ASCAP - American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers

10/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/30/2024 06:52

ASCAP and SACEM Announce Multi-Initiative Strategic Alliance

NEW YORK and PARIS, Oct. 30, 2024 - ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and SACEM, La Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique, two of the world's premiere collective management organizations, announce the formation of a strategic alliance. The two Societies will leverage their investments in state-of-the-art data infrastructure and human expertise by collaborating in a myriad of ways to benefit their music creator and publisher members.

"I am excited to strengthen the transatlantic partnership between ASCAP and SACEM and work closely with Cécile on innovative ways to protect and maximize the value of musical works on behalf of our songwriter, composer and publisher members. France and the United States have a long history of recognizing the best in one another, from the democratic ideals of liberty, solidarity and equality to celebrating the diverse musical traditions brought into our repertories from around the world," commented ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews.

"This strategic alliance is a natural fit for our two not-for-profit collective management organizations and strengthens the solid relationship of trust between SACEM and ASCAP. At a time when the music ecosystem is undergoing profound transformation, Beth and I are convinced that our shared values and our commitments to innovation, data optimization and our joint work on AI, will be essential levers for creating ever greater value for the works and the rightsholders we protect, in the most cost-efficient manner," said SACEM CEO Cécile Rap-Veber.

As the top executives of the two leading CMOs in the world, Matthews and Rap-Veber are guiding their organizations through rapid industry changes, ensuring the protection of songwriters' and composers' rights.

Both ASCAP and SACEM delivered record-breaking financial results for their members in 2023. As member-governed organizations that operate on a not-for-profit basis, ASCAP and SACEM share a commitment to supporting creators and have already collaborated on innovative projects. They prototyped new technology approaches to distributing ISWC/ISRC links to enable better work identification in the digital field in 2017 and entered into a digital licensing partnership in 2022, under which SACEM represents the ASCAP repertory in negotiating with (and collecting from) major DSPs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Societies are deeply committed to protecting creators' rights in the rapidly evolving digital age, and to experimenting with the next generation of technology to innovate for their members through the ASCAP Lab and SACEM Lab.

This new strategic alliance is based on four pillars:

  • Innovating to deliver more income to songwriters: The alliance will enable the two societies to inject new value and efficiencies into their processes, and minimize their costs by sharing investments for scale across both organizations, with a common goal of delivering accurate services, more income and quicker distribution to their members.
  • Extending their digital partnership in more markets. This collaboration will build upon a successful track record of delivering more efficient monetization and faster distributions to ASCAP's members from ex-U.S. digital audio services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and, going forward, extending into Asia.
  • Launching joint AI task force to navigate the challenges and opportunities of AI for music creators. In a complex digital landscape, business, technology and legal experts from ASCAP and SACEM will work together to educate members, advocate for increased transparency and fair compensation for creators, and explore business opportunities for using AI to enhance infrastructure and business efficiencies.
  • Bringing music creators together on the global stage: ASCAP and SACEM are committed to providing their songwriters and composers with opportunities to collaborate and create together for the global music market. The two Societies will launch a series of song camps, networking events and educational programs to help their members succeed on the global stage.

To kick off this new partnership, Matthews and Rap-Veber co-hosted an exclusive evening reception on Monday, October 28 in Los Angeles ahead of The American French Film Festival. The reception celebrated the harmonious partnership between the two organizations and brought together ASCAP's top women film composers and SACEM members.

About ASCAP

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a membership association of more than one million songwriters, composers and music publishers, and represents some of the world's most talented music creators. In 2023, ASCAP reported record-high financial results of $1.737 billion in revenues and $1.592 billion available in royalty distribution monies to its members. Over the last eight years, ASCAP has delivered a 7% compound annual growth rate for total revenues, and an 8% compound annual growth rate for total royalty distributions to members. Founded and governed by songwriters, composers and publishers, it is the only performing rights organization in the U.S. that operates on a not-for-profit basis. ASCAP licenses a repertory of over 20 million musical works to hundreds of thousands of businesses that use music, including streaming services, cable television, radio and satellite radio and brick and mortar businesses such as retail stores, hotels, clubs, restaurants and bars. ASCAP collects the licensing fees; identifies, matches and processes trillions of performances every year; and returns nearly 90 cents of every dollar back to its members as royalties. The ASCAP blanket license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. ASCAP puts music creators first, advocating for their rights and the value of music on Capitol Hill, driving innovation that moves the industry forward, building community and providing the resources and support that creators need to succeed in their careers. Learn more and stay in touch at www.ascap.com, on Xand Instagram@ASCAP and on Facebook.

About SACEM

In a constantly changing environment, Sacem is committed to creating ever more value for the 224,470 authors, composers and publishers who have chosen it to manage their authors' rights. Thanks to its international footprint, its technological expertise, its ability to innovate and negotiate agreements with all digital platforms, and its unique social and solidarity-based model, Sacem has become one of the world leaders in collective management and in particular in the digital environment. Thus, it collects royalties from streaming platforms in nearly 200 territories on behalf of its members, 70 international publishers (Universal Music Publishing, Wixen Music Publishing,Sentric, Reservoir Media, Wise Music, Because, Bucks Music Group…) and foreign collective management organizations (ASCAP, Socan, Komca, Artisjus, UBC, Burida, Sodav, IPRS). Moreover, and since 1996, SACEM has a unique partnership with the American guilds and trade association representing creators of film and television shows(the Directors Guild of America (DGA) the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW), and the Motion Picture Association (MPA) to promote the art of filmmaking and cultural exchange between USA and France: the Franco American Cultural Fund.

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CONTACT :

ASCAP

Cathy Nevins

cnevins(at)ascap.com

+1 212-621-8414

SACEM
Anthony RIVAL
[email protected]
+33 6 07 31 43 95