ASCAP rebrands administration services arm in light of streaming growth

ASCAP logo July 2016 canvasASCAP has relaunched its administration services business as Songwize. This rebranded division will offer royalty administration, such as processing and matching performance files as well as paying out royalties. Last year, the unit saw a 121% on-year increase in administered performances across digital service providers such as Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Pandora, and YouTube.

“With the increase in streaming music consumption, the number of individual public performances that are occurring is increasing dramatically,” ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews said. “Songwize, built on our trusted matching system and transparent distribution rules, ensures that songwriters and publishers can depend on ASCAP for proper royalty processing and payment under a variety of licensing scenarios.”

“Songwize is better positioned than any other entity to provide royalty administration services to publishers and digital service providers,” added Lisa Selden, the PRO’s senior vice president of administration services. “By eliminating the duplicative costs required to build and maintain separate royalty databases, processing platforms and payment infrastructures, Songwize enables more funds to flow to music creators.”

Anna Washenko