ASCAP Revenues Top $1 Billion In 2015 For Second Straight Year

The plight of the average songwriter and producer has heard time and time again with music industry revenues plummeting in the digital age from the CD-era boom, but performance-rights organization ASCAP just topped out at over $1 billion in revenues in 2015 for the second year running.

The record-breaking number was buoyed by domestic revenue, which hit an all-time high at $716.8 million, up 9.3 percent from 2014's total of $655.8 million. ASCAP also increased domestic distribution by 6.2 percent to $573.5 million.

"2015 was a winning year for ASCAP members, who are the heart and soul of our organization. While the music industry is in the midst of tremendous change, ASCAP has stayed ahead of the curve with a strategic focus on revenue growth, operational efficiencies, technology and service innovations demonstrating that the collective licensing model delivers the best value proposition in the performing rights world," commented ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews in a statement.

"We are happy that we could deliver a 6.2 percent increase in domestic royalties to our members in 2015, and we remain committed to transforming into the most progressive operation ensuring that songwriters, composers, lyricists and music publishers can enjoy a sustainable living in today's music marketplace."

ASCAP did not release the exact breakdown of how the revenue was generated, but it did reveal that general licensing was up 9.1 percent or $11 million. It collected $130.8 million from music venues, restaurants, bars and background music services, up from $119.8 million in 2014.

It was able to lower operating expenses from 12.7 percent of total revenue to 12.3 percent due to a drop in litigation fees.

However not all of the news was so great. Foreign receipts declined 14.1 percent from $346.8 million to $298 million, largely due to the strength of the U.S. dollar. Also total distributions to its over 560,000 members and foreign performing rights organizations (PROs) fells 1.82 percent from $883.5 million to $867.4 million.

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