ASCAP Yearly Revenues Top $1B For Second Year

ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Thursday announced record-breaking financial results, with domestic revenue hitting an all-time high of $716.8 million, up $61 million over 2014, driving record high domestic distributions of $573.5 million, up 6.2 percent over 2014.

ASCAP, which operates on a not-for-profit basis, delivered $867.4 million in total royalty distributions to its 560,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members in 2015. For the second year in a row, ASCAP’s combined domestic and foreign revenue topped $1 billion with total 2015 revenue of $1.014 billion.

Paul Williams

ASCAP delivered the best value proposition in performing rights licensing, returning 88 cents of every dollar collected to music creators while supporting their careers through advocacy and professional development and investing in technology and innovation initiatives to offer enhanced services to members and licensees. ASCAP’s operating expense ratio was 12.3 percent, among the most efficient and lowest in performing rights. The number of performances ASCAP tracked, matched and processed for payment in 2015 increased by 14 percent to 570 billion.

ASCAP President Paul Williams said: “ASCAP is a tireless advocate for the rights of music creators who depend on ASCAP to earn a living, whether it’s on Capitol Hill or at the negotiating table, and we are truly invested in their success. ASCAP's superlative results mean we are doing the best job possible for our songwriter and composer members even as we advocate for changes to the outdated music licensing laws that disadvantage songwriters in the today’s digital world. These results are a testament to why the world’s most talented songwriters choose to call ASCAP home.”