Then and Now: Songwriter Compensation in the Digital AgeASCAP operates on a not-for-profit basis, working to ensure music creators are paid fairly for public performances of their copyrighted works.

TECHNOLOGY IS RAPIDLY CHANGING THE WAY PEOPLE LISTEN TO MUSIC.Public performance royalties paid through ASCAP are rapidly becoming the most important source of income for American songwriters and composers, who do not have the same revenue streams as recording artists (no tours or t-shirts, for example).

OUTDATED LAWS HAVE CREATED INEQUALITY IN THE MARKETPLACE.A WWII-era consent decree between ASCAP and the DOJ dictates that rates for public performance licenses are set primarily by a single federal judge, or “rate court,” rather than the free market. No other entertainment industry operates this way.

IF OUR MUSIC LICENSING LAWS AREN’T UPDATED, THE COLLECTIVE LICENSING SYSTEM THAT KEEPS COSTS DOWN FOR MUSIC LISTENERS WILL BE AT RISK.

ASCAP BY THE NUMBERS:

ASCAP provides collective licenses on behalf of more than

550,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members

88¢ of every dollar collected is paid out in royalties to ASCAP’s members

Last year, ASCAP distributed more than

$880M in royalties

700,000+ businesses that use music are able to do so legally through an ASCAP license

The number of performances we annually monitor and distribute royalties for will soon be

500 billion

2006$0

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20092007 2010 20122008 2011 2013

PHYSICAL DOWNLOAD STREAMING

IFPI

Record labels and recording artists routinely earn 12 to 14 times more than songwriters for the exact same stream of music.

Pandora financial disclosures

Online streaming giant Pandora, for example, pays songwriters only about 9 cents in performance royalties for 1,000 streams of their music.

ASCAP internal data

#StandWithSongwriters

LEARN MORE: WWW.ASCAP.ORG #STANDWITHSONGWRITERS

IT’S TIME FOR A MUSIC LICENSING SYSTEM THAT REFLECTS THE REALITY OF TODAY’S MUSIC MARKETPLACE

1950 19901920 1960 20001930 1970 20101940 1980 2020

1914: ASCAP IS FOUNDED

1988: THE CD SURPASSES THE LP IN SALES

1995: STREAMING INTERNET AUDIO INTRODUCED

2001: ASCAP CONSENT DECREE UPDATED (AFJ2); APPLE’S IPOD INTRODUCED

2005: PANDORA LAUNCHES INTERNET RADIO SERVICE

2011: DIGITAL MUSIC SALES SURPASS PHYSICAL SALES

2014: PANDORA SURPASSES 75M ACTIVE USERS

1990: THE MP3 IS BORN

1999: NAPSTER DEBUTS

2003: ITUNES IS LAUNCHED

2008: PANDORA LAUNCHES MOBILE ONLINE RADIO

2013: ITUNES RADIO LAUNCHES

1920: FIRST COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION LICENSED

1933: FM RADIO INTRODUCED

1941: ASCAP ENTERS INTO CONSENT DECREE WITH DOJ

1943: VINYL BECOMES THE MEDIUM OF CHOICE FOR RECORDINGS

1964: THE CASSETTE TAPE BECOMES MAINSTREAM

2011:SPOTIFY LAUNCHES IN THE U.S.

COPYRIGHT REFORM to protect music creators and

consumers (Songwriter Equity Act)

ASCAP’S MUSIC ADVOCACY PROJECT: A “MAP” TO MODERNIZING OUR MUSIC LICENSING SYSTEM

CONSENT DECREE REFORM to reflect today’s

music marketplace

ASCAP 2.0 to better serve songwriters

in the digital age