ABOUT ASCAP LICENSING

ASCAP licenses the right to perform songs and musical works created and owned by songwriters, composers, lyricists and music publishers who are ASCAP members and members of foreign performing rights organizations who are represented by ASCAP in the United States.

It is impossible for individual composers and publishers to monitor the hundreds of thousands of businesses that use music. It would be equally difficult, time consuming and expensive for business owners to locate and negotiate with all the owners of the music that might be used. There is a simple, fast and reasonably priced alternative. Through ASCAP, in one simple transaction, businesses can obtain the right to perform the millions of songs created or owned by more than 330,000 of America's and hundreds of thousands of the world's best songwriters, composers, lyricists and publishers. Founded in 1914, and still owned by and managed for its writer and publisher members, ASCAP grants businesses the permission they need to perform music publicly. The money collected is distributed, after deducting operating costs (currently 11.9%), directly to ASCAP members and to affiliated foreign performing rights organizations for their members.

Music is a vital part of the total service businesses offer to customers.
ASCAP's licensees recognize that using music benefits their businesses because music, like other amenities or products, pays off in heightened customer satisfaction, increased profits, and improved employee morale and productivity. If you are using music now, or are thinking about using music in the future.

Click here for more information on the ASCAP repertory.

Tens of thousands of businesses find the ASCAP license the most convenient and economical way to gain access to the bulk of America's finest music.
ASCAP's customers include major television networks, local television and, radio stations, cable and satellite networks and systems, public broadcasters, internet web sites, colleges and universities, night clubs, taverns and restaurants, background music services, fitness and health clubs, private clubs, hotels, conventions and trade shows, concert presenters, dance halls, shopping centers and malls, theme and amusement parks, airlines, skating rinks, retail stores, and music users in a wide variety of other industries. There are over one hundred different ASCAP rate schedules covering almost all businesses that perform music. See the complete list of ASCAP license types on this website. The fees for similar businesses with the same type of usage are the same, but the fees vary among the different industries. For example, a local radio station will pay a lower fee than a television network; a neighborhood tavern pays much less than a Las Vegas hotel.

WHAT ASCAP LICENSES

WHAT ASCAP DOES NOT LICENSE

You drive to work with the radio on, listening to music carefully chosen by a radio station to keep you tuned in for the ads it sells; Theme music identifies your favorite television program and background music stimulates your reaction to car chases and love scenes, medical emergencies and family reconciliations; The music tempo is used to influence your buying decisions at the supermarket, clothing or other store; At a nightclub, music creates that party atmosphere; Music on hold makes the time you are on hold pass more quickly and pleasantly; Have you ever been at a restaurant and wondered why it was so uncomfortable only to later realize it was because you thought everyone could overhear your conversation? Music surrounds you, creating the privacy you desire. Music sets the mood and helps emphasize a corporation's message at company events on or off premises such as management conferences, sales meetings and training seminars. Imagine a company picnic, holiday or retirement party without music. Those are all public performances. Business owners recognize that because music so strongly affects people, it can also help make their business successful. And, like other products, music is not free. Whenever music is performed publicly the songwriter and music publisher, who created and own that music, have the right to grant or deny permission to use their property and to receive compensation for that use.

ASCAP does not license "dramatic" rights, sometimes called "grand" rights. ASCAP members who write musical plays, operas or ballet scores deal directly with those who want to perform their works "dramatically." The ASCAP license does authorize non-dramatic performances of songs from dramatic productions. For example, our bar/nightclub license authorizes a piano-bar performance of an individual song from a Broadway show. ASCAP does not license the right to record music on a CD or tape or as part of a multi-media or an audio-visual work such as a motion picture, video or television program. Those rights, known in the music industry as mechanical and synchronization(or "synch") rights, are licensed by writers or publishers. ASCAP does not license the right to print copies of musical works, nor does it license rights to make adaptations or arrangements. ASCAP does not license rights for recording artists, musicians, singers or record labels. However, artists or musicians who are songwriters can become ASCAP members. ASCAP licenses the performance rights for the music of ASCAP members.

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