, the daughter wrote in a March 5, 2018 e-mail that ASCAP gives out “bonuses every 3 years from 200-500K non recoupable. Just a straight up signing bonus.” She suggested moving the catalog every three years to get the signing bonus.
Besides those type of advances, songwriters are also seeking guaranteed payouts of a certain level from PROs, sources add, although the latter deals often don’t have a non-recoupable component. So if either SESAC or GMR decides to pay a non-recoupable advance, it’s not the same thing as when ASCAP and BMI, which do not operate as for-profit entities, do.
When that happens, the money for what turns out to be an un-recoupable portion of the advance must come from somewhere, whether it’s counted as part of the royalty pool distributed among all songwriters or as an overhead expense. Some in the industry say making such deals with a non-recoupable portion could hurt other songwriters because if they aren’t recouped, they take money away from the overall pot.
As for BMI, a rep says in a statement that “an advance is just what it says, an advance of royalties. It’s what a songwriter will earn under our payment system, so by its very nature, it’s recoupable. Advances are a part of the music industry, they’re used by publishers and record labels and have been part of BMI’s toolbox since the very beginning and will continue to be. We evaluate many factors to determine if and when to give an advance.