Duelling Memberships

[bjarvis]

I'm a square dance caller. Yeah, big news.

One of the responsibilities of being a caller is being licensed with BMI/ASCAP for the use of commercially produced music.

CALLERLAB is the largest professional organization of callers. The body defines the square dance calls and the program lists (Mainstream, Plus, Advanced, etc..), produces educational & training materials, holds an annual conference and much more. Membership dues are $105/year; BMI/ASCAP licensing is $76 if calling less than 50 dances/year or $120 for 50+ dances but may be purchased without a membership if desired. Insurance and other benefits are extra. I've been a member since 2004 and plan to renew early in 2010.

Today, I received an application from the American Callers Association. They're a separate but not exactly competing group. In essence, they will use the CALLERLAB fundamentals to define calls but have composed their own program lists on the belief that the CALLERLAB lists & programs are too complicated and a detriment to square dancing as a whole. Membership is $50/year; their BMI/ASCAP licensing is $102 for less than 50 dances, $144 for 50+.

Anyway...

In today's mail, kent4str and I both received an application form for the ACA. I've never been a member. There was no cover letter, no promo brochure or such, nothing to indicate who/what they are or why I should join. Either this is a somewhat lame attempt to recruit new members or they're hoping I might simply complete the form & submit it by reflex. Either way, I'm not impressed.

Anyone out there a member of the ACA? Are you also a member of CALLERLAB? What attracted you to the ACA? Is there some subtle selling feature I'm overlooking?

Comments

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

We can talk about the dynamics of why ACA formed about 1990. It wasn't pretty.

There are a couple callers in ABQ that are members of ACA but not Callerlab. But as a member of our caller's association, they're required to be current with Callerlab programs, since that's what is called here.

I got the application too. I get it every year. About four years ago, I wrote to them and asked them to take my name off their mailing list, but it didn't happen.

The original group was made up with mostly (in my perception) traveling callers who wanted a dumbed down version of Plus to be the standard called "Square Dancing" that would be the entry level for everyone.

Callerlab annual meetings on Sundays were quite heated in the late 80s and early 90s; lots of callers abandoned the stale, do-nothing-about-the-state-of-square-dancing pall that hung over the activity and formed ACA. Now, after 20 years, it's pretty much in the same shape as Callerlab.

ACA wasn't the salvation of square dancing and it's purpose in being is pretty much as a lower cost alternative to get BMI/ASCAP licensing. If it wasn't for THAT, the organization would have just gone away.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

apologies for putting an apostrophe in 'its.'

[zipperbear]

I was an ACA member for a few years, for the cheaper price (in case I ever needed to call), and to see what it was like (which was unimpressive). Then I joined Callerlab, because I was helping with Clark Baker's definition review committee. I thought I might go to a Callerlab convention and work at becoming a full member, but I got too busy, and didn't renew at all last year. Maybe next year...