SESAC is a for-profit
performance-rights organization in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. Founded in 1930 as the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, it is the second-oldest performance-rights organization in the United States.
[About us]
SESAC. Retrieved on 2007-07-20. SESAC has 30,000 songwriters and more than 1 million compositions in its catalogue.
History
The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers was founded by Paul Heinecke, a German immigrant, in New York in 1930.
SESAC originally strove to support underrepresented European stage authors and composers with their American performance royalties, hence the original name. Heinecke led the firm until his death in 1972.
In the 1930s, SESAC helped broadcasters satisfy
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
requirements, supplying them with gospel recordings. The business evolved beyond gospel recordings and European composers during the 1940s, and in the 1950s SESAC established its
electrical transcription service.
On a monthly basis, SESAC recorded "transcriptions" of its affiliates and distributed them, on disc, to radio stations across America. Among its transcribed artists were jazz and country performers:
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...
,
Count Basie,
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...
,
Coleman Hawkins,
Chico Hamilton
Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader ...
,
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...
,
Chet Atkins, and
Hank Garland
Walter Louis Garland (11 November 1930 – 27 December 2004), professionally Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and released a jazz al ...
.
As its original objective diminished in the 1960s, the company entered other musical genres. Since then, the company has represented a wider range of writers and
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...
s. SESAC's affiliates roster includes
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...
,
Robert Johnson,
Bryan-Michael Cox,
Nate "Danja" Hills,
Rush,
Coheed & Cambria,
Young Love,
The Faint,
Rapture
The rapture is an Christian eschatology, eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an Eschatology, end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurre ...
,
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...
(left SESAC in 2020 to join
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
) and
Adele (since 2017, formerly was with
BMI).
The company moved into new headquarters in
Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South ( West 59th Street), and Central Park West, at the ...
in
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...
and opened an office in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
in 1964. Six years later, the company began representing songwriters in addition to its traditional business of representing publishers. With a focus on Christian songwriters, the company was an early player in the
Contemporary Christian music format. That evolution led the company to move its headquarters to Nashville in 1985.
In 1993, the company was purchased by
Stephen Swid
Stephen Claar Swid (October 26, 1940 – October 6, 2019) was an American businessman and investor. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of SESAC, Inc., one of the three performing rights organizations in the US.
Swid was also ...
,
Freddie Gershon
Freddie Gershon is an entertainment attorney, author, former president of the Robert Stigwood Group, former co-chairperson of SESAC, and current co-chairperson (with Sir Cameron Mackintosh) of Music Theatre International.
Education
Gershon studi ...
, and Ira Smith. The new owners shifted the company's focus toward more mainstream music, and later television.
In 2013, Rizvi Traverse Management acquired a majority stake in SESAC.
In 2015, SESAC acquired the
mechanical rights clearinghouse
Harry Fox Agency.
In 2017,
The Blackstone Group
Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...
acquired SESAC.
Blackstone’s Latest Move Has the Look of a Hit
Jennifer Saba, New York Times, January 5, 2017
References
{{Authority control
Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee
Music licensing organizations
Economy of Nashville, Tennessee
Music organizations based in the United States
Organizations established in 1930
Jazz record labels
Electrical transcription companies
The Blackstone Group companies
2017 mergers and acquisitions