ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is a membership association of more than 315,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers.

Through agreements with affiliated international societies, ASCAP also represents hundreds of thousands of music creators worldwide. ASCAP is the only U.S. performing rights organization created and controlled by composers, songwriters and music publishers, with a Board of Directors elected by and from the membership.

ASCAP is home to the greatest names in American music, past and present — from Duke Ellington to Dave Matthews, from George Gershwin to Stevie Wonder, from Leonard Bernstein to Beyoncé, from Marc Anthony to Alan Jackson, from Henry Mancini to Howard Shore — as well as many thousands of writers in the earlier stages of their careers.

ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works, making giving and obtaining permission to perform music simple for both creators and users of music. ASCAP's licensees encompass all who want to perform copyrighted music publicly