A new coalition of music licensees and their Washington lobbyists are trying to upend the performing rights licensing system that ASCAP and other performing rights organizations (PROs) use to pay music creators fairly and efficiently. This anti-songwriter coalition includes a small but vocal group of restaurants, bars and other live music venues who voiced concerns to members of Congress about the proliferation of PROs and about how PROs pay out royalties. 

They’re challenging the PRO system as a whole and calling for unwarranted changes that would result in venues and businesses underpaying songwriters and composers.

Now, in response to a letter from members of Congress, the U.S. Copyright Office has issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI), seeking public comments on the effectiveness of the PROs– and they need to hear directly from music creators and copyright owners.

While the Copyright Office recognizes the value of PROs as well as the leading efforts ASCAP has taken to increase transparency in the industry and ensure music creators are paid fairly, this NOI is the direct result of the lobbying effort by a coalition of music licensees who are ultimately looking to pay songwriters less for the use of your music.

Not surprisingly, this effort by licensees to avoid paying songwriters fairly is not new. For decades, licensees and their lobbyists have put forward false and misleading claims to convince Congress to protect their economic interests at the expense of music creators.

HERE’S THE TRUTH

• The information licensees are asking for is already publicly available. ASCAP’s entire repertory can easily be found on our publicly available website.
•  The changes these licensees are calling for would benefit them– at the expense of songwriters.
• ASCAP puts songwriters first. We are a member-led organization that operates as a not-for-profit, distributing 90 cents of every dollar we collect directly back to ASCAP songwriter, composer and publisher members.
•  ASCAP uses advanced technology to track and process over a trillion performances annually, making sure you get paid efficiently, fairly and correctly when your work is used.
• ASCAP’s payment and distribution rules are publicly available on our website and approved by our member-elected Board of Directors – 24 songwriters, composers and music publishers.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR ROYALTIES

ASCAP is fighting to protect your livelihood. We will be submitting comments on behalf of our more than one million members, but they need to hear from you too. 

Your voice can make a difference. 

Working together, we can protect the rights of American music creators and defend the value of your music.

SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS NOW