Keen on Music Publishing

What is ASCAP and how can it help me?

ASCAP is an acronym that many music lovers hear often but don't really know much about. The letters ASCAP stand for, The American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers. ASCAP is one of the major Performing Rights Organizations in the U.S.

The Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) in America collect over $1.5 billion dollars annually for songwriters and publishers who refer to this income as Performance Royalties. We will go into more depth about these royalties.

But first let's address the second part of the question, "What is ASCAP and how can it help me?" There is much that a PRO can do to assist Christian songwriters and publishers in addition to the collection and distribution of Performance Royalties.

The assistance comes from departments at these companies whose mission concerns membership in the organizations; by membership we mean songwriters and publishers who join or affiliate with the PRO. These membership departments have executives who are commonly referred to as member representatives or "reps". Their strategic function is to identify talent and recruit it, then maintain the relationships. In a sense the job combines talent scout, career builder, royalty troubleshooter, promoter and some good ol' customer service.

ASCAP has many educational programs and workshops to help writers and writer/artists learn about the craft of songwriting and the business side of their careers also. They also present showcases and seminars and sponsor many events. Many of these opportunities are generated out of the many regional and international offices they have. Establishing a relationship with the office nearest you could accelerate your career.

ASCAP was the first PRO in America, founded in 1914 by songwriters and publishers. It is still owned and governed by songwriters and publishers who routinely battle with music users like restaurant owners and radio and television broadcasters over fair compensation to music creators. Our website is www.ascap.com.

In a radical transformation of the paradigm, ASCAP added an Enterprises division in 2002 that allows the organization to create properties and products that generate revenue. Some of these successful properties are: Mediaguide (a digital performance tracking system using state of the art digital fingerprinting technology). Music Pro Insurance (affordable insurance for musical instruments, studio gear and other musician and songwriter oriented needs), The ASCAP I Create Music Expo (the first ever international music conference dedicated solely to those who create music) and The ASCAP Radio Network, launched in 2005.

Christian music does not enjoy the same level of support at all three PROs. ASCAP's roster contains a majority of Christian music's top artists and songwriters. It would be best to investigate the experience of other songwriters at various levels of their careers and reflect on their advice when making a decision as to which to join.

Performance Royalties, collected and distributed by the PROs are royalties that result from the performance of music to the public whether it's live or recorded. As also stated in the answer to FAQ "How Are Royalties Made?", these performances occur on the radio (satellite and terrestrial), television, Internet, in concert halls, restaurants, coffee houses, clubs, malls, aerobic centers; anywhere that music is used by a commercial enterprise to enhance the income of the business. Publishers and songwriters feel that the songs that you hear when mobile phones ring should generate performance royalties. Others disagree.

Currently, performance income is the largest source of income for publishing companies whose songs receive a lot of airplay on Pop, Rock, Urban or Country radio and television. The fees radio stations pay have been, until very recently, based on a small percentage of the station's advertising revenue. So commercial Christian music stations, that is those who sell commercial time on their stations pay a fee that is in line with every other commercial radio station of similar Arbitron ranking regardless of their musical format. But the royalties earned by the writers and publishers reflect the audience size which has been measured by Arbitron. A large commercial Pop station in a large city will theoretically generate more advertising revenue therefore more performance royalties. Even an excellent Christian commercial station will in most cases have a smaller audience than those playing secular music however.

Additionally, since many Christian radio stations qualify on paper as Non-commercial stations their license fees are minimal and don't help Christian publishers and writers much. So, for a number one song in a format full of non-commercial stations, Christian publishers' and writers' performance royalty income is approximately five percent of the comparative amount generated by secular airplay.

These royalties are collected by performance rights organizations (PROs). They collect the royalties and then distribute them to the writers and publishers whose songs have been performed. The PROs also serve the music user, like the broadcaster. Copyright law requires that a broadcaster acquire the permission of every copyright owner of every song they play. For a radio station that is music-intensive, contacting every publisher of every song played every hour of every day would be an impossible task! So the PROs, through their licensing agreements with publishers and writers, issue blanket licenses to the broadcasters saving them from that task.

The "Blanket License" concept means that when a music user buys a Blanket License they have purchased the right to use all of the music represented by the licensor. So when a radio station buys a Blanket License from ASCAP they can broadcast any music from the ASCAP repertoire. If the radio station is a "Talk" station that doesn't use much music, they can buy a Per-Program license that allows the use of the specific songs that they agree upon.

Performance royalties are distributed four times a year that is, quarterly. The PROs use varying methods to determine which songs have been played every quarter and then distribute royalties to the writers and publishers of those works. Some great songs never stop being played, digitally streamed and performed live. They continue to earn Performance income long after they are no longer on industry magazine charts.

Copyright 2007 Dan Keen. All Rights Reserved
1[1] Cusic, D. (2006) The American Recording Industry privately published