Nashville Songwriters Association Recognizes BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch
The Nashville Songwriters Association International has recognized BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch – the first time it has honored a music company CEO in this way. The association salutes Masuch for his leadership in valuing songwriters, artists, and everyone involved in the creative process.
In an unanimous board resolution, the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) has recognized BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch or his leadership in valuing songwriters, artists, and everyone involved in the creative process. The honor will be presented during the NSAI’s annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival in the Spring of 2022. According to the NSAI, such board resolutions are very rare, in fact this is the first time NSAI has recognized a music company CEO in this way. His philosophy stating “BMG works for songwriters and artists. They don’t work for us,” is accompanied by a BMG mission statement that also speaks to transparency when it comes to paying their songwriter partners.
Fair compensation
In a release, the NSAI Board describes BMG’s stated vision as follows: “A world in which every songwriter and artist gets to achieve their potential and receives a fair reward for doing so. Music isn’t just another business. Music is created by individuals, each of them on their own creative journey taking huge risks. The fruits of that creativity need to be paid for, fairly and efficiently. BMG aligns itself with the interests of the creative community of music.” In this context, the NSAI points to Masuch eliminating the so-called Controlled Composition clause, a practice where songwriters are asked to take a reduced royalty rate to have a song placed on an album. BMG also undertook an unprecedented review of its historic recording contracts and accelerated royalty payouts, which NSAI applauds.
