236 !!Chapter 13
The American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers (ASCAP)
The following is a quotation from the ASCAP website (http://ascap.com/
index.html):
ASCAP is a membership association of more than 120,000 U.S. com-
posers, songwriters and publishers of every kind of music and hundreds
of thousands worldwide. ASCAP is the only U.S. performing rights orga-
nization created and controlled by composers, songwriters and music
publishers, with a Board of Directors elected by and from the membership.
ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing
royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted
works. ASCAP’s licensees encompass all who want to perform copy-
righted music publicly. ASCAP makes giving and obtaining permission to
perform music simple for both creators and users of music.
Work for Hire
Most agencies require composers or music houses to signwork-for-hire
agreements. This means that the agency owns the compositions and/or
arrangements in perpetuity and that the composers forfeit their rights to
their compositions and/or arrangements. Unfortunately, when dealing
with a large agency, this is a standard clause. A number of small agencies
allow composers to keep the publishing rights primarily because the cre-
ative fees might be below standard fees and the retention of rights is
viewed as a form of compensation. Some agencies allow composers to col-
lect performance royalties; this is a point of negotiation and is worth pur-
suing.
Synchronization Licenses
Agencies are required to obtainsynchronization licenses(also called sync
licenses) to use existing music (e.g., popular records) for television com-
mercials. It entitles them to synchronize music to visuals. Licenses for
radio commercials are calledtranscription licenses. The license allows the
licensor only the right to rerecord a song—not to use the master sound
recording, which is owned by a record company or other rights holder.
Obtaining the master sound recording rights requires a separate negotia-
tion. Synchronization fees are negotiated; there are no standard rates. The
popularity of a copyright and/or a sound recording and the extent to
which an agency/client wants to license it determines its value.
Some composers who write commercials have written songs that have
achieved commercial success (songs). It is not unusual for agencies to con-
tact composers to license their songs (instrumentals) and adapt them for
commercials. Approvals of the song editing (a 3-minute 30-second song