(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — BMI has launched a podcast series to bring promising new songwriter/artists to the attention of key industry executives including record company A&R staffers and creative executives at music publishing companies. The BMI podcast, entitled "See It Hear First(TM)," is available on BMI.com.
"The podcast is a natural evolution of our long tradition of promotional CDs and our nationwide series of live showcases promoting new songwriter/artists," said BMI Senior Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations Phil Graham. "Our close collaboration with creative executives at record companies and music publishers has shown a lot of excitement for this new format because of its immediacy and its portability. In addition, the availability of the podcast on BMI.com, which reaches almost a million visitors each month, should be an excellent way of letting new talent reach its audience."
Simultaneously, BMI Licensing Vice President Richard Conlon, who oversees the company's new media area, said that BMI had been licensing podcasters for nearly a year covering the public performance rights to the BMI repertoire. BMI's licensing website has been expanded to provide a clear path for podcasters to get more information on licensing music for their programs and to obtain BMI licenses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Podcasters including Coverville.com and Keener13.com have already signed on to the BMI agreement. BMI plans on rolling out additional licensing programs for this new medium as it grows.
BMI will select songwriter/artists for the podcast from its new signings each month. Repertoire for the first podcast includes Jetpack, Astaire, somedaynew and Brendan James
"These initiatives," said Graham, "continue BMI's long tradition in breaking new ground for our creators and our licensees by harnessing the power of technology. BMI was the first music company with a web site, the first to license music on the web, and the first to make data on its entire catalog of more than 4.5 million compositions available on the web. The podcast is a logical next step." –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
