ASCAP And BMI Partner To Launch Songview, A New Copyright Data Platform

ASCAP and BMI team up and debut Songview, a new data platform that provides music users comprehensive and detailed copyright ownership for over 20 million pieces of music in their respective catalogs. The service is free to the public and available on each performing rights organization’s websites.

Finding out who owns what and how much they own can be a daunting task when you need to make inquiries. Previously, interested parties had to search within each PRO’s site for that information.

Now, the BMI and ASCAP online databases display the breakdown of ownership shares by ASCAP share percentage, BMI share percentage, and shares listed as Other, if applicable. Additional information featured in Songview includes: Songwriters and their affiliations, Publishers, Performers, alternate song titles, ISWC and IPI codes, BMI and ASCAP song IDs (if applicable), and publisher contact information. Reconciled songs appear with a green checkmark to indicate that ASCAP and BMI agree on the information and have the same data in each of their respective systems. 

As an example, below are two screen shots detailing how the material is presented for Scotty McCreery’s “You Time” on each PRO’s site, with writers, publisher and performer information listed:

ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews commented: “This project is all about providing greater transparency for everyone who relies on this copyright data to guide important business decisions. When you see the Songview checkmark, you know that the data is consistent in both ASCAP and BMI’s copyright systems. Drawing upon our 185 years of combined ASCAP and BMI expertise in managing complex and dynamic copyright data, we have built a convenient new digital tool for anyone who licenses music. This release is our first iteration of Songview, and we are committed to enhancing this new platform as our industry evolves.”

BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill added: “When two companies that are fierce competitors come together on a project this ambitious to address a need identified by the marketplace, it says a lot about how important greater data transparency is to both of our organizations. Today’s launch is a good first step in the ongoing evolution of transparent and accessible data, and I am pleased with what we have accomplished so far to meet the evolving needs of the music industry.  I look forward to continuing to expand on the possibilities of Songview in the future.”