Our station has not been officially tracking the music that we broadcast. We have been contacted by BMI ASCAP and SESAC about how many times we have played a certain artist. We could not give them an answer because we have not tracked. I know this is not a professional standard but shouldnt we track and what are the ramifications if we do not--what reasons can I give my OM/GM as to why we need to be tracking
My belief was that stations that are not electroically monitored for detections are sent a packet so that a log can be done for a short period of time. You are also given the option to export song playlists from your music scheduler, like Selector, Music MAster, Power Gold, etc. I do not believe you have to log 365 days a year (I'm with stations that are electroically monitored, so kind of lost track).
First, check with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC's web pages as to reporting / logging requirements for the kind of contract you have with each. Then check your contract itself. I think you will find that you just have to log for a week or two a year... not permanently. If you have a satellite network, they provide music lists... you just have to verify what hours you ran that programming.
The rights collection agencies do not track artist plays. They track song plays, as they only care about authors and composers, not the performers.
