Past winners understand this is a powerful vehicle to get “discovered” and have found success from signing an artist development deal with DreamWorks Records to securing a music-publishing staff writer deal.

Nashville pro writers, publishers and industry professionals will narrow down the finalists over three rounds of judging and select the Grand Prize Winner, 10 Runners-Up and 10 Honorable Mentions before the Top 10 (excluding the Grand Prize Winner) are posted on www.nsai.cmt.com. Fans can vote online for their favorite song from January 20 through February 26, 2010. Last year there were more than 94,000 votes for the CMT Listeners’ Choice.

In addition to the mentoring session with Jewel, prizes include a single-song professional demo, tickets to the 2011 CMT Music Awards, a private tour of CMT studios, a performance at the legendary Bluebird Café, meetings with major music publishers and a one-year membership to NSAI, just to name a few. Take advantage of this opportunity to launch a songwriting career. For a full list of prizes and how to enter, visit www.nsai.cmt.com.

All genres of music are encouraged. The entry fees are $35.00 (NSAI members) and $45.00 (non-members) per song submitted. Proceeds benefit the NSAI Legislative Fund to protect the rights of songwriters.

About Jewel: Growing up on a remote ranch in Alaska, Jewel endured poverty and teen homelessness on the road to the triumph of international stardom. The three-time Grammy nominee has enjoyed career longevity rare among her generation of artists and has sold twenty-seven million albums worldwide. Her debut album, Pieces of You, became one of the best-selling debut albums of all time. Last year, singer/songwriter Jewel released her first country record, Perfectly Clear, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. She recently released her first-ever independent CD, Lullaby. Jewel lives on a working ranch in Stephenville, Texas, with her husband, World Champion bull-riding superstar Ty Murray. For more on Jewel, check out www.jeweljk.com.

About NSAI: The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) is the world’s largest not-for-profit songwriters’ trade organization. Established in 1967, the membership of more than 5,000 spans the United States and seven international countries. For more than 40 years, NSAI has been dedicated to serving and protecting the rights of aspiring and professional songwriters in all genres of music. For more information, visit www.nashvillesongwriters.com.

About CMT: CMT, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 88 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network’s digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.

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