Broadcast Music Inc. announced that it will expand its music license agreement with the meetings and trade show industries by including meeting management companies in the pact. The agreement now allows association or show management firms to arrange for music rights on behalf of their clients.

The provision will function as a rider to the current blanket license for the meeting industry, which was negotiated in 1997 between BMI and the American Society of Association Executives, Meeting Professionals International, Professional Convention Management Association, and the Religious Conference Management Association. The agreement simplified music licensing and based fees on a per attendee rate that includes only those present where live or recorded music is played.

BMI's latest expansion of the 1997 agreement does not address the controversial issue of vicarious liability--show organizers are still held liable if an exhibitor plays music without a license, according to Jerry Bailey, spokesman for BMI. It is a sore spot for the International Association for Exposition Management, because the trade show industry is a different animal among meetings events. Exhibitions often involve tens of thousands of people, and the cost of music licensing can skyrocket. According to the American Society of Association Executives, there are no plans to reintroduce music licensing legislation in Congress.

*SITE SELECTION FIRM EXPANDS SCOPE Resort Meetings Consortium has expanded beyond its name. The company, which helps planners choose meeting sites and negotiate contracts, has added downtown, suburban, and airport hotels to its search services.

"We started the concept on the resort side in 1996," says RMC founder and vice president of sales Jerry Janove, based in Cherry Hill, N.J. "But our clients want to work in other destinations as well."

RMC charges hotels a 10 percent commission on the room nights it books--a fee it then shares with its client. Depending on the volume of business they do with RMC, clients could get back as much as 30 percent of that commission. "It can be quite substantial," Janove says. RMC is unique among third-party firms in sharing its fees with clients. What also sets the company apart is the location of its sales force. "We put salespeople where our customers are going, not where they are," Janove explains. RMC staff are in hot meeting destinations such as San Diego, Chicago, Seattle, and (in the near future) South Florida and Las Vegas. "That way our salespeople can be with the clients on-site, experience their meeting, and talk to them about future programs." For more information, visit RMC on the Internet at www.resortmeetings.com.

fast facts Per Diem Pendulum * Depending on the local economy and the strength of the U.S. dollar, business travel costs to world cities are up and down compared to 1995. The per diem totals below are averages, including three meals and lodging in business-class facilities.