Performing Rights Organisation · United States

How to register with ASCAP.

Register with ASCAP — one of the two major US performing rights organizations — to collect performance royalties every time your compositions are streamed, broadcast, or performed publicly.

⏱ 20–30 minutesPerformance royalties

Choose Between ASCAP and BMI

You can only be a member of one US PRO at a time. ASCAP is member-governed and non-profit — founded in 1914 and subject to a federal antitrust consent decree. BMI is free to join and recently transitioned to a for-profit model (2024).

If you are continuing this guide, you have chosen ASCAP. If you want BMI instead, use the BMI guide.

Key difference: ASCAP's "Follow the Dollar" royalty calculation system is highly transparent. BMI typically pays royalties approximately one month faster than ASCAP.

Why this matters

You cannot be a member of both — picking the wrong one and switching later requires resigning and re-registering all your works, which delays royalty payments by months.

Common mistake

Signing up for whichever you hear about first without comparing. Both pay comparably. The primary practical difference for independent artists is ASCAP's member-governed structure vs BMI's simpler open-door policy.

Join ASCAP as a Writer (Currently Free)

Apply online at ascap.com/music-creators. ASCAP registration is conducted through their "Member Access" portal.

Fees:

Songwriter Application: $0 (Free) — currently waived for new members

Publisher Application: $50 one-time, non-refundable

Joint Writer/Publisher: $0 — fees waived when joining both simultaneously

You will need:

A government-issued photo ID (driver's license, passport, or national ID)

A biometric "liveness check" to verify your identity (completed in the portal)

Mailing address and bank account details for direct deposit

Approval is typically instant or within 1–2 business days.

Join ASCAP →

Why this matters

Without an ASCAP membership, every time your song is streamed on Spotify, played on a radio station, or performed at a live venue, the royalty for your songwriter share is uncollected.

Common mistake

Stopping here. This step makes you a writer member — but if you're independent, you also need to set up a publishing entity (Step 3) to collect the full royalty.

Set Up a Vanity Publishing Entity (if independent)

If you don't have a publisher, register a publishing entity under your ASCAP membership. This lets you collect both the writer share AND the publisher share.

Example: Your song earns $100 in performance royalties. Without a publishing entity, you collect ~$50 (writer share only). With one, you collect the full $100.

Choose a publisher name — it does not have to be an incorporated company. Many artists use "[Your Name] Music Publishing." Publisher registration is $50 one-time (but free if you join writer and publisher simultaneously).

Why this matters

Independent artists who skip this forfeit roughly 50% of their performance royalties. The publisher share is real money — it goes to your publisher if you have one, or back to ASCAP's "black box" if no publisher is registered.

Common mistake

Thinking you need a legally incorporated company. You don't — a DBA (doing business as) or just a name is sufficient in most cases for PRO registration.

Register Your Works

Log into the ASCAP Member Access portal and register each composition. For each work you'll need:

Song title (must match distributor metadata exactly)

Your writer share % (100% if sole writer; specify splits for co-writes)

Co-writer names and their IPI/CAE numbers (if known)

ISRC code(s) for each recording of this composition

An ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code) will be auto-assigned by CISAC after submission. The ISWC is your composition's permanent global identifier — it stays the same even if the song is covered by other artists.

ASCAP Member Access Portal

Why this matters

ASCAP pays based on matching reported plays to registered works. If your composition isn't registered, plays are collected but unmatched — your money sits in a pool that gets redistributed to top earners after ~3 years.

Common mistake

Registering with a slightly different title than what your distributor used. Even "Song Title (feat. Artist)" vs "Song Title" breaks automated matching. Use the exact string your distributor submitted.

Register with The MLC (Critical Follow-Up)

ASCAP collects performance royalties. It does NOT collect mechanical royalties from streaming.

Register separately at themlc.com (completely free) to collect mechanical royalties from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and every other US streaming platform.

This is the single most commonly missed royalty category for US independent artists.

Why this matters

Mechanical royalties from streaming are legally owed to songwriters under the Music Modernization Act (2018). Without MLC registration, your streaming mechanicals accumulate in an unmatched pool — they are legally required to distribute these funds, but only to registered songwriters.

Common mistake

Assuming ASCAP handles everything. It does not — ASCAP and The MLC are two completely separate organizations collecting two completely separate royalty streams.

After you register

ASCAP does NOT collect mechanical royalties. Register with The MLC (free) to collect your streaming mechanical royalties from Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon — this is the most commonly missed royalty for US indie artists.

Rekon tracks whether you're actually registered with ASCAP — and 36 others.

Connect your platforms once and Rekon flags every registration gap automatically, with the exact fix for each.

Rekon is independent of ASCAP. It is not affiliated with, authorised by, or sponsored by it.