ASCAP, American organization, established in 1914, that was the first such body formed to protect the rights of composers and collect fees for the public performances of their music. In accordance with intellectual-property and copyright laws, it collects royalties and licensing fees from music presenters, including broadcasters, and distributes these monies to member composers, lyricists, and music publishers.
The rights of songwriters and lyricists to be paid for performances of their music was affirmed in the United States by the Copyright Act of 1909. Before ASCAP was formed, each songwriter individually had to license and collect pay for each performance of his music. ASCAP provided a central agency to acquire the money due songwriters and to pay the money to them. Victor Herbert was the leading figure among the 182 original ASCAP members, who also included John Philip Sousa and James Weldon Johnson. ASCAP was receiving in royalties 5 percent of the revenue generated by broadcast performances when it demanded 15 percent in 1940. In response, broadcasters did not play ASCAP songs; instead they formed a rival performing rights society, Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI). In late 1941 ASCAP settled for a 2.8 percent royalty. By the 21st century, ASCAP offered not only a graduated annual-fee structure based on a broadcaster’s income but also the option to pay by the program. Meanwhile, Internet-only broadcasters were required to pay both a set licensing fee and additional royalties, calculated according to the broadcaster’s revenues or to the overall use of the Web site.
ASCAP also provides grants to composers, makes awards for music criticism and essays on copyright law, conducts educational programs, and publishes biographical material and music catalogs of its members and their works. Throughout its history its repertoire and annual receipts have been the largest among performing rights societies.