Digital Licenses Lead to Profits
I don’t think it is a surprise that performance rights royalties are where the money is coming from right now. As more music is being consumed digitally, there is a dramatic rise in the places where it is being played - along with those new situations and contexts come increased performance license royalties for artists and organizations like BMI and ASCAP. As music becomes more ubiquitous, it seems like all the licenses (synchronization, performance, etc) will become more important (perhaps not mechanical since physical manifestations of music are decreasing) and I would predict that publishing houses at some point will begin putting pressure on BMI and ASCAP to let them in on some of their business. In the past it wasn’t worth their time to sort out royalties but as money becomes scarce perhaps now it is?
