Monetize › Rights & royalties admin
ASCAP
One of the two big U.S. performing rights organizations representing songwriters, composers and music publishers. It licenses compositions to streaming services, broadcasters, venues and other businesses, then distributes the resulting public-performance royalties to its members.
- Best for
- US performance royalties; pick it or BMI, not both. Songwriters, composers and self-publishing artists who need a U.S. PRO to collect the performance royalties generated by their compositions.
- Skip if
- You have already joined BMI. You only own master recordings, do not write or publish music, already belong to another U.S. PRO, or want one service to collect every royalty type worldwide.
- First move
- Compare ASCAP versus BMI once, then register as writer. Compare ASCAP versus BMI, and then join as both a writer and publisher at the same time so neither application fee applies. Add banking and tax details, register every composition with accurate co-writer and publisher splits, then submit eligible live performances through ASCAP OnStage.
- Watch out
- ASCAP collects composition performance royalties—not mechanical royalties, master-recording income or SoundExchange royalties. Incorrect registrations, missing publisher accounts, conflicting splits and absent cue sheets can delay payment. Royalties may also arrive six to nine months after the underlying performance, with international income taking longer.
- Reach
- Industry-wide
- When
- Useful from day one.
- Based in
- United States