What Is ASCAP, and Why You Should Care
I’ve had the privilege of interning at ASCAP this summer at their office in Nashville
Over the course of my internship, I’ve learned what role ASCAP plays as a Performance Rights Organization (PRO) in the music industry, and how its various departments function. When I first told people where I was about to intern, they may have thought I was pulling some terrible prank (‘Ass-what?’). Even if you’ve never heard of ASCAP before, let me tell you a few things why this organization is important, has become increasingly so, and most importantly: why you should care…
ASCAP, or the ‘American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers’ was founded in 1914 by a handful of mustached Tin Pan Alley songwriters and composers (think giants like Irving Berlin, John Philip Sousa) in a fancy hotel in New York City. They were sick of the commercial exploitation of their music, and with the most prominent songwriters and composers of the time at their back, they vowed to take a stance against anyone who used their works against their permission.
With the rise of broadcast radio in the 1920’s, ASCAP became the scorn of many radio-stations, who had to pay increasingly more royalties to cover the ASCAP artists they were broadcasting. It became so expensive to live up to ASCAP’s rates that a number of radio stations decided to start their own PRO to boycott ASCAP. They called it Broadcast Music Incorporate (or BMI). Sound familiar? Interestingly, another reason for the boycott was ASCAP’s neglect of licensing black artists, which made BMI crucial in garnering airplay for increasingly popular blues and RnB artists. Eventually, the disputes between the two were settled and ASCAP agreed to lower its royalty rates. Now, ASCAP represents about 60% of all American music, while BMI represents slightly less music, but slightly more songwriters.
Before I move on to the ‘why-you-should-care’ part of this, let me clear up some common misconceptions about ASCAP. Unlike many small-business owners may tell you, ASCAP is not a money-grabbing, corporate monster forcing you to buy their licenses. In fact, it is not a corporation at all, but a ‘not-for-profit’ that is run by its members. The board of directors is chosen bi-annually by all ASCAP members, and all members can run for a board position. The president of ASCAP is Paul Williams, a singer-songwriter best known for writing the songs in The Muppet movies. Yeah. Almost every penny ASCAP grabs goes to its members. Not corporate assholes, but songwriters, composers and publishers, most of which are just scraping by. Beyond that, ASCAP is not selling small-business owners licenses because they feel like it, but because they need to under U.S. Copyright law. A daunting task, right? Let me tell you how they do it.
The ASCAP office consists of two departments: a general licensing department and a creative services department. ASCAP’s key role as a PRO is represented in the licensing department, where a team of sales representatives contact small-to medium sized business owners to sell blanket licenses. A blanket license allows the owner of a business to play music in their establishment (licensed with ASCAP) to attract customers. There are A LOT of different licenses, varying in costs, and depending on the type of business. For instance, there are licenses for business like discotheques, county fares, café’s, ice-skating rinks and clogging festivals. Yes, there is a clogging license. The revenue made by these sales are then collected and distributed to performing artists. ASCAP makes a profit by claiming a small percentage of the royalties collected, which is about 11% (which is, ironically, lower than BMI). The distribution of the royalties are then calculated using statistics showing the average airplay of a song. Obviously, an artist that is given more airplay receives more royalties than an artist that does not. Though the use of a blanket license is required by federal law, some businesses may be exempt from needing a license. For instance, if your local hoed-dunk gas station plays local radio from a stereo behind a cash register, they probably don’t need a license.
Beyond licensing, the ASCAP office is also home to a Creative Services department. This department represents ASCAP’s many members (there are over 470,000 !!!), and assists them in their relationships to music publishers and record labels. To become an ASCAP member, an artists or publisher fills in an online application and pays a one-time 50 dollar application fee. In turn, a member can collect royalties for performances of his or her songs, and is able to access many of ASCAP’s member benefits, which include using the office’s writing rooms and getting feedback on songs sent to the department. Let me clarify this: if you are a songwriter who performs his or her songs regularly, ASCAP will PAY you for performing them (if you register with ASCAP). If you send in a demo to an ASCAP office, music publishers that work in the membership department are required to listen to it.
Finally, the creative services department is headed by four creative representatives, all of whom have strong executive backgrounds in the music business, whether it be in music publishing, artists relations, or production. Many representatives have personal relations with ASCAP members, and assist them in their creative pursuits. The creative services department also holds the communications and media department, responsible for ASCAP’s official website and Playback magazine, an issue appearing four times a year which is free to all ASCAP members.
So, now that you know that ASCAP:
- Is a not-for-profit, non-corporate organization run by its members
- Has a president who wrote songs for furry green frogs
- Can be joined by anyone
- Will listen to your music (and possibly get you published)
- Will give you career advice
- Will let you use their office’s practice rooms (and coffee machines)
Anyways, now that you know all of this, you’ll understand why this organization needs to be there, and why you should care, especially in a time when many people think music should be free and available everywhere. Music is not free. Everyone that plays music to promote their business and attract customers should pay royalties to the people that are keeping the customers satisfied. Every song you play on any kind of device is paid for, or should be paid for, according to U.S. Copyright law. In addition, any song that you’ve ever written is automatically under copyright protection, and if you decide to play it, in any venue whatsoever, you should be paid for it.
If you’d like to know more about ASCAP, or sign-up as member, check out their website:
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