NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — ASCAP, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, revealed that in 2018, it made record royalty payouts to its songwriter, composer and publisher members for the second year in a row.
According to ASCAP’s annual report, it distributed $1.109 billion in royalties in 2018, up $102 million from the previous year, an increase of 10%.
ASCAP also reported solid revenue growth for 2018, with gross revenue topping $1.227 billion, up 7% from 2017.
The lion’s share of that came from domestic music licensing, which surpassed the prior year by 7% to hit $906 million. Domestic revenue was driven by key licensing categories such as audio streaming, which improved by 25% year-over-year and audio-visual, which was up by 7% from 2017.
General and Background revenue, which encompasses more than 800,000 bars, grills, taverns, hotels, retail stores, fitness centers, and other businesses, grew by 9%.
Domestic distributions from ASCAP-licensed and administered performances in the US increased to $814 million, up 12.5% over 2017. Foreign distributions totaled $295 million, an increase of 4%.
International revenue counted for $321 million in revenue for ASCAP in 2018, an increase of 7% over the prior year, which the PRO attributed to expanded relationships with collection societies outside of the United States.
The number of individual music performances processed by ASCAP’s data matching systems skyrocketed into the trillions in 2018.
“ASCAP’s outstanding 2018 results were driven by our team’s laser focus on making smart, strategic deals to yield growth and stability for our members. Four years into our six-year strategic plan, we are seeing healthy year-over-year compound annual growth rates averaging 7%. In 2018 alone, our commitment to efficiency and innovation allowed us to pay more than $100 million more to our members in distributions than the prior year all while we continue to take the steps necessary to protect their future. Above all, we owe our success to the popularity of the ASCAP music repertory, which is beloved and enjoyed by listeners around the world on every platform,” said ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews.
